I've been playing around with a Phantom 3 Professional drone, after wrecking my Phantom 3 Advanced during the... ahem.... learning phase.
I'm particularly proud of this latest video of my friend Hall on his A-Cat just off Ventura, CA. It's sort of a graduation video in that it is the first time I was able to get the risk vs. reward factor under control, as past attempts over water left me more stressed and frustrated than the end product was worth. I was able to actually FIND the boat on the tiny phone screen the first time, follow it from multiple viewpoints keeping it in frame, kept out of restricted airspace, got no hassles from law enforcement, and returned with plenty of battery reserve. Even dipped below mast height for a while. Just hoping in the future I don't get too comfy and end up putting the aircraft though someone's sail.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs8L8MQDncE
Only downside is I can't get my boat out on such a great day. Can only do one hobby at a time. And don't anyone suggest I try take offs and landings at sea from a beachcat. Ain't gonna happen.
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Bill Mattson
Prindle 19 "Gelli Bean"
Prindle 19 "Cat's Pajamas"
Nacra 5.2 (Will sail her a bit and let her name herself)
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A-Cat Drone Video
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Posted: Jul 19, 2020 - 12:19 PM
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Posted: Jul 19, 2020 - 04:19 PM
Really nice, Bill. Strong work!
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Sheet In!
Bob
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Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
(Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
Arizona, USA
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Posted: Jul 19, 2020 - 05:01 PM
Nice!
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Todd Elozory
H18
H21SE
Hobie Mirage Tandem Island
Catalina 22
Thonotosassa, Florida
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Posted: Jul 19, 2020 - 07:53 PM
I will one day...have an A-Cat in my hanger.
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Steve
Nacra Inter 20
Okemos Michigan
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Posted: Jul 20, 2020 - 11:45 AM
nice vid and view
Watched my buddy flail trying to recover his drone on his f31
watched his drone go into "out of battery -go home mode" while we watched it fly away from his f31
seemed like an expensive toy to watch ...fly away - somehow it came back and he flailed somemore to recover it.
swapped batteries then started to fly again. at one point he lost control of it as it flew between the mast and diamond wires
seemed like an expensive toy to watch .... JUST make it. :) -
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Posted: Jul 20, 2020 - 03:10 PM
They are outrageously complicated devices. The Phantom 3 Advanced was my first drone purchased from a friend. He went though the myriad of settings until my mind went numb. On about my third flight, I took off from the backyard one evening, flew over the house to the front yard as I walked following it. Then I took off over the neighborhood (which I know now you are not really supposed to do), went about a half mile out or so, then got a low battery alarm at 30% as he had it set conservatively. Flew back home and was hovering it right in front of me as the battery was about 12%. I figured I would just hover there and learn how much time I really had on the battery, planning to land right there at 2% or so.
Red lights, alarms going off... No problem. It's right here.
The 3 variables that killed the Drone:
1. The home point is first established as either the drone take off point or the controller location at the time the home point is established. Mine was set to the controller location, but again... That does not change if you move around unless you update the home point. Thus: Home point is back yard. (sorta like your story)
2. There is a configurable minimum altitude to climb to in the event the drone goes into Return To Home mode. Mine was 150 ft.
3. The drone calculates it remaining battery against the power needed to return home. If those coincide (presumably with some margin) the drone automatically goes into Return To Home mode. (like your story)
So when the threshold in #3 above was reached, the drone took control attempted to climb to 150 ft, hitting a power service line to my house, destroying two propellers, then crashing to the concrete.
The most important lesson learned here, other than remembering all the settings, is to watch the dashboard display, not the Drone. Apparently, it was giving me a Return to Home countdown on the display that I could have cancelled.
Another issue over water is that if you get low and the GPS signal gets weak, the vision position system takes over. This is sonar looking down and maintaining altitude by examining distances to recognizable patterns. Water confuses it, so if you ever have this system kick in, it will descend into the water if the up/down control is neutral.
I would never try a launch from the Prindle, but may on one of our club's Catalina 30s. It would be a very close flight and I'd be landing with 50% or so battery left.
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Bill Mattson
Prindle 19 "Gelli Bean"
Prindle 19 "Cat's Pajamas"
Nacra 5.2 (Will sail her a bit and let her name herself)
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Posted: Jul 20, 2020 - 03:48 PM
i will stick with "flying" a hull :)
ps i mistakenly said f31... i had my friends mixed up. this was on a friends fountaine pajot catamaran 40' ish. we were in very light air - and he is a commercial pilot. which makes watching him use a fishing net to catch the thing all the more hilarious
Edited by MN3 on Jul 20, 2020 - 03:49 PM. -
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Posted: Jul 21, 2020 - 08:50 PM
Love drone footage of cats...thanks.
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John
Nacra 5.0
CT
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Posted: Jul 22, 2020 - 02:41 PM
Crazy to the point of being suicidal - but it's done and noone got hurt so we may as well enjoy it - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9cpeUrRt9Q -
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Posted: Jul 22, 2020 - 03:12 PM
That's a novel approach to doing a 720. -
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Posted: Jul 22, 2020 - 03:47 PM
WOW -
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Posted: Jul 23, 2020 - 05:57 PM
That's pretty amazing. I cannot fathom flying that low over water that close to speeding boat. A very skilled pilot!!!
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Bill Mattson
Prindle 19 "Gelli Bean"
Prindle 19 "Cat's Pajamas"
Nacra 5.2 (Will sail her a bit and let her name herself)
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