Need advice on settings for launching off a cliff or a boat & flying out over open sea.

[f13dfx]

Will be going iceberg hunting in the East Coast & have never flown over open seas. I have flown several times over rapids with my Mavic 2 Pro before I acquired my Mavic 3. Here are a few of my questions:

1. Do I set my RTH to “Smart RTH”. Something tells me I should not set via height because the cliff I launched from is higher?

2. Seems unanimous that I turn OFF Obstacle Avoidance but isn’t the only way to do this is set the drone to “Sport Mode”?

3. For hand catching on a boat, I have read a lot of people saying to set Obstacle Avoidance to “Brake” which makes it easier. I have hand caught on dry land but never in open seas!

I have a Firehouse Arc II strobe light mounted at the top rearmost point on my Mavic 3 so I can keep VLOS as these icebergs could be as far as 2km from shore. I will also be using my Asus ROG 5 mobile gaming phone that has 2 USB-C ports that I can as an option connect my Epson Moverio BT-40 smartglasses to get a clear FPV view of what I’m shooting along with keeping VLOS at all times. Was planning on getting the RC Pro but decided not to because of random disconnect issues stated in various forums. I will be using UAV Forecast app to monitor for ideal flight conditions as I will be spending a week iceberg hunting.

Any advice on flying in the environments I just described above would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Since no one has had a crack at this I will offer the following.
I believe that the M3 now offers the choice between at least two styles of pilot triggered RTH
a) an old style climb-to-the-specified-height-and-fly home RTH and
b) a fancy one where it may or may not increase the height to some degree but primarily stays as low as possible and uses obstacle avoidance to steer around or over obstacles.

If flying from a cliff I can see an advantages and disadvantages to both,
a) causes the drone to climb, to above cliff top height, whilst the battery is 'freshest' but may lead to the drone being in strong wind.
b) may keep it out of wind but possibly leads to it having a substantial climb ( if it can indeed make such a climb ) near the end of the RTH when the battery charge is at its lowest. Also, could flying so that it ends up in a near-the-cliff-face-climb put the drone in an area of GPS shadow, which might cause problems, or bring it into proximity of seabird nesting colonies?

If I am correct I suspect the M3 can handle a fair amount of wind so I would favour a) but bear in mind that even the M3 has its limitations.
There is at least one youtube where the pilot flew an M3 a ridiculously long distance, down wind, over the sea and ended up having to land the drone on an island and hire a boat and crew to go and rescue the drone.
That said I would be wary of flying large distances out to sea with off shore winds.

 

[MS Coast]

Will be going iceberg hunting in the East Coast & have never flown over open seas. I have flown several times over rapids with my Mavic 2 Pro before I acquired my Mavic 3. Here are a few of my questions:

1. Do I set my RTH to “Smart RTH”. Something tells me I should not set via height because the cliff I launched from is higher?

2. Seems unanimous that I turn OFF Obstacle Avoidance but isn’t the only way to do this is set the drone to “Sport Mode”?

3. For hand catching on a boat, I have read a lot of people saying to set Obstacle Avoidance to “Brake” which makes it easier. I have hand caught on dry land but never in open seas!

I have a Firehouse Arc II strobe light mounted at the top rearmost point on my Mavic 3 so I can keep VLOS as these icebergs could be as far as 2km from shore. I will also be using my Asus ROG 5 mobile gaming phone that has 2 USB-C ports that I can as an option connect my Epson Moverio BT-40 smartglasses to get a clear FPV view of what I’m shooting along with keeping VLOS at all times. Was planning on getting the RC Pro but decided not to because of random disconnect issues stated in various forums. I will be using UAV Forecast app to monitor for ideal flight conditions as I will be spending a week iceberg hunting.

Any advice on flying in the environments I just described above would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Nothing to add in response to your questions, but I do like the photo you're using for your avatar. Subtle and significant.

 

[GadgetGuy]

RC-Pro does not have any "random disconnect issues" on the latest FW. It's signal power output is 4x stronger than the RC-N1 signal, reducing problems.
Smart RTH is a battery issue. It can simply be cancelled if you aren’t ready to turn around or want to fly back manually. Open seas are no different than open land. Set your RTH height to clear the tallest ice berg from your launch point. Handcatching on an anchored or nonmoving boat in open seas is no different than handcatching on dry land. OA can simply be turned off in settings.

