What would happen if you launched your Mavic inside an airplane that was cruising along at M0.78 and it just happened to have acquired enough satellites at the time to be in P-GPS mode?  I'm guessing the thing would smash itself to bits on the aft bulkhead before you could do anything about it.  On the P4 I could always switch it to ATTI before takeoff to prevent this, but I just read in the Mavic manual that there's no way to switch to ATTI on the Mavic. (!?)

I agree that it's unlikely to get enough satellites for it to be an issue, especially on a freighter without all the windows, but I'd like to be on the safe side.  Is there any way to force ATTI mode without using hacks that aren't so easily undone?

My new Mavic won't arrive until Friday so I don't know much about it yet.  Thanks in advance.

just don't. don't fly the mavic indoors at all.

What are you smoking dude??? Flying inside a moving AIRPLANE???

dronist Posted at 2017-8-9 09:03
What are you smoking dude??? Flying inside a moving AIRPLANE???

Sure, in level flight it's no different than flying in a really long room at home.  Without any acceleration you're essentially in one place just like you are at home.  Cabin altitude is only 6-8k' so that's not a factor either.

It's only that darn GPS that gets you into trouble (or could, in my mind), and that was the point of my question.  With no ATTI mode I'm kinda lost/apprehensive.

You afraid of walking around in a moving airplane too?

You wont get GPS inside a plane anyway.  That or wrap it in tinfoil to force ATTI like they do in Syria.

With GPS the Mavic will take off and immediately go full speed backwards as it tries to station keep.  It'll smash into the aft bulkhead at 20mph.

Might qualify for the  most goofy drone question yet!  

Can we give this guy some kind of award or plaque?

Enough folks have troubles when trying to launch off a boat, let alone a flying airplane?????
Wait a minute....Is this Casey N, by chance??????

Film it please!!! Inquiring minds want to know...

Low probability of working.  I doubt if GPS will work, so you'll probably be in a GEO-Fenced area :-)  Compass won't be reliable due to mag interference. Your barometric pressure altimeter  may not be that stable (even in a pressurized cabin), VPS COULD keep you stable while hovering, even without GPS.   The biggest problem will be how the  Mavic FCS deals with conflicting attitude inputs.  It will probably crash as soon as you move :-)

LOL dude, are you just trying to get some attention? Grab your user manual, study it (not only one time) and try to figure out a better place to fly

Flycaster Posted at 2017-8-9 10:58
Enough folks have troubles when trying to launch off a boat, let alone a flying airplane?????
Wait a minute....Is this Casey N, by chance??????

What's the problem to start from a boat? I do it every week several times.

SafariMan Posted at 2017-8-9 13:40
LOL dude, are you just trying to get some attention? Grab your user manual, study it (not only one time) and try to figure out a better place to fly

Why no one could just assume that he is the owner of the airplane...

SafariMan Posted at 2017-8-9 13:40
Grab your user manual, study it (not only one time) and try to figure out a better place to fly

I could study the manual 99 times, but it would not change the fact that there is no way to switch to ATTI mode.  If you have secret info not mentioned in the manual, that's exactly what I want to know.  

As for having a safer place to fly, I have plenty of "safe" (even by your definition) places I fly and I do not see the point of that comment.  I think flying a drone for a few minutes during a personal comfort break is a lot more productive than playing practical jokes on the other guy or being the unlucky recipient of said practical jokes... many of which used to involve blue water back when we had it.

You will be fine.
Technically speaking...
Plane is moving so fast that you wont be able to pick up GPS/Glonass. The GPS/Glonass ceramic puck antenna is off the shelf and not built for subsonic speeds. If it happens that sats are picked up then the Mavic will switch to ATTI as it will get conflicting GPS and compass data.
If you are going to take off inside the moving plane, then make sure the interior lights are all bright, as the Mavic will be in ATTI mode and will be relying on VPS entirely.
Also, you will probably get MAG INTERF warnings so it may not take off.

I think if you want to have fun on a plane or make news headlines, then get a nano quad for $50 and fly it around the cabin.

QuanthonyTrang- I do have a toy Syma that I use for most of the "unwise" flying.  And my P4 std flies reasonably well under the conditions described above -- but flying that thing indoors is like standing in a trailer park during a tornado.  I'm hoping the lighter Mavic won't require so much downwash and can more easily be tamed.  Guess I'll find out soon enough.  And yes I'll be buying Care Refresh! Heheheh

QuanthonyTrang - I have recorded airliner fight routes (at 10-12km up) with iPhone - if you sit by the window and hold the phone low, it will pick enough GPS sources to lock its position. I assume the same would apply to Mavic.

That said, it's probably better to film with a had-held Mavic inside a cabin, using it as a gimbal.

As discussed above, I do not think it is a good idea to fly inside moving airplane. A moving aircraft is in no way a suitable environment for flight. Flight in this environment could lead to catastrophic damage to persons and/or sensitive equipment and should be avoided at all costs.

i think someone smoke somethig ...jesus

Just be patient, wait until it arrives then book  a flight in the airliner of your choice and try it...

Make sure you post a video.

DJI Susan Posted at 2017-8-10 04:11
As discussed above, I do not think it is a good idea to fly inside  moving airplane. A moving aircraft is in no way a suitable environment  for flight. Flight in this environment could lead to catastrophic damage  to persons and/or sensitive equipment and should be avoided at all  costs.

