How to film in a narrow ravine?

[Bunraku]

The Devils Pulpit as a moss covered ravine North of Glasgow. It's really something special and looks like something from Jurassic Park.It is very high sided and has overhanging trees and that is the problem. Let me explain.

Twice 2 years ago i tried to film the Devils Pulpit by drone and twice i failed. Extremely annoying after well over an hour drive each way. First time it was packed with foreign tourists and people like myself out for the day as it's popularity had grew since being in TV shows like Outlander as a mystical location. So i couldn't fly with people around.

So i went back 2 weeks later at 7am on a sunday morning. Yes!! Totally dead and i have it to myself. I had hoped to film in tripod mode, however when i got down there my Mavic Pro could only find i think 6 satellites so no GPS mode. So i had to use Atti mode which i had never used before, but after that long a drive i wasn't not gonna do it.

So i had wellies on and am literally walking in the stream 8ft behind my drone and flying very slow. Suddenly my drone just goes to the right for no reason and i lose control. I believe the prop wash hit off the left hand wall and pushed my drone to the right. It smacked into the right hand wall and was covered in mud and moss, but thankfully ok. In a state of shock and at that point not sure if my drone was ok i packed my kit and went home. I was there literally only 15 minutes.

I have posted some pictures of what the ravine looks like and also my crash video. It you look at 24 seconds the drone heads to the right and that is not me controlling it.

Anyway that was 2 years ago and this week i saw on another TV show they had used the location as part of the show and it made me want to have crack number 3. There are very few drone videos of the pulpit, but most are above and looking down. I wanna be a very slow Luke Skywalker in the Death Star Trench. So anyone have any suggestions or ideas how to film in a narrow 50ft sided ravine and keep the drone from crashing?

Thanks

Devils Pulpit Crash 2018

 

[IShouldBeWorking]

What an amazing location! Those are beautiful shots! As for how to fly down there, honestly, for my risk tolerance, I wouldn’t. I think I would Hike though using a hand-held gimbal or maybe even remove the props from a Mavic and walk it through. Those spaces just look so tight. But also temptingly beautiful!

If you really, really insist on flying, maybe look into a smaller drone like one of these cinewoops some of the other members here have mentioned. They’d fit into smaller spaces and give off less prop wash too. Good luck! Be sure and share your footage from when you go back.

 

[Mossiback]

...the drone heads to the right and that is not me controlling it...

In that tight an area you will lose GPS stabilization so you will have to control it. It will be subject to drifting and will not stop when you let go of the sticks. If you want to practice before your next attempt, get some prop guards and try flying indoors. Personally, even though it is a beautiful area, I would not risk my MP there.

 

[Mavic Mac]

Great photos

When I filmed a small creek the other day - ran into the same problem of very limited satellite coverage - The MA did a lot of left to right drifting. At times it would not respond to stick input and I experienced my first "crash" with it. Thankfully it was into soft leaves and just flipped over and shut off - no damage. I also think the flowing water confused the obstacle avoidance sensors as I was flying just above the water due to overhanging tree branches.

I also walked right behind the Air when it was flying and then did a lot of post editing to remove a lot of the drifting.

Good luck with your next attempt

 

[Dale D]

The Devils Pulpit as a moss covered ravine North of Glasgow. It's really something special and looks like something from Jurassic Park.It is very high sided and has overhanging trees and that is the problem. Let me explain.

Twice 2 years ago i tried to film the Devils Pulpit by drone and twice i failed. Extremely annoying after well over an hour drive each way. First time it was packed with foreign tourists and people like myself out for the day as it's popularity had grew since being in TV shows like Outlander as a mystical location. So i couldn't fly with people around.

So i went back 2 weeks later at 7am on a sunday morning. Yes!! Totally dead and i have it to myself. I had hoped to film in tripod mode, however when i got down there my Mavic Pro could only find i think 6 satellites so no GPS mode. So i had to use Atti mode which i had never used before, but after that long a drive i wasn't not gonna do it.

