Hoverfly 20mph winds on an island...

Benjamin Rowland

Benjamin Rowland

Member
We did two shoots recently, one in The Bahamas and one on Dewees Island. Both were fairly windy with some days blowing 15 to 20mph in the Bahamas. I had originally thought that these conditions were just too much for a flight controller, but the Hoverfly Pro performed well. I wouldn't recommend these conditions for a beginner, but they are flyable. And with the direct drive gimbals available it is possible to get good looking video.

I feel like 20mph winds are about the limit for good looking footage. Has anyone had some success in conditions beyond that? Just curious what the limits really are.

Fly safe!
Ben
 

Bowley

Bowley

Member
Benjamin Rowland said:
We did two shoots recently, one in The Bahamas and one on Dewees Island. Both were fairly windy with some days blowing 15 to 20mph in the Bahamas. I had originally thought that these conditions were just too much for a flight controller, but the Hoverfly Pro performed well. I wouldn't recommend these conditions for a beginner, but they are flyable. And with the direct drive gimbals available it is possible to get good looking video.

I feel like 20mph winds are about the limit for good looking footage. Has anyone had some success in conditions beyond that? Just curious what the limits really are.

Fly safe!
Ben
Click to expand...

Something I've been considering for a good while now Ben, Scotland is pretty windy most of the time, I think, as you say, with the evolution of brushless gimbals and the solid performance of many GPS systems, The limits are certainly stretching.
 

EastCoastJib

EastCoastJib

Member
I just logged on to try and find the same answer. I set up this morning in Florida about a mile from the beach. 10-15mph wind steady. After a compete setup and calibration took the SkyJib 8 up for a test flight. It danced around like someone was shooting at it. Made me very nervous so I landed and rechecked everything. Had a GP3 on the av200 just to check video tx/RX so yes it was a little light on payload. Dropped my basic gains down to 90 pitch/roll and recalibrated. Second flight same as the first. It yawed around a good bit just hovering and danced around for a good minute before landing once again. I have to admit.. I was shaken as it has not acted like that since I started flying it. I tore down and packed it up reluctant to try it again as by this point a crowd was growing and there were to many witnesses! Lol. I'd love to hear any input here as I thought it would be good to go in that kind of wind but now I'm not sure. I'm glad to see it worked for you Ben. If I had been working today I think I would've been screwed.

Edit to add: I just realized this is in the hoverfly forum. Feel free to move this to general discussion. Thanks.
 
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Benjamin Rowland

Benjamin Rowland

Member
EastCoastJib said:
I just logged on to try and find the same answer. I set up this morning in Florida about a mile from the beach. 10-15mph wind steady. After a compete setup and calibration took the SkyJib 8 up for a test flight. It danced around like someone was shooting at it. Made me very nervous so I landed and rechecked everything. Had a GP3 on the av200 just to check video tx/RX so yes it was a little light on payload. Dropped my basic gains down to 90 pitch/roll and recalibrated. Second flight same as the first. It yawed around a good bit just hovering and danced around for a good minute before landing once again. I have to admit.. I was shaken as it has not acted like that since I started flying it. I tore down and packed it up reluctant to try it again as by this point a crowd was growing and there were to many witnesses! Lol. I'd love to hear any input here as I thought it would be good to go in that kind of wind but now I'm not sure. I'm glad to see it worked for you Ben. If I had been working today I think I would've been screwed.

Edit to add: I just realized this is in the hoverfly forum. Feel free to move this to general discussion. Thanks.
Click to expand...

An underweight / overpowered rig could be the reason. Or the gains needed adjustment. Don't expect it to fly like a calm day though.
 


M

mapoff

Member
Ben. I have a whole different setup. I have to ask first......Is that footage on your site right out of the camera, or software stabilized? I don't know how any gimbal can make the footage look like its sitting on a tripod. I'm using a Trex 700 with a Photoshipone FMTS, but I went with an Align G800 gimbal. Its belt driven. I see a flaw in that now but it does pretty good. I just am trying to figure out when I need to stop tweaking the hardware, and go software.

As for wind, it was around 20mph or possibly more. I could barely tell it was windy. I had to push into the wind just slightly. There is a pucker factor.

Here is some footage that was around 15mph.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWJkRLuUGAo&feature=c4-overview&list=UUdZNK1L11bP0Q-0HZfzvgjg
 

Aerovideo

Aerovideo

Member
Brushless gimbal controller from HF would be some cool news, I agree I can fly in a lot more wind then I ever thought possible with my brushless gimbal onboard.

Cool to see the video when you're allowed to post Ben.

Paul
 

Kappytan

Kappytan

Sky High
We were there for the Cartoon Network ribbon cutting event. One day before Yonder Blue came in for Turner. Winds 15-20kts. Ben we constantly fly in winds exceeding 20kts with no problems whatsoever. Enjoy
 
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Kappytan

Kappytan

Sky High
It's hard to tell because the wind was blowing out of the SE and partially shielded from the towers. It was every bit of 15kts gusting to 20kts at times. What makes flying at Atlantis difficult in those conditions is how the winds rip through the towers in different directions.
 



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