Mavic pro proximity flying....almost made it!

[Lapeer20m]

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

The reverse through the vehicle windows was daring !!
Any / much damage ?

And no magnetic interference ?
It amazes me how so many can have this issue, yet flying around obviously so much metal you were reasonably stable.
I think GPS might have gotten a bit down under the play equipment at 0:55, or maybe it was prop wash drifting.

Pretty good idea to learn what close looks like on the viewing device.
I am often thinking I'm close, but look up at the drone and I'm 6' over whatever.
That camera hangs down low !

Good example of this experimenting, thanks for posting your test flight (and taking the risks !).

 

[IShouldBeWorking]

Nice precision flying! Please tell me you had prop guards on.

 

[RadioFlyerMan]

Brilliant!

I've done some close proximity flying, not as close as that!

Here's my approach without guards.
1) I turned on the cross hatch in the Go 4 app.
2) Then I placed a tall stick (6 ft) in my driveway
3) With the camera gimbal in the level position, calibrate the view by flying in close proximity to the stick, observing where the stick is in relation to the lines on the screen.

The bottom line, I found that when the camera is pointing straight forward (not up or down), anything that is viewed outside the center box as you approach will not be in the flight path. It works great, although scary.

 

[Lapeer20m]

Nice precision flying! Please tell me you had prop guards on.

Of course I had prop guards on. Which takes a lot of risk out of the equation.

She broke 2 props when it crashed but landed gently on the seat. I didn’t actually fire it back up, but I imagine it’s just fine.

I kinda want a mp2, so I’ve been taking more risks with my mavic lately. It’s an amazing little bird.

I’ve flown this one over 200 miles and it just takes a lickin and keeps on tickin.

 

[Lapeer20m]

Also, When I went to put the cages on, I couldn’t find one of the special props....mavic requires short propellers to fit inside the DJI cages for those who didnt know.

So I just took a standard blade and “carefully” shortened it with a pair of scissors. The perfect length was right at the edge of the factory white paint near the tip, so it made it easy to cut each end exactly the same.

I don’t recommend this, but it flew fine and was completely unnoticeable.

 

[Lapeer20m]

Brilliant!

I've done some close proximity flying, not as close as that!

Here's my approach without guards. I turned on the cross hatch in the Go 4 app. Then I placed a tall stick in my driveway and "calibrated" the view with the close proximity to the stick. The bottom line, I found that when the camera is pointing straight forward (not up or down), anything that is viewed outside the center box as you approach will not be in the flight path. It works great, although scary.

View attachment 70660

I’ll have to try turning in the grid....I think this will be very valuable information for future close proximity flights!

Thank you for this!

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

I found that when the camera is pointing straight forward (not up or down), anything that is viewed outside the center box as you approach will not be in the flight path.

Great tip, thanks, I'll have to try that to ease my mind at times.

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@Lapeer20m you have the guards and cages ?
Have you used both before, and if so what do you think of the cages ?

I have guards (rarely used) and was thinking of getting cages . . . but they reduce fight time to 10 - 12 mins, and can only be used in tripod mode ?

Still might be worth it for some flights, they should make bumping things a lot less risky, some good tests in videos on YouTube.

 

[Lapeer20m]

Great tip, thanks, I'll have to try that to ease my mind at times.

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@Lapeer20m you have the guards and cages ?
Have you used both before, and if so what do you think of the cages ?

I have guards (rarely used) and was thinking of getting cages . . . but they reduce fight time to 10 - 12 mins, and can only be used in tripod mode ?

Still might be worth it for some flights, they should make bumping things a lot less risky, some good tests in videos on YouTube.

I only have DJI cages. I sometimes incorrectly refer to them as “guards”

I’ve had them for probably 2 years. They have their place but also have drawbacks.

The biggest issue is noise. The combination of smaller propellers carrying a heavily loaded aircraft equal props that spin at almost max motor speed and so much noise that I’m inclined to wear earplugs if flying indoors.

The next issue as you mentioned is flight time. It’s a trade off but 10 minutes of flying a really cool mission is way better than not being able to fly at all. You can literally run into and scrape against walls and other obstacles and just keep right on flying.

Another not so obvious downside is limited wind resistance. The cages act like giant sails and catch the wind. A slight breeze is ok, but a 10 or 20 mph wind makes mavic with cages for unsuitable conditions.

While Tripod mode is recommended, I can and do fly in p mode with cages. My Mavic flys at a max of about 12mph in p mode with cages. I think this parameter is chosen when you turn on the cages setting in the go4 app. It’s just that in tripod mode you can typically not damage the aircraft or inturrupt its flight if you strike an object. In p mode you can hit objects hard enough to allow the cages to deflect into the spinning propellers.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

I only have DJI cages. I sometimes incorrectly refer to them as “guards”

The biggest issue is noise. The combination of smaller propellers carrying a heavily loaded aircraft equal props that spin at almost max motor speed and so much noise that I’m inclined to wear earplugs if flying indoors.

The next issue as you mentioned is flight time. It’s a trade off but 10 minutes of flying a really cool mission is way better than not being able to fly at all. You can literally run into and scrape against walls and other obstacles and just keep right on flying.

Another not so obvious downside is limited wind resistance. The cages act like giant sails and catch the wind. A slight breeze is ok, but a 10 or 20 mph wind makes mavic with cages for unsuitable conditions.

While Tripod mode is recommended, I can and do fly in p mode with cages. My Mavic flys at a max of about 12mph in p mode with cages. I think this parameter is chosen when you turn on the cages setting in the go4 app. It’s just that in tripod mode you can typically not damage the aircraft or inturrupt its flight if you strike an object. In p mode you can hit objects hard enough to allow the cages to deflect into the spinning propellers.

The guards I have are quite good for most vertical things, but they'd be useless for finer branches etc.
Have only really tested them once, bumped up against an external house wall lightly and was great, MP just hovered against the wall and I could fly off it fine to continue.
I guess I might use them if I start flying indoors for whatever reason, or if I was going to fly in a forest like area low with tree trunks around.

Great point about the noise, I bet it screams !
So too the wind issues with greater surface area to get affected there.

Ah, so that is what the cages setting does, forces tripod.
Good to know you can fly in P mode ok, but you'd have to be sensible for sure.

I saw this video on YT early on was very impressed.
Flight tests start at 2:20, particularly interesting is 4:00 - 4:50, where they land it on fine leaf bushes and force into it, take off again.

Surely with these cages fitted, permissions could be granted to fly closer to people for shoots like private functions, weddings etc.
It seems pretty safe in the hands of a competent operator, perhaps under a countrys relative licenced pilots process.

 

[razoraerial]

Some awesome flying. Thank you for the share. Also thank you for the tip on the cross hatch. My favorite watch through bench gap. When I’m done flying I put mine in passenger seat too. Not the way you choose too though. Lol

 

[Jim Flannery K0UNX]

Been flying in between trees in ActiveTrack, and love the footage that I'm getting that way, but I was really REALLY impressed with how much precision you demonstrated in your video.

 

[grendeljaeger]

Thanks for sharing that cross hatch tip! I don't think I'll try flying as close to things as you do because I don't possess the
proficiency needed but it can help in normal flight around obstacles.You are a skilled pilot and that was an entertaining video.