In part #1 of this long term review, we discussed the basics of getting the P2V+ setup and the first flight(s). As a result, it was time to venture further afield with our test
Phantom.
Finding Places to Fly
For some this is very easy – for others a bit more difficult. My current testing grounds in Florida are quite crowded at this time of year – and, frankly, some of the very flat and sparse areas here are not worthy of good photo and video. I looked a google maps and decided to try some tricks to find new flying areas…
1. I put an ad on Craigslist in the photo section – saying I would take some free photos and video for owners of larger property, etc.
2. I contacted the admin of a local botanical park and offered to take video and photos on their 10 acre grounds.
I received replies from both which were promising – the Botanical Garden, Palma Sola Botanical Gardens, was very pleased and invited me up at my leisure to fly on their property! Bingo!
Installing Propeller Guards
Before I ventured out I decided to add the propeller guards and a lens hoods to my Phantom. These were in addition to the homemade bottom
gimbal protector and the Phantom Fix gimbal protector I had already added in post #1. The prop guards protect against many a mishap – even small bumps against trees, bushes, etc. without them can result in the Phantom being flipped and harmed. The same goes for people and pets – without the prop guards, the Phantom is more dangerous.
Installing the prop guards is simple – however, some Phantom owners have messed up their birds when installing or removing them, so pay attention to the basics! You’ll need a Torx driver T8 – as shown. The prop guards come with two Torx screws each – installing them requires you to remove the two existing (shorter) Torx screws from the underside of each arm and replace them with the prop guards and longer screws.
Remove the two small T8 screws – shown on top right. Install prop guards and longer screws (shown on left above). Store the old shorter screws for later use if you remove prop guards.
Pro Guards Installed
Watch out for these potential problems:
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1. Do not over tighten the new longer screws – they are two of the 4 screws that hold the motors in – just snug will do as they contain thread locker on the shaft.
2. If and when you remove the prop guard, do not attempt to use the longer screws or they will hit – and ruin – the motors. Save the shorter screws (label the bag) and use them if you remove the guards.
One disadvantage of the prop guards is that they can enter your pics and video when the Phantom is in certain positions. A sample pic is shown below. In some cases you can simply crop out or otherwise cover (by duplicating background, etc.) the guards. I may eventually remove part of the front guards as a compromise, as I don’t like them showing up in my HD videos.
Sample Picture From Botanical Garden with Prop Guard Showing
Back in the Air!
After installation of the prop guards I was ready to visit the local Botanical Gardens and get some pics and video. A stiff breeze was present, so I didn’t venture too high or too far, but I did fly two missions (two batteries) each flight making certain that the Phantom knew where it was (confirming the home point on the Find my Phantom Screen). The gardens had large lakes and ponds – but I’m still being conservative with the Phantom, so I didn’t fly across them. Here are a couple pics – click to enlarge them.
Palma Sola Botanical Garden, Brandenton FL.
Palma Sola Botanical Garden, Brandenton FL.
Palma Sola Botanical Garden, Brandenton FL.
Picture and Video Hints
There is a tendency for aerial photographer to think “the higher the better” but this turns out to be false, especially in the case of video. Pilots should consider the best angles, lighting and views of the subject at hand. The short example video clip below will illustrate this point. It’s just a draft video of a couple shots, but you can see how some low altitude views can be pleasing.
First Flights – First Mishap!
A point which I constantly make is that all hobby aircraft – or at least most – will have “unscheduled landings” (crashes).
While I may have written the book, I still had a mishap on the day I filmed at the Botanical Gardens. Here is what happened – I was flying the Phantom relatively low and completely under control. The battery was getting low – about 32% – so I brought the Phantom down to about 10 feet high and filmed the walking path in the gardens…intending to land it within 30 seconds or so. Suddenly the Phantom developed a mind of it’s own and shot upwards – hit a tree and tumbled over and ended up in a bush nearby. Luckily there were no spectators close by, but it was quite near a pond and a parked BMW – in other words, this little crash could have cost me big! Luckily it ended up in a Bush – AND, some of the protection I had installed probably saved the day. The bottom guard protected the camera and gimbal and the lens hood further protected the lens. The prop guards probably helped also. Here is a pic of the Phantom after the crash – as you can see the bottom guard took a hit from the bush or tree (I replaced it already).
Phantom after the mishap – all systems still worked perfectly.
So, why the crash? Apparently the Phantom has a setting whereby it automatically enters into the RTH (Return to Home) phase when the battery hits 30%. I wasn’t following an important rule – that is, to make sure I landed before the battery hit about 35-40%. I thought, wrongly, that having the Phantom within a few feet of the ground would render it safe – but instead it attempted to rise to the RTH altitude and go back to where it took off from – resulting in the crash.
This particular setting is confusing because it is in more than one place….this confirms the complexity of the Phantom software. There is one setting for this in the
DJI Vision App (I had this set to off), but there is another setting for it in the internal Phantom firmware. I will have to hook the quad up to my computer if I want to turn this off. Some users may want it left on – but I prefer to have manual control over my Phantom at all times since I am usually flying within easy sight and control of my bird.
Lesson learned….now I start to think about landing at 50% battery and make sure I am down when the battery hits 40%. Flying on a low battery is just too risky.
Another Place to Fly!
I noticed a nice shot of a local church in my first set of pics, so I sent a copy along to the church (found their web site) and also offered to shoot some other pics for them. They really liked the pic and invited me to take pics and video on their property – you can see some parts of the footage in the sample video clips above – here is a still pic of the same church:
Church in Sarasota Florida
Finding places to fly can be difficult – but if you think about it, there are lots of churches, golf courses, etc. which may be very happy to have you offer to take some aerial views of their properties.
Takeaway Points from part #2 of our Long Term Review
1. Be creative in seeking out possible places to fly and take aerial photos and footage.
2. Install prop guards and other protective measures as additional insurance against crashes.
3. Be very aware of the various automatic functions of the
NAZA Flight controller as regards battery levels and return to home. For the beginner, follow this advice:
A. When the battery hits 50% head back to home or to a landing area relatively quickly.
B. If the battery is at 40% you should be in “Emergency Mode” and planning to land as quickly as possible.
C. Always make certain your Home Point is correctly set (the Phantom knows where it is) by checking the “Find my Phantom” feature in the DJI Vision App. However, Return to Home (failsafe) functions should never be used when ANY other method of landing is possible – because the Phantom cannot avoid trees, powerlines, etc. when in automatic RTH mode.
Note – this is part #2 of our long term review –
you can find part #1 here.
In the next part of this series we will address some of the video and picture options as well as give hints on getting and editing decent footage. In addition part #3 will contain additional technical hints and shortcuts to safe and successful piloting and use.
Note – if you are looking for a Phantom, the prices have recently been lowered quite a bit – savings of about $200 make the price closer to $1100 for the Phantom 2 Vision+. Here are some links to current models and pricing:
DJI Prices and worldwide shipping on Phantoms
Torx T8 and Phantom Screws
