How far have you flow using a CCC mission?

[BEC1]

I'm flying in Belize helping some researchers get some images of possible Mayan ruins. How far has anyone sent out their Typhoon H autonomously?

The area we are trying to reach is a dense jungle that is about 4km from the starting point.

 

[Rayray]

I think the TH, US version, would be lucky to go half that far. A P4P will, according to the US model specs.
You may need a much more expensive drone then either of these to do that autonomously.

 

[Guest22]

I am replying cause I want to follow this thread... First issue comes to mind is battery life.

 

[BEC1]

I am replying cause I want to follow this thread... First issue comes to mind is battery life.

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Hi thanks for replying. The battery life has already been calculated. The trip wouldn't even use half the battery.

 

[Guest22]

If the battery would last for the mission, then I am stumped as to why it couldn't make it that far.. :/

 

[ArnhemAnt]

I'm pretty sure that, regardless of whether the flight is autonomous or not, the H still needs to be in contact with the ST16. A 4km distance may be pushing those boundaries - certainly not something I would want to risk. The environment you are flying in will also play an important part. Things like trees, mountains, etc will all work against you in regards to breaking down your reception.
You also have your local regulations to follow (in regards to distance and height) and I'm pretty sure you still need to maintain LOS (Line Of Sight), regardless of the flight mode you are using.

 

[BEC1]

If the battery would last for the mission, then I am stumped as to why it couldn't make it that far.. :/

That's kind of what I have been thinking. Maybe it is just my nerves. I'm a little nervous letting it fly out of sight expecting it to come back.

 

[BEC1]

I'm pretty sure that, regardless of whether the flight is autonomous or not, the H still needs to be in contact with the ST16. A 4km distance may be pushing those boundaries - certainly not something I would want to risk. The environment you are flying in will also play an important part. Things like trees, mountains, etc will all work against you in regards to breaking down your reception.
You also have your local regulations to follow (in regards to distance and height) and I'm pretty sure you still need to maintain LOS (Line Of Sight), regardless of the flight mode you are using.

I wasn't sure if it needed to maintain a connection with the transmitter or not. That's one of the reasons I started this discussion. Does the data for the flight upload to the TH or does the controller still do all of the controlling?

The university has authorization from the Belize department of civil aviation to conduct flights unrestricted for this research mission.

The university is on a tight budget for this research. They want to try to do drone flights until are sure of where they want to search before they use a helicopter with LiDAR.

 

[ArnhemAnt]

I wasn's sure if it needed to maintain connection with the transmitter or not. That's one of the reasons I started this discussion.

I'm pretty sure that it needs to maintain contact/connection with the ST16 as that is how the dynamic RTH feature is set to work. I guess, if it lost connection at some point, and the ST16 hadn't been moved, then it would (should) still return back to that point.

I gather you are doing this work for the University? Maybe their budget is set up in such a way so that you can trial this and if you lost the H, then that may be factored into the budget?

I would also be wary of the battery life. You say this has been calculated, but very often, what looks fine on paper (or computer) doesn't necessarily cross over to the real world. You have outside factors to consider like the wind, speed of the H, etc. Also a 4km distance from point A to point B usually turns out to be a lot more, particularly if you are not just going straight out and back. If you don't think you can get this total flight done (from take-off to landing) in less than 12-15 minutes then I wouldn't be risking it. Not to say you can't stretch the time out more, but you are going to start to move into territory where you are going to place your battery at risk.

 

[Tuna]

Agreed, I believe the behaviour is that CC missions will continue unless contact with the ST-16 is lost, in which case RTH is initiated. A 4Km range is not reliably possible using the standard antenna set.

Under current firmware, you also have no control over camera operations (start, stop recording and taking photos) during autonomous flight - so you will also need to maintain the video link, which is possibly more problematic than radio control.

That's not to say it can't be done. The recommendation would be to get a decent antenna set (it might be worth asking Yuneec themselves on advice for this) and try it in a safe location - building up to the full distance and beyond to understand how the craft responds. Remember that speed is limited under Cable cam - an 18 minute flight will theoretically get you 9Km, so you're right at the limit of battery life.

The bottom line is don't listen to 'experts' on the forums. Test it in controlled conditions and see what you can achieve.

Note also that the new H520, available shortly, is said to have greater range and speed, and may well support more sophisticated mission planning - so might be worth contacting Yuneec to see if they can help.

