When planning a flight and using software like DJI go or litchi is there any way to check the ground elevation when planning ! Obviously to ensure you don’t plan over and above the mandatory max of 400 feet !
Your input would be great everyone ,

In Litchi you can set your Altitude above ground level for each waypoint. Can’t be done in Go4 that I know about. Good luck.

Archangel3356 Posted at 12-8 06:07
In Litchi you can set your Altitude above ground level for each waypoint. Can’t be done in Go4 that I know about. Good luck.

The zero reference it uses is still your Home Point ... if the ground slopes up greater than the altitude you set in Litchi / GO ... you are going to look a bit silly !!

solentlife Posted at 12-8 08:42
The zero reference it uses is still your Home Point ... if the ground slopes up greater than the altitude you set in Litchi / GO ... you are going to look a bit silly !!

I suppose if you want to take time and trouble ... there is an element of risk as to any changes that may have occurred in areas :

You could study an ordnance survey map and extract the listed elevations from the contours  ... add / subtract the differences to the settings you would input so you account for rise and fall of the land.

Personally - if possible - I would make the highest point my Home Take Off point and work from there ... ignoring any downward slop of land with the argument that Home Point - I observed the 400 feet max ...  

solentlife Posted at 12-8 08:42
The zero reference it uses is still your Home Point ... if the ground slopes up greater than the altitude you set in Litchi / GO ... you are going to look a bit silly !!

So after you plan your mission and you set all waypoints to whatever altitude you did and then click the “above ground” in litchi it doesn’t use the terrain under the waypoint to make that adjustment? All my waypoints change in altitude to match the terrain at that point (so I thought) so I’m a bit confused but definitely want to clarify if this is incorrect. Definitely don’t want to look “silly” if at all possible. Thanks

Archangel3356 Posted at 12-8 09:25
So after you plan your mission and you set all waypoints to whatever altitude you did and then click the “above ground” in litchi it doesn’t use the terrain under the waypoint to make that adjustment? All my waypoints change in altitude to match the terrain at that point (so I thought) so I’m a bit confused but definitely want to clarify if this is incorrect. Definitely don’t want to look “silly” if at all possible. Thanks

I apologise if that has been added to Litchi since I last used it ...

To be honest I stopped using Litchi a while back as GO improved enough for my use. But Litchi back when I used it didn't have any correction like that ... just wondering where it gets the correction from ?
Seems a bit much to think Litchi has geodata embedded in that gives ground level ?

Apologies if it has ... must check it out ..

Just been reading the Litchi Website for latest version ...

"
Waypoints

To add a waypoint, tap anywhere on the map (make sure that the POI toggle is not on). You can add up to 99 waypoints.
To view the waypoint settings, tap the waypoint itself. To drag a waypoint, do a long press on the waypoint, then move it around.
To delete a waypoint, tap the waypoint to open its settings, then tap the minus icon at the top left corner of the waypoint settings window.
To insert a waypoint between two consecutive waypoints, tap the first waypoint of the two to open its settings, then tap the plus icon at the top left corner of the waypoint settings window. A waypoint will then be inserted between this waypoint and the next, it will be placed exactly in the middle of these two waypoints.
Important The 3D distance between consecutive waypoints must be between 0.6m and 1999m.

Waypoint Settings

• Altitude: The altitude of the waypoint relative to the elevation of the aircraft where it took off. The waypoint's altitude is also shown above the waypoint marker on the map.
• Speed: The speed at which the aircraft will travel from this waypoint to the next. By default the aircraft will use the mission's cruising speed setting, but the cruising speed can be overriden for each waypoint using this setting.
  
  Warning
  This setting is only in effect when the aircraft is in range of the remote controller. If signal is lost during the mission, the aircraft will continue the mission at the speed it was travelling at when it lost signal.
• Curve Size: Defines the size of the curved turn at this waypoint. A bigger size means the aircraft will start the turn earlier while travelling to this waypoint. This setting only applies when the mission setting "Path Mode" is set to "Curved Turns". It also does not apply to the first and last waypoints as there are no turns at these waypoints.
  
  Info
  The path of the curve is drawn in turquoise on the map. It will update dynamically as you adjust the curve size setting.
• Heading: The direction relative to north in which the aircraft will look at when arriving at this waypoint (0° is North, 90° is East). This setting only applies when the mission setting "Heading Mode" is set to "Waypoint Defined" ("Custom" on iOS). If two consecutive waypoints have different headings, the aircraft will smoothly transition from one heading to the other while travelling from the first waypoint to the second.
  
