Anyone fly FPV in manual mode with gimbal?

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I asked this question in a different way on another post, but does anyone here fly in manual mode (Phantom 1 or 2) doing FPV with a gimbal installed?
 
I would venture to say no. It would be suicide, seeing as you use your camera angles in normal FPV flight to determine and adjust your attitude. It may be possible if you put some kind of visible arc around the front of the camera gimble and adjust it to be level with the horizon, that way when the craft pitches forward, back, or to the side, the movement will be reflected in your video feed like an artificial horizon.
 
japaneezy said:
I would venture to say no. It would be suicide, seeing as you use your camera angles in normal FPV flight to determine and adjust your attitude. It may be possible if you put some kind of visible arc around the front of the camera gimble and adjust it to be level with the horizon, that way when the craft pitches forward, back, or to the side, the movement will be reflected in your video feed like an artificial horizon.

Actually, the mini IOSD shows an artificial horizon. So, what you're saying is that no one runs a direct video feed from their GoPro (gimbal mounted) back to the ground (via LCD or goggles)? That doesn't seem accurate to me. Even the Phantom 2 Vision displays a gimbal-stablizied video that is viewed on the ground. ??
 
VoicOfReason said:
Actually, the mini IOSD shows an artificial horizon. So, what you're saying is that no one runs a direct video feed from their GoPro (gimbal mounted) back to the ground (via LCD or goggles)? That doesn't seem accurate to me. Even the Phantom 2 Vision displays a gimbal-stablizied video that is viewed on the ground. ??

Maybe you're asking the question wrong... when you say "in manual mode" do you actually mean the full manual flight mode on the flight computer? As opposed to Phantom Mode or Naza Mode.
Full manual flight mode has absolutely zero computer-assisted flight stabilizations, and I'd venture to say only an extremely small percentage of Phantom pilots have that kind of skill to fly with all the computer assists off, I know I'm nowhere near that level.

I think what japaneezy was trying to say is that since Manual flight mode is a full time job in itself, trying to fly in full manual mode beyond a short range via FPV while adjusting the gimbal is just beyond difficult and I don't think you're going to find anybody here doing that. I am very heavy on this forum and I think I've only seen 2 people since I joined refer to flying in full Manual.

If you can fly in Manual, via FPV not even looking at the Phantom but just using that tiny little artificial horizon on the iOSD to keep the entire thing stable then you're my freaking hero because you're one of if not the best Phantom pilot on the planet.
 
Can only agree, FPV flying in Manual Mode with gimbal is harakiri. You need to have a close eye on every minimal movement of the Phantom and you won't see it because of the gimbal. And the artificial horizon within iOSD image is too inaccurate and slow for this.

Regards, Gerd
 
QYV said:
VoicOfReason said:
Actually, the mini IOSD shows an artificial horizon. So, what you're saying is that no one runs a direct video feed from their GoPro (gimbal mounted) back to the ground (via LCD or goggles)? That doesn't seem accurate to me. Even the Phantom 2 Vision displays a gimbal-stablizied video that is viewed on the ground. ??

Maybe you're asking the question wrong... when you say "in manual mode" do you actually mean the full manual flight mode on the flight computer? As opposed to Phantom Mode or Naza Mode.
Full manual flight mode has absolutely zero computer-assisted flight stabilizations, and I'd venture to say only an extremely small percentage of Phantom pilots have that kind of skill to fly with all the computer assists off, I know I'm nowhere near that level.

I think what japaneezy was trying to say is that since Manual flight mode is a full time job in itself, trying to fly in full manual mode beyond a short range via FPV while adjusting the gimbal is just beyond difficult and I don't think you're going to find anybody here doing that. I am very heavy on this forum and I think I've only seen 2 people since I joined refer to flying in full Manual.

If you can fly in Manual, via FPV not even looking at the Phantom but just using that tiny little artificial horizon on the iOSD to keep the entire thing stable then you're my freaking hero because you're one of if not the best Phantom pilot on the planet.

My response was a little stupid. I forgot that the "manual" mode part and then was considering flying FPV in GPS mode. Forgot about that. Yes, I agree with your assessment.
 
VoicOfReason said:
My response was a little stupid. I forgot that the "manual" mode part and then was considering flying FPV in GPS mode. Forgot about that. Yes, I agree with your assessment.

ahaaaaaa I knew it was something like that :)

so to answer your question yes... plenty of people fly with FPV in GPS mode. I did for quite a long time.

I previously mentioned 2 different modes of the flight computer... in Phantom mode (the default) the device is locked in GPS mode, period.
If you switch your flight computer to Naza Mode, there's still a GPS mode (S1 all the way up) but now you can flip S1 to the middle and enter ATTI mode in which the Phantom does NOT try to hold it's GPS position ie it will drift with the wind. Also if you move laterally, when you releast the stick instead of the Phantom stopping quickly, it will just continue to drift until it either loses momentum (long way) or you apply counter-thrust yourself.

ATTI mode also opens up Course-Lock and Home-Lock modes via the S2 switch which change the flight characteristics... for example up/down on the right stick are no longer go-forward and go-backward relative to the Phantom, but instead it's "head towards home point" and "head away from home point"
CL and HL modes people say are useful for getting certain types of camera shots, but I never bother with them. I flip into ATTI to drift with the wind (this saves battery bit since the Phantom isn't actively holding it's position) and also you get a little more lateral tilt which yields slightly faster speed.

but I still spend most of my time in Naza / GPS mode
 

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