Impressed by the stability!

[BlackHawk388]

This morning, I went to my local school and setup shop out back in a nice field. The winds were blowing steady at 10mph with gusts over 20 on the ground. At 120', they were much more steady and I gauged them to be 25mph above the tree line. I determine this by knowing how fast my Phantom flies in a straight line, nearly full battery, with no winds. That is 23mph in GPS Mode. I then turn the Phantom and fly with a tail wind and check my forward speed and today, it was showing 41-45mph at 125'.


Towards one end, there is a water drain grate. So a light bulb went on. Fixed point on the ground, hover there and then, ascend to 125'. Let it hover for 30 seconds then descend right back down while never touching the right stick and using only throttle on the left.

The Phantom, with varying degrees of wind of up to 25mph, was stopped at a 5' hover when it came close to the ground. It was less than 3' away from the grate. I just let go of the throttle at that 5' height and it then moved itself to within inches of the position from which I had begun the ascent.

Now realize something. I've been flying R/C craft for a good number of years. About 15 or so. However, this is my first GPS stabilized aircraft, so I'm pretty damned impressed!

Once I figure out what video editing program I want to get, money is pretty tight right now, I plan on using my desktop computer with an NVidia GTX770 GPU to edit the video I took of this. I had the camera pointed down the whole time to record it. I might just upload it to Youtube without reducing the resolution and let that show it off. Will add the video here soon.

Just so EXCITED to have such a stable platform!

 

[BlackHawk388]

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[peter west nz]

This morning, I went to my local school and setup shop out back in a nice field. The winds were blowing steady at 10mph with gusts over 20 on the ground. At 120', they were much more steady and I gauged them to be 25mph above the tree line. I determine this by knowing how fast my Phantom flies in a straight line, nearly full battery, with no winds. That is 23mph in GPS Mode. I then turn the Phantom and fly with a tail wind and check my forward speed and today, it was showing 41-45mph at 125'.


Towards one end, there is a water drain grate. So a light bulb went on. Fixed point on the ground, hover there and then, ascend to 125'. Let it hover for 30 seconds then descend right back down while never touching the right stick and using only throttle on the left.

The Phantom, with varying degrees of wind of up to 25mph, was stopped at a 5' hover when it came close to the ground. It was less than 3' away from the grate. I just let go of the throttle at that 5' height and it then moved itself to within inches of the position from which I had begun the ascent.

Now realize something. I've been flying R/C craft for a good number of years. About 15 or so. However, this is my first GPS stabilized aircraft, so I'm pretty damned impressed!

Once I figure out what video editing program I want to get, money is pretty tight right now, I plan on using my desktop computer with an NVidia GTX770 GPU to edit the video I took of this. I had the camera pointed down the whole time to record it. I might just upload it to Youtube without reducing the resolution and let that show it off. Will add the video here soon.

Just so EXCITED to have such a stable platform!

I agree. Even being used to flying rc helis doesn't really prepare us for these things!

 

[marg2]

Glad Ur enjoying your phantom soldier keep posting good vib

 

[BlackHawk388]

I agree. Even being used to flying rc helis doesn't really prepare us for these things!

No, it sure doesn't! I'm used to constantly being aware of a 3D space regardless of the 6-axis gibals on my heli. Windage would be my number one enemy. Being where I am, winds whip off of buildings, even my own two story house, to such a degree as to greatly influence the space in which I'm trying to fly.

My Powered Glider is so much easier to fly than any heli or quad.

Until now that is.

Glad Ur enjoying your phantom soldier keep posting good vib

I'll post a little more here soon. I've got a 260mb video I'll upload once I'm done watching Netflix. Same area, but much more activity from the drone. It shows the Gulf off in the distance which is interesting in that typically, from this altitude you cannot see wave action. But the winds were so severe coming out of the South West that you can actually detect the waves in the distance.

You'll easily see me trying to fly this thing like I do my heli. Counter thrust for a hard maneuver in a given direction. Some habits I will need to relearn when flying this thing in GPS. In GPS mode on this Quad, it actually helps quite a bit to bring the drone to a halt. It doesn't, however, translate to good video platform flying from a guy used to flying heli's without GPS stabilization. lol. It is interesting though. Once I use Atti mode more, I'm getting a smoother flight profile from my Phanton and also, better video. It's just that around here, where the structures are so very influencing to the way winds sheer through the area, I do believe I'll need to figure out how to fly in GPS mode while remaining smooth. Perhaps that old Heli in moderate crosswinds learning will help me.

 

[marg2]

My heli nitro all it has is a tail giro tricky lil bicht but at leas i can do aoto rot if engine fail be aware one fails on phantom your out get gimbal guard and gimball saver

 

[BlackHawk388]

My heli nitro all it has is a tail giro tricky lil bicht but at leas i can do aoto rot if engine fail be aware one fails on phantom your out get gimbal guard and gimball saver

The very nature of a quad says that a single motor/gearbox failing means a crash. I cannot, at any time, use a flybarless, high induction T/R heli that has a decoupling gearbox as a reference point for this Quad.

I THINK that's what you're trying to impart here although, English may not be your first language.

There is no Autorotation in a Quad. It doesn't have the blade/gearbox independent P/C that a heli has. Nor does each motor/gearbox have the power decoupling unit needed to give passing air a chance to accelerate the rotors to such a state where auto-rotational authority is present in the last few feet before impact.