  Info
  The waypoint heading is represented by the blue aircraft icon on top of each waypoint. It will update dynamically as you adjust the heading setting.
• Rotation: When two consecutive waypoints have different headings, the aircraft will smoothly rotate from the first heading to the next. This setting defines the direction in which the aircraft will rotate, clockwise or anti-clockwise.
• Gimbal Pitch: Choose between "Disabled" where the gimbal pitch control will be manual, "Focus POI" where Litchi will automatically control the gimbal pitch to keep the selected POI in the center of the frame (blue markers), or "Interpolate" where you can specify the gimbal pitch angle at this waypoint. For "Interpolate" to work, the previous or next waypoint need to be set to "Interpolate" as well. Litchi will then automatically adjust the gimbal pitch angle to start and end at the specified angles, and smoothly transition while travelling between the two waypoints.
• POI: Use this setting to change which POI a waypoint will focus on. By default, when adding a waypoint it will focus on the nearest POI, if there is one.
• Photo Capture Interval: Defines the time/distance interval in seconds/meters when two photos are taken as the aircraft moves from this waypoint to the next. The interval can be set between 0 and 100 seconds/meters. The first photo will be taken as the aircraft leaves the current waypoint. If the requested interval exceeds the camera's capability, the photos will be taken at the maximum possible speed. By default, this setting uses the global 'Photo Capture Interval' mission setting's value.
• Actions: Each waypoint can have up to 15 different actions (more details below).
  

Cannot find anywhere is says Litchi corrects for each waypoints ground level.

solentlife Posted at 12-8 09:57
Cannot find anywhere is says Litchi corrects for each waypoints ground level.

There is a checkbox in the online mission hub settings to "use online elevations" and also a second checkbox for each waypoint under the altitude slider. Both must be activated.
Then you have two different heights shown at each waypoint. One will be the height above takeoff, the other above ground.

Keule Posted at 12-8 10:22
There is a checkbox in the online mission hub settings to "use online elevations" and also a second checkbox for each waypoint under the altitude slider. Both must be activated.
Then you have two different heights shown at each waypoint. One will be the height above takeoff, the other above ground.

................

mockingbird_71 Posted at 12-8 10:29
Have you got a picture of how this look ? I have litchi and can’t remember how to record a mission especially the elevations of a certain waypoint ,
I tend to have my home point on top of a hill then fly down into the valley bellow 400 feet agl

In the mission settings:



and here a waypoint setting:

I believe Keule is correct about this.  I've read about this in other posts.  But I don't use Litchi for the P3 and above myself so I can't say I know this from my own experience.

Anyway, you can get estimated AMSL elevation at precise locations from various sites.  I use daftlogic.com.  The idea is, you click on the spot on the map you wish to launch from.  It'll show you a number above sea level in meters / feet.  You then click on the spot you wish to fly to.  It'll give you a number above sea level in meters / feet.  You compare the two numbers.  The difference is what you have to work with.  For example, if the second number is higher (e.g. 100 feet higher), then you can happily fly 500 feet above your home point at that location because you know you're only 400' AGL.  You don't have to use waypoints to do it.  

https://www.daftlogic.com/sandbox-google-maps-find-altitude.htm


Good luck

Keule Posted at 12-8 10:22
There is a checkbox in the online mission hub settings to "use online elevations" and also a second checkbox for each waypoint under the altitude slider. Both must be activated.
Then you have two different heights shown at each waypoint. One will be the height above takeoff, the other above ground.

OK .. interesting ...

So from that I take it you must let the tablet access internet when setting the flight waypoints at home before scooting of to the location ... so it can download the data to include in the flight setup.

Now the question I have ... is does this alter the straight level flight ? I assume it doesn't ... the P3 will continue on with its barometer / GPS data ...

solentlife Posted at 12-8 09:46
I apologise if that has been added to Litchi since I last used it ...

To be honest I stopped using Litchi a while back as GO improved enough for my use. But Litchi back when I used it didn't have any correction like that ... just wondering where it gets the correction from ?

Absolutely no apology needed sir. I’ve learned plenty from you Skipper over the years. It is something that has been added to Litchi not very long ago and yes you do need to be online when mission planning. And so far it hasn’t let me down.  

solentlife Posted at 12-8 11:50
OK .. interesting ...

