Need to learn about waypoints

Dbez1 · Dec 20, 2023

I passed my 107 about 1.5 years ago and have done some Real Estate work but want to take it to the next level. The obvious step is to learn to do waypoints on my Air2S. I am aware that it may involve a secondary control app but there’s no one around here that I can learn from. In my internet search for “how to’s”, they are either too superficial or too fast paced. How did some of you learn waypoints and do you have recommendations for helpful uTube videos etc? Thanks in advance.

Droning on and on... · Dec 20, 2023

Internet research, experimenting with safe missions, asking questions on line.

Don't be intimidated. It looks daunting while you are not knowledgeable. However, it's not really that complicated.

Start with some simple, meaningless missions with 3-4 waypoints contained within the area of a baseball or football field of a local high school, so you can easily watch everything it does directly.

zeusfl · Dec 20, 2023

Open an account in Dronelink or Litchi and will be easier and fun.
I personally like dronelink since i own a grandfather account perpetual.

mavic3usa · Dec 20, 2023

zeusfl said:
Open an account in Dronelink or Litchi and will be easier and fun.
I personally like dronelink since i own a grandfather account perpetual.

Huh, did I miss something?

This account is on a previous version of the Free plan.
The legacy Free plan has been discontinued. Please upgrade your account to continue flying!
Member since Oct 31, 2019

zeusfl · Dec 20, 2023

mavic3usa said:
Huh, did I miss something?

This account is on a previous version of the Free plan.
The legacy Free plan has been discontinued. Please upgrade your account to continue flying!
Member since Oct 31, 2019

I used to have the paid version $100 cost perpetual and then they change to a subscription model. I still own a Hobbiest+ account with professional privileges. This by elder licensing agreements. They are a excellent company and will not let you down.

mavic3usa · Dec 20, 2023

zeusfl said:
I used to have the paid version $100 cost perpetual and then they change to a subscription model. I still own a Hobbiest+ account with professional privileges. This by elder licensing agreements. They are a excellent company and will not let you down.

Ok sounds good; I will check back with them, it's been awhile for me. Thanks.

Sam36401 · Dec 20, 2023

Dbez1 said:
The obvious step is to learn to do waypoints on my Air2S.

Here is a YouTube video about a Grid Mission Tool called Ancient.Land
Its a good way (a.k.a FREE) to learn about waypoints, if you would like to create a orthomosaic of some property.
The link to the Mission Tool is here => Grid Mission Designer
Litchi is great. Its not free and doesnt have a trial period
Several other mission planning tools have a trial period.

DougMcC · Dec 21, 2023

Litchi works well on the Air 2S AND you can work out the way points and check the flight by flying it on Google earth. The site has all the education and examples for free - unless that’s changed.

Dbez1 · Dec 21, 2023

I appreciate all the feedback. I’ve been looking at the IPhone apps and there’s Litchi for DJI Drones and Osmo for $24.99. Is that for a full year and is that the correct app for my needs? Are there hidden fees? Also, if I put it on my iPad, will I be able to access it on my iPhone (on the same account)? Again, thanks in advance.

Sam36401 · Dec 21, 2023

The $24.99 is a one time (good forever) price. If you purchase the iOS version, you can install it on any other iOS device that you have as long as you use the same Apple Login credentials.
Yes, you can share missions between devices (again, as long as you are logged into the same Litchi account)
Create them from the Mission Hub, save them ...go out to the field, load them on your iPad or phone and fly them.

Dbez1 · Dec 21, 2023

Thanks Sam for the quick and very helpful response.

Droning on and on... · Dec 21, 2023

@Dbez1 Litchi is awesome, been using it going back to the Phantom 4. Only issue is DJI's withdrawal of support for autonomous execution in third-party apps like Litchi, ending with the Mavic 2.

The 'Virtual Stick" operation that DJI has made available on some DJI drones since the M2 leaves much to be desired, and for most post-M2 drones the app is the new, under-development Litchi Pilot, not Litchi, the former having bugs and being very feature-limited compared to Litchi.

For these reasons if you go the Litchi route to get your waypoint legs, I'd strongly recommend picking up a used older drone that supports Litchi and on-board waypoints, like the M2P or M2Z. The first Mavic Air, and Mavic Pro, as well as the Phantoms all work with Litchi.

If you want to use a more recent drone like the Minis, Air 2(S), Mavic 3 (non-enterprise) you're looking at Virtual Stick operation, and the limited Litchi Pilot app. I can't recommend this solution at this point.

