Landing Mavic pro on boat netting with propeller guards

[chickianwing]

Very good point Simmo,

The aggressive control commands resulting in a CSC will mostly occur when newbies are flying beyond VLOS and lose video feed. They often start stirring the sticks in panic, without seeing or knowing how their bird reacts. All the so called 'smart' decisions, later build into the firmware and taking a lot of joy out of the flying, are mainly caused by stupidness by these people claiming warranty.

Agreed. I will prefer that this feature be in place than regret later on

 

[chickianwing]

I would start by checking the CSC settings, it should shut it down if you have the in flight shutdown allowed. I like your idea and am interested to see how it goes. Post some pics if you build a prototype. I have launched and landed from a boat many times, all by hand but only for lack of a better option. Until you have done it, it sounds easy. The boat always seems to move more when you are trying to land your MP. A few key points for anyone trying this for the first time:
-Keep in mind the relative motions of the boat/ MP. Even if you think the boat is not moving, it is unless you are tied to a dock. As soon as you launch the MP, it will hold GPS position, and the boat can very quickly move into the MP. Always launch from the trailing side of the boat based on which way it is moving so the boat moves away from the MP.
-Look up before you launch. The first instinct is to gain altitude, make sure you are clear of outriggers, fishing lines, rods, and any structure of the boat.
-It takes two to land. I have done it by myself, but it took several attempts. Again, those calm, 1 ft seas mean cyclic "altitude" changes relative to the boat at varying frequency while you are trying to not lose a finger or a drone. Almost took a prop to the face. Have someone catch while you shut it down.
-Check your setting for signal loss, and smart RTH. If you don't, the MP will turn around and fly back to where you took off from when the battery gets to about 50% or you lose signal.
-Give yourself significantly more margin on your battery for landing.
-Go on youtube and search for boat drone launches/ landings and learn from others who have failed before you.

Hi Thanks for sharing your experience as well. Yes, I have a picture that shows the setup - netting and propeller guards. Basically, landing and launching is from the bow of the boat with no structures that may come in contact. The MP is suppose to take off and move forward. I would say that apart from the gust of winds, it is still relatively ok to land it on the netting (only problem now is to resolve the part on having the motors off once it lands)

 

[Simmo]

Why dont you cover that net with say a chequered cloth so it thinks its the ground?

 

[chickianwing]

Why dont you cover that net with say a chequered cloth so it thinks its the ground?

My next attempt will take into account of that using the landing pad. hopefully with the sensors off, this would allow the drone to land

 

[Simmo]

Ahh actually my comment is stupid because you did have the sensors off.... maybe use a chequered cloth and have the sensors on! Precision landing!

 

[Lake_Flyer]

Unfortunately i cannot replicate what happens on land while at sea because the conditions are really different where the wind could be suddenly strong, the wake/swell could also rock the boat pretty badly. in such operating environment, its really unsafe for the pilot to manually catch the drone. As for your suggestion to use float, I would prefer that the mavic be landing on dry surface as I doubt Mavic is able to withstand the harsh marine environment not to mention letting it land on surface of the sea will only worsen its lifespan.

I always have a separate catcher (whom I trained) when on a boat. I'm referring to fresh water, I would never use floats to land on salt water.

If the conditions are really that challenging as you describe, with high waves, sudden nasty gusts, small rocking boat, I wouldn't do it at all.

 

[Lake_Flyer]

Precision landing!

RTH, on a boat?

 

[Simmo]

RTH, on a boat?

LOL I'm not saying automated! I'm simply eluding to the fact that the RPA cant see a net, but a cloth/surface of sorts, it may and therefore might shut down as it would on terra firma??? But, for it to know that, sensors would need to be on...

 

[chickianwing]

Next trial to do the following:
1) turn on sports mode, switched off OA
2) place landing pad onto netting

Any other suggestions are welcome

 

[Plawa]

Why sports mode? It makes precision maneuvers a lot more difficult...

 

[chickianwing]

Why sports mode? It makes precision maneuvers a lot more difficult...

While at sea, the high winds make it very hard to control the mavic using normal mode and the under sport mode all the OA sensors are auto switched so i do not have to manual turn it off thru the app

 

[Plawa]

I get the logic, but unless the winds exceed the max speed the drone can achieve in normal mode (in which case it will start drifting downwind) you should still have better control in normal mode - if you're pushing into headwind it will go slower but then it won't take off at 50mph when you need to correct and move downwind.. remember you are not flying a manual quad but a closed loop system that tries to correct for external conditions and eliminate their effect. Makes sense?

 

[jirestre]

Mavic bit me like a bat out of ****...guess it was my fault

Since that day A butcher glove (no kidding) is in use when I do hand catch/release. I can get hit, but will not get cut. Risky business anyway.

 

[chickianwing]

just an update. The trial using Sports mode and a landing pad with all sensors off was pretty successful (left down stick was enough to cause the motor to stop spinning). However, I would not recommend taking off or landing when the wind speed is beyond 20 km/h. it is good to consider having the aft of the boat shielding the wind against the drone while it is landing (not so much of take off where we would usually move the mavic forward once it is in the air).

 

[SailorBruce]

This is an old thread, but I'm still having issues with landing on a boat. The landing in the ocean is downright treacherous. I have only been able to do it when I stop the boat which just introduces new movements to counteract. Even at 10kts, the boat is moving forward at 16 ft/sec, or in my case a full boat length every three seconds!

I had a warranty claim this spring where I was flying my Mavic in the house (wife was away for the weekend) and clipped a closet door. The Mavic fell like a rock onto a pile of dirty clothes (again, the wife was gone). Now aside from the damage that occured to the gimbal, there was no other issue. Is the answer buried in this experience?

What if I built a catchers net that borrows from the aircraft carrier emergency net? A vertical net with a catching net right in front of it. Fly the mavic at some speed horizontally until it impacts the net, then let it fallonto the horizontal. What would break first?

 

[Lady Rover]

Hi,

this shows how tricky it can be, even on a larger boat.

So a landing surface solution is not such a stupid idea.

three more thoughts on this.

1) Arrester Hook.
How about a short string with a very slightly weighed hook at its end.
You approach the net while moving vertical down on it, the hook goes through the net and you can than land calm with an 80% chance that the drone stays on board.
If your drone goes of on a tangent the hook catches the net.
Alternatively use a thin carbon rod from a kite.
The idea is to at least make sure the expensive drone can likely not leave the boat anymore.
Similar methods are used to land & attach helicopters on rocking ships.
Heligrid anchoring Landings Platform STANAG 1276 | Cramm HLS

This guy has a version of this by catching a line tangling from the drone.

2)Velcro
Add Velcro to the drone legs and landing surface.

3) Phantom style landing skid
Make a DIY landing skid similar to the Phantom one.
Much easier to catch on a rocking boat.

Let us know how you get on.
I'm going through the same thought process right now.

Might consider the Swelldrone SPRY instead...

By the way, here is how some pros do it:

All the best,

Franziska

www.ladyrover.com