Hi DJI community!


I have owned the Mavic Pro for some weeks now, and finally the temperature outside is high enough to fly outdoors.

Before I could do so... I tried my Mavic inside three times. And honestly... I´m surprised that I still have a Mavic in one whole piece. Three times I tried it, three times I crashed it into the wall in my living room. I´ve learned my lesson now, and will not try a fourth time. But why It won´t work, I have no idea. The room is light enough, It´s in ATTI mode and everything is set up correctly - as far as I can see.

Except from the first time I tried, because then I took off from a floor with very high reflection. Almost like a mirror. A friend of mine told me that it drifted because it didn´t find any referance on the floor, because the drone could only see it´s own reflection. If that´s the case..... What will happen If I fly right above still water in a small lake? Any idea?

When flying indoors and with GPS, the Mavic can only rely on the Visual Positioning System to hold its position. When it's outside and able to get a good GPS lock, it will use a combination of VPS and GPS for position holding. When the VPS data is insufficient (eg. too dark or too high from the ground) it will rely on GPS data. In the case of flying low over water, DJI recommends switching off the VPS system, as the water's surface can cause problems. As long as the Mavic has a strong GPS lock, it will still be extremely stable with the VPS disabled.
And since you haven't flown it outside, yet, a good rule of thumb is that you shouldn't take off unless the Mavic is in GPS mode, and most people would recommend waiting for at least 10 satellites as a bare minimum before launching.

Kaster over en hel bøtte med sjalusi fra Nord-Norge. Forventet levering her i gården er 26. april...!!!

Jason Lane Posted at 2017-2-23 03:14
When flying indoors and with GPS, the Mavic can only rely on the Visual Positioning System to hold its position. When it's outside and able to get a good GPS lock, it will use a combination of VPS and GPS for position holding. When the VPS data is insufficient (eg. too dark or too high from the ground) it will rely on GPS data. In the case of flying low over water, DJI recommends switching off the VPS system, as the water's surface can cause problems. As long as the Mavic has a strong GPS lock, it will still be extremely stable with the VPS disabled.
And since you haven't flown it outside, yet, a good rule of thumb is that you shouldn't take off unless the Mavic is in GPS mode, and most people would recommend waiting for at least 10 satellites as a bare minimum before launching.

what could happen if the VPS is on and you're flying low above water? I am asking because I'm planning on using it to take off from a 5 meters long boat next week. Also, Could you specify the height when you say "low"? is that less than 5 meters?

aker Posted at 2017-2-23 07:36
what could happen if the VPS is on and you're flying low above water? I am asking because I'm planning on using it to take off from a 5 meters long boat next week. Also, Could you specify the height when you say "low"? is that less than 5 meters?

To be honest, I can't answer either question with complete certainty. What I do know is that the VPS system seems to be effective up to at least 10m or higher. Some users have reported that the Mavic would drift back and forth or side to side if it was hovering over waves in the water. The theory being that the Mavic thinks the waves are an object on the ground and use them for visual positioning, but that leads the Mavic to drift as it tries to lock position on a moving target. Other users have reported vertical drifting when over water.

If I were launching off a boat, I'd probably just leave the VPS turned off.

Also, if you haven't already, I'd recommend doing some research about launching/catching on a boat. eg. Try to minimize the time you're holding it while the props are running: http://mavicpilots.com/threads/m ... -was-my-fault.8444/

aker Posted at 2017-2-23 07:36
what could happen if the VPS is on and you're flying low above water? I am asking because I'm planning on using it to take off from a 5 meters long boat next week. Also, Could you specify the height when you say "low"? is that less than 5 meters?

If you're out & there's only water around, I believe you turn off the VPS.  I'm not sure:  I was in SPORT mode (so no foward OA) and flying back to shore from doing POI on a sailboat.  I had everything under the sensor tab enabled (VPS, Precision Landing, etc).  Coming back in said 34 feet high on the VPS and the Mavic got REALLY freakin low to the water.  Made for great footage later, but with the sun shining on the screen & this passer-by asking me crap about 'everything,' I nearly put her in the drink!  I had to really dial-in on the live view feed to keep it from descending closer to the water.  It wanted to keep steadily descending, so I kept a lot of collective or whatever the devil it would technically be on the Mavic to keep it at somewhat the same altitude above the water.

However, if you're flying around a small pond, receding water, or just somewhere where the Mavic is within 100 feet of shore/land/large object in front (VPS range) then it doesn't seem to matter.  I like to do "macro videography" and fly low, slow, and steady over water or low tide.  Sometimes a near perfect reflection of the Mavic appears in a puddle here & there.  That makes for nice footage of its own, actually.

aker Posted at 2017-2-23 07:36
what could happen if the VPS is on and you're flying low above water? I am asking because I'm planning on using it to take off from a 5 meters long boat next week. Also, Could you specify the height when you say "low"? is that less than 5 meters?

I would suggest to practice on land first and second make sure that you don't have a lot of metal on the boat, railing, etc. but Def turn of VPS.

aker Posted at 2017-2-23 07:36
what could happen if the VPS is on and you're flying low above water? I am asking because I'm planning on using it to take off from a 5 meters long boat next week. Also, Could you specify the height when you say "low"? is that less than 5 meters?

I went from firmware .002 to .004 (the latest).  They changed something with the downward cameras and/or ultrasonic sensors.  Now hand catching is sketchy when it used to be 100% consistent & easy.  The way it doesn't detect your hand until it way too close now...  And then it goes up, you pull down on the altitude stick & it does the autoland (sorta)...  Sometimes goes to 100% power for a second (at least not the 3 seconds when you simply grab it out of the air)...

Perhaps I need to re-calibrate the VPS in Assistant???  The thing was fine before I performed the FW update.