Winds were calm at low level when flying. I checked wind before flying with the previous battery and had no difficulty flying back on the same path. hence why It was shown in reverse, with the heading directly at me. That speed was shown at the drone, at least that's how I interpret it. Not directional wind speed.
Drone fly away!
- Thread starter Asylumwsas
- Start date
The wind may well have been calm at low level, but that is not what matters. Higher up it was over 20 mph. I don't think I understand your last two sentences, or what you are trying to interpret.
I was guessing that the phantom view log was showing the actual UAS speed not wind speed. Upon using the other flight data one that is listed I see an average of 8.5 mph, which is significant. Based on wind direction I headed East, slightly North East, wind was recorded North/Northwest from the UAS. That seems to be neither a tail wind or head wind.
The log doesn't show wind speed at all, but from the aircraft speed, track, pitch and roll it is possible to make a fairly good estimate of the actual windspeed. Airdata does that automatically when it interprets a log file with steady enough flight. You had a 20+ mph tailwind heading north.
QUESTION FROM A NOOB:
It sounds like if / when a Phantom loses connection with the transmitter, then it will automatically start the RTH procedure, right? And if it does start the RTH procedure and the winds are fairly strong, then your quad is basically at the mercy of the winds, correct?
If this is the case, then in situations where you still HAVE a connection and initiated the RTH, but the winds are strong, then it is best to cancel RTH and fly it back / land where it is manually???
Thanks in advance.
It sounds like if / when a Phantom loses connection with the transmitter, then it will automatically start the RTH procedure, right? And if it does start the RTH procedure and the winds are fairly strong, then your quad is basically at the mercy of the winds, correct?
If this is the case, then in situations where you still HAVE a connection and initiated the RTH, but the winds are strong, then it is best to cancel RTH and fly it back / land where it is manually???
Thanks in advance.
That is exactly correct. Switch to sport mode and hit the gas. Better yet, don't get into that predicament in the first place by checking the wind speed at your operating altitude before heading off downwind.
Thank you!!! (I don't remember that in the P3A manual but maybe that means I need to re-read it again.)
There is no sport mode on a P3A. That's probably why you didn't see it.
RodPad
Premium Pilot
@Just Mark
To check wind speed at your flying elevation, switch to Atti, watch the Phantom drift and the speed will be right on the app.
@Asylumwsas
On the log of:
DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com
At around 5m 7s your flight speeds were in the 20's toward the end less than a minute your were in the upper 30's. I'm sure the wind would have kept pulling it away
5m 6s Phantom 360' from home point.
6m 5s Phantom 3200' from home point.
6m 6s Phantom 3481' from home point.
281' in 1s
57% battery trying RTH in a head wind 10 mph faster than it can fly (30 mph)?
Hum? Maybe 5 mins max before the battery dies?
Return speed -10 mph (-15 fps)
5 mins = 300 seconds.
300 seconds x -15 fps = -4,500 ft.
Look up to another 5000 ft (a mile) past the last point in log?
Anybody got a better calculation?
I have never been good with story problems.
Rod
To check wind speed at your flying elevation, switch to Atti, watch the Phantom drift and the speed will be right on the app.
@Asylumwsas
On the log of:
DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com
At around 5m 7s your flight speeds were in the 20's toward the end less than a minute your were in the upper 30's. I'm sure the wind would have kept pulling it away
5m 6s Phantom 360' from home point.
6m 5s Phantom 3200' from home point.
6m 6s Phantom 3481' from home point.
281' in 1s
57% battery trying RTH in a head wind 10 mph faster than it can fly (30 mph)?
Hum? Maybe 5 mins max before the battery dies?
Return speed -10 mph (-15 fps)
5 mins = 300 seconds.
300 seconds x -15 fps = -4,500 ft.
Look up to another 5000 ft (a mile) past the last point in log?
Anybody got a better calculation?
I have never been good with story problems.
Rod
@Just Mark
To check wind speed at your flying elevation, switch to Atti, watch the Phantom drift and the speed will be right on the app.
@Asylumwsas
On the log of:
DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com
At around 5m 7s your flight speeds were in the 20's toward the end less than a minute your were in the upper 30's. I'm sure the wind would have kept pulling it away
5m 6s Phantom 360' from home point.