So from that I take it you must let the tablet access internet when setting the flight waypoints at home before scooting of to the location ... so it can download the data to include in the flight setup.

You can plan the mission in Mission Hub on-line with your home computer, save it and then when on location, use the Litchi app to load the mission from the Mission Hub site and then fly it.

Geebax Posted at 12-8 12:56
You can plan the mission in Mission Hub on-line with your home computer, save it and then when on location, use the Litchi app to load the mission from the Mission Hub site and then fly it.

I knew that ... its always been possible to do that on PC even with my 4.9 version.

What I was surprised about was the addition of ground level correction for specified waypoints. I'd never seen that before.

solentlife Posted at 12-9 00:51
I knew that ... its always been possible to do that on PC even with my 4.9 version.

What I was surprised about was the addition of ground level correction for specified waypoints. I'd never seen that before.

I think it is new. I have been planning a mission near me to fly along an old abandoned railway line, through classic Australian bush, up hills and down, so I have selected the option to make the elevation above ground. But so far I have not had the courage to go and fly it in case it does not work properly. For what I want to do, I want to be able to see the old right-of-way as close as possible, but not fly among the tree foliage.

Geebax Posted at 12-9 20:54
I think it is new. I have been planning a mission near me to fly along an old abandoned railway line, through classic Australian bush, up hills and down, so I have selected the option to make the elevation above ground. But so far I have not had the courage to go and fly it in case it does not work properly. For what I want to do, I want to be able to see the old right-of-way as close as possible, but not fly among the tree foliage.

I am VERY interested in this - even though like you - am concerned if it fails to work.

When planning a flight and using software like DJI go or litchi is there any way to check the ground elevation when planning !
Simple .. Use Google Earth for your planning.

Labroides Posted at 12-10 13:37
When planning a flight and using software like DJI go or litchi is there any way to check the ground elevation when planning !
Simple .. Use Google Earth for your planning.

Or as I said - Ordnance Survey maps ...

Of course allowing for any changes since surveyed / recorded !

If Litchi does correct via online Database ... that's 'COOL !'

Geebax Posted at 12-9 20:54
I think it is new. I have been planning a mission near me to fly along an old abandoned railway line, through classic Australian bush, up hills and down, so I have selected the option to make the elevation above ground. But so far I have not had the courage to go and fly it in case it does not work properly. For what I want to do, I want to be able to see the old right-of-way as close as possible, but not fly among the tree foliage.

Geoff, could you plan a shorter trial flight, to test your theory, in an area of least obstructions.

Then you could adjust your flight plan to complete a safe and successful mission.

I’m keen on seeing your edited video, of the remarkable flight...


RedHotPoker

Archangel3356 Posted at 12-8 12:10
Absolutely no apology needed sir. I’ve learned plenty from you Skipper over the years. It is something that has been added to Litchi not very long ago and yes you do need to be online when mission planning. And so far it hasn’t let me down.

Nice post... giving credit where it’s due. ;-)



RedHotPoker

RedHotPoker Posted at 12-12 21:29
Nice post... giving credit where it’s due. ;-)

Good morning and thank you RHP. Always appreciate and look forward to your input and posts as well.  You can learn a lot here if you don’t get caught up in some of the drama !

RedHotPoker Posted at 12-12 21:27
Geoff, could you plan a shorter trial flight, to test your theory, in an area of least obstructions.

Then you could adjust your flight plan to complete a safe and successful mission.

I could do that, but I am not sure it would be extensive enough. What I really need is to have obstacle avoidance working for me as well, which I don't have with my trusty P3Pro. Of course the ideal would be to fly a P4PV2, if only DJI would start making them again. I have my pennies saved up in my Toy Fund but nothing to spend them on. I could get a Mavic 2 Pro, but it seems a bit short when compared to the P4PV2.

Archangel3356 Posted at 12-13 05:19
Good morning and thank you RHP. Always appreciate and look forward to your input and posts as well.  You can learn a lot here if you don’t get caught up in some of the drama !

Thanks, I appreciate you too.

