P4 chasing plane?

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I fly RC planes at a club, and usually there aren't many people there, if sometimes none. My friend often flies my rc planes often asks me to record the plane while chasing it with my P4. Is this a bad idea?
 
You'll probably find it difficult, I chased my P3P with my Mavic to try and get some footage. Even with the P3P flying a straight line mission at modest speed I found it hard to even see it on the Mavic phone screen, let alone get any footage worth having. I reckon if you get close enough to it, the risk of a crash is going to be quite high. Maybe your skill levels are higher than mine though. I'll try my P3 followed by the Mavic plan again, but this time they'll both be on Litchi missions, both missions identical, but one a few metres higher than the other. That, of course that's not possible with an RC aircraft. The problem I found was not the course or altitude, but regulating and matching the speed.
 
You'll probably find it difficult, I chased my P3P with my Mavic to try and get some footage. Even with the P3P flying a straight line mission at modest speed I found it hard to even see it on the Mavic phone screen, let alone get any footage worth having. I reckon if you get close enough to it, the risk of a crash is going to be quite high. Maybe your skill levels are higher than mine though. I'll try my P3 followed by the Mavic plan again, but this time they'll both be on Litchi missions, both missions identical, but one a few metres higher than the other. That, of course that's not possible with an RC aircraft. The problem I found was not the course or altitude, but regulating and matching the speed.
i would NOT recommend that. I have noticed litchi can sometimes make slight mistakes, not usually noticeable but IMO with expensive quads like that I wouldnt risk it... I have been flying litchi for a long time and I really dont think that is a good idea. Things like wind, downdrafts, incorrect gps and other factors can change the position slightly... could cause a mid-air collision
Thanks for the response though!
 
If the RC aeroplane can carry an iPhone you might be able to use autoflight logic autopilot with the phone running the airspace app. That could give some very cool results.
 
Safe as houses, what could possibly go wrong....:eek:
It'll be a simple mission, windless (or nearly so) day, 15 or more satellite fixes, and I'll run several missions at a safe distance over fields (5 - 10 metres apart and in line astern) to get a feel for it. I've also run a great many Litchi missions (I'm doing (or trying to do) a seasonal time-lapse mission over the local woods over the course of a year, and know the limitations of the GPS system).
I'm intrigued as to why you would suggest following a RC plane when you consider my plan unsafe? Maybe your original post was sarcasm? :confused: I'll let you know the results..
 
I fly RC planes at a club, and usually there aren't many people there, if sometimes none. My friend often flies my rc planes often asks me to record the plane while chasing it with my P4. Is this a bad idea?

Only if it ends in tears lol
 
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Safe as houses, what could possibly go wrong....:eek:
It'll be a simple mission, windless (or nearly so) day, 15 or more satellite fixes, and I'll run several missions at a safe distance over fields (5 - 10 metres apart and in line astern) to get a feel for it. I've also run a great many Litchi missions (I'm doing (or trying to do) a seasonal time-lapse mission over the local woods over the course of a year, and know the limitations of the GPS system).
I'm intrigued as to why you would suggest following a RC plane when you consider my plan unsafe? Maybe your original post was sarcasm? :confused: I'll let you know the results..
i only considered it unsafe because I have seen how sometimes litchi can be slightly inaccurate, so running two quads on the exact same course very close to each other just seemed like a bit of a bad idea to me IMHO
I was considering manually piloting the quad, which is why I wasnt quite as concerned with my idea...
 
i only considered it unsafe because I have seen how sometimes litchi can be slightly inaccurate, so running two quads on the exact same course very close to each other just seemed like a bit of a bad idea to me IMHO
I was considering manually piloting the quad, which is why I wasnt quite as concerned with my idea...
I must say, I've only seen Litchi missions vary by no more than a couple of metres as an absolute maximum, which is better than I could hope for, I suggest it's not Litchis doing, but more a GPS 'thing', I am amazed at how accurate GPS/Glonass is in any case. Doing my time lapse video (a labour of love on a laptop...) I can see variances from the planned route of just a couple of metres, but I've been sending my P3P out in some breezy conditions. I'll start 10 metres apart, do a few runs and if there is little variance, I'll close the gap. I appreciate your concerns, and thanks for that, but I'll plough on regardless.
 
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It takes practice to stay within a reasonable distance of each other. So far, it seems a combination of POV and FPV and working at low attitudes until you're comfortable being near each other. My flying buddy just got his Mavic and me with my P3A. Constant verbal communication is a must.
(Finally figured the picture post option)
 
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