Tricks to takeoff from and land on a boat?

[Ferdinand]

Done quite a bit of flying off smaller boats and have always used atti mode on the Phantoms and Inspires. The boat usually drifts along with the wind, and so does your uav so you’re not fighting gps-hold the whole time. There’s a simple hack for the Mavic to allow atti, so my tripod mode is now atti and my preferred way of flying.

 

[Gringorio]

There’s a simple hack for the Mavic to allow atti, so my tripod mode is now atti and my preferred way of flying.

That's what we do with the Phantom 4's. I looked into the hack for the M2P before the last gig and was a bit intimidated so didn't attempt it. You're right though, atti mode can be a big help for this kind of flying.

 

[Ferdinand]

That's what we do with the Phantom 4's. I looked into the hack for the M2P before the last gig and was a bit intimidated so didn't attempt it. You're right though, atti mode can be a big help for this kind of flying.

It’s really not difficult. I’ve applied the hack multiple times as you have to redo it after each firmware update.
I wouldn’t want to try and land on a moving vessel without atti.

I think the Phantom formfactor is the best for hand catching. The Inspire is a bit big but do-able and the Mavic 2 a bit small.

 

[Luckyroo]

Had a browse of comments all good stuff from helpful users

I used my mp on river recently to help tour boat co with some vid. Small jet boat 35ft.

It seemed obvious to

During launch ensure the boat was moving if any away from drone and into the wind.

On return it was similar

About catching there are many vids on how to. What I learnt from 1 article was. Instead of holding the drone fighting the motors while pulling down on the sticks is simply rotate the drone rapidly to 90degree which auto turns turns off the motors Takes a little practice but well worth it as u need to allow for contingencies like swaying boat and holding a beam to support so 1 hand free is a bonus. Try the worst case scenario in an open land area to discover the threats and disaster recovery before u go live

About hand catch launch
Few yes back I recorded info on various devices I found useful or tested as useless lol
In this link is a google doc full of info. Go to the bookmark of hand catch and u will find several cheap 90cm long grabbers I still use it to launch catch my magic pro of the apartment balcony

Welcome to thaibis.com

Good luck
By the way I also found it invaluable to warn everyone of the boat of likely odd behaviour by me or the drone so they would not have panic attack as anarchy is contagious

Best wishes

 

[Te Rangitira]

Turn off bottom sensors (mavic pro) makes it easier to catch

 

[baddog]

How is it done? Boat on a lake, river, sea, calm or choppy waters...

I have done from my kayak on a windy day, not an easy task with a mavic pro. There is not a lot to hold on to or grab for...

I wonder if this would help...

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[tillmanclt]

We do this fairly regularly as a water rescue unit. We have developed a safe, reliable way to do this, but it requires two people. We have built a basket that is about 36 in (1m) square by 12 in deep (30cm) out of pvc pipe. 3/4"(1cm) dia. We then covered it with light netting (sides and bottom). You will need to have prop guards on your aircraft. (Should anyway when trying something like this). Before launch, set home to the controller! We have found it best to launch by hand off the side of the boat. When the aircraft takes off, GPS takes over and if the boat is moving any at all, the aircraft will not move relative to the boat. By launching high and off side, it is safer. We have also found that recovering from the bow is best. This way the boat driver can see the aircraft and adjust speed. The observer sits at the bow and then holds the basket up. As the pilot maneuvers the aircraft over the basket. The pilot drops the aircraft into the basket and kills motors. The aircraft has to have the landing sensors turned off! Not only are you dealing with lateral motion, the boat is also moving vertically and this really messes with the vision sensors. Add flying over water to that and it gets tricky. Also, start your return home at no less than 30% on your battery. Landing takes a lot more time, even with the capture device. Here is a video from early tests. We have launched and recovered this way now multiple times with no issues. UAS Information Sharing and Analysis Organization

 

[charlas]

Hand launched and cough my air when in Greece a month ago, been practicing landing the m2p as well, once you know how it's easy enough, just remember not to grab/catch it, rather put your hand flat and "land" on the palm of your hand.

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[Thomas B]

Hand launched and cough my air when in Greece a month ago, been practicing landing the m2p as well, once you know how it's easy enough, just remember not to grab/catch it, rather put your hand flat and "land" on the palm of your hand.

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Scanned the video. Noticed some cool shots. Can’t get myself to watch a video this long that’s not actively teaching me something.

 

[Meta4]

Before launch, set home to the controller!

There's no need to do this before launching.
You can reset the home point at any time but it's just for where the controller was at that instant.
It does not update and follow you.

 

[Thomas B]

There's no need to do this before launching.
You can reset the home point at any time but it's just for where the controller was at that instant.
It does not update and follow you.

@Meta4 is spot on. Homepoint is never truly dynamic, just reset... this helps but bringing it to you on a moving platform to hand catch is a manual task.

 

[gusri.candra]

Exactly
Goin’ flying now.., back after 8pm

Many Pilots mislead about this information from DJI. Need to pay attention

 

[Quad Pipe]

I nearly had a very bad experience flying my M2P off a friend's speedboat the first time I tried a few months ago.

I got some good footage and it was time to bring the drone back since the battery was getting low. I had set the controller as the home point but somehow the setting didn't stick, so to speak - definitely a user error from my side. The one thing you don't take into account is the amount of sensory input you are receiving when flying the drone from a boat with people on board. It is not the same as standing by yourself in a field and flying.

