Litchi - Just starting

[McCloudSpark]

Picked up Litchi today. Have been busy watching videos on it's usage. I put it on my Ipad Mini-4 GPS (no sim). As soon as I went outside with it the map zoomed right in on my location! I'm excited now!
I wanted to do some test mission creation using my W10 PC and wondered if that was possible and if so how?
I thought I would be nicer than doing it on the Ipad.

 

[Andre Levite]

Picked up Litchi today. Have been busy watching videos on it's usage. I put it on my Ipad Mini-4 GPS (no sim). As soon as I went outside with it the map zoomed right in on my location! I'm excited now!
I wanted to do some test mission creation using my W10 PC and wondered if that was possible and if so how?
I thought I would be nicer than doing it on the Ipad.

Litchi has a web based application for creating waypoint missions on your PC

It's called Mission Hub

 

[McCloudSpark]

Thanks! Created my 1st test mission using the hub and then loaded it to the Ipad! Nothing to it
I'm liking Litchi!

 

[Ted Schoenfelder]

I highly recommend saving a CSV file from Litchi Hub to Litchi Virtual Mission, when you open the file from LVM it opens the file in Goggle Earth Pro so you can view the details of the flight and pre-fly your mission. Here is a link for downloading LVM: Virtual Litchi Mission Viewer (VLM)

Very valuable in checking camera angles, transitions, elevations, or objects not seen from an overhead view. Sometimes I modify and re-run the flight 6 to 8 times in Google Earth to get the exact camera angle I desire. Once you get into the field you have confidence the flight will go smoothly and as planned.

 

[McCloudSpark]

Thanks for the info! Giving it a try right now.
At 65 years old and an electrical engineer for 40 years, I've always been able to "play" with the latest toys. Having started when computers were just starting - this new tech is mind blowing (and hard to keep up with)!

 

[Ted Schoenfelder]

Thanks for the info! Giving it a try right now.
At 65 years old and an electrical engineer for 40 years, I've always been able to "play" with the latest toys. Having started when computers were just starting - this new tech is mind blowing (and hard to keep up with)!

Well, we have similar minds then! I'm 69, and an Airline Transport Pilot, for both airplanes and helicopters, with lots of hours in sophisticated commercial jet simulators, so flying is not new, but the drone is! If there is a tool out there to make my flying smoother and more professional, I will seek it out. The Litchi app is great, I just wish I could use my DJI Goggles with it! The Goggles work well with DJI Go 4, but then I lose my waypoint capability and precise planning. Of course you can use cheaper goggles, but I made DJI Goggle investment, so would like to use them.

The Litchi Virtual Mission in conjunction with Litchi Hub is the best I've come across for Android users. Very precise, very smooth, and when checked with LVM, is very accurate. I learned a lot about using "Interpolate" and "Focus POI" functions in the hub/app. Always wondered why my camera was not exactly where I wanted it when I flew a planned route. I found I was using "interpolation" too liberally and by switching back to Focus POI, in some cases, the camera ended up where I wanted it to be. I would have had a hard time figuring out that problem without LVM and Google Earth, where I could pre-test various Litchi settings, altitudes, etc., to get what I wanted. May save you from hitting something you can't see as easy from the ground too, like highline wires, towers, etc.

I will be shooting some winter scenes this weekend out of Grand Marais, MN, where I'm staying at a friends house for a few days. Temps are going to be 10-15 F, so we'll see how that goes using the Spark and Litchi for missions that are fairly long. I've operated down to freezing before but nothing as cold as it will be this weekend. Some of our Canadian counterparts do it all the time, so I think I will be fine.

 

[McCloudSpark]

OK! Just completed my 1st virtual mission using Google Earth. All worked as advertised.
How do you turn off the WP,s and POI's so they don't show up when creating a movie?

 

[Ted Schoenfelder]

Nothing you see in terms of tracks, or points, will show up in your video. But you are probably wanting to get rid of the vertical lines, track, POI, and waypoints in Google Earth Pro, specifically the "diagnostics", to make a clearer picture for the flight. Just click the horizontal arrow for the file, which opens the file folder with two files, "Virtual Mission" and "Diagnostics," simply uncheck the diagnostics box and all the planning info goes away. Click on "Virtual Mission", then click on the "play tour" button right under that (mini TV), on the selections row (last to right), and it will play your flight as you would fly it.

 

[McCloudSpark]

Thanks - Got it! I'm virtually cruisin' now
I sent an edited video of a virtual fly-by of a friends house and he wanted to know when I was there and shot the vid. I might make it to warmer weather after all!!

 

[Ted Schoenfelder]

Great! Glad I could help.

Yes, you could go south (virtually) and fly along some of those sandy beaches and enjoy the warm feeling! Might even want to send your friend one of those flights and tell him what a great time you're having and tell him, "wish you were here"!

 

[McCloudSpark]

No - I just meant that I have something more to explore/play with while waiting for spring to arrive. It's currently 3F outside

 

[Dave Canada]

does anybody know much about third party apps to download missions to ios i have an andriod but my brother got litchi and is having trouble loading to his device can you tell me anything about it , obviosly i have no issues with my andriod

 

[McCloudSpark]

Sure - I'm using Litchi on an Ipad mini-4, WIFI, GPS, no SIM. With WIFI connected and the Litchi app running:
In the upper LH corner of the app select the Litchi eyeball and in the dropdown select Log In. Log into your Litchi Mission Hub account and the app will auto sync and DL the Waypoint missions you have created using the hub. Select Waypoint from the same dropdown and then select the little folder icon on the LH side of the app. You will see all of the missions. You can also create a mission in the app and save it and it will appear in the hub. Keep in mind that the hub only knows about Waypoint missions, not Orbit, Pano or any of the others that you can create using the app.