So i had wellies on and am literally walking in the stream 8ft behind my drone and flying very slow. Suddenly my drone just goes to the right for no reason and i lose control. I believe the prop wash hit off the left hand wall and pushed my drone to the right. It smacked into the right hand wall and was covered in mud and moss, but thankfully ok. In a state of shock and at that point not sure if my drone was ok i packed my kit and went home. I was there literally only 15 minutes.

I have posted some pictures of what the ravine looks like and also my crash video. It you look at 24 seconds the drone heads to the right and that is not me controlling it.

Anyway that was 2 years ago and this week i saw on another TV show they had used the location as part of the show and it made me want to have crack number 3. There are very few drone videos of the pulpit, but most are above and looking down. I wanna be a very slow Luke Skywalker in the Death Star Trench. So anyone have any suggestions or ideas how to film in a narrow 50ft sided ravine and keep the drone from crashing?

Thanks

Devils Pulpit Crash 2018

I guess a Skydio might do the trick but for me, in this canyon, would learn my lesson and not go looking for more trouble.

 

[Vue D’Oiseau]

Beautiful location. I would just use an hand held camera or something like the osmo action.

 

[sar104]

I would expect the M2 to be able to handle this situation in VPS mode, but intermittent GPS reception might still cause problems. ATTI is the only guaranteed solution, but would likely require considerable practice to be able to control the aircraft in the presence of varying air currents and prop wash interactions.

 

[WerePig]

I have a M2Z and Enterprise. Great for all kinds of stuff. However this is why I personally added a MM. It's all about those tight shots and so far the MM is pulling through. I live in the Sierra Nevada Range of California and we have all kinds of cool little places tucked into the mountains that take forever to get to. The MM is my go to for light and tight. I get less magnetic interference than with the Mavic 2 models. Something about water flowing between rocks in tight spaces seems to set them off sometimes and I have to recalibrate. (Could just be the gold in them thar hills).Happy flying! Beautiful pictures!

 

[dronerdave]

I have a M2Z and Enterprise. Great for all kinds of stuff. However this is why I personally added a MM. It's all about those tight shots and so far the MM is pulling through.

Are you saying the MM does better in a tight canyon because it's wi-fi or because if you crash it it costs less to replace?

 

[GadgetGuy]

Are you saying the MM does better in a tight canyon because it's wi-fi or because if you crash it it costs less to replace?

Probably more because it is even smaller than an M2P, so it can squeeze through, and costs significantly less to replace, and is lighter, so less mass in a fall, as long as it isn't into the water. The lack of OA is actually a benefit in tight spaces, because OA makes things more difficult, and would likely just have to be turned off anyway. Wifi in close proximity and clear LOS is usually fine. Being less sensitive to magnetic interference is another big benefit.

 

[dronerdave]

Probably more because it is even smaller than an M2P, so it can squeeze through, and costs significantly less to replace, and is lighter, so less mass in a fall, as long as it isn't into the water. The lack of OA is actually a benefit in tight spaces, because OA makes things more difficult, and would likely just have to be turned off anyway. Wifi in close proximity and clear LOS is usually fine. Being less sensitive to magnetic interference is another big benefit.

I don't have an issue flying in close quarter with my MP but if it were to slip into ATTI mode, more than likely my quad is going to hit something. If I fly through a lattice bridge for instance, I always turn off OA but again w/o GPS I'd never try it. So I guess my question is can a Mavic Mini or Mavic Air go into ATTI mode for any reason? Cost is not an issue to me but being able to fly through a tunnel or similar might make a wi-fi quad worth having provided I can keep control of it during a questionable close quarter flight.

 

[WerePig]

Are you saying the MM does better in a tight canyon because it's wi-fi or because if you crash it it costs less to replace?

Both! Hahaha.

