Litchi questions- P4P -Orbit and preplanning

[jephoto]

Hi gang. Questions for Litchi users.

First- I’ve not ever used Litchi yet. But want to try it to see if I can get smoother -and more Accurate- orbits.

When shooting large properties (I shoot a lot of schools for their websites) using Go’s POI for a 360° orbit, it often drifts off my centered point of interest. Seems to drift off center in the direction of Flight. If going counter clock, drifts to the right. If clockwise, goes to the left.

Is Litchi more accurate doing a circular orbit or is this a flaw in the P4p v2?
And if Litchi does a better job, can you adjust waypoint parameters on a pre saved mission once on site? Say for altitude if when I get there I see a building, tree, power lines etc. that I need to adjust altitude to clear.

Also, how do you make sure that at the end of a mission, the bird returns to Home?
Do you set the first and last waypoint as the Homepoint?

Forgive the total
Newbie questions here:

Next, do you have to set a Mission for every flight, or can you just fly manually and shoot?

Can you create new missions in the field using a tablet (iPad 9.8” here) or do the missions need to be done at home on a laptop or desktop?

For tight orbits in Go, such as around a single building, tree, structure I’m getting better at just manually doing a poi. But on a large property it’s almost impossible to hold a steady tiny rotation for a complete 360.
This is why I’m hoping Litchi may be more accurate.

Thanks for the input.
Links to YouTube vids also appreciated. Been watching a few...

 

[MapMaker53]

I almost exclusively use Litchi for free flight point and shoot, way point missions, and large orbits. I, personally, have never used it to automatically return to home point after a mission. My first and last way points are usually at around 40 ft AGL and both are close to the home point. I prefer to take over at the last way point and manually fly it to a position where I can easily hand catch my P4P. When doing an orbit, I just toggle the RC switch out of GPS momentarily (then back again) when the orbit has completed, and again manually fly it back to me.

All way points and altitudes can be adjusted on your screen in the field before takeoff as needed. Missions and orbits can also be stored and called up again for repeat flights in the future. I used to plan missions on my iPad, but I have found it easier to set them up using the Litchi Mission Hub website on my desktop, and then downloading them when I log onto the site while on my iPad.

The orbit drift is something I had read accounts of (I believe it may have also occurred with Litchi), but I have personally never experienced that issue -- at least not to the point of it ever being noticeable. If you Google the issue, you may find some discussion about it. I have found Litchi to be very reliable. Initial connection was a bit dicey with my old P2V+, but it has connected and worked flawlessly with my P4P. Have fun.

 

[jephoto]

I almost exclusively use Litchi for free flight point and shoot, way point missions, and large orbits. I, personally, have never used it to automatically return to home point after a mission. My first and last way points are usually at around 40 ft AGL and both are close to the home point. I prefer to take over at the last way point and manually fly it to a position where I can easily hand catch my P4P. When doing an orbit, I just toggle the RC switch out of GPS momentarily (then back again) when the orbit has completed, and again manually fly it back to me.

All way points and altitudes can be adjusted on your screen in the field before takeoff as needed. Missions and orbits can also be stored and called up again for repeat flights in the future. I used to plan missions on my iPad, but I have found it easier to set them up using the Litchi Mission Hub website on my desktop, and then downloading them when I log onto the site while on my iPad.

The orbit drift is something I had read accounts of (I believe it may have also occurred with Litchi), but I have personally never experienced that issue -- at least not to the point of it ever being noticeable. If you Google the issue, you may find some discussion about it. I have found Litchi to be very reliable. Initial connection was a bit dicey with my old P2V+, but it has connected and worked flawlessly with my P4P. Have fun.

Appreciated. I’m going to download it & play.
I see how creating the mission using the mission hub will be an excellent thing to do. But also know that when I get to a new site there may be adjustments needed to things you can’t tell from Google Maps.
And of course wanting to improvise on site.

 

[MapMaker53]

Yes, you can do that with Litchi. You not only can adjust your way points in the field before launch, but you could also create an entirely new mission from scratch while out at your site if you wish.

 

[jephoto]

Thanks MM3- forgot to ask, Litchi DOES have a RTH setting Incase of signal loss from controller right?
And is it similar on options to set it- RTH or Hover in place, RTH altitude, etc?

 

[patriotdrone]

If you lose signal, the drone will complete the mission and then do what ever you have setup to do after the mission is completed. (RTH, hover,etc)