Transitioning to longer flights beyond visual range

I've got the Air 2 and find it not at all bright enough. I'm heading out shortly to test my two new additions to fight the glare............. a Hoodivision sunshade and the SuperShieldz anti-glare screen protector. I'll report back later tonight on my observations.


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Great question.

We live on the side of a small mountain and our property runs 4000' down a valley from our house.
My first experience was with my P2V+ using a pre-programmed path that took it out over our valley and out about 1500' from my home. ... It was amazing to see parts of our property so far away from the air.
...
Then the P3 showed up....WOW
On a trip yesterday I took it out 2900 ft at 400' high and had a solid signal lock and FPV feed I was shocked.
.

We are in a sorta similar situation and are considering a P3 for spot checking our animals without loading up our horses and driving 2 miles only to saddle up and ride a mile up and over to the basin where our property is.

2 simple inquiries: 1) can you confirm that the P3 (pro or advanced) can be pre-programmed to go to some set locations out-of-sight, hover, take some pictures or video and safely return (12 to 14 minutes)?, and 2) what software/app (free or $$) supports this feature?
 
Requires 3dr party app. Ultimate flight app which I find slightly buggy or the Litchi app which works well but is in Alpha testing. The latter alpha test is open to public.

The nice thing is you can have a saved and tweaked mission and fly it every day if you like.

They can take photos along the way but I personally would just shoot video and review.
 
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I'm curious if some of you guys that are taking those long scenic vista flight that are hundreds of feet up and seemingly thousands of feet away could describe in words what you are seeing and thinking as you do that.
I'm still getting used to the P3 and even with the P2 have just done relatively short, purposeful video flights where I am trying to capture a specific shot and I can easily see the bird. Even with FPV, often the sun almost obliterates the screen, even with a shade on it. If you could describe in words, something to the effect of: Okay, I'm taking it up now, about 300 feet or so. Now, heading off at a good clip toward _______. It's been about xx number of seconds and I can no longer see it visually, now I'm ....
That's what I'm wondering. After x number of seconds when you can no longer see the bird visually, what are you thinking, doing, looking at? Are your app displays good enough that you can see where you are/going? Between all the reported app drops/stopping (I've had a couple now) and a fpv that's all but a ghost image in strong sunlight, wondering how you approach this and what you rely on to fly. If it is no longer visible, how do you know if you have clear line of site etc.

I've flown more than a mile away in several occasion without a hiccup or a glitch. My thoughts are more of wow this is pretty awesome than that of worry. I do try to stand in a shaded area to reduce glare. Also my iPhone 6 plus is very bright and still visible even in direct sunlight.

I wouldn't do a distance run though if video wasn't smooth and fluid and holding on to good signal. I also use a pair of wind surfer antenna reflectors to further augment my signal when I fly.
 
It is all about building trust. After about 50 flights in pretty controlled flying I started going out further and further. Each time the bird came home even after losing signal.

Now I love the long flights. This one is out 2 miles and up 1600 feet.
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What am I thinking while flying? Mostly panic. My feet are gripping inside my shoes, my heart rate is up and I doing everything I can to balance the desire to make a good video vs. the desire to keep the P3 from crashing into the mountain.

I plan my long flights out on Google Earth. I want to know what I am getting into before I drive way out into the desert.
 
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It is all about building trust.

I agree. Its not something that can be read on the forums. And it is something you have to do all over again when you upgrade to a new model. Its a personal thing and can only be acquired by hearing the familiar buzz and seeing your home point getting closer FPV a few dozen times.

I cant tell you how many times I have flown my far away from home and thought Wow... each time it came back :D
 
Best time to do long distance flights is at night usually the wind has dropped right off,but before you head out put it in atti and check the wind direction. Once you get hooked on trying to push the battery as far as you can to get max. distance, lets be honest you are not worrying about taking photos! Use the satellite map and push the stick forward and watch the little red arrow and battery % and when you turn you just hope you havent gone too far!! Its good to hear that buzz when it gets in ear shot. Best Iv got with P3A stock is 16,480ft out
 
I bought my P2V last July and the 2nd or 3rd flight that I made should have been my last. I lost orientation at extreme line of sight and when trying to bring the bird back home, all I managed to do was push it further away from me. In desperation, I threw caution to the wind, and threw myself at the feet of the RTH god and switched off the transmitter. After four or five of the longest minutes I have ever experienced, I heard the bird coming back home. The flood of relief was indescribable.

The next occasion I experienced such a high was when waypoint flying a couple months ago, again, with the P2V. I tested the setup, then went for it, sending the bird off to fly completely autonomously on a 14 waypoint mission to film a section of river. The flight was 9800 ft in total and took 9 minutes to complete, 9 long minutes that felt more like 19. The app, predictably and expectedly, froze at 1400 ft and from then on I was dependent entirely upon the technology as no further input was possible.

When I heard the bird returning, the sense of elation was profound. I was relieved and amazed, both at the same time. The verbal blessings I showered upon DJI and the app provider would have been embarrassing, had anyone been there to hear them.

Emotionally, flying a Phantom is a sine wave of highs and lows; the highs being when things go predictably to plan, and the lows when they don't. One can only hope that the lows don't involve a really bad crash or a total loss of the bird. But that, I believe, is all but inevitable; it goes with the pitch with this hobby.

Why not not home lock and take it back ? or you are not in NAZA mode ? I always do that when my Phantom gets out of video sight I switch to GPS mode and Home Lock mode and I just pull the right stick to get it to return :)
 
Stay above everything and make sure RTH is set to come home high. I've had great luck flying from my back yard up to 2.5 miles away with a stock P3P.
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Practice, practice, practice!

After a while you'll get used to flying on telemetry alone. It's not just the FPV view by the way, it's also the map view, the "turn indicator", vertical and horizontal speed, and the individual battery cell voltages. I also use a Flytrex live, such that I can always see position, altitude and heading, even when I fly out of range. Ideally, I'm never not able to see the bird's current position and behavior.

After a while, you get used to navigating with just the screen, and constantly checking all the above variables to make sure everything "feels right".

The biggest issues is when you start losing signal at distance or fly too low, or turning the quad changes the angle of the antenna and signal temporarily drops. That's when new pilots start to panic, rather than being rational. Just be cool, trust RTH, and trust the on-board computers to do their job.

Also, make sure your home point is recorded and your RTH altitude is set to something reasonable. And as always with aircraft, at the first sign of trouble, land safely, don't try to push it.

Probably missed a few things... But there's a start.
 
I'm not sure of the terrain you are flying over, but on my first flight I was able to find a wide open park in flat terrain so I just took it up to a level where I knew I was above the tree-line and quickly got used to to the radar screen, which shows which way the drone is pointing in relation to the launch point. I took it out well beyond sight and had no issues and have done this on all 3 of my flights so far. Just be mindful of battery, elevation changes, flocks of birds, and radar, and you'll be OK. If you feel the least bit uncomfortable with the distance, just look at the pointer on the radar, move the rudder til it points towards you, then cyclic forward. Then you'll hear the buzz of the quad again and be at ease.
 

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