I have a small sailboat, and I would like footage of her with me in her, and I wanted to run by you this plan. I was thinking to avoid the terror of launching the drone from the boat that I am sailing single-handed that I might take the controller out on the boat with me, but launch the drone from land, and hopefully RTH the drone to the same spot from which I launched it. Once airborne, I would fly the drone to the vicinity of my boat, underway, and take advantage of the P4P's intelligent flight modes before sending it home. Does this sound viable to you, if not, what are the holes in my plan? Thanks, Frank.
Is my sailboat video plan viable?
- Thread starter fnelowet
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That’s an interesting idea! I dint know how small your small boat is, but it might limit things if you fly from land to boat. Are you on a lake or the sea? I have flown from my sailing boat and agree it takes a lot of nerve (not yet got footage of me sailing). I use a spark, which is quite a bit smaller than Phantom. I hand launch and tie the boom out to a shroud to provide more space.
Interesting.... Currently, my drone-flying skills are not up-to-date. I am leery of flying the drone from the boat while I'm sailing single-handed. I was hoping my plan to launch it and recover it on shore might compensate for the technical difficulty of launching and recovering on the small boat itself. What do you think?
Why not get a family or friend to do the shooting for you, so you can concentrate on sailing? I may be paranoid, but I see Murphy’s Law happening here.
I don't trust GO's IFM's. But that is another issue. This depends on how far you will be away from the original home point take off location and how much "play" you have in the area you plan to take off and land. In theory, your objective will work, however you will need to finely tune this. IMO, Litchi would do this for you much easier, but another facet would be the moving boat, if you plan on that. It's a much bigger risk trying this alone with a moving target, so to speak. Personally I would not try it, alone anyway. If your boat will be stationary, that is another issue and much easier. All you would need to do is plan a mission from the shore to the boat and back, setting your final action to hover. If your distance is short enough you can return to near the shorline and land it yourself, even on the boat if you chose to do so.
One final note. If you do attempt your flight, which shouldn't be that difficult. Make 100% certain that you turn off the aircraft VPS, it doesn't play well flying over water.
PhantomWetSuits
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Sounds like the objective is to make a really cool video of you sailing.
All sensors off:
Remote take off great idea. Remember that you are most likely are not going to be there when you land remote RTH style. So nailing the take off point is key , no people , no other boats as its going to be a blind landing..
Have the Drone follow you active track out to the sea , this is a great time for the drone to get really close as it follows you..
Once settled Orbit away , but keep the drone close as the focus is you and your sailboat.
One of the cooler shots is to place the drone out in front of you on the sea, about 30 ft high and than sail right into it and under , tons of fun and makes for a great shot and its rather easy being that you are only using the hover to capture it.
Being on the water you are also not likely to watch the battery levels so set a timer .
If things do go wrong , dont panic, just try to land anywhere but in the water.
Hope to see the video, have fun.
Phantomrain.org
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All sensors off:
Remote take off great idea. Remember that you are most likely are not going to be there when you land remote RTH style. So nailing the take off point is key , no people , no other boats as its going to be a blind landing..
Have the Drone follow you active track out to the sea , this is a great time for the drone to get really close as it follows you..
Once settled Orbit away , but keep the drone close as the focus is you and your sailboat.
One of the cooler shots is to place the drone out in front of you on the sea, about 30 ft high and than sail right into it and under , tons of fun and makes for a great shot and its rather easy being that you are only using the hover to capture it.
Being on the water you are also not likely to watch the battery levels so set a timer .
If things do go wrong , dont panic, just try to land anywhere but in the water.
Hope to see the video, have fun.
Phantomrain.org
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Thanks, but unfortunately they are not pilots. I am a rusty pilot at this point but I could get myself back up to speed. I would definitely like to have someone at least have eyes on the launch/landing position and communications with me in the boat. Thanks!
Meta4
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Or you could try the opposite.
Do you have any friends you trust to do the sailing for you, which would allow you to do the flying?
The wideangle lens of the Phantom would mean that you'd have to get to close for comfort to really see much detail of who is on the boat.
Eliminating the issues of flying and catching from the boat, introduces new problems if you wanted to launch from land while sailing.
How close to shore would you be sailing?
Would you have an assistant to place the Phantom and turn it on when the time is right?
If you are relying on RTH to get it back and land, make sure the launch spot is clear for 20 ft around.
Here's a sailboat I shot last week just to stimulate your thoughts.
I haven't seen anyone bring up the legal aspect. If the final film is to have any commercial value, dosen't the pilot need a certificate? Sailing a boat is far more complex than driving a car. Yet driving while flying a drone is a violation,(per107) then having someone else fly the drone seems like a good choice.
If you read the OP, this is pretty obviously a personal use 336 flight and has nothing to do with commercialism. Granted it wasn't directly stated either way, but interpreting the intent is obvious.
Thank you for bringing that to light Fly Dawg. Think you could quote that part of the OP's post for me. I'm learning a lot here.
Frank, I'm also a small boat sailor. Haven't done it in years, but I remember enough that you have your hands full most of the time. I would agree with others who have answered your question who suggest you find someone to fly the drone.
Yes, I'm seeing that's the answer, thanks. As I think through it, I'm single handing a daysailer working the tiller and the main sheet while trying to manage a drone at the same time. I think I'm going to look for someone to fly a drone to take the footage.
I agree, and I appreciate all the discussion. In the end, flying a drone WELL is a full-time job, and sailing a sailboat single-handed is another full-time job. I'm going to look for someone to do the drone photography for me. All the best!
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