Rather, for a more modern drone I'd recommend the Mini 4 Pro, Air 3, or Mavic 3 and use the DJI waypoint functionality integrated in DJI Fly. It's based on the same on-board, autonomous execution that works with Litchi on older drones.

Sam36401 · Dec 21, 2023

Droning on and on... said:
If you want to use a more recent drone like the Minis, Air 2(S), Mavic 3 (non-enterprise) you're looking at Virtual Stick operation, and the limited Litchi Pilot app.

That not completely true. The version of Litchi that has been around for quite a while will work the any drones that are based on DJI's MSDKv4 which does include the Air 2S, Mini, Mini 2 and Mini SE.

I do agree, that the older drones with on-board waypoints (the ones you mentioned M2P, Zoom, Air, Pro, Phantom, etc) are better performers because of their autonomous flight capability.

zeusfl · Dec 21, 2023

Droning on and on... said:
@Dbez1 Litchi is awesome, been using it going back to the Phantom 4. Only issue is DJI's withdrawal of support for autonomous execution in third-party apps like Litchi, ending with the Mavic 2.

The 'Virtual Stick" operation that DJI has made available on some DJI drones since the M2 leaves much to be desired, and for most post-M2 drones the app is the new, under-development Litchi Pilot, not Litchi, the former having bugs and being very feature-limited compared to Litchi.

For these reasons if you go the Litchi route to get your waypoint legs, I'd strongly recommend picking up a used older drone that supports Litchi and on-board waypoints, like the M2P or M2Z. The first Mavic Air, and Mavic Pro, as well as the Phantoms all work with Litchi.

If you want to use a more recent drone like the Minis, Air 2(S), Mavic 3 (non-enterprise) you're looking at Virtual Stick operation, and the limited Litchi Pilot app. I can't recommend this solution at this point.

Rather, for a more modern drone I'd recommend the Mini 4 Pro, Air 3, or Mavic 3 and use the DJI waypoint functionality integrated in DJI Fly. It's based on the same on-board, autonomous execution that works with Litchi on older drones.

When the Mavic 3 does not have SDK the waypoint missions that DJI releases on the DJI Fly app softwares support finish the mission after lose signal. This mean the Mavic 3 is capable to do onboard missions and I personally tested. However, without the SDK is very hard to make this work with 3rd party apps.

Here the video testing this.

Dbez1 · Dec 21, 2023

Just a reminder that I have an Air2S and would prefer not to purchase a different model at this time. The camera is very competent for my purposes and I am comfortable with the drone. All is well if I can learn waypoints and so far, Litchi seems to be the most recommended app. Many thanks to those who have participated.

TheGroove · Dec 21, 2023

zeusfl said:
When the Mavic 3 does not have SDK the waypoint missions that DJI releases on the DJI Fly app softwares support finish the mission after lose signal. This mean the Mavic 3 is capable to do onboard missions and I personally tested. However, without the SDK is very hard to make this work with 3rd party apps.

Here the video testing this.

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The main reason I don't use it is because short of globally changing the speed of the drone, you cannot control the speed of the waypoints in any way on the Mavic 3 (or Pro). I'm always stuck with circle or course lock for this, I've researched other third party vendors that have these (what seem like basic) features but clearly DJI is locking them out by not releasing a SDK. They either need to be able to compete or allow others to work with their platform.

Dbez1 · Dec 21, 2023

TheGroove, are the limitations that concern you applicable to the Air2S also?

Dbez1 · Dec 21, 2023

Sorry for so many questions but I’m trying to learn from you more experienced with waypoints in Litchi…
Is it possible to fly a mission around a house slowly, changing altitude to avoid hazards like wires, dropping waypoints in the process, and then have the quad smoothly fly the mission while recording video? I think I might prefer this method versus programming it on a computer and exporting it to the drone. Am I thinking correctly here?

Sam36401 · Dec 21, 2023

Dbez1 said:
dropping waypoints in the process

Yes, you can. You can set a button on the controller to:
Waypoint at Aircraft (Waypoint): In Waypoint mode, adds a waypoint at the aircraft location. The newly added waypoint will have its altitude, heading and gimbal pitch angle automatically set to the current aircraft altitude, heading and gimbal pitch angle.
Then you can save the mission and fly it again and again. Or, modify it if you need to. Flight speed can be controlled for each waypoint, or set to fly at a constant speed for the whole mission.