Once the motors stop turning on a quad, there is no control authority. Zero. One would have to setup a separate channel on a TX, as well as constructing an independently authoritative rotor head with a decoupling clutch on each arm of a multirotor copter, to even begin to approach the ability of a Heli to autorotate a Quad. And even then, develop training methods that would allow a successful Auto on such a craft. I just don't see it happening with current technology. It would require extensive computer controlled cross axis computations to even begin to regain some control through the passage of vertical space airflow turning the blades.

*Deep Breath*

Sure, it COULD be done. But not at this price point. Thank you, Marg2, for giving my brain something to work on for a little bit.

 

[BlackHawk388]

OK. So here is a video in which I give a play-by-play breakdown as to what is happening to this Quad as she rises to a 200' hover, then back down. It's also the video description. You can see where I avoid RSGP by using the prevailing winds to keep that from occurring. Had I of been descending with a tailwind, RSGP would likely of seen me enter what's called a "Settling With Power" state in Helicopter speak. Strong winds given the airframe can prevent this from happening. For a UH-60, those winds would need to be in excess of 45kts. Below the video link is this explanation of what I mean. Other, more qualified pilots, please feel free to correct me. I don't always get the terminology correct although, I do try.

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Initially, there are fairly severe multi-directional winds based off of the structures I'm surrounded by while also realizing the winds aloft are much higher in speed.

At 1:32, the drone is facing due East. At 2:16 I am facing due West. At 2:51, I am facing due South. You will then see the left, forward prop show in the video trying, successfully I might add, to keep the drone in a given vertical/lateral space column. Also, you can just see the Gulf Of Mexico three miles distant. What's so indicative for this video is that waves can be seen crashing in the distance. This is due to the wind coming in so hard from the South, Southeast. This wind direction is why you see the left, front rotor in the video at this point. The GPS stabilization is working hard to keep the aircraft centralized within its Home Point setting (imagine a vertical column with a radius of 6'). At 3:01, the Bay will come into view. At that point, I have a pretty severe tailwind to contend with. However, this Phantom 2 Vision + V3 makes this look like child's play. Had I have been in Atti mode, I would have been pushed quite distant from my Home Point. Many directional inputs would have been required to keep this Quad in the zone I wished it to remain. So using GPS mode in such an environment can not only save you battery life, it can save your drone. I had a great WiFi connection the whole time however, we P2V+V3 pilots know how fragile that connection can become if our drone is being pushed further away from us.

As you watch this video, take into account that I didn't accelerate in such a fashion that would force the rotor hubs of this Quad to dip into view. You will see one or two rotors, maybe even two at the same time, dip into view of the camera. Just understand that this is due to the moderate wind sheer's I experienced below tree level or, the more moderate wind speeds seen above 125' treetop level. Once above tree level where this Phantom 2 Vision Plus V3 hits "clean" air, air that is flowing in a typically unified direction, there are still instances where the rotors come into view from the Phantom fighting the prevailing winds.I actually used VERY little right stick in this video at altitude.

Winds aloft (125' +) were a steady 25mph. By the time I hit 200', they were in excess of 35mph. How did I figure this out? Simple.

In GPS mode flying a straight line with no winds and a battery charged to 75%+, this craft has a straight line speed of 23mph. At 200' altitude, I flew with a direct tailwind and had a GPS ground speed reading of at least 58mph, sometimes reaching 64mph. So there were constant winds of 35mph with gusts to 41 at that flight level. Which means that had I of stayed at that flight level, there was no way for my Phantom to exceed the headwind speed and return to me. I had to drop below 100' in a VERY slight sweeping arc to see winds below that which would allow me to make headway back to my home point lock. The 3-axis gimbal makes this look very mundane.

Once I dropped below the treeline, I saw a reduction in wind speeds to such an extent that it allowed me to return to my home point while being in full control. This is why understanding winds aloft vs. winds at ground is so important for drone pilots. Sure, I could of switched to ATTI mode at any time and gained better forward flight speeds, but this isn't something I wished to do for this particular video. I wanted to remain in GPS mode to show the efforts required to remain in my given area for a successful descent and return to base. You will see the forward rotors dipping into the frame of the camera in an attempt to remain stationary.

At 3:12, you see me place the forward rotors into the prevailing winds and initiate a descent. Some pilots have seen RSGP (ring state gyroscopic procession) become an issue in this. With the aircraft pointing towards the prevailing winds, you remove this issue instantly, just as if you were doing a high rate descent in a clam wind condition by flying in a given direction. It's the airflow beneath the rotors that prevents such from occurring.

At 3:46, I have dropped below the treetops and reduced my incoming airspeed from the direction of wind. The aircraft becomes much more stable and tightly held at this point.

Nothing I've ever flown before has had such capability. So allow me to revel in it now even if it is old hat to you!

Enjoying my Quad. One minute at a time!

 

[marg2]

Ligths up

 

[marg2]

Next bird

 

[marg2]

A link to my channel You tube

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[lignow]

CoolVid, BH388. Recommend every flight,(20 to 30 sec.) - Pop in the air about 20 feet (check for GPS stability(8 sec.) - fly strait forward for 50 to 80 feet (flies strait) - Fly left and right (flies square) - turn drone 180deg. switch to home lock (left toggle all down) (pull right stick back) it should come right back at you.
That home lock has saved my plastic bacon a few times.