 

[old man mavic]

@f13dfx flying from the cliff
make sure that you choose a day with an onshore wind direction
as the RTH height is set using the take off or home point as reference you do not have to set it very high unless there are any tall structures where you intend to take of from
depending on the relative height of the cliff in relation to the ocean below ,factor that in, so as not to break the 400ft rule as you may have to descend once you are away from the cliff to maintain that height above the water below
and remember that you will need to keep a clear line between the RC antennas and the drone so be careful as you will have to be very near the cliff edge to do so if you have to descend very far below the cliff to maintain the 400ft limit
flying from a boat
this is a whole different scenario and there are several factors to consider depending on the type of boat whether it is at anchor or moving etc, it is not something to be taken lightly and needs experience to pull off successfully if you dont want your drone to end up in the water,whatever method you choose just be mindful that your drone is going to be difficult to recover if at all if it goes down

 

[Meta4]

1. Do I set my RTH to “Smart RTH”. Something tells me I should not set via height because the cliff I launched from is higher?

There is no need to do anything different for your RTH settings.
Just use an RTH height sufficient to clear any obstacles that could be between you and the drone.

2. Seems unanimous that I turn OFF Obstacle Avoidance but isn’t the only way to do this is set the drone to “Sport Mode”?

You should be able to disable obstacle avoidance in the app settings.
Surely they haven't taken that way too?

3. For hand catching on a boat, I have read a lot of people saying to set Obstacle Avoidance to “Brake” which makes it easier. I have hand caught on dry land but never in open seas!

There are a few things about flying from a boat that are different from what you are used to.
Out at sea is the worst place to be learning new techniques, so make sure you have practised everything you'll need on dry land before you go.

Any advice on flying in the environments I just described above would be greatly appreciated.

Be aware that if the boat is sailing, your homepoint is back where you were when you launched and it could be miles away.
To avoid a situation where the drone heads back there for a low battery RTH you will need to reset the home point every 5 mins or so to keep the home point near enough to where you are.
If the drone is close enough, it won't matter if you reset to the drone's location or yours.

Retrieving a drone from a moving boat is more difficult that anyone who has only flown on land can imagine.
Make sure you bring it in while there is still lots of battery, because it will probably take a few attempts.

 

[marshvet]

I have been considering learning and practicing hand launch and land. From what I am reading here, do you NEED to disable Obstacle Avoidance to do so? Thanks.

 

[oztx]

I have been considering learning and practicing hand launch and land. From what I am reading here, do you NEED to disable Obstacle Avoidance to do so? Thanks.

No, hand catching is possible even with obstacle avoidance on.

The "trick" is to hold the catching hand under the M3 for a few seconds without moving and then land the M3 into it using the RC controls.

 

[marshvet]

No, hand catching is possible even with obstacle avoidance on.

The "trick" is to hold the catching hand under the M3 for a few seconds without moving and then land the M3 into it using the RC controls.

Thanks!!

 

[Zbip57]

Retrieving a drone from a moving boat is more difficult than anyone who has only flown on land can imagine.

It helps to have an assistant willing to do the hand-catching.

Fly behind a moving boat, and try to bring it in close enough to attempt a landing on deck or hand-catch. But, when you take your hands off the controls to try to grab the drone, the drone stops and hovers, while the boat keeps on moving, leaving the drone behind. If you're lucky the drone just hovers as the boat moves cleanly out from underneath. If you're unlucky, the drone tangles with lines and rigging, etc., and then still falls overboard.

You need to actively keep flying the drone to keep pace with a moving boat, which might also simultaneously be heaving up/down. It ain't easy, and you need a very trusting assistant willing to sacrifice fingers on your behalf.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

For a boat landing/hand-catch OA would NEED to be off otherwise the drone will not come near the boat.
For a hand catch whilst on land, it might be wise to switch (horizontal) OA off during the attempt, it could complicate matters if it detected you etc.
From memory, with a Mavic 2 Pro, OA is switched off during the descent phase of an RTH and I guess an M3 will do the same but my one and only (newbie) attempt to land or hand catch (not in RTH) a Mavic 2 Pro with OA on ended in near disaster.
I went into panic mode i.e. brainless, and ended up standing on tip toes to reach up and pull the drone out of the air.

