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Post new topic   Reply to topic    Northwest Kiteboarding -> Gorge / Portland / Oregon Coast
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groundclown

Since 12 May 2007
135 Posts
Hood River
Stoked



PostThu Jan 29, 15 9:42 am     Reply with quote

I am just asking because he said they flew it in 25kt but the water shows much less wind. I am told buy owners of the phantom 2 that 15-18 is about max for the reasons you stated and stability in gusts. Where I live or lived / will move back soon it averages 25kt or more and gusty. 15-20 are real light days. 25 is a light day. 25-35 more normal. I don't think an affordable quad-copter will work for me very often. Al least not in kiting.

C Johnson--- I would love to see the one you built. Have always wanted to build something like this.

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Last edited by groundclown on Thu Jan 29, 15 9:51 am; edited 1 time in total

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C Johnson

Since 17 Apr 2009
853 Posts
Seattle
Opinionated



PostThu Jan 29, 15 9:50 am     Reply with quote

10-12m conditions is about the max I'm comfortable flying in. The phantom 2 might handle a little more but the phantoms max speed limit and max angle will start to become an issue.
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sromano1995

Since 22 May 2013
240 Posts
Portland
Stoked



PostThu Feb 12, 15 2:21 pm     Reply with quote

groundclown wrote:
I am just asking because he said they flew it in 25kt but the water shows much less wind. I am told buy owners of the phantom 2 that 15-18 is about max for the reasons you stated and stability in gusts. Where I live or lived / will move back soon it averages 25kt or more and gusty. 15-20 are real light days. 25 is a light day. 25-35 more normal. I don't think an affordable quad-copter will work for me very often. At least not in kiting.


Max Speed of the Phantom 2 is 15m/s (29 knots) as per spec:
http://www.dji.com/product/phantom-2-vision/spec

Test show that Max Speed in GPS mode is more like 23mph (19 knots)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxVnb8_nBSM

I personally haven't had the guts to fly in ATTI mode above water yet even though I believe you can achieve a much higher video quality (smoother) in that mode. I still prefer the extra safety net provided by the GPS mode... So unless you have nerves of steel and are prepared to see your drone go downwind despite tilting upwind at max angle, I would certainly not recommend flying in anything more than 20mph wind.

Also, as you know, wind speed can be much greater in altitude and a 15-20mph wind at ground level can turn into a 20 to 25mph (if not more) very quickly as you go up (or away from shore). It happened to me a couple of times when flying at the event site in HR when I could not stay in position...This is quite stressful...To recover: gradually (or not so gradually) lower altitude and slide laterally back towards the shore until you can make ground upwind again.

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C Johnson

Since 17 Apr 2009
853 Posts
Seattle
Opinionated



PostThu Feb 12, 15 2:53 pm     Reply with quote

I tend to fly in ATTI mode and flip a switch to GPS hold when I want to hold position. I also have manual mode mapped to a switch since I've heard a quick flip to manual and back to GPS or ATTI can clear compass and accelerometer errors that have supposedly attributed to many of the reported DJI fly away crashes you might have heard about on the web.

I have a custom quadcopter powered by a DJI NAZA controller (same guts as the phantom)


Another challenging issue with flying in wind is the limitations of the roll axis on your camera gimbal.

When you're pointed straight into the wind or straight down wind its fine but when you have a heading that is not inline with the wind direction it tends to cause a lot of roll when holding position or flying into the wind. Most gimbals are built with a limited amount of roll axis range. For my setup if I'm flying in much more than 12m conditions this starts to become an issue. When the gimbal hits its limits it will usually flip out for a few seconds before settling back down again. Definitely takes some nerves of steel to keep calm when it happens.

Another thing to remember. Assume your drone will be essentially invisible to kiters. The burden is on you to keep out of their way. I've added a lost model alarm and strobes to my setup to help identify its location in the air but its still not enough. My next step is fluorescent paint on the frame. I know its my job to stay out of the way but its also my job to get the closest shot possible. Besides that, everyone wants to get on camera and they need to be able to see where the camera is at.

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sromano1995

Since 22 May 2013
240 Posts
Portland
Stoked



PostThu Feb 12, 15 5:24 pm     Reply with quote

Christian,

Thanks for the tip on the ATTI / GPS mode switching bug. I am fully aware of the compass reset procedure involving the toggling between these modes 7 times but I was not aware that there could be an issue during flight... Good to know Smile

I see that, with your custom setup (and based on your other videos on Youtube), you have resolved most of the blade/skid field of view interference. Usually, on a windy day, 90% of my footage has some type of blade or skid field of view interference, which is frustrating as some of the best sequences are usually 5 to 10s long. But, yes, I ran frequently into the roll axis limitation on the gimbal resulting in more wasted/spoiled footage.

Ultimately, I think that's why DJI went with a radically different design with their Inspire 1 model... No more blade / skid field of view interference, 3 axis gimbal and 360 camera rotational capabilities... but the price is also radically different between the phantom 1 (my current model) and the Inspire 1.

Hoping to connect with you on the water (or the skies) sometimes soon to share drone/kite war stories.

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C Johnson

Since 17 Apr 2009
853 Posts
Seattle
Opinionated



PostThu Feb 12, 15 5:46 pm     Reply with quote

For sure! especially since I never drone pilots almost never get to be in the riding footage.

fyi. not sure if you've seen this but I've been hearing good things about the YUNEEC Q500 in terms of an off the shelf solution competitor to the Phantom 2.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1111531-REG/yuneec_yunq500rtfus_q500_rtf_with_cgo2_gb.html

I'm also interested to see what Gopro brings to market this year. I think they will be a big player in the market once they get established.

Best thing about drones is they are only going to get better and cheaper. I just hope they don't get banned before we have a chance to do some really cool stuff with them.

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