You know: It’s my pleasure, being allowed to rave, rant, and relish the forum. Hahaha


RedHotPoker

Geebax Posted at 12-13 14:04
I could do that, but I am not sure it would be extensive enough. What I really need is to have obstacle avoidance working for me as well, which I don't have with my trusty P3Pro. Of course the ideal would be to fly a P4PV2, if only DJI would start making them again. I have my pennies saved up in my Toy Fund but nothing to spend them on. I could get a Mavic 2 Pro, but it seems a bit short when compared to the P4PV2.

It’s difficult for us, to give up the Phantom form, eh? ;-)

Yeah, I understand that sentiment.

Hopefully, your goals will be met, and you will be able to fly that chosen course.

RedHotPoker

Archangel3356 Posted at 12-13 05:19
Good morning and thank you RHP. Always appreciate and look forward to your input and posts as well.  You can learn a lot here if you don’t get caught up in some of the drama !

.........

Archangel3356 Posted at 12-8 12:10
Absolutely no apology needed sir. I’ve learned plenty from you Skipper over the years. It is something that has been added to Litchi not very long ago and yes you do need to be online when mission planning. And so far it hasn’t let me down.

Much appreciated.  

Geebax Posted at 12-13 14:04
I could do that, but I am not sure it would be extensive enough. What I really need is to have obstacle avoidance working for me as well, which I don't have with my trusty P3Pro. Of course the ideal would be to fly a P4PV2, if only DJI would start making them again. I have my pennies saved up in my Toy Fund but nothing to spend them on. I could get a Mavic 2 Pro, but it seems a bit short when compared to the P4PV2.

Just wondering how you would test it unless you have suitable area of significantly variable ground levels.

Just thinking it through ... If the altitude is corrected by online database ... then if suitable area .. setting minimum safe height before correction would be needed ? Just in case - to avoid hitting anything ? I assume the flight log will show the Barometer altitude ? which will then vary because of the corrections making the model rise / descend ?

Interesting item ...

solentlife Posted at 12-14 12:16
Just wondering how you would test it unless you have suitable area of significantly variable ground levels.

Just thinking it through ... If the altitude is corrected by online database ... then if suitable area .. setting minimum safe height before correction would be needed ? Just in case - to avoid hitting anything ? I assume the flight log will show the Barometer altitude ? which will then vary because of the corrections making the model rise / descend ?

Yes, all these questions and more, which is precisely why I am avoiding the test. I am located these days in the mountains, so there is no shortage of change in elevation. See PM.

mockingbird_71 Posted at 12-14 11:42
That’s why I’m not getting involved in it I started the thread and before you know it the thread has been hijacked by one of the biggest w@nkers I’ve ever had the misfortune of coming across on a forum ! I asked a simple question and before you know it we have 1 member copying and pasting the whole litchi user manual! Thanks for the feedback everyone apart from solentlife !

I’m confused, as to who upset you.

All I see, were replies with their personal advices.

I am hopeful your piloting mission is successful.

Share the results when you complete this. Thanks. ;-)



RedHotPoker

RedHotPoker Posted at 12-14 13:51
I’m confused, as to who upset you.

All I see, were replies with their personal advices.

.................

mockingbird_71 Posted at 12-14 15:16
my missions are always succesful my good friend as you have already seen on numerous occasions!

There are members of this forum who thrive on being condescending and i dont like it !

Well no, actually I haven’t seen failure, true, you never posted them. Haha

Mostly all have demons, some of yours may lurk on a public forum.
I too, have those here and elsewhere, who love to hate.

We can’t change that, they must change, on their own.

Here is a little humour.

How many psychiatrists does it take, to change a light bulb?



Only One, but the light bulb, has to want to change first. Hahaha


Have a great day.

RedHotPoker

Geebax Posted at 12-14 13:36
Yes, all these questions and more, which is precisely why I am avoiding the test. I am located these days in the mountains, so there is no shortage of change in elevation. See PM.

Having agreed to carry out various other tests on other forums to see what happened and paid the price !! I am also reluctant to throw my P3P into this !!

RedHotPoker Posted at 12-14 18:21
Well no, actually I haven’t seen failure, true, you never posted them. Haha

Mostly all have demons, some of yours may lurk on a public forum.

Lol you crack me up buddy !
I must admit I’m always cautious using litchi as I’m not very trusting of the software especially the planning stage and that is down to inexperience on my part !
I personally find that it’s easier to fly live view and get the shots with a little planning ! Litchi does have a place in the market but it’s not my software of choice

You are a braver pilot than me.

I’ve not tried Litchi, & haven't even downloaded it.


RedHotPoker