Just tried my first flight with way points

I think the feature works great. Yes I would prefer to have the option of doing it on the ground first and agree with all the posts regarding that ability. However, with that said, it's great for filming. You can set your path, height of each point separately by just flying the route you want and then when you re-run it you have full access to the camera's point of view with Free mode. You can turn the quad in any direction, move the gimbal up and down as you need. This allows you to focus on the filming. I see this also as the same kind of feature as Zip Line. You can set two points with differing altitudes and then fly the route and control the camera. The only thing it doesn't do is the camera motion automatically. But I'm fine with that. More creative control. For more complex grid stuff, then I'll use 3rd party apps for that kind of stuff.

Also ran a test of the POI, and that worked great. Very smooth flight and filming experience. The only thing that stinks is the bird is still reliant on signal from the controller so if it's looses signal on that back side of what your filming and it's below the level of if it, say a building or tower, then you must remember to set the proper height for the RTH, otherwise it could run into that object. However, since it's constantly moving, I would think it would be less likely to loose total signal for an extended time to cause RTH, unless you are trying to go around a large object of course.

Just my 2 cents. I like it, could it be better yes. Hopefully in the future they will add full GS capability to this. That way we can save batteries.
 
It's crazy but their reasoning is that you don't crash into any obstacles by mistake. If you have flown it already it means that it's safe to do it automatically. They should have called it replay mode. Maybe if enough people complain on djis fb page they might change it so it works properly
I think they may when object collision is brought in.
 
My reasoning more ominous. You have to fly over the path once first so that the aircraft actually flies over the area. Imagine if terrorist can just plot a route on ground and attach an explosive on the drone. The moment they take off from ground the drone will fly to the target and they can run away at the same time.

Flying over the target once as a "record" probably serves as an early warning. Kinda stupid reason but I guess safety is a large concern of dji.
If terrorist want to do it they will find a way. Remember also they are fanatics and as we know will give their lives so easily away.
 
Supposedly they did this in an attempt to mitigate UAV->Object collisions.
The irony of this is I have P2 with DJI Ground Station, I can pre-program waypoints BEFORE flight... so much for their idea of mitigating in-flight collisions.
I had a P2V+ that could do waypoints as well, I think a max of 5 waypoints or was it 15? Anyways, you could do that on the P2V+. Ya, flying the route then re-flying it is wasteful of batt power.
 
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To program waypoints from the ground you can use the flight sim and record your flight there. There is no real editing other than delete a waypoint. Also the HEAD TO does not keep when you save a waypoint. Seems beta tester did not report to DJI or DJI did not listen.
I can confirm this. Today I loaded the sim and set a course around my neighborhood. I then had the drone fly the mission that was saved in the sim.

Be aware of the altitude you fly in the sim. You cannot adjust altitude one the mission has started. Be very aware of obstacles on your flight path.
 
Here's what I think is the real reason for having to do Waypoint set-up flights. It makes you have real time two way communication with your bird when you are setting it up. That way if one of your waypoints is a sensitive area (gov't office, high ranking person, military base, nuke plant, etc.) you would have to 'fly' your bird there to set up the way points. This gives the "target" a chance to detect you (small object radar, listening device, RF intercept) and take effective countermeasures. You would never get a chance to fly your Waypoints autonomously (No external control) because your signal would have been neutralized on the first flight and you'd be on the ground.
I'm not paranoid, but I am realistic about the world we live in.
Most terrorists are suicide bombers not drone fliers
 
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I don't see the comparison. I think you're arguing "want" vs. "need".
For instance .... Shadows move 1-inch every 2-minutes. So Waypoint #16 probably wont look anything like it did 15 minutes earlier.
My clients like tight shots straight to the plan.
Picky, picky, picky... 15 minutes change of the angle of the sun doesn't mean crap with aerial photography. An hour or more and yes, it's a whole new ball game. I see the whole issue as having to land and put in a fresh battery after the course is plotted.
 
Picky, picky, picky... 15 minutes change of the angle of the sun doesn't mean crap with aerial photography. An hour or more and yes, it's a whole new ball game. I see the whole issue as having to land and put in a fresh battery after the course is plotted.
I'll bet you're not actually a photographer ...... but, if flying waypoints to get your photos works for you, then of course do it ....
 
The irony of this is I have P2 with DJI Ground Station, I can pre-program waypoints BEFORE flight... so much for their idea of mitigating in-flight collisions.
I had a P2V+ that could do waypoints as well, I think a max of 5 waypoints or was it 15? Anyways, you could do that on the P2V+. Ya, flying the route then re-flying it is wasteful of batt power.
DJI is beta testing Ground station for the phantom 3. I read that on a forum before it was taken down.
 
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I have used the dji waypoints, but the 1640' from the radius was a huge drawback. Autopilot does not seem to preset waypoints. Good news is Litchi worked flawlessly letting me preselect 3 routes with 15 waypoints each, including altitude, hover, curved route, direction. While moving between waypoints I could control gimbal degrees, speed, and 360 degrees video by turning the P3P.
One insignificant issue. When I started the second route and battery, P3P lifted off but did not head for 1st waypoint. So closed the App, and reopened it. It worked. Thrilling. Next, I have to figure out the log. Also hope they can add the live video streaming like dji.
 
Ah lads enough with the bombs being strapped to a phantom! That's just crazy paranoia, a car or truck can hold 1000 times the amount of explosives. It's so the phantom doesn't hit a building or tree. 500m distance for way points, sure a terrorist could fly with a bomb from a few miles away manually with a HD view of their target. Don't be so stupid and stop saying drama queen stuff

It would be wise to pay attention to these types of issues, because the media will, as will law makers who face pressure from said drama queens.

Double Car Bombs Filmed By Drone - Funker530
 

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