Help with orientation.

[BigRHS]

Just got the Mantis a few days ago and have flown it 4 times now.
I do love how it fly's and everything except of course the fact it doesn't have a gimbal, but being 60 years old my eyes are just not what they use to be so when the Mantis gets a little far away from me it's hard for me to keep the orientation.

Does anybody know if there is some type of way to add more lights to the front or front and rear that would make it a little more visible, or any other way to mark the drone to help with the orientation.
Thanks !

 

[Eagle's Eye Video]

Just got the Mantis a few days ago and have flown it 4 times now.
I do love how it fly's and everything except of course the fact it doesn't have a gimbal, but being 60 years old my eyes are just not what they use to be so when the Mantis gets a little far away from me it's hard for me to keep the orientation.

Does anybody know if there is some type of way to add more lights to the front or front and rear that would make it a little more visible, or any other way to mark the drone to help with the orientation.
Thanks !

There are several companies that offer strobes, as an aid to visibility...

Cree Self Contained Dual Strobes

IMHO, just get 2 white...

 

[Eagle's Eye Video]

@BigRHS I'm also going to recommend reviewing this thread... same principles will apply to any model of aircraft ?.


Visual Flight Training

 

[BigRHS]

Thanks for your reply ! Going to check on the lights and watch the video.
I flew helicopters for several years and didn't have the issue as much as I seem to have with the quads. A lot of that is probably because of my age now and my eyes are not what they use to be.
I appreciate the help !

 

[Eagle's Eye Video]

I flew helicopters for several years and didn't have the issue as much as I seem to have with the quads. A lot of that is probably because of my age now and my eyes are not what they use to be.
I appreciate the help !

Don't sell yourself short, there's more to it than that... heli's have a distinctive shape that helps interpret orientation. Quads, by their uniform shape will always be more difficult. The strobes help distinguish back from front by providing a visual difference. And you also inherently, have one further advantage with the Mantis... without a gimbal, your camera will always face forward.

 

[jannislh]

I flew helicopters for several years and didn't have the issue as much as I seem to have with the quads.

I fly both and I can tell you that it is way easier to determine the direction of a helicopter compared to a drone. Even after years of experience sometimes I am still confused about their orientation. It is espacially hard when doing flips (not with the Yuneec drones obviously ).

Best advice is to practice a lot. After a while you will have a feeling what you have done and how the orientation should be right now. I can also recommand fluorescent tape on the arms. It makes it way easier.

 

[BigRHS]

I like the fluorescent tape idea also. Been thinking about that but was a bit worried about adding the tape and also maybe a small led light on the front or rear like Eagle's Eye posted above because of the weight issue. Do you put the tape around the motor nacelle or on the arms ?
I can say that you are without a doubt right about the helicopters being easier as far as orientation goes. Man, I thought because I flew helicopters for several years that I would move over and take to drones like a duck to water, but that was a arrogant view. It has helped is several ways, but I think in some ways maybe even hurt just a little, because some of my habits/skills does not translate to drones as much as I thought it would.
I did go to Walmart and bought a little Propel X03 drone to practice inside when the weather is bad without the worry about destroying my big screen or anything else inside. It has helped.....a lot.
But when the Mantis or even my F450 gets a certain distance away, I just have a lot of trouble with the orientation.
I am going to take all this great advice and make a few alterations to the drones and practice.........a lot !

 

[jannislh]

The weight will not be a problem. You will only add a few grams. I recommand to use the tape on areas which can only be seen from one direction. For example only the back sides of the rear arms. You might also add some on the lower side since it helps to determine the orientation when flying above yourself and will be easy to differntiate from the tape on the sides. I would not necessarily use it on the motor nacelle but that is up to you. It think it would not do any harm but it would also not help a lot.

 

[BigRHS]

The weight will not be a problem. You will only add a few grams. I recommand to use the tape on areas which can only be seen from one direction. For example only the back sides of the rear arms. You might also add some on the lower side since it helps to determine the orientation when flying above yourself and will be easy to differntiate from the tape on the sides. I would not necessarily use it on the motor nacelle but that is up to you. It think it would not do any harm but it would also not help a lot.

I finally was able to add some bright orange florescent tape yesterday and put it on the front arms and the front of the nose and also on the underside of the front. I tried to put enough to make it visible but not look to gaudy but I think I failed in that regard......lol.
It did make the front much more visible and it worked great ! I did a test flight with it and was able to tell the orientation without any
the issues I had before !
I appreciate all the help that you and the other members gave me !