Waypoint Heli?

[Guest]

How come there are lots of drones that can fly autonomously but no helicopters? I can't figure that out? I have a Phantom 3 Advanced that I have sent out on many autonomous missions and it really is amazing to watch it! Surely by now there should be helicopters doing the same?

[PKNEC]

How come there are lots of drones that can fly autonomously but no helicopters? I can't figure that out? I have a Phantom 3 Advanced that I have sent out on many autonomous missions and it really is amazing to watch it! Surely by now there should be helicopters doing the same?

You can use the pixhawk in drones , helis, planks and cars.
Great piece of electronic wizardry.
I've only used it in an alien 550. But the capability is there.

[bigpops]

Apparently the Pixhawk Cube can do such things. I know someone who will be having a go at using one after moving on from the Skookum 720 with GPS.

[electricsceadu]

it must have been 10 or more years ago that I saw a large scale Lama with full GPS and autonomous flight via a pre programed path
at the time the system was £3500 and was done because he could (and money was no object to him)

[waveydavey]

Is that the reason for doing it, because you can. Ignoring the rescue side of it, which I'm not sure would be better than the feature on a fbl unit, why would you do this?

[Peper]

In the same lines... Spirit GeoLink (preorder) - Spirit System

a club mate is beta testing it, haven't seen it yet but interesting concept that I am sure could be used to create waypoints and so on..

[waveydavey]

Yep I understand the technology, but why? What for?

[Peper]

Geo fence, hard-deck, automatic rescue.. are amongst the features that can be appealing to many

[Crashalotjoe]

As noted, almost anything that is capable of flight can to a greater or lesser extent be autonomously flown - the technology is out there.

The point is that heli's, fixed wing and FPV multi-rotors are flown for the joy of flying and to use automation/GPS/waypoints etc. actually takes away the fun of flying (rescue systems aside). Drones are primarily designed as camera platforms, the flight aspect is just there to put the camera somewhere that gives you a viewpoint you wouldn't normally see. They therefore benefit from the automation. It also means that people with little or no flying skill can use them to take pictures.

[Peper]

taking the fun of flying is subjective
if you are a beginner this type of technology can help you to gain confidence for the next step,
it can surely go horribly wrong too... horses for courses..

[Crashalotjoe]

taking the fun of flying is subjective
if you are a beginner this type of technology can help you to gain confidence for the next step,
it can surely go horribly wrong too... horses for courses..

Yeah, I agree that things like hard decks, geo-fences and rescue are great for beginners and for flight training generally, helping pilots stay out of trouble and minimise crashes. The OP was talking about the use of waypoints and autonomous flight in drones which I still contend are not desirable facilities if you want to experience the pleasures and challenges of flying heli's.

[Peper]

Waypoints can be used in a creative way to aid in take off/ landing or hover in a desired position before the operator takes control for example...
aren't there guys who set rubber band free flight planes and watch the thing go out of their immediate control?
I wouldnt be suprised seeing people having fun out of watching their heli fly about on its own 😂

[tourerjim]

How come there are lots of drones that can fly autonomously but no helicopters? I can't figure that out? I have a Phantom 3 Advanced that I have sent out on many autonomous missions and it really is amazing to watch it! Surely by now there should be helicopters doing the same?

May as well be a drone" with a camera mounted as I cant see what real enjoyment you would get from using a heli, if it has to be an heli-> with a camera mounted you can live view the flight around the waypoints.

Not to put you off but I have over the years seen a number of heli flyers do this kind of waypoint stuff & its a lot of money for what could end up being a one off time.

[waveydavey]

I think that was my initial point, because you can. You can have a hard deck, rescue etc in a normal unit but the autonomous waypoint part of it I don't see having a use apart from as above, because for 3 mins you may have a little fun seeing your heli visit somewhere in a field.

[hedge]

I dont know but guess the real question is why are there not easy to buy, and at a similar price point helis that can do the same as quads. Waypoints have been around for a few years, I used to lust after a DJI Ace One, back when I was doing professional photography with my heli. However the cost was huge and the system while good was not full proof.

Waypoint flying is pretty specialist stuff - i.e. I need to survey a wind farm, set waypoints and photo each turbine blade, or I need to put insecticide over a specific area or do a grid search. Its not really what us heli pilots do - we "try" to fly like real helis or smack the things around in a little box for 2 mins.

I think if someone invents an indestructible small heli that can do smack then perhaps we might see it, till then

IMHO helis just destroy themselves too easily on crashing where as quads just pop a prop or two.