Cautious or to cautious.

[Ste]

First of all this forum is BRILLIANT.

I was asked to take footage of an area very close to a high level bridge in Urmston, Manchester, UK. I declined due to a post on here. (Interference with compas due to huge metal structures) where a poor sod lost his drone.

Without this forum I would 'possibly' or 'probably ' not still have my drone.

Spending over £1000 on a drone is not for the feint hearted and flying it safely is paramount.

Is there anything I could download or apply to help me recover my P4 in the worst case scenario?

 

[booziebrooks]

Bump for this. I would like to know also

 

[Fester]

My instructor in collage always had a motto on the chalkboard..."When in doubt, don't!"

 

[Brockrock]

There are electronic trackers that you can affix to the copter in case it goes down out of sight, and there are even automatically released flotation devices on a string that assist in recovering the copter if it crashes and sinks in water. You can search this forum for numerous posts regarding these things.

That said, it is my opinion that these are inherently reliable systems that do what we instruct them to do and react to what we subject them to. So, based on this, I would suggest that the best 'insurance policy' against loss is a thourough knowledge of the system and all of its programmed behaviors. As you stated in your post - and great judgement by the way - you did not subject your copter to a particular environment due to the possibility of loss. Keep up this judgement, and you should be fine..

 

[Meta4]

I was asked to take footage of an area very close to a high level bridge in Urmston, Manchester, UK. I declined due to a post on here. (Interference with compas due to huge metal structures) where a poor sod lost his drone.
Is there anything I could download or apply to help me recover my P4 in the worst case scenario?

How close to the bridge would you have had to fly?
Magnetic fields drop off very quickly with distance.
If the flight required distances of 1-3 metres, there would definitely have been compass issues.
But if was, say 15+ metres you might have had no issues.
If you get into a compass error situation being close to a lot of steel you would see the Phantom start to slowly spiral around rather than hovering in position.
You can experiment with this and see for yourself what it is like by slowly descending towards a steel roof.
At around 1.5 metres, the drone will wander a little and do the slow spiral.
Left stick up and you exit the magnetic field and it's back to normal.
If you were at this kind of distance, I'd expect no issues at all:

 

[r62ewa]

How close to the bridge would you have had to fly?
Magnetic fields drop off very quickly with distance.
If the flight required distances of 1-3 metres, there would definitely have been compass issues.
But if was, say 15+ metres you might have had no issues.
If you get into a compass error situation being close to a lot of steel you would see the Phantom start to slowly spiral around rather than hovering in position.
You can experiment with this and see for yourself what it is like by slowly descending towards a steel roof.
At around 1.5 metres, the drone will wander a little and do the slow spiral.
Left stick up and you exit the magnetic field and it's back to normal.
If you were at this kind of distance, I'd expect no issues at all:

Was that photo taken with your Phantom 4? Amazing quality. I find my 4k video is very clear and crisp but the images are not to the quality of this image.

 

[Meta4]

Was that photo taken with your Phantom 4? Amazing quality. I find my 4k video is very clear and crisp but the images are not to the quality of this image.

Thanks ...It's from the P4 pro and looks much better full screen.
Everything in this gallery was done with the P4 pro: Shipping 2017 - Above & Beyond Photography

 

[RémyHeli]

Ste,

Be also careful if you got some mandate to take footage around those sites or more modern monuments made of stone. I would never take the risk even probability to affect compass is low.

 

[Meta4]

Be also careful if you got some mandate to take footage around those sites or more modern monuments made of stone. I would never take the risk even probability to affect compass is low.

What is the magnetic field coming from?
Is it iron deposits in the stones themselves or something in the ground nearby?
Rather than a machine that beeps, what does a low-tech magnetic compass show?
How far away from the stones is the compass needle being deflected ?

 

[Ste]

How close to the bridge would you have had to fly?
Magnetic fields drop off very quickly with distance.
If the flight required distances of 1-3 metres, there would definitely have been compass issues.
But if was, say 15+ metres you might have had no issues.
If you get into a compass error situation being close to a lot of steel you would see the Phantom start to slowly spiral around rather than hovering in position.
You can experiment with this and see for yourself what it is like by slowly descending towards a steel roof.
At around 1.5 metres, the drone will wander a little and do the slow spiral.
Left stick up and you exit the magnetic field and it's back to normal.
If you were at this kind of distance, I'd expect no issues at all:

I would have had to pretty much had to stand under the bridge to get access to the other side of it, fly under the bridge to take footage of the other side.

 

[Meta4]

I would have had to pretty much had to stand under the bridge to get access to the other side of it, fly under the bridge to take footage of the other side.

If you had to fly close enough to inspect rivets, I'd be concerned but if you just had to photograph large sections, you would be far enough away to to have magnetic issues.

 

[Ste]

If you had to fly close enough to inspect rivets, I'd be concerned but if you just had to photograph large sections, you would be far enough away to to have magnetic issues.

I shall take a "bridge access selfie" later on and post here

It was the fact I would be stood under the bridge and flying the other side of the bridge I was worried

 

[Ericb]

I flew above the gasometer with no issues

 

[r62ewa]

Thanks ...It's from the P4 pro and looks much better full screen.
Everything in this gallery was done with the P4 pro: Shipping 2017 - Above & Beyond Photography

I am going to be purchasing a new Inspire 2 in the coming months and will be adding the X5S with 14-42mm lens and the X4S camera, I'm looking forward to the 20MP camera.

Your shots look great. I put a level on the horizon in your images and it was spot on, tilted horizon issues fixed?

 

[Meta4]

I am going to be purchasing a new Inspire 2 in the coming months and will be adding the X5S with 14-42mm lens and the X4S camera, I'm looking forward to the 20MP camera. Your shots look great.

The X4s is near enough to the same camera as the one on the P4 pro.
With either you should have the equipment to get some good results.

 

[r62ewa]

The X4s is near enough to the same camera as the one on the P4 pro.
With either you should have the equipment to get some good results.

I operate commercially in Canada and want the X4S for photogrammetry as it has the leaf shutter and the X5S with adjustable lens for videography and photos. Hoping the 42mm will assist in inspections and staying further from wildlife without disturbing them.

 

[Mimoid]

The magnetic field from the bridge is so low that you would have to literally fly inches from the bridge to have any effect on the compass whatsoever. The P4 has two redundant compasses and is nearly idiot proof.