newbie distance aproximation

[madxm]

Hello!

any good way of estimating distances when flying blind? i usually only use the controller for movement, no apps or anything to tell me exactly where i may be.

so, any thoughts?
especially curious how far it could fly at~100m altitude...

last time i was out with it (my 5th or so flight) i flew it towards some structures and i could sware i was right beside them when i in fact i wasnt even half way there (when checking the video afterwards)

 

[evilfurryone]

Hello!

any good way of estimating distances when flying blind? i usually only use the controller for movement, no apps or anything to tell me exactly where i may be.

so, any thoughts?
especially curious how far it could fly at~100m altitude...

last time i was out with it (my 5th or so flight) i flew it towards some structures and i could sware i was right beside them when i in fact i wasnt even half way there (when checking the video afterwards)

Just plain experience I guess. The few times I did fly blind at like ~100m away I totally failed at figuring if I was near a building or not. Luckily in my case I had a newbie moment where I thought I was going to totally crash into this building in the distance. video footage showed i was still like 20m off. Could not perceive it at that distance.

I still suggest getting a fpv kit for your drone with mini osd. lot of useful features. If that is not an option I guess experience is only way just need to know how big your drone is at certain distances.

Of course 100m above you and 200m away you have a dot and basically you should not be flying so blind at that distance. There is no fun in that + if you taking pictures/videos, it's all going to be pretty random and down to luck if you got anything nice lined up.

I managed to fly for couple of weeks before my FPV kit arrived and trust me, it's much much much more fun with it than just blind flying.

 

[gunslinger]

Hello!

any good way of estimating distances when flying blind? i usually only use the controller for movement, no apps or anything to tell me exactly where i may be.

so, any thoughts?
especially curious how far it could fly at~100m altitude...

last time i was out with it (my 5th or so flight) i flew it towards some structures and i could sware i was right beside them when i in fact i wasnt even half way there (when checking the video afterwards)

You have a DJI Phantom 2 Vision... and have no FPV?

-slinger

 

[madxm]

yes, no fpv.
i have bought the unit second hand, with the original camera replaced by a zenmuse 2d gimbal and hero 3+. sadly the previous owner did the work so no specifics of what precisely happened there, nor did i get the range extender along. got a very good price for the bundle though, which is what compelled me in the first place.

so basically what i have is a vision without the camera but with hero 3, and from what i can tell the only difference to a normal p2 is the tx that works in 5.8mhz.

fpv seems pointless to me at anything under at least vga quality, and the lightbridge costs more than what i paid for my current setup...

 

[evilfurryone]

yes, no fpv.
i have bought the unit second hand, with the original camera replaced by a zenmuse 2d gimbal and hero 3+. sadly the previous owner did the work so no specifics of what precisely happened there, nor did i get the range extender along. got a very good price for the bundle though, which is what compelled me in the first place.

so basically what i have is a vision without the camera but with hero 3, and from what i can tell the only difference to a normal p2 is the tx that works in 5.8mhz.

fpv seems pointless to me at anything under at least vga quality, and the lightbridge costs more than what i paid for my current setup...

But the usual IS ca VGA quality (my screen is 800 X 480). Just that mine is running on 5.8ghz so that could interfere with your drone operation. Ofcourse there are other options as well but im not familiar with the quality you may get. That's why modified V series may become an issue.

and VGA quality gets you pretty good experience (especially when you can later review your gopro footage that is a lot better quality)

 

[Clipper707]

Estimating range is a skill that can be taught and sharpened. If you want to get good at range estimation with the Mark 1 eyeball, there are many ways you can practice.

1. Learn your 100 yard pace count. Find a football field and walk it a few times. Count your steps and learn how many steps a hundred yards is. (Out in the real world, you'll have to learn to adjust for terrain or grade but on a football field you'll be consistent.)

2. Fly your Phantom in an open field and land it a hundred yards a way from you. Then pace it and see how accurate you think you are.

3. Put a marker on the ground a hundred yards away from your home point. Go back to home point, take off, and without looking at the marker, fly your Phantom a hundred yards away. Now look down and see how close your are to your marker. You might have to reduce altitude or even land, to get a reference point. A buddy standing 100 yards away is even better.

Practice the above at different altitudes and distances. The point is to learn what your Phantom looks like at these ranges.

I did a tour as Fieldcraft Instructor at Scout/Sniper School while serving in the Marines. We did range estimation exercises like this all the time.

 

[madxm]

@evilfurryone : quality is not always VGA, as users have already reported on this forum, there seem to be issues with firmware even on the standard vision...

@clipper: good tips, thank you!
i was using standard eletrical wire posts (like in the street) which i know to be 30 or 50m apart for estimation.. but at anything over 200m its just guessing.
well, it seems practice is the only way

cheers!

 

[gunslinger]

yes, no fpv.
i have bought the unit second hand, with the original camera replaced by a zenmuse 2d gimbal and hero 3+. sadly the previous owner did the work so no specifics of what precisely happened there, nor did i get the range extender along. got a very good price for the bundle though, which is what compelled me in the first place.

so basically what i have is a vision without the camera but with hero 3, and from what i can tell the only difference to a normal p2 is the tx that works in 5.8mhz.

fpv seems pointless to me at anything under at least vga quality, and the lightbridge costs more than what i paid for my current setup...

Ahhh... a blind vision...

I feel your pain. I have a very difficult time ascertaining distance using just LOS. I'll think I'm right at a tree line only to find out that I'm still over 150 feet short. I've had my wife get over near a tree line and kept flying until she waved her arms. When we do this, I'm always slightly freaking out that her attention may have drifted and I'm about to become a tree ornament...

-slinger

 

[John Shaw]

While I do believe clipper707 is right and knowledgeable for the targets he was considering, I doubt that at distance like 100m you can get a good estimate for a Phantom. At 100m (or yards) the body of the Phantom covers about 0.2 degrees (subtends is the technical term) at 200m (or yards) it covers about 0.1 degrees. I don't think you can tell the difference. And you really would like to tell if it's 100m or 120m - that would be 0.2 vs 0.16 degrees - I don't think you'll have much success.

 

[Wedeliver]

I have no problem at only 100 meters. I can tell what direction my quad is facing at 300' without any problem at all. But another 100' and it becomes more difficult. For my FC40 I wanted osd so I could see my battery and if I had a flyaway i could record my flight and find my quad. So i did the ar drone mod and it works great. since you control your vision at 5.2ghz I think you could fly with an FC40 camera transmitting. they only cost $70.00
just trying to help

 

[madxm]

i oculd perhaps fly with a fc40 camera.. but then id have to give up the go pro right?