Can you fly without satellites, safely?

[Mio Lac]

hi everyone.
I’m about 1 month into my new drone obsession. I have a p3 Pro..went out to this super remote canyon in so cal where I live today super stoked to get amazing footage.
So I packed up my fam, my extra batteries charged, beers for me and sodas for the wife and kids and off we went.
We arrive.. beautiful space, clear visibility and 1-2 mph winds.. just epic for footage...
BUT I as I was setting up I quickly realized there weren’t any satellites picking my gpa mode up.. wtf? You’re telling me I can’t fly in remote areas? I see all your guys amazing footage in super remote areas...Antarctica, Turkey, Norway Sweden, Grand Canyon.. how can I fly and see my drone without internet and satelites? Is it an easy fix? Something is missing?
Any advise would help.
Sad from so cal
Mio

 

[LuvMyTJ]

As long as the quad has an open view of the sky it will see the satellites. If you are in a tight slot canyon or under a ledge it could lose sight of them. You can fly without them. This would be like flying in ATTI mode. I suggest learning to fly in a wide open area in ATTI mode before attempting a tight area without GPS assistance. It is a great skill to possess as a drone operator. You never know when it will come in handy.

 

[Mio Lac]

So that would keep me to line of sight flying only right?

 

[LuvMyTJ]

So that would keep me to line of sight flying only right?

All depends on how good a pilot you are.
GPS doesn't keep you from hitting stuff (but it does keep you in position). It does make the drone fly itself (more or less). Before GPS became common in RC aircraft it all came down to the skills of the operator.

 

[Mio Lac]

Sorry for the silly questions but I couldn’t get any feed on my dji app as well.. so would that be a satelite problem or just a connection problem. Because if I had fpv on my dji app without the gps mode, attic would be no problem... but I didn’t have anything from the camera to my iPhone/controller

 

[LuvMyTJ]

That sounds like a connections issue. You can delete the app and reinstall it to see if that helps (sync your flights with the DJI server if you want to save them). So it is a P3S, and you're device is connected to your controller's wifi?

 

[Mio Lac]

That sounds like a connections issue. You can delete the app and reinstall it to see if that helps (sync your flights with the DJI server if you want to save them). So it is a P3S, and you're device is connected to your controller's wifi?

P3pro.
I didn’t have any cell reception and I couldn’t connect to my controller and dji app..
But when I got home, back in satelite range, I put up my drone with no issues what so ever.. so like I said earlier I was wondering how the Eff everyone gets amazing, remote, isolated footage... but it sounds like as long as it’s not a canyon, it should be picked up by satelites.
Correct?

 

[LuvMyTJ]

Sorry, if it's a P3P then forget about the wifi stuff. You use a cable to connect to the device. I would definitely try deleting & reinstalling the Go app. You are in satalite range anywhere on the planet with a view of the sky. You also don't need a cellular connection on your device to fly.

 

[Mio Lac]

Sorry, if it's a P3P then forget about the wifi stuff. You use a cable to connect to the device. I would definitely try deleting & reinstalling the Go app. You are in satalite range anywhere on the planet with a view of the sky. You also don't need a cellular connection on your device to fly.

Ok great. Thanks for the help.
Happy flying!!

 

[MotorCycle-Man]

So that would keep me to line of sight flying only right?

Actually.we are Only supposed to Fly : In Line Of Sight !.....any thing else is against the FAA rules Good Luck !

 

[solentlife]

"You are in satalite range anywhere on the planet with a view of the sky. " ......

Actually not strictly true. Sat Nav coverage is the earths surface other than polar locations ... basically because its not needed and navigation takes on a completely different form over the Poles.

I expect someone will argue about the polar location bit - limited coverage is possible but as you approach closer to the Poles - it drops out due to angular factor. The sats are set such that they do not orbit higher than 55deg .... giving them excellent overhead angular factors for 99.999999% of users.
If you have a clear flat area - then you can get a moderately accurate fix ... but with only a slight obstruction that anywhere else would not be a problem - at Poles would be a barrier.

Just commenting ... as we do not fly at the Poles - well most of us anyway !!

Nigel

 

[Mio Lac]

Wow thanks Nigel..
you just schooled me

 

[cinclodes]

If satellites are obstructed at the launch site, one could get the drone up and in the clear.

 

[solentlife]

If satellites are obstructed at the launch site, one could get the drone up and in the clear.

True. But it would be advised to allow the AC to hover for a short period for it to initialise and register satellite reception / calculations.

The start up includes Satellite acquisition and initialisation. That usually takes a few seconds.

Nigel

 

[Mio Lac]

Oh ok
Thank you
I’ll try that

 

[cinclodes]

True. But it would be advised to allow the AC to hover for a short period for it to initialise and register satellite reception / calculations.

The start up includes Satellite acquisition and initialisation. That usually takes a few seconds.

Nigel

That is true, but it would have to hover high enough to clear the obstructions. Other cautions would be to be careful not to hit the obstructing object or disappearing behind it. I would fly it to the side away from the object and carefully ascend a little ways. If it still didn't pick up the satellites, I would bring it back.

 

[solentlife]

That is true, but it would have to hover high enough to clear the obstructions. Other cautions would be to be careful not to hit the obstructing object or disappearing behind it. I would fly it to the side away from the object and carefully ascend a little ways. If it still didn't pick up the satellites, I would bring it back.

Absolutely ..... no use if it hasn't clear safe view of sky.

Nigel

 

[Chuck1906]

After a bad experience, I cannot stress this enough. This should be a part of your daily flying duties. Go to a wide open area and put it in ATTI mode on purpose and fly around. I wouldn’t fly to far or too high. Keep it close until you get comfortable with flying with no GPS!!!! Once you get at controlling your drone you can start going out further and higher. I lost GPS while flying and the drone went into ATTI mode and I darn near panicked! I just knew it was gonna fly away. The wind was pushing it away and quickly. I was so focused on preventing a fly away that I completely forgot I had the RTH option which when I engaged it, the drone flew back in a straight line back to me and landed! I was so thankful but used that experience as a daily reminder to go out and practice flying in ATTI mode. Just the other day I flew over an area that caused magnetic interference and it kicked me off GPS! This time I didn’t panic, I flew all the back to me and landed in ATTI mode. I powered everything off then back on. Recalibrated the drone and went right back up in the air without incident.

As long as the quad has an open view of the sky it will see the satellites. If you are in a tight slot canyon or under a ledge it could lose sight of them. You can fly without them. This would be like flying in ATTI mode. I suggest learning to fly in a wide open area in ATTI mode before attempting a tight area without GPS assistance. It is a great skill to possess as a drone operator. You never know when it will come in handy.

 

[N017RW]

There’s so much anxiety over flying without GPS, but it flies the same!

You just have to learn to apply a bit of reverse control to stop and adjust for wind.

That’s it.

Of course the fancy RTH and other non-required modes won’t work without it active but there’s very little difference in actually flying it.

 

[cinclodes]

I lost GPS while flying and the drone went into ATTI mode and I darn near panicked! I just knew it was gonna fly away. The wind was pushing it away and quickly. I was so focused on preventing a fly away that I completely forgot I had the RTH option which when I engaged it, the drone flew back in a straight line back to me and landed!

If your drone lost GPS, how did it find its way back to the home point?