Flying Through a Giant Water Pipe

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Hi everyone, I'll be filming professional skateboarders riding this huge drainage pipe tomorrow. The director is asking me to fly straight through the pipe, then up and out into the ravine to show off some of the scenery.

I'll have my prop guards on and do test runs without anybody there beforehand.

Would it be wise to fly in Atti mode? It's just such a unique shot, any helpful advise is greatly appreciated. Here's a picture of the pipe.
 
Be VERY confident in your flying skills and YES atti mode because you won't have GPS inside the pipe so keep that in mind.
 
View attachment 62034 Hi everyone, I'll be filming professional skateboarders riding this huge drainage pipe tomorrow. The director is asking me to fly straight through the pipe, then up and out into the ravine to show off some of the scenery.

I'll have my prop guards on and do test runs without anybody there beforehand.

Would it be wise to fly in Atti mode? It's just such a unique shot, any helpful advise is greatly appreciated. Here's a picture of the pipe.
First off... this will be a fun shot! I've flown through covered bridges with no issues in P (GPS) mode on my P3 and Inspire, when the GPS losses satellites (and I'm sure it probably will lose quite a few in there) the Vision Positioning System should kick on and help you out. I would just do a few slow test runs and see how it goes in P (GPS) mode. Use ATTI as a plan B.
 
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That's not a pipe... it's a round HOUSE LOL! That thing is HUGE! You should have no problems flying through that monster.
 
First off... this will be a fun shot! I've flown through covered bridges with no issues in P (GPS) mode on my P3 and Inspire, when the GPS losses satellites (and I'm sure it probably will lose quite a few in there) the Vision Positioning System should kick on and help you out. I would just do a few slow test runs and see how it goes in P (GPS) mode. Use ATTI as a plan B.
Sounds good, thank you!
I'm thinking that I will for sure lose GPS at some point, that's some thick pipe. I'm just concerned that if I attempt P (GPS) mode, when it locks back on satellites, it may adjust itself in the wrong direction and possibly hit someone or something?
 
Sounds good, thank you!
I'm thinking that I will for sure lose GPS at some point, that's some thick pipe. I'm just concerned that if I attempt P (GPS) mode, when it locks back on satellites, it may adjust itself in the wrong direction and possibly hit someone or something?
True, maybe ATTI would be safer. Don't forget about drift from wind, hopefully air currents are at a minimum in there. Are you well practiced in ATTI mode?
 
You will lose gps before even entering. Be sure to have VPS turned on and also if you will be turning inside to catch the boarders then also use home lock. These simple instructions are all it takes :) Prop guards for the safety of the boarders and all is well.
 
Yeah, when I first heard about this shot, I was not expecting such a large pipe either! When I saw the pictures, my concerns lightened up a bit.
Welcome to the group BTW!!! Have fun and fly safe!
 
True, maybe ATTI would be safer. Don't forget about drift from wind, hopefully air currents are at a minimum in there. Are you well practiced in ATTI mode?
Actually no, that's why I'm concerned a bit. I'm going out to practice today, but I've never had a need to switch over. The director said there's not much air current in the pipe. I'll have to try Atti and GPS mode, see which one works better in that thing.
 
You will lose gps before even entering. Be sure to have VPS turned on and also if you will be turning inside to catch the boarders then also use home lock. These simple instructions are all it takes :) Prop guards for the safety of the boarders and all is well.
Thanks Reed, home lock or course lock?
 
First off... this will be a fun shot! I've flown through covered bridges with no issues in P (GPS) mode on my P3 and Inspire, when the GPS losses satellites (and I'm sure it probably will lose quite a few in there) the Vision Positioning System should kick on and help you out. I would just do a few slow test runs and see how it goes in P (GPS) mode. Use ATTI as a plan B.

That was fun! Those are some of my best pictures from that day!


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots
 
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Another setting to adjust is the RTH altitude. If for some reason you lose control signal you don't want it to shoot up 40 meters into the air for the return to Home Point if it still has a GPS signal.
 
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Another setting to adjust is the RTH altitude. If for some reason you lose control signal you don't want it to shoot up 40 meters into the air for the return to Home Point if it still has a GPS signal.
He might want it to be set to "Hover" rather than RTH in case of signal loss. Just for this shot.
 
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Thanks Reed, home lock or course lock?
If you're flying straight only then course lock will work, just start everything outside and get everything locked in. I like home lock but either will basically work for a straight tube. Just remember that your vps only works to about 10' and if you go over that then the drift could be a killer. If it starts getting out of control then take it straight down and it will recover.
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You could possibly set a max height limit too, to avoid it flying into the ceiling. If it's just ridiculously unruly and doesn't behave well in there, time to get creative and hand hold the bird on a bike and film it that way. I would not involve GPS mode in that shot. Best to be very good at controlling your bird. Course lock would seem to make the most sense because home lock can still confuse you with orientation. Good luck.
 

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