Inches from an antenna

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Hi. I'm enjoying the long distance autonomous missions but has to be more careful. I usually plan the missions and fly according to distances and heights estimates by googlearth but today while enjoying the vid of a 4 miles mission was scared to the bones at this. :shock:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRsDJr1 ... e=youtu.be
The 100m height has to be changed.
 
Wow that was close!!
 
Maybe you should tilt your camera up a bit so you can see where you are going?
 
bcass1 said:
Maybe you should tilt your camera up a bit so you can see where you are going?
At 1.58 miles from home I can't see nothing. No FPV. She is flying an autonomous mission by GS.
 
Did you check your prop tips to see if they were scratched? :eek:
 
phantomi said:
bcass1 said:
Maybe you should tilt your camera up a bit so you can see where you are going?
At 1.58 miles from home I can't see nothing. No FPV. She is flying an autonomous mission by GS.

All that risk just to capture some really poor video. So sad.

What is the attraction of just sending your toy up in the air and watching it head off out of view with no control and then sitting around waiting for it to come back?
 
EBOLA Popsicle said:
phantomi said:
bcass1 said:
Maybe you should tilt your camera up a bit so you can see where you are going?
At 1.58 miles from home I can't see nothing. No FPV. She is flying an autonomous mission by GS.

All that risk just to capture some really poor video. So sad.

What is the attraction of just sending your toy up in the air and watching it head off out of view with no control and then sitting around waiting for it to come back?
There is always yours everywhere.
 
phantomi said:
EBOLA Popsicle said:
phantomi said:
At 1.58 miles from home I can't see nothing. No FPV. She is flying an autonomous mission by GS.

All that risk just to capture some really poor video. So sad.

What is the attraction of just sending your toy up in the air and watching it head off out of view with no control and then sitting around waiting for it to come back?
There is always yours everywhere.

Please translate your answer to my question into English.

Thanks.
 
Using Google Maps as your sole aerial mapping tool for long-range GS flights is foolish at best. Just like any good pilot knows, you need to be well-prepared in your flight plan using all resources available to you.

For example, here's a cell tower located near my house taken from Bing Maps "bird's eye view". These bird's eye view images are photographs taken at oblique angle from low-flying aircraft.

Bing_1.jpg


Now here is the same cell tower as shown on Google Earth. These are satellite images and dont provide any 3D info. about tall structures like cell towers, water towers, etc. Fortunately, this image was taken on a sunny day so you can see the shadow of the cell tower. However shadows can be misleading because they depend on the angle of the sun and therefore don't give accurate depictions of the heights of towers.

Goog_1.jpg


So if you want to get serious about long-distance Ground Station flights and ensure the highest safety margin for getting your bird back in one piece --- use both Google Earth and Bing Maps "bird view" to plan your flight path! Google Maps has better tools for GPS coordinates & distance measuring and the satellite photos are more up-to-date, but Bing Maps "bird's eye view" is superior for locating tall structures like cell towers and water towers.

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
 
You can also refer to the FAA Sectional Aeronautical charts for aviation obstructions. Anything over 200-ft AGL should be noted on the chart. The operative being, should be.

You can get the FAA Sectional charts here:
https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/flight_info/aeronav/digital_products/vfr/

If you are close enough (40-miles) to a major airport, the Terminal Area chart offers more details.

Here's how to read the charts:
Figure%201%20Highest%20Obstruction.jpg

In this image the large blue number in the center of a grid (highlighted in red) is the altitude above Mean Sea Level that you are guaranteed to be 200 ft higher than the tallest object in the grid. In this case, 1,100 ft above sea level is clear of obstructions anywhere in the highlighted grid.

Figure%203%20Radio%20Towers.jpg

This symbol indicates radio towers and the height in MSL and (AGL).

Figure%204%20Hilltops.jpg

Hilltops

Figure%202%20Airport%20Traffic%20Area.jpg

Airport Traffic Area

Figure%205%20Class%20B.jpg

Class B airspace.
 
MadMitch88 said:
Using Google Maps as your sole aerial mapping tool for long-range GS flights is foolish at best. Just like any good pilot knows, you need to be well-prepared in your flight plan using all resources available to you.

For example, here's a cell tower located near my house taken from Bing Maps "bird's eye view". These bird's eye view images are photographs taken at oblique angle from low-flying aircraft.

Bing_1.jpg


Now here is the same cell tower as shown on Google Earth. These are satellite images and dont provide any 3D info. about tall structures like cell towers, water towers, etc. Fortunately, this image was taken on a sunny day so you can see the shadow of the cell tower. However shadows can be misleading because they depend on the angle of the sun and therefore don't give accurate depictions of the heights of towers.

Goog_1.jpg


So if you want to get serious about long-distance Ground Station flights and ensure the highest safety margin for getting your bird back in one piece --- use both Google Earth and Bing Maps "bird view" to plan your flight path! Google Maps has better tools for GPS coordinates & distance measuring and the satellite photos are more up-to-date, but Bing Maps "bird's eye view" is superior for locating tall structures like cell towers and water towers.

