Which Flight Mode under trees??

[mattpitts74]

I'm planning on doing some filming under trees in a woodland within the next few weeks and I have been practicing my flying skills before putting a camera and gimbal onto my P2.

My question is which flight mode would people recommend for this type of situation? I have mainly been flying in GPS mode until I feel more confident of my skills.

But I notice that my P2 appears to lose GPS while flying under trees which makes it behave rather erratically. Is this normal in such a situation?

I am assuming that ATTI would make the most sense flying where I cannot get a GPS signal?

Can I start the P2 in ATTI mode and what are the consequences of only flying in that mode?

If my start is under trees and the P2 doesn't get a GPS fix and set a home location I'm guessing if things go wrong it will try to fly home to its last location, which wouldn't be ideal.

Any advice on the best way to fly in this situation would be much appreciated.

Thanks Matt

 

[4wd]

To be honest if you need ask it's likely to end badly!
GPS will be little help especially if it comes and goes.
In ATTI mode the slightest wind will take it, your nerves will be shattered

You can take off in ATTI mode no problem in fact some do that most of the time as it reduces the tendency to circle or drft you sometimes get immediately after take off.
All the phantom does for you is in that mode is maintain height - you need to practice this a lot before thinking of threading it between trees.

 

[mattpitts74]

Thanks for the reply, I've been practicing in ATTI Mode and your right there is quite a lot of drift, but I will only fly when its calm and practice a lot more before I do it for real. So if I take off in ATTI mode what lights am I waiting for on the P2?

PS. great videos of the Moors by the way, I've had the same idea [vimeo]99011191[/vimeo]

 

[WessexWyvern]

I did a flight along a path through woodland recently. It's pretty nerve wracking. I used gps mode which came and went. It can be done, even by someone without much experience, just consider carefully the consequences. That path way that seems to have plenty of room to fly a quadcopter when you walk along it seems to become dangerously narrow once you are actually flying along it. You only need to clip a leaf and your quadcopter could and up making a sudden and very expensive landing.

 

[SJBrit]

If you are going to fly under trees then go into the Naza Assistant software and set your failsafe to "Land" rather than "Return Home and Land," The last thing you want to happen in a forest is the Phantom going into failsafe mode for some reason then trying to gain altitude and fly home - that'll end in tears!

 

[BigTulsa]

Another thing you need to take into consideration is that if you are currently practicing this without the gimbal/camera setup, you're going to have a bit of a time since the weight will change the dynamics of flying once you put the camera and gimbal on it.

Something to think about.

 

[mattpitts74]

Thanks for all the tips, and for the fail safe tip that's really useful.

 

[RPA]

If you are going to fly under trees then go into the Naza Assistant software and set your failsafe to "Land" rather than "Return Home and Land," The last thing you want to happen in a forest is the Phantom going into failsafe mode for some reason then trying to gain altitude and fly home - that'll end in tears!

That's a v good point. I'll be doing some under tree Bluebell wood stuff next spring and I'll definitely bare this in mind.

 

[ElGuano]

I don't like flying through trees--they are the nemesis of quads, but when I do, I fly ATTI only. Any time you are in an environment where intermittent loss of gps lock is expected, a ATTI is your best bet. If you failsafe without a home point or gps lock, it will descend in place, but remember if it is windy, your phantom will be blown about as it descends, potentially right into those trees. Luckily, short range failsafe doesn't happen often.

+1 to SJBrit's suggestion. You may incidentally get gps lock while in flight, who knows where, and the ascent to 66ft is going to bring you into contact with trees for sure.