 

[David Dennis]

I have a M2Z and Enterprise. Great for all kinds of stuff. However this is why I personally added a MM. It's all about those tight shots and so far the MM is pulling through. I live in the Sierra Nevada Range of California and we have all kinds of cool little places tucked into the mountains that take forever to get to. The MM is my go to for light and tight. I get less magnetic interference than with the Mavic 2 models. Something about water flowing between rocks in tight spaces seems to set them off sometimes and I have to recalibrate. (Could just be the gold in them thar hills).Happy flying! Beautiful pictures!

Another score for the Mavic Mini might be that since it's less powerful, the prop wash will be a lot weaker, and since it's much smaller there is a lot more room to maneuver.

Makes me want to get a Mavic Mini to play with, actually. I will hate going back to hooking up my phone versus using the Smart Controller I have for my Mavic 2 Pro. I really wish they had made the Smart Controller more versatile in terms of control mechanisms.

 

[dronerdave]

Makes me want to get a Mavic Mini to play with, actually. I will hate going back to hooking up my phone versus using the Smart Controller I have for my Mavic 2 Pro. I really wish they had made the Smart Controller more versatile in terms of control mechanisms.

Yeah if the MM could be used with my Crystal Sky monitors, I would have probably purchased one by now. At least for me, if DJI continues to produce products that can't work with their other equipment then it will take a major design improvement (or cost cut) before I make another drone purchase.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I don't have an issue flying in close quarter with my MP but if it were to slip into ATTI mode, more than likely my quad is going to hit something. If I fly through a lattice bridge for instance, I always turn off OA but again w/o GPS I'd never try it. So I guess my question is can a Mavic Mini or Mavic Air go into ATTI mode for any reason? Cost is not an issue to me but being able to fly through a tunnel or similar might make a wi-fi quad worth having provided I can keep control of it during a questionable close quarter flight.

Lack of GPS is the only way the aircraft can switch into ATTI mode without an ATTI mode switch. Learn to fly an indoor micro quad to learn how to fly in ATTI mode. Then you'll be ready for ATTI mode handling on a DJI aircraft when it loses GPS.

 

[dronerdave]

Lack of GPS is the only way the aircraft can switch into ATTI mode without an ATTI mode switch. Learn to fly an indoor micro quad to learn how to fly in ATTI mode. Then you'll be ready for ATTI mode handling on a DJI aircraft when it loses GPS.

Well the few times I've flown in attitude mode with my Mavic pro, it wasn't quite like flying my racing drones. For instance I found that if I added throttle to climb, my MP continued to climb even after letting go of the sticks. It took adding a down input to get it to drop and after letting go of the sticks it continued down, again without touching the sticks. With my racing drones when you kill the throttle they drop like a rock. But I agree people need to know how a GPS drone handles when it looses connection with the sats. Being I don't really care for how my MP reacts in atti mode, and the fact it can catch me off guard, I'd never fly in a narrow canyon.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Well the few times I've flown in attitude mode with my Mavic pro, it wasn't quite like flying my racing drones. For instance I found that if I added throttle to climb, my MP continued to climb even after letting go of the sticks. It took adding a down input to get it to drop and after letting go of the sticks it continued down, again without touching the sticks. With my racing drones when you kill the throttle they drop like a rock. But I agree people need to know how a GPS drone handles when it looses connection with the sats. Being I don't really care for how my MP reacts in atti mode, and the fact it can catch me off guard, I'd never fly in a narrow canyon.

It's definitely something to practice first, in an open space, so you know how your specific aircraft responds when it loses GPS, which can be induced by using aluminum foil over the top, to hide the GPS satellites. Once you have it mastered, you can take it to the next level in a narrow ravine.Mavic Mini minimizes the risk, and can get through smaller spaces, and even comes with prop guards for extra safety during practice. Avoiding falling in the water seen in the beautiful ravine still shots is the biggest challenge, as that would not end well.