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Would this have worked?

Thmoore

Well-Known Member
Premium Pilot
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Nov 17, 2019
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Age
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Location
Rockville, MD
So, I was flying at a park near the Potomac River last weekend, and was sorely tempted to fly along the canal, through this tunnel:

tunnel.png

...and then down the stream on the other side. (this photo is taken from the other side.) Would have been a very pretty shot. But I lost my nerve. There's a reasonable amount of physical clearance to fly the AC straight through, but I wasn't sure: Can the Mini fly in conditions like this? Is there enough air above it to hold itself aloft?

If the tunnel hadn't been full of water, I might have just tried it, but I didn't feel like going Mavic fishing that day.

Thoughts? Thanks!
 
Loss of signal once on the other side would be a concern.

Thank you. I think that part would have been ok; the tunnel is only 20-30 feet long.
 
May lose GPS signal once you enter tunnel. Drone may want to go up quickly. Tape over the sensor will help with this. If your not confident you shouldn't try flying in tight conditions especially over water. I know from experience. I would also have a slight concern about a draft coming through the tunnel.

Try practicing with smaller less hazardous obstacles such as a mounted hula hoop or a large tire. Build your skill and confidence towards the more fun and exciting obstacles and video.

Good Luck
 
May lose GPS signal once you enter tunnel. Drone may want to go up quickly. Tape over the sensor will help with this. If your not confident you shouldn't try flying in tight conditions especially over water. I know from experience. I would also have a slight concern about a draft coming through the tunnel.

Try practicing with smaller less hazardous obstacles such as a mounted hula hoop or a large tire. Build your skill and confidence towards the more fun and exciting obstacles and video.

Good Luck

Thank you! I’m getting less and less embarrassed about my lack of nerve.
 
I agree with the Starving Artist about loosing the GPS signal, especial since it is a long narrow cylinder but doubt the mini would rise due to the bottom sensor if you would be a couple of feet high before and going through the pipe.

On loosing GPS, I recently flew into my carport for a hand land and had to duck as the mini went into atti mode and coasted past me and I lost control not realizing that the mode had changed when suddenly loosing the GPS and does not stop on a dime. All stick inputs have to be counter-acted to cancel axis motion. I have no problem flying in "atti mode" when prepared for the different stick control needed.

I understand that taping some aluminum foil as a blocker on top of the mini over where the GPS sensor is will put it and keep it in "atti mode", just practice a bit in atti before getting that great shot! We want to see it!!
 
i don't think it was a lack of nerve,it was common sense you did not put your drone a risk that way it will last longer
you did something called a risk assessment
 
I see mainly 3 risks involved here ... 2 have already been mentioned earlier but perhaps not to the fully extent.

1. You will most probably lose GPS in there ... meaning that you will lose position hold, VPS sensors then... well close over streaming water may not be so position consistent at all. Block them & the AC goes into ATTI mode with the special skills needed in that case ...in a confined space.

2. Yeah ... losing connection on the other side is a obvious concern, can be remedied somewhat by setting the failsafe action to hover (if it's possible?) go to the other side & reconnect. But risky anyhow.

3. Magnetic interference in that concrete construction ... most probably steel reinforcement in there, which possibly can cause a yaw/magyaw disagreement ... you don't want that in there.
 
Try practicing with smaller less hazardous obstacles such as a mounted hula hoop or a large tire. Build your skill and confidence towards the more fun and exciting obstacles and video.

Good Luck
Love that idea but haven’t been able to find my hula hoop in some time.
 
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