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
Thanks. Now I'm aware of this.
 
SteveMann said:
You can also refer to the FAA Sectional Aeronautical charts for aviation obstructions. Anything over 200-ft AGL should be noted on the chart. The operative being, should be.

You can get the FAA Sectional charts here:
https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/flight_info/aeronav/digital_products/vfr/

If you are close enough (40-miles) to a major airport, the Terminal Area chart offers more details.

Here's how to read the charts:
Figure%201%20Highest%20Obstruction.jpg

In this image the large blue number in the center of a grid (highlighted in red) is the altitude above Mean Sea Level that you are guaranteed to be 200 ft higher than the tallest object in the grid. In this case, 1,100 ft above sea level is clear of obstructions anywhere in the highlighted grid.

Figure%203%20Radio%20Towers.jpg

This symbol indicates radio towers and the height in MSL and (AGL).

Figure%204%20Hilltops.jpg

Hilltops

Figure%202%20Airport%20Traffic%20Area.jpg

Airport Traffic Area

Figure%205%20Class%20B.jpg

Class B airspace.
Very useful info. Thanks but don't plan on doing so risky blind long missions in the future.
 
phantomi said:
Hi. I'm enjoying the long distance autonomous missions but has to be more careful. I usually plan the missions and fly according to distances and heights estimates by googlearth but today while enjoying the vid of a 4 miles mission was scared to the bones at this. :shock:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRsDJr1 ... e=youtu.be
The 100m height has to be changed.

Or, people shouldn't be sending their Phantoms on long distance missions, where you can't see it with your own eyes.

Imagine worst case scenario: it hits that antenna, goes down into that hightway, hits someone's windshield, they swerve in panic and hit a school bus full of kids.

This idea that using Bing instead of Google is ridiculous. Stop taking risks over populated areas. Do your long distance missions over fields and forests from now on, not over towns and cities.
 
<---noobie

It never even occurred to me that I could program the ground station to make a long distance mission that leave the WiFi range...I'm assuming using the modded DJI App that allows farther waypoints.

How does that work?
I thought the GS communicated with the P2V+ while in flight, telling it when to stop, turn, etc.
Does the GS load the whole mission into the P2V+ prior to it taking off...so once you hit "Go", you could essentially just turn everything off and wait for it to come back???

Sorry for the silly question!
 
BuzzBuzzZoomZoom said:
<---noobie

It never even occurred to me that I could program the ground station to make a long distance mission that leave the WiFi range...I'm assuming using the modded DJI App that allows farther waypoints.

How does that work?
I thought the GS communicated with the P2V+ while in flight, telling it when to stop, turn, etc.
Does the GS load the whole mission into the P2V+ prior to it taking off...so once you hit "Go", you could essentially just turn everything off and wait for it to come back???

Sorry for the silly question!


Correct, when you press Go the entire mission is uploaded to the bird and the flight become autonomous at that point. Even if control signal is lost the bird will continue the mission along the planned route and hopefully, come back home.
 
BuzzBuzzZoomZoom Also depending on what phone you are using ie iphone or Android can also make a difference as there is an App for the Andriod phones which will allow you to fly outside the parimeteres of what dji intended but remember that it could all end in tears if you dont take your battery voltage into account .Dont sent your bird away for miles and expect it to come home plan carefully .
 
Are you using the hybrid map? That will show you buildings and other objects like radio towers.
Off hand, I'm not sure what the height requirement is, set by the FCC and maybe the FAA, but radio towers over a certain height have to be painted in alternating in red and white.
Over 200 feet height, they are required to have a strobe light.

In the "assistant" you can change the vertical and horizontal flight limits.
I think mine is currently set to something like 500 feet horizontal.

As I have noted on my auto flights, the actual flight path is a little off from what you see on the screen.
So you should keep that in mind and learn from your flights just how accurate the paths are.
 
Suwaneeguy said:
Are you using the hybrid map? That will show you buildings and other objects like radio towers.
Off hand, I'm not sure what the height requirement is, set by the FCC and maybe the FAA, but radio towers over a certain height have to be painted in alternating in red and white.
Over 200 feet height, they are required to have a strobe light.

How is a tower strobe light going to help a Phantom pilot plan a long-range GS mission? :roll:

Hybrids maps will NOT show tall structures like cell towers, etc. You MUST must use Bing Maps "bird's eye view" because that is the only available mapping tool that shows actual oblique-angle photographs (from 4 different directions) of the landscape that will most easily depict tall structures that you need to avoid on a long-range GS flight.

It would probably be a good idea to also get in your car and drive along a proposed GS mission --- that would supplement any missing information from the Bing Maps database (ie, newer cell towers built, large crane at construction site, etc). Take my advice and your bird has a good chance of coming back to you safe and sound !! :p
 

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