Add hover time before starting orbit

Pedro Silva

I want to takeoff, go to the orbit entry point and hover XX seconds before starting the orbit. I am not finding any option like this, not sure if it exists. I know there is the option of adding a waypoint a the orbit entrey point, but in this case i need it to be EXACTLY at the same position of entry point and heading the center of the orbit, so it is tricky to do with waypoint. Please help. Thanks!

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Comments

4 comments

  • Comment author
    Martin Reading Dronelink Expert Dronelink Expert

    ok this is fairly easy to achieve, so here's what I'd suggest, to do this you need the planner in expert mode

    1. Add your orbit where you want it and set the entry point
    2. Go into mission preview and scroll through till the drone is pointing at the middle of the orbit, and make note of the drone heading (this is relative to north), and gimbal angle from below the preview screen, then exit preview
    3. click on add, in the search box start to type checkpoint, when it appears at the top of the list click on it and place it on the plan (it will be after the orbit, but don't worry we'll sort that later)
    4. click on the orbit in the list, at the top of its setting panel you'll see orbit start, click on it and you'll see the latitude and longitude of the start point of the orbit, copy & paste these to the latitude and longitude fields in the checkpoint settings.
    5. While in the orbit start settings, scroll down to Arrival and set this to the time you want the drone to hover
    6. in the checkpoint settings, scroll down and set the gimbal orientation, and drone heading to those that you noted down in mission preview
    7. Now by clicking on the ^ at the top of of the checkpoint settings move the checkpoint before the orbit

    And that's it sorted, when done it will look like this 

    https://app.dronelink.com/martin-reading/kingsmead/plan/s4nMyieA6LfSmMMigGqm

    Any problems then just shout

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  • Comment author
    Pedro Silva

    Hi Martin Reading!

    Thanks a lot for your extra complete tutorial!

    Though i am just starting to deal with Dronelink, it worked fine.

    There is just one thing that intreagued me: when i simulate the flight it seems like the drone is rotating to the desired heading without taking off, or at least this is the impression i had. Could you please check if i did something wrong?

    Actually my flight is composed of 3 concentric orbits, in different heights and radius. The first one, which must have the 30 seconds hover at the beginning, is the external one.

    https://app.dronelink.com/pedro-silva/my-first-project/plan/dj4LwMKqqvdBPDFMMOIv/f4zdeFFZc3wJQN5d4dUy

    Wait for your comments. Thanks!

    BR, Pedro.

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  • Comment author
    Mike (Arizona Wyldwest) Dronelink Expert Dronelink Expert
    • Edited

    Pedro. The drone always ascends up fist before moving forward. This is so it will not run into anything which could be in its path at low altitude. You can check the Altitude in the preview to see it is actually ascending up before moving forward. So it’s rotating as ascending up at start. As far as the rotation in the mission preview, in the real world the drone woould not rotate if you place it facing the approach path. The mission preview always starts the drone facing North so it will rotate in the preview unless you started the approach to the North. Nothing to worry about. I always face the drone to which way the approach is going so it doesn’t need to rotate but really doesn’t matter. Unless you are recording video like I do a lot and want the drone facing the approach path at start of plan to make it look better without the rotations in the video.

    There are so many ways to set up a plan and eventually you will find what works best for you. You could get 6 different pilots to set up your plan 6 different ways with all the functions DL has. Many good pilots here which can help you with any situation you have. The more you create different plans and run missions the more you will understand most of the common functions. DL is an incredible app with a ton of functions and features and will take time to learn many of them. Enjoy. 

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  • Comment author
    Pedro Silva

    Thanks for your words Mike! Yes, i have already noticed that the App unveils a lot of other possibilities with the drone. I just didn't have any experience to make it, but with Martin's help i did it.

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