I'm looking for an app

[Highflyer]

I'm looking for an app that someone posted a while back. It's an app I never heard of before it shows wind direction with little moving arrows all over the map does anyone know what that app is called?

Thanks, Jeff

 

[Spark 317]

I'm looking for an app that someone posted a while back. It's an app I never heard of before it shows wind direction with little moving arrows all over the map does anyone know what that app is called?

Thanks, Jeff

windy.com

 

[Highflyer]

windy.com

yep that's the one Thanks

 

[homevale]

If you subscribe to the Gold level in Airdata.com, you can get wind maps of your drone flights. This will tell you wind speed and direction along your flight path. Not sure if this is available in the US but the Australian Bureau of Meteorology has a feature called MET EYE which will show the wind speed and direction over a forecast period.

 

[Highflyer]

Thanks homevale I'll check into it. Sorry to hear about all that Destruction in Australia very sad.

 

[Earthman]

I’m glad you found Windy again. Windy is my go to app for wind speed, direction and forecast. I use it every time I fly or plan a flight.

If needed, I also use the augmented reality iPhone app Theodolite with a small spreadsheet on my iPhone to help estimate the height of obstructions (see attached screenshot of the spreadsheet).

You can get Theodolite for iPhone at ‎Theodolite. Although I don’t know anything about it, I noticed that there is now an Android version too at Theodolite App APK Download for Android.

I use paper templates or masks that have a triangular cut out to help me plan shots. The angle of the cutout is equal to the FOV of the lens. I make them from 8.5” x 11” card stock to use with my iPad or PC, and laminated 3” x 4” masks to use with my iPhone. I hold the masks over the display screen while looking at my subject in Google Earth. This gives me an idea of where I need to position the drone to fully frame my subject. In urban areas, I typically takeoff from the designated spot and fly straight up to get the shot then relocate to the next. This saves time, the battery, and reduces flight risk.

I recently found and purchased the Photo Planning Tools bundle of apps for iPhone at ‎Photo Planning Tools. The Photographer’s Transit app in the bundle may be able to replace my paper masks (see screenshot below). The other two apps in the bundle help plan shots with respect to the time of day and the position of the sun.

Here’s my spreadsheet:
.

Here’s a screenshot of the Photographer’s Transit:

 

[ChezN.O. Dronie]

Earthman........... thanks for your post! I am especially interested in the TPT app, but unfortunately my devices are all Android and don't see that they have an Android app yet. Question for the gang.......... has anyone seen something similar in Android yet? This tool looks like a total winner for planning! Thanks........ Mike

 

[Earthman]

Earthman........... thanks for your post! I am especially interested in the TPT app, but unfortunately, my devices are all Android and don't see that they have an Android app yet. Question for the gang.......... has anyone seen something similar in Android yet? This tool looks like a total winner for planning! Thanks........ Mike

Mike, I wouldn't worry too much about having a TPT-like app for Android. In some respects, I think the paper templates work better since they don't cost much, they are easy to use with a PC or cell phone, and currently, they are more accurate than TPT, which doesn't let me put in the exact focal length of the lens for my Mavic Pro (MP) or Spark. Consequently, the FOV in TPT isn't as exact as my paper template(s). I can get close with TPT, but not as close as I can get with a cheap protractor and paper template.

See attached photo of the paper FOV template I use for the MP, which I keep behind the top foam insert of my MP case. I was going to share a photo of the smaller, laminated template that I usually keep in my Spark case, but I must have left it at my last job. Oh well, the templates are cheap and easy to make, so I'll replace it tomorrow. At some point, I hope the developer of TPT will add the exact focal lengths for the Mavic Pro and Sparc cameras to TPT focal length pic list in response a recent request I made.

To use a paper template, just hold it against the screen of your PC or cell phone with your subject framed by the template. I do this with Google Earth satellite images of the subject, which tend to be project, industrial, or real estate subjects for me. The template shows where my drone needs to be relative to the ground to frame the subject; i.e., at the vertex of the FOV angle. See attached photos of how I use a paper template and a resulting aerial photo.

NOTE: DJI reports the diagonal FOV of the lens for the Mavic Pro, so the horizontal FOV is 68.4 deg. So the cutout in my templates for my Mavic Pro is 68.4-deg .

Happy flying!

 

[RotorWash]

To use a paper template, just hold it against the screen of your PC or cell phone with your subject framed by the template. I do this with Google Earth satellite images of the subject, which tend to be project, industrial, or real estate subjects for me. The template shows where my drone needs to be relative to the ground to frame the subject; i.e., at the vertex of the FOV angle.

Excellent prep work Earthman, thanks for sharing this!