Flying while sailing?

[Tafische]

So I am taking a group of Boy Scouts to Seabase (Florida Keys USA) and we are going to learn to sail. I am really hoping to get some good footage with my Drone. I consider myself a pretty good pilot, but I see the challenges here. So far my plan is:

- Do most of my footage while at anchor
- If I do moving footage, do it while motoring so we can stop

My concerns are:
- Under sail being unable to slow down or navigate to “catch” the drone (so mainly film while stationary)
- Being able to land the drone safely on a moving or drifting boat
- Homepoint location moving

I am assuming I will be manually landing the drone most of the time since the homepoint will likely drift even at anchor.

Anyone out there had any experience with this? What worked well? What are your recommendations?

 

[LanWolf]

welll.. watch this and then decide how brave you are
Volvo Ocean Race

spark can be hand launched, and hand landed, but on a moving boat i woud do "the grab", grab it from underneath and turn it over to stop the motors. (some one else might have to do it while you fly it)
you can use the remote for home location setting, would help bit but do not let it autoland .. abort when you are having a good view on the spark and bring it in manually.

 

[Spark 317]

For those that don't have Facebook...

See, nothing to it.

Hand launch by the pilot and awesome catch by the Captain.

 

[Rahul Verma]

Wow really DJi drones has no limit of catching endeavour events

 

[Tiller]

Taking off from a moving boat when GPS is enabled can be tricky
The boat will move and not ever stand still, while the drone is going to want to stay put at the same spot.
This can cause several issues, so be careful . Especially when using a Spark.
The Phantom models etc you can just put in Atti mode.This is not the case with the Spark.

 

[JoostGT3]

Hm... I would say a bit of luck is involved... Don't underestimate the difficulties of launching and landing a drone when on a moving platform. Also make sure you don't launch from a metal roof or so, as it seriously messes up the compass. Also make sure no lines or sails are in the way. If I were you, I would practice first when your boat is stationary and then do some following the pupils' boats... it can be challenging enough to do so, especially when there are multiple boats around! It is very easy to get caught up in "getting the shot", and loose awareness of the surroundings. When in doubt, use a spotter who keeps an eye on the surroundings and your drone when you are flying.

Regarding hand-catching on a moving sailing boat... again, be aware of lines, sails and other people! You'll need quite some drone skills in order to pull this off. Missing a hand catch (wear gloves maybe?) may mean that the drone flies off in a direction you did not anticipate, with all the risks of getting caught in lines, flying into people, etc. All of a sudden, you'll become aware that the ship that you always thought was pretty roomy, actually provides for very little space to fly around in!