 

[BEC1]

I'm pretty sure that it needs to maintain contact/connection with the ST16 as that is how the dynamic RTH feature is set to work. I guess, if it lost connection at some point, and the ST16 hadn't been moved, then it would (should) still return back to that point.

I gather you are doing this work for the University? Maybe their budget is set up in such a way so that you can trial this and if you lost the H, then that may be factored into the budget?

I would also be wary of the battery life. You say this has been calculated, but very often, what looks fine on paper (or computer) doesn't necessarily cross over to the real world. You have outside factors to consider like the wind, speed of the H, etc. Also a 4km distance from point A to point B usually turns out to be a lot more, particularly if you are not just going straight out and back. If you don't think you can get this total flight done (from take-off to landing) in less than 12-15 minutes then I wouldn't be risking it. Not to say you can't stretch the time out more, but you are going to start to move into territory where you are going to place your battery at risk.

Thanks for the reply. I've been doing test flights in different conditions to get an average battery life. I think the battery life will be fine.

I will have to ask the researchers about paying for my drone if it is lost. I'm actually volunteering to do this. I'm an airline pilot from the US and I have a home in Belize.

Agreed, I believe the behaviour is that CC missions will continue unless contact with the ST-16 is lost, in which case RTH is initiated. A 4Km range is not reliably possible using the standard antenna set.

Under current firmware, you also have no control over camera operations (start, stop recording and taking photos) during autonomous flight - so you will also need to maintain the video link, which is possibly more problematic than radio control.

That's not to say it can't be done. The recommendation would be to get a decent antenna set (it might be worth asking Yuneec themselves on advice for this) and try it in a safe location - building up to the full distance and beyond to understand how the craft responds. Remember that speed is limited under Cable cam - an 18 minute flight will theoretically get you 9Km, so you're right at the limit of battery life.

The bottom line is don't listen to 'experts' on the forums. Test it in controlled conditions and see what you can achieve.

Note also that the new H520, available shortly, is said to have greater range and speed, and may well support more sophisticated mission planning - so might be worth contacting Yuneec to see if they can help.

Again I want to thank everyone for their input. I may see if they would invest in another drone with better range.

I'll contact Yuneec and ask them what would be the best option and may do some trials with an FPVLR antenna.

I will be happy to come back and post my findings.

 

[PatR]

If you intend to do serious work you need serious equipment. Contact Aerial Alchemy in the Los Angeles area. They might be able to hook you up with something.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[IdleLoop]

If you could position yourself at the halfway point you would have a 2km distance and this would be more feasible from a range perspective.

 

[BEC1]

If you could position yourself at the halfway point you would have a 2km distance and this would be more feasible from a range perspective.

We are looking at that extra possibility. The forest in very dense, but we will try to get as deep as possible.

 

[Windluv]

I have been in those jungles with the very dense foliage and undergrowth. There is a reason they are still finding ruins today after 400 years. The forest ceiling is very low, but super dense. I get interference very quickly around pine trees and typical California woods. You may have to simply follow the drone along it's CCC path as best as possible, and bring quite a few batteries.

Keep us up to date though! Best of luck!

 

[BEC1]

We met this morning and they are going to get me a boom lift and long range antennas. Due to environmental regulations, they can't just go in and start destroying the jungle by making roads. They are going to get me in as close as possible.

 

[Tuna]

We met this morning and they are going to get me a boom lift and long range antennas. Due to environmental regulations, they can't just go in and start destroying the jungle by making roads. They are going to get me in as close as possible.

This sounds like an exciting project. If you're keen, you could partner up with a few people and generate some great publicity.

 

[BEC1]

This sounds like an exciting project. If you're keen, you could partner up with a few people and generate some great publicity.

Yeah it's a cool project. This is just one of many sites they are going to survey. I will ask if I can share some photos. The researchers are very wary of outsider access to these sites including photos. Thieves will often come in and steal from new sites and sell on the black market. The site survey doesn't start until March.

 

[Tree]

I

We met this morning and they are going to get me a boom lift and long range antennas. Due to environmental regulations, they can't just go in and start destroying the jungle by making roads. They are going to get me in as close as possible.

I was going to suggest that.

If you are higher off of the ground, not only is your LOS going to be better, but your communications to The Drone and With The Controller should also be better.

 

[mcbutler]

Get another drone, launch your 'mission H' using the wand.
Then attach the wand to the other drone and fly that part way, you will see your H return on the other drones camera, fly the second drone home, H should follow, maybe.

What do you think chaps??