Anyway, it was around sunset, sky was grey and overcast and I was using the map to navigate the drone back to the boat since we had lost VLOS due to the conditions. Suddenly the drone initiates an emergency RTH and changes direction and is gone. I was now at an absolute panic. Big expanse of water, map not helping (probably because I was in panic mode) and I had lost all orientation. It was then that my mate, the skipper, asked me if it was possible that the drone had returned to the original take off point. It was also at this point that I was cancelling emergency landings and battery was at zero percent and the controller said that the done was hovering a few meters above the water. I had resigned myself to a lost drone and an insurance claim.

I told the skipper he was probably right but that I had no idea where we were when we took off. Thankfully he did, since he is at the river so often and knows it like he does his back yard. He broke every rule of the boat club getting back to take off point. We now had everyone on the boat trying to spot the drone. My wife spotted the drone hovering a few meters above the water and I managed to hand land it, which was a feat in itself due to very choppy water. Hand landing and take off for me has always been a very cool thing and even since my Spark days, that is my preferred method of take off and landing so I am very adept at doing it with my M2P, which I think really helped me in this situation.

Story had a happy ending but it could have turned into an insurance claim. I tried again the next morning on the boat and it is extremely difficult to hand catch. I ended up with some broken props and almost a M2P-turned-submarine, but that's a story for another time.

One very interesting point is that I managed to keep the M2P hovering for about 5 minutes with a zero percent battery indicator and was able to cancel a few auto initiated landing sequences. Some subsequent googling revealed that even when you have a zero % battery reading, there is still a little left in the tank for emergencies, as I found out. This is not something I would advocate putting to the test too often...

 

[charlas]

Scanned the video. Noticed some cool shots. Can’t get myself to watch a video this long that’s not actively teaching me something.

Hey all good, Don't expect people to if they dont want to, just had some stuff from off the boat in it

 

[Maverick23]

You need to make sure the boat is completely still and not moving in space. DJI products are not designed to land while moving through GPS latitude/longitude. So it will land in the coordinates wherever you initiate the land command... And do a hand catch as to not hit the props on the boat floor that may move up and down. Make sure you have enough battery to try this a few times incase the water is rough and the boat may move through GPS space. There’s a video of someone trying to land the mavic in the back of a moving pickup truck and he could NOT do it. Just messed up the drone over and over again.

 

[Maverick23]

I nearly had a very bad experience flying my M2P off a friend's speedboat the first time I tried a few months ago.

I got some good footage and it was time to bring the drone back since the battery was getting low. I had set the controller as the home point but somehow the setting didn't stick, so to speak - definitely a user error from my side. The one thing you don't take into account is the amount of sensory input you are receiving when flying the drone from a boat with people on board. It is not the same as standing by yourself in a field and flying.

Anyway, it was around sunset, sky was grey and overcast and I was using the map to navigate the drone back to the boat since we had lost VLOS due to the conditions. Suddenly the drone initiates an emergency RTH and changes direction and is gone. I was now at an absolute panic. Big expanse of water, map not helping (probably because I was in panic mode) and I had lost all orientation. It was then that my mate, the skipper, asked me if it was possible that the drone had returned to the original take off point. It was also at this point that I was cancelling emergency landings and battery was at zero percent and the controller said that the done was hovering a few meters above the water. I had resigned myself to a lost drone and an insurance claim.

I told the skipper he was probably right but that I had no idea where we were when we took off. Thankfully he did, since he is at the river so often and knows it like he does his back yard. He broke every rule of the boat club getting back to take off point. We now had everyone on the boat trying to spot the drone. My wife spotted the drone hovering a few meters above the water and I managed to hand land it, which was a feat in itself due to very choppy water. Hand landing and take off for me has always been a very cool thing and even since my Spark days, that is my preferred method of take off and landing so I am very adept at doing it with my M2P, which I think really helped me in this situation.

Story had a happy ending but it could have turned into an insurance claim. I tried again the next morning on the boat and it is extremely difficult to hand catch. I ended up with some broken props and almost a M2P-turned-submarine, but that's a story for another time.

One very interesting point is that I managed to keep the M2P hovering for about 5 minutes with a zero percent battery indicator and was able to cancel a few auto initiated landing sequences. Some subsequent googling revealed that even when you have a zero % battery reading, there is still a little left in the tank for emergencies, as I found out. This is not something I would advocate putting to the test too often...

What kind of insurance will replace your drone in this situation?

 

[Quad Pipe]

What kind of insurance will replace your drone in this situation?

An insurance company here in South Africa came up with a drone specific product that covers you for anything which includes pilot error, dumping into river/sea, losing it in flight, crashing, theft, etc. In terms of the policy you will have to surrender all the flight logs. There is also a public liability amount included which they will increase if you do certain competency tests as a hobbyist. Relatively speaking it is a little pricey but is worth it for peace of mind.

 

[charlas]

Got DJI Care-Refresh, plus CoverDrone cover, the coverdrone has pub liability etc (also have it through flying club, but rather not have to use it if possible) and covers me for complete loss/theft etc too. Which is great.

Care-Refresh only last's a year in the UK, and unlike the USA where it can be extended, we don't get that option, so had CoverDrone cover on my drones for a little while now, just safer that way, and don't have to try claim on home/travel/car insurance if stolen or have a complete loss etc.

 

[dirktwa]

I didnt need to hand land or hand catch. Boat was big enough and ankered. Easy game.

 

[dixiefla]

Can't you update the "RTH to controller" during flight? I haven't tried it (I will today) but think you can. If so, just update it just before clicking RTH