6m 5s Phantom 3200' from home point.
6m 6s Phantom 3481' from home point.
281' in 1s
57% battery trying RTH in a head wind 10 mph faster than it can fly (30 mph)?
Hum? Maybe 5 mins max before the battery dies?
Return speed -10 mph (-15 fps)
5 mins = 300 seconds.
300 seconds x -15 fps = -4,500 ft.
Look up to another 5000 ft (a mile) past the last point in log?
Anybody got a better calculation?
I have never been good with story problems.
Rod
That's probably as good an estimate as any. Lot's of unknown variables, unfortunately.
When I'm going to go long range, I completely ignore what the wind is like on the ground. I get up to my operating altitude, then (in sport mode) head in a particular direction and note my max speed. I know that in still wind it'll cruise at about 45 - 47 mph, so if my speed when testing is 55mph, I know I'm flying with a 10 mph tail wind and I should not travel in that direction. I then try it opposite - I should get a max speed of about 35 mph - that's the direction I travel. Obviously this is only for purposeless fun flying - no target in mind, but you can always use this method to assess the wind situation before heading out to do anything. If you must travel into a head wind, just know that it's going to take a long time to get back and you need to keep some battery in reserve for this. Like has already been mentioned, if possible, the lower you can get on the return trip the less wind you're going to have to fight typically, so drop down as much as you can while still maintaining good connection to get home (or out for that matter).
About the OP's quad - as others have stated, it's probably somewhere directly on the flight path hanging out. Remember to look up if you're surrounded by trees. Quads are very good at getting hung up in branches.
About the OP's quad - as others have stated, it's probably somewhere directly on the flight path hanging out. Remember to look up if you're surrounded by trees. Quads are very good at getting hung up in branches.
Why don't you just switch to ATTI mode and check the resulting speed and direction. That's the wind.
Put it in atti mode indoors with 0 wind and see what happens. Without being able to adjust trim, when not being stabilized by GPS, they (the few I've personally flown as well as my personal one) drift like crazy. I don't trust it after knowing that. Max speed is accurate every time and gives a real picture of what your flight is going to be like if you go this way, or that way, or the other way, immediately. Don't get me wrong, it's a good idea... but try it yourself in a no wind situation and you'll see what I'm saying as it starts sliding across the room. There really should be an advanced setting portion of the software that allows for pid's to be modified as well as trim and rates - I can't count how many times I would have loved to dial down the yaw response or just adjust the curve to get smoother panning shots.
When you say they drift like crazy, you don't mean they drift fast, I assume. Even if there were a residual drift of a couple of mph (and I've never seen anything like that), it is neglible compared to wind speeds that matter, and it will get you a far more accurate wind speed and direction than just flying around in sport mode and attempting to guess what that means for wind speed and direction.
As for slowing down rates, that's what tripod mode is for.
RodPad
Premium Pilot
If you're going to head in a specific direction, going in that direction and back, measuring the speed for each leg of the trip I find to be far more revealing. Sure, it''s great to know that you have a 10mph wind coming from the south east, but just how exactly is that going to affect your trip North? Easy way to tell - go north and see, then come back and see. I try to keep it simple, and the most accurate way that I can find to reliably know exactly how the wind is going to affect my flight on a specific heading is to go in that direction and see exactly how it's going to affect it. You've got your way - this works for me.
But now that we're on the topic, say you do have a 10mph wind coming from the north west, traveling South east, and you are looking to travel North and return South, what is the calculation that you do to reveal just how this will affect your flight, and how accurate is it?
RodPad
Premium Pilot
I'm Sorry I got sucked in to this,
None of us now are trying to help this guy find his Phantom.
Rod
None of us now are trying to help this guy find his Phantom.
Rod
Fair enough - you make a good point. If you are going to stick to a specific heading out and then back, then your method does give a more direct and simple measure of the ground speeds that you can expect.
I am more accustomed to knowing the actual wind speed and direction but the calculation to get the ground speed values on a particular track, out and back, are more complicated to calculate and don't actually have a simple closed-form solution.
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