 

[MS Coast]

One of those Kevlar gloves people get for cleaning fish and doing kitchen knife work is a good addition to your hand catching kit. The edge of a propeller moving at 450 mph can do some damage to a finger. Especially when it has three friends in the fight. (25,000 rpm, 6 in diameter prop)

Zulay Cut Resistant Gloves Food Grade Level 5 Protection - Comfortable Safety Cutting Gloves - Cut Resistant Work Gloves: Amazon.com: Tools & Home Improvement

Zulay Cut Resistant Gloves Food Grade Level 5 Protection - Comfortable Safety Cutting Gloves - Cut Resistant Work Gloves: Amazon.com: Tools & Home Improvement

smile.amazon.com

 

[f13dfx]

Definitely not going to attempt hand catching on a moving boat. We’ll be stopped when attempting to do a hand catch if swells are such that landing on the deck is not possible!

 

[f13dfx]

When flying out to an iceberg from a cliff like in the attached photo, would the Mavic 3’s altimeter recalculate the AGL altitude from when I launch from the cliff? Or does the altimeter go to a negative altitude. Sorry, just checking all scenarios! Not many cliffs where I live & fly.

 

[old man mavic]

it only knows its height above the home point ,so even if the ground drops away ,the height on the screen will show that height ,not the actual height above the ground ,or in your case the water where it is at the time ,if you drop down below the height of the home point then the height shown will go into a negative reading

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

One of those Kevlar gloves people get for cleaning fish and doing kitchen knife work is a good addition to your hand catching kit. The edge of a propeller moving at 450 mph can do some damage to a finger. Especially when it has three friends in the fight. (25,000 rpm, 6 in diameter prop)

Zulay Cut Resistant Gloves Food Grade Level 5 Protection - Comfortable Safety Cutting Gloves - Cut Resistant Work Gloves: Amazon.com: Tools & Home Improvement

Zulay Cut Resistant Gloves Food Grade Level 5 Protection - Comfortable Safety Cutting Gloves - Cut Resistant Work Gloves: Amazon.com: Tools & Home Improvement

smile.amazon.com

Just a point, I'd be wary of cut resistant gloves that do not have a rubber/grippy coating. 'Cloth' on plastic might prove a slippy combination and result on the drone going for a deep sea dive.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Definitely not going to attempt hand catching on a moving boat. We’ll be stopped when attempting to do a hand catch if swells are such that landing on the deck is not possible!

That's what I thought, from your original description.

 

[GadgetGuy]

When flying out to an iceberg from a cliff like in the attached photo, would the Mavic 3’s altimeter recalculate the AGL altitude from when I launch from the cliff? Or does the altimeter go to a negative altitude. Sorry, just checking all scenarios! Not many cliffs where I live & fly. View attachment 146953

You'll be fine flying from a cliff to the iceberg. Mavic 3 knows nothing about AGL. It only measures differences in elevation from your launch point with a barometer. You can fly as low as you want below the cliff, but you cannot fly more than 500m above your launch point, even if below 400' AGL. Just a DJI limitation. The height displayed in the app will go negative as soon as you are below your launch point. Not a problem. Your RTH set altitude will be above your launch point, not above the ocean below the aircraft.

 

[Robert Prior]

When flying out to an iceberg from a cliff like in the attached photo, would the Mavic 3’s altimeter recalculate the AGL altitude from when I launch from the cliff? Or does the altimeter go to a negative altitude.

Assuming it's like the Mavic 2, it will show negative. My favourite flying spot is a rehabilitated gravel pit, and I usually launch from the rim (because it has the best visibility for VLOS). When I descend into the pit, the altimeter shows a negative altitude.

 

[UAVquadman]

try hand catching it on this boat doing 50mph. (a few days ago)