Yep. Very vexing, wasteful and time consuming. I usually set up my missions so the start point is at the furthest waypoint so the drone works its way towards me so the drone is closer as the battery wears. So it's that first waypoint that takes the longest. In retrospect, since the drone flies back @ full speed, maybe I should rethink that.Exactly! I hate that it runs the whole flight at mission speed.
LOL....I know, right? I will have to do more test flights tomorrow or Wed. I have a slow week, so best to take advantage of the down time for R&D.There appears to be support for two different flight speeds in this new version, but I haven't played with or figured it out yet (far be it for me to actually read the documentation...)
I'm going to try this with the new version. I'll keep you in the loop.I think in MP Business I tried the upload, fly out to start point, & execute mission method and it didn't work.
That's a drag.If memory serves me correctly, the first "waypoint" in the mission is the start of the 'blue line' intended flight path that shows after pressing the upload button. When I tried it, I flew it to the start point of my mission only to have it auto-fly back to the launch point.
Yep...maybe they "fixed" that.I'll have to try again in new version if I get some time.
For me it's 6 of one, half dozen of the other. I usually toss the bird in ATTI mode as soon as I have eyes on. The kewl thing about RTH is that I keep the camera tilted up and then pull the altitude stick back. This makes for a very efficient return to home. Once I see the drone (usually about 1200' out), I can bring the drone in on an efficient glide slope so she's about 10' AGL by the time she hits the home point.I didn't realize that. Good to know. I never bother with RTH, as I prefer to manually fly it home.
Well...the other kewl thing about RTH is you can lower your altitude to like 20' AGL and take video (hafta use the button on the controller). Because the drone is essentially in autopilot, you can keep an eye on the terrain and come close to trees and other obstacles while the drone flies full bore around 33 mph. It makes for some kewl video. I haven't published any yet, but I probably should.Sometimes I'll stop along the way and grab a few scenery-type photos for future marketing purposes or to share with the client if it's something useful to them (i.e. overall view of construction in progress).
I bet the compass loves that.....<:^0I have a pickup truck & launch out of the bed if I need to for wind or off the tailgate to avoid a dust cloud.
Yep.Most of my reason for manual takeoff though besides flight controls check is to avoid overhead obstructions. I will say though, the compass is really not happy sitting in the truck bed...
Yep. I've maintained that the chain between getting the job and delivering the product is wrought with logistical and technical hurdles. Getting it right every time is a true value. My partner, who is the "survey guy," appreciates the consistency of that product very much, and is reflected in my invoices.I firmly believe that other than for obvious safety reasons, a consistent pre-flight routine & the 6 P's is what differentiates the professionals.
I only run Connectionless for Linear missions. Grid missions I'm alway connected. There's a reason why, and I can't think of it right now.I'm pretty much always running connectionless now for all missions and I always have terrain aware active.
Yep...I like those small jobs. My biggest job was 2000 acres with over 400' of elevation. This was when MP first incorporated Terrain Awareness into their app. Without TA, I never would've been able to complete that job. It took over a week of flying all day every day (as light permitted).I'll typically run with overlaps at 80 along the course / 75 side overlap, no camera tilt. Height depends on the subject area. I'll fly 200' AGL to keep the GSD low if I'm able. Some missions of course require higher altitude depending on size of the subject area or other limitations. One recent job was over a local 6-8 lane highway w/o a median. No flights over traffic kept me on the shoulders flying at 325' AGL to get the overlap. Lately though everything has been in the 10-25 acre range so the flights don't take very long even at 200' AGL.
We use a crew for that now. I just show up and fly like some kind of lazy bastage. My business partner and I set GCP's for those small jobs. But anything over 20 or 30 acres and we have a crew do it.To be honest, placing the GCP's is the most time consuming part of these jobs for me (although obviously I would need less of them if I flew higher).
Also, we use Aeropoints, which gather GPS data, store it, and then upload it once back at the office. It's accurate as heck and very convenient. I think we're up to 20 Aeropoints right now.
Check out Aeropoints, my friend. I think they're like 200 bucks each, but they pay for themselves quickly.My flying is done separate from the survey crew so I handle placing/painting targets & fly and they follow afterwards to survey the GCP locations.
I hear ya.I do also pickup the GCP locations myself using a pair of Emlid Reach RS2 GPS units though just in case a point gets lost before the crew acquires it. That also enables me to provide them the exact point location so they should have no excuse for not finding a ground spike (nevermind the marking paint, wooden stake, & survey flagging...some people just like to complain).
Yep...same here. Honestly, we don't have any "quick / cheap" clients. They are all expecting balls-on accurate maps.I haven't bothered with Maps Made Easy processing other than for custom terrain purposes. I guess there is some workflow there for incorporating GCPs but I'm not a fan of automatic processing services for anything more than a quick/cheap orthomosaic anyway.
They have no idea what they're missing out on. Especially since they have a guy in house who understands all this stuff and collects good data.Thank you. I used Civil 3D to export the proposed topo & QGIS to merge with other source data & produce the final raster.
The drone business is my side hustle (at least for now, it's also part of my possible exit strategy..) I work full time for a Civil Engineering & Surveying firm (on the engineering side primarily) and subcontract for them when they decide to use me. Their failure to bother with a drone program despite my numerous suggestions is what pushed me to start the side hustle...(their other failures is what will eventually push me to make the jump & work the side hustle into my own full-time operation).
Ditto! I'll chime in again Wed. after I do some experimenting.Anyway, it's been a pleasure swapping knowledge with you. I look forward to talking more. Keep up the good work!
D