Flying P3 pro out of balcony. Will it dive?????

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I live on the 11th floor of an apr building.
When I turn on my P3 on the balcony I dont get GPS lock.
What will happen if I takeoff in the balcony and then go out of the balcony.
Will it drop in height???
It will probably get GPS lock in mid air at height of 40 meters. Will it stay in the same point in the air???
 
some guy in Washington DC took a P2 and launched while drunk and proceeded to crash in a tree down the block... P3 should be much easier to control is my thought

so, you would fly VPS then ATTi till GPS home lock then switch to GPS mode?

Question is: If it RTH, won't it consider the 11 stories high location outside of the balcony the home location spot?
 
Coincidentally, I just tried this 20 minutes ago - I am on holiday at the Baltic and wanted an evening flight. I took off from a 3rd floor hotel balcony (see image) having got a home location lock. I sat it on a high table, let it hover up enough to clear the balcony, and then I was off. It just flew straight out.

Remember that altitude is not calculated via GPS - it has a barometric sensor (air pressure) which is very sensitive.

On return I brought it in close and grabbed it before throttling down. It was actually very trouble free, except that it woke up some peacocks - and they are still making a lot of noise.

DJI_0079-2.jpg
 
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I start regularly from the balcony, its ok. But be aware, before you catch the gps lock, you will be in atti mode and you will have to pilot it ( for example, if there will be some wind, you will have to compensate).
 
When I turn the P3 on the 11th floor, the H on the screen says 0 m.
That is why I was concern it will drop down when it get outside the balcony.
Also I dont have GPS lock on the balcony
 
Wherever you start it will say zero metres - that's how the Phantom works.
If you do not have a clear view of enough sky, you will have difficulty getting GPS lock.
Perhaps you need to get more basic flight experience in the open at ground level before attempting balcony takeoff?
 
Yes, I wouldn't attempt balcony takeoff unless you are already very familiar with the software and can control the quad without having to think (and without panicking). There is quite a lot that could go wrong!

Also remember that RTH is going to have a very hard time if you take off from a balcony - it would either land on the roof, or on the street at the bottom of the building. Again, a lot could go wrong.
 
I would not attempt this unless you can actually fly your 'copter in ATTI mode as noted above and have a fair amount of flight time/experience. These are the types of flights that can end up in the news.... and not in a good way. If something goes awry and it crashes to the ground are you willing to take the responsibility for injury or damages?
 
One risk that you have probably already considered is the very large 'blind' spot that you have above and behind the building (assuming it is a large building) you are in when standing on the balcony. If you lose track of where you are and the copter goes behind or above the building, you may well lose all control. If RTH then kicks in and your home point is a bit 'off' then you might not even get a chance to control it on its return. Definitely stay in front of the building when flying.
 
If you're only used to flying with full GPS lock, I would get into a big park and practice flying for quite a bit in ATTI mode. The way the aircraft reacts to winds when you don't have full GPS lock can be rather unnerving if you're not used to it. I flew a fair bit in tight spaces with a V+ and when the wind blows it around you can get panicked and clip something. Get used to ATTI mode, it will be well worth it someday.
 
Remember that altitude is not calculated via GPS - it has a barometric sensor (air pressure) which is very sensitive.
Nice sunset view.

BTW baro altimeter should be corrected by GPS height in time - as many standalone GPSr does like, otherwise different height under low & high pressure. Also GPS altitude is calculated from mean sea level model of the earth, and not so accurate. So, if I was DJI engineer, I'll design P3 as:
1. vision sensor measures it's 1m in room (but baro altimeter shows differ, say 50m),
2. fly out from balcony and get GPS height (say 100m),
3. correct barometer by GPS very slowly, but record the home point _was_ GPS height 99m (baro height 49m), and keep flying at that height...
Actually it's my guess, and I prefer capturing GPS in balcony, rather than adventure. :D
 

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