Mavic Air 'Downward' Tracking?

[Indy443]

First post here, so forgive me if this is already a known topic. I am a big skier and have always wanted an aerial clip of myself descending the mountain, carving turns or playing over the terrain. What is the logistical reason that the Mavic Air cannot track while also dropping in altitude? Is this a big hurdle in technical development, or is there a reason they don't offer this?

I would think that dropping in altitude while tracking and following a subject would be a huge draw for people (It certainly is for me).

The Mavic Air is what I've been dreaming of for a drone: Small and light enough to bring with you anywhere.

Any idea if we'll get this key feature?

 

[AAPhoto]

There's an active track feature that can be used which will follow your elevation. It basically keeps the same distance between you and the drone while following you.

 

[Indy443]

Really? Awesome!

How do I activate it and are there some example videos I could see to see if it matches up to my vision?

 

[AAPhoto]

It's shown in this (long) video at around the 51:45 mark:

 

[Indy443]

This kind of shows it, but not in the environment I'm thinking

So the theory is that in that setting of active track it will actively track a subject while dropping in altitude?

That's what I'm hoping, and that it does it well.

 

[Air Beetle]

It will not follow you down. AAPhoto is mistaken. It will follow you uphill and avoid the ground but it will maintain the original altitude if you go downhill. DJI has never offered this feature but I don't understand why. You can install Litchi to get a downhill shot.

 

[Indy443]

I've never heard of Litchi....I'm sure I can research this, but what is it? How does it work?

 

[Air Beetle]

It's an alternative app to Go4. It's $23 and pretty popular. I haven't used it yet but I plan to use it given that I live in Tahoe and everything is steep here.

Litchi for DJI Mavic / Phantom / Inspire / Spark

I'm not sure if it works with the air yet

 

[Indy443]

I just very quickly started to lean what Litchi is, sounds promising. Odd that an entire developer has created a key feature that I would think DJI would include. It would be nice to just stick to the Go4 app rather than learn a seperate program. But if it works, no problem.

 

[Air Beetle]

I have followed it for awhile. I read on another thread that it is developed closely with DJI. The downside is they may not cover warranty if you crash while using LItchi so I also would prefer to have DJI add the feature to Go4. I was shocked that the air didn't have it given that it has downward sensors. Pretty crazy not to use them.

Most pilots seem to use it for planning missions at home and then uploading the flight for a smooth video shoot.

 

[Indy443]

I'm shocked they don't have it either. Hopefully they consider this and release it in a new firmware update. I think my plan for now is to download Litchi, learn that and see how it works for me. Are there any good tutorials on how to plan missions?

 

[Air Beetle]

Control Apps - DJI, Litchi, Autopilot, etc...follow along in the thread topic 3rd party control apps

 

[Air Beetle]

Litchi doesn't work for the Air yet. It will come soon enough. Get very familiar with your Air using the DJI app. You will be more comfortable with it once Litchi and other third party apps come out. You should be comfortable with manual mode just in case there is a software glitch. practice practice practice

 

[Indy443]

So I have been very impressed by the Litchi app, and went ahead purchased it. I was able to create and save some waypoint maps and get those loaded into the app. Awesome, ready to go test one. Launch the drone via the DJI GO4 app, then switch over to the Litchi app. Saying the aircraft is disconnected and cannot fly the route.

Did I do something wrong, or is the Mavic Air not yet supported by Litchi?

 

[Indy443]

And if Mavic Air is not yet supported, once it is (hopefully very soon), will the app I paid for and downloaded be able to fly the Mavic Air?

I would think they (Litchi) would have already made their platform compatible with the Mavic Air. Wonder why it's not?

 

[galfridus]

Mavic Air not yet supported, they are dependent on DJI enabling various code options (APIs) for support to exist.

 

[Indy443]

Hmmm, any idea how DJI handles something like this? As in timing? Curious how long I have to learn about all that Litchi can do that DJIGO4 cannot before getting the chance to use it.

I guess I can plot and plan out a ton of cool flights and have those ready to go when the Mavic Air is finally enabled

 

[dragonmuzz]

been using Litchi for a while now with my P3A and my P4 and cant wait till my Air is supported.....never had a problem with Litchi and ive flown over 100 missions some over 15mins long and some lets just say a long distance too lol......wont be doing that with the air of course due to battery but saying that im still able to fly the same mission times i did with my p3 and p4 so far

 

[dragonmuzz]

always remember your altitude when plotting missions .i usually do the first litchi mission higher then sit and watch the video footage to see if i can safely fly lower the next time.....stops you hitting a tree or anything else you didn't see.....saying that i wonder if APAS will help with that on a Litchi mission?

 

[Indy443]

Still no idea where we are at in terms of getting Litchi on the MA? I've been in the app and on Mission Hub a lot in the last few days plotting missions and generally understanding the app. I haven't been able to do anything with the tracking feature, obviously. Can someone give a run down of directions of setting up Litchi for a 'downward' tracking mission?