Winter gear

Mbmplymouth · Dec 8, 2018

When flying your Mavic pro what kind of gear do you bring to keep those cold cold days comfortable when you fly?

Canuk · Dec 8, 2018

In the cab with the heater going .

Mbmplymouth · Dec 8, 2018

cdonovin · Dec 9, 2018

Hahahaha wasn't expecting that

Inspirephil · Dec 9, 2018

Canuk said:
In the cab with the heater going .

Where exactly are you using this?

Canuk · Dec 9, 2018

Northern Alberta touring on old oil roads and cut lines . I put on a 1000 miles this fall and many hours flying . Out in no mans land

Places like this or going to one of our cabins

I use it lots going to our cabins as 2 of them are way off-road

Tbredhed · Dec 9, 2018

Canuk said:
In the cab with the heater going .

Love it Canuk, I want to get one for our cabin but the wife has put her foot down "no more toys!"

I either fly from the cab of my truck or from the house, I live in the country so lots of room to fly.
Cheers.

Porky · Dec 9, 2018

Canuk said:
In the cab with the heater going .

How can you beat that for keeping warm, i was going to suggest gloves, don’t think I’ll bother now..

Drone on · Dec 9, 2018

Car...it's amazing how well it works. I would have thought it not work at all. Really, it changes everything. There is no off season, now. Except, I'm pretty much left to the weekend in late fall, winter, early spring. Still, better than not flying.

Mbmplymouth · Dec 9, 2018

I using handwarmer thermal and break in between battery change oh hot coffee

Mbmplymouth · Dec 9, 2018

There no signal break when you are flying inside your car ? I going to try it and if it works my life just got a little better!

Porky · Dec 10, 2018

Where I fly I can’t take my car with me so I’m open to all the elements

think I’ll have to try the coffee break that @Mbmplymouth recommends, only problem I can see with that though, I’ll be wanting to peee all the time

but I’ll give it a try

Drone on · Dec 10, 2018

Mbmplymouth said:
There no signal break when you are flying inside your car ? I going to try it and if it works my life just got a little better!

In general, no.

However, range can be affected, but not always.

As always, range depends on the environment you are flying in. Still, there is plenty of range for LOS, and then some, wink, wink. The technique works directly over head, and behind the vehicle as well. If you do lose signal, as I have once, simply get out of the car, and the signal will strengthen. Cancel the RTH in progress, fly back a little ways toward your home point, then back in the car and resume/continue control

I was nervous about it the first time I tried it, but now I don't even think about it. I stay in the car comfortable with a drink holder.
The best part of all is that once the drone is up and gone, if anyone sees you sitting in the car, I suspect they think you are looking at your phone, which you are; occasionally, wink wink

You can still keep LOS through the windshield, side windows, and moon/sun roof without the aid of a visual observer, or other apparatus. I don't believe there is any law against flying from inside your car looking out the windows, so long as the car is stationary.

If you have a visual observer, goggles work well inside the car, also. And, if you have tinted windows, the DJI goggles look less like a toilet seat on your head to anyone who may see into your car. If they are at a distance looking into your car, they may not be able to see you at all. If they are close enough to peer in, you have equal right to say, "WTF?".

Who knew?

This could be the single best improvement to DJI goggle sales.

I have yet to keep the car running. It's generally warm enough without the engine running; especially being that there is no wind beating up on you for 20+ minutes.

I just realized, if need be, I can activate the accessory position of the vehicle' electrical, and use the seat warmer. It's really not needed though.

The monitor is very clear as there is no glare from the sun, so you can turn your monitor brightness down to conserve the device' battery life. No need for a sun hood. The image is crystal sky clear. There goes that money.

The drone spare batteries are not subject to the elements, so the spare batteries benefit as well. When it's time, I return home, land, swap out batteries, repeat.

No need for gloves and a stylus to work the app. There goes that money.

This technique should also be welcome relief in the summer, but we will likely need the AC as the glass will convert the car into an oven. This should be no problem as a running engine does not create radio frequencies. Does it? Anyone? If it does, it's not likely the frequencies are 2.8, or 5.X. So, no problem?

Being that no one sees you standing there for 20+ minutes, this could open up many more locations to fly in. I'm thinking parking lots.

To be clear, I launch and land outside of the car. Then as the drone is hovering and visualizing it's home point, I get back in the car, then off she goes.

It's a bit tricky to manage setting up and breaking down the gear inside the car, but with a little practice...easey peasey. Some of the set up can be done before you head to your flying site. Still, it may be best to minimize the gear. I don't hesitate to use ND filters, but would balk at adjusting for polarizers.

The more I use this technique, the more I realize that there may be no better way to fly your drone; especially since drones are the hot news topic these days. Spy versus Spy..

There are many benefits. It's as if you have your own personal mobile command center, and the backseat can serve as a store room for additional gear and accessories. I am really getting lazy.

I turn all the gear on inside the car prior to take off, and check all my pre-flight boxes. Typically, the magnetic interference of the car causes a warning, and there is a request of the app to calibrate, but once I step outside of the car to launch, those warnings disappear. One final check on IMU strength, Calibration strength, and home point having been recorded, and I'm good to take-off, so I do.

I have yet to use the car radio while flying. I can't imagine that would interfere as the radio frequencies should not conflict. Thoughts, anyone?

Try it. It works well.