You're kidding right?

Lucas775 Posted at 2017-8-10 07:57
Make sure you post a video.

I'm sorry, but I will not be posting any videos until I am employed elsewhere.  You saw what happened to British Airways Cpt. Glover, and all he was doing was wearing some ladies stockings!  (Sure, it _may_ have been a pax flight, but it may have been a positioning flight instead.)  Either way, that incident was pretty tame and the poor guy got crucified.

Interesting theoretical discussion. Suppose that the plane, which flies the quad is equipped with a pressurized cabin. What happens if the plane suddenly hits bad weather and falls 100 ft down into an air hole.
  
Does the quad fall at the same speed as the plane or hangs it suddenly up under the roof ?
Or, it falls down to the floor ?
Or ................................ ?                    

Regards Leif.

i vote to "hangs it suddenly up under the roof "

Landbo Posted at 2017-8-10 13:22
Interesting theoretical discussion. Suppose that the plane, which flies the quad is equipped with a pressurized cabin. What happens if the plane suddenly hits bad weather and falls 100 ft down into an air hole.
  
Does the quad fall at the same speed as the plane or hangs it suddenly up under the roof ?

Nothing.  A pressurised cabin isnt going to change for a 100ft drop.  Its a bleed system with no more than a few hundred feet per minute cabin altitude change, in cruise less.

It'll smack into the roof (along with the passengers)

Mike Mas Posted at 2017-8-9 10:27
Might qualify for the  most goofy drone question yet!  

Can we give this guy some kind of award or plaque?

Can we give this guy and more a Physics class???  Gah!!!  

I fly indoor once and crash my Mavic. It's extremely hard to control it.

DJI Susan Posted at 2017-8-10 04:11
As discussed above, I do not think it is a good idea to fly inside moving airplane. A moving aircraft is in no way a suitable environment for flight. Flight in this environment could lead to catastrophic damage to persons and/or sensitive equipment and should be avoided at all costs.

Agreed!!! why would you even want to fly inside an airplane?? there is no aerial perspective that can be better that what can be achieved if you have a regular camera on a gimbal. I just see this post as a means to get attention, hope this person does not really intend to attempt such stunt. come on people, drones are a serious pieces of equipment, not just any big boy toy. have common sense and fly safe!

Cheers!

Regarding this post as a purely academic question, if you can fly strictly ATTI, it should work.  Movement of the drone (in ATTI mode) is relative to local forces (wind & gravity).  Think of sitting in an airplane seat and tossing a ball into the air.  It doesn't fly back to the rear at 400 mph.

SafariMan Posted at 2017-8-9 13:40
LOL dude, are you just trying to get some attention? Grab your user manual, study it (not only one time) and try to figure out a better place to fly

He does that quite often too !

Let's say you did get it to hover, would your flight distance go up and would your top speed be m0.78

SafariMan Posted at 2017-8-9 13:40
LOL dude, are you just trying to get some attention? Grab your user manual, study it (not only one time) and try to figure out a better place to fly

Or just sell the drone as you are not mentally qualified to own one.....

fishelectronics Posted at 2017-8-9 14:01
What's the problem to start from a boat? I do it every week several times.

That's what I was going to ask.

in your experience has there been any conflict in water with the GPS?

rshah921 Posted at 2017-11-2 08:57
That's what I was going to ask.

in your experience has there been any conflict in water with the GPS?

I suspect it was a reference to the near-constant motion common in open water, the lack of flat, open spaces from which to safely launch, and the prevalence of nearby metal that can affect the Mavic's compass .

QuanthonyTrang Posted at 2017-8-9 18:21
You will be fine.
Technically speaking...
Plane is moving so fast that you wont be able to pick up GPS/Glonass. The GPS/Glonass ceramic puck antenna is off the shelf and not built for subsonic speeds. If it happens that sats are picked up then the Mavic will switch to ATTI as it will get conflicting GPS and compass data.

Plane is moving so fast that you wont be able to pick up GPS/Glonass. The GPS/Glonass ceramic puck antenna is off the shelf and not built for subsonic speeds.

This is BS.  GPS works fine in a plane.  I regularly use my car GPS when I fly.  I like to keep track of what I'm seeing on the ground and what our ground speed is.

Irate Retro Posted at 2017-8-9 18:35
**** The author has been banned or deleted automatically shield ****

Wha happened, Archie's season has come to an end ?????

He must have done something bad, cuz he's outtahere!

Rachelal Posted at 2017-8-21 21:19
I fly indoor once and crash my Mavic. It's extremely hard to control it.

That's why you need to practice, practice, practice, I cut my teeth flying cheap quads that had Horizon & Acro modes, then worked my way up to FPV Race Quads, learn to really fly using one of those first. There is a big difference in driving along in P Mode compared to actual physics in "Atti" or Acro mode. Once you master the physics Atti flying comes natural.

QuadKid Posted at 2017-11-2 10:09
Wha happened, Archie's season has come to an end ?????

That's what I said...interesting that the antics didn't last too long on here.

Hey DJI how about letting us know his offense so we don't follow the same footsteps, or maybe start a "Let Reinstate Archie Poll"