In plain English please...the difference between atti and P modes

[K Henry]

ATTI mode also is good when taking off from a moving boat as the drone will stay in your hand (and you will definitely need to hand launch and land) until you want it to actually take off. In P mode it will try and hold position but since that is changing it will try and fly away immediately which can work OK but you need to power on and fly away immediately...just be careful that the actual wind isn't blowing into you otherwise as soon as the drone takes off (in ATTI mode this is) it will drift towards you. ATTI mode will also save considerable battery power following a moving boat that is travelling downwind as the drone will be drifting with the wind and not fighting to hold position which takes energy, unless the wind speed is considerably stronger than the boat speed in which case either mode is going to eat power and if the wind is that strong then good luck! Landing I prefer P mode for the extra precision...and allow lots of battery power for that (I try to land with 50%). ATTI mode also good in a windless canyon with other places without GPS coverage such as under dense forest canopy. Worth practicing with on a windless day in an open field.

Thank you! I have been greatly educated = confidence!

 

[Sky Wombat]

Have a look at Drone Art for a practical example of ATTI mode. The poster OOO has a few of these.

 

[DronerDave]

A “collateral” secondary benefit of ATTI mode is the possibility to use this mode to measure real wind velocity at a determinate altitude. If you take off in GPS mode and rise vertically up to 100 ft (or any other altitude), your Phantom will try to maintain its position with GPS satellites’ signal, thus indicating a horizontal speed 0.0 mph (or m/s or km/h). After checking that there are no obstacles in its path, you can change mode from P to ATTI: the aircraft will drift with the existing wind and you can see how the numbers in the horizontal speed indicator start to increase from the initial zero value. In a few seconds, such number will stabilise, indicating then the wind speed at that altitude. Do not let the drone drifting alone for a long time, specially if the wind is strong. After checking that wind speed at your scheduled flight altitude is under limits, you can fly with the confidence that it will be possible to go back home against that wind.

Or you find out the wind is to strong and you go looking for your AC . Secondly if you climb to say 100 ' and the AC doesn't drift down wind before switching to ATTI doesn't that tell you it can at least maintain .

 

[Tim Dawes]

Plus ATTI mode is handy for a fast getaway like if a bird is chasing it. I played in ATTI mode for the first ever time this week. Been flying for 18 months but I really gave it a shot, went through two batteries and enjoyed every minute of it. Still confused tho if ATTI mode disables RTH if signal is lost as GPS is now disabled

Interesting. Not sure how the "fast getaway " works? Do the flight parameters e.g., max speed setting stop working in atti?

 

[Dpanetta]

There are 5 reasons I will choose to fly ATTI mode:

1. When I am flying in an area that has limited or no gps like indoors, under bridges.

2. When I am on a moving platform like a boat.

3. Over water. I have gone fishing with my drone many times. It’s fun, and definitely a conversation starter with anyone who wanders by.

4. When I am flying between very high buildings or inside wells (this last one is only for-profit).

5. In an emergency recovery maneuver.

There is only one reason I will choose to fly in manual mode. Speed

Everything else I fly in P mode. There are many special functions that come in handy. Like Tap Fly, Terrain Follow, Course Lock, and Active Track.

 

[sar104]

There are 5 reasons I will choose to fly ATTI mode:

1. When I am flying in an area that has limited or no gps like indoors, under bridges.

2. When I am on a moving platform like a boat.

3. Over water. I have gone fishing with my drone many times. It’s fun, and definitely a conversation starter with anyone who wanders by.

4. When I am flying between very high buildings or inside wells (this last one is only for-profit).

5. In an emergency recovery maneuver.

There is only one reason I will choose to fly in manual mode. Speed

Everything else I fly in P mode. There are many special functions that come in handy. Like Tap Fly, Terrain Follow, Course Lock, and Active Track.

What kind of aircraft are you flying in manual mode?

 

[K Henry]

There are 5 reasons I will choose to fly ATTI mode:

1. When I am flying in an area that has limited or no gps like indoors, under bridges.

2. When I am on a moving platform like a boat.

3. Over water. I have gone fishing with my drone many times. It’s fun, and definitely a conversation starter with anyone who wanders by.

4. When I am flying between very high buildings or inside wells (this last one is only for-profit).

5. In an emergency recovery maneuver.

There is only one reason I will choose to fly in manual mode. Speed

Everything else I fly in P mode. There are many special functions that come in handy. Like Tap Fly, Terrain Follow, Course Lock, and Active Track.

Thank you for your friendly message which was exactly what I was looking for!

 

[Dpanetta]

What kind of aircraft are you flying in manual mode?

P4. I should have said "Sport Mode". Other UAV's call it Manual. Same thing really. The obstacle avoidance sensors are turned off, and you get about a 15% increase in speed and maneuverability. Just be confident that you can fly in ATTI mode before attempting it. The controls respond way faster in this mode, and watch out for trees and walls. You can crash easily in this mode. I have reached ground speeds of 50mph with little tailwind. Kinda cool having the bird keep up with the boat at that speed! Accent and decent speeds are faster too, so watch out for hard landings. If you want to fly through doorways, this mode will allow it. Sport Mode will keep your GPS enabled too, so Return To Home will still work. (DONT use RTH when in a boat!) In ATTI mode the RTH is disabled. Sport Mode does drain the battery faster though (or that might just be my radical flying). Battery life is 10-15 minutes in Sport Mode, depending how radical you fly.

 

[N017RW]

P4. I should have said "Sport Mode". Other UAV's call it Manual. Same thing really. The obstacle avoidance sensors are turned off, and you get about a 15% increase in speed and maneuverability. Just be confident that you can fly in ATTI mode before attempting it. The controls respond way faster in this mode, and watch out for trees and walls. You can crash easily in this mode. I have reached ground speeds of 50mph with little tailwind. Kinda cool having the bird keep up with the boat at that speed! Accent and decent speeds are faster too, so watch out for hard landings. If you want to fly through doorways, this mode will allow it. Sport Mode will keep your GPS enabled too, so Return To Home will still work. (DONT use RTH when in a boat!) In ATTI mode the RTH is disabled. Sport Mode does drain the battery faster though (or that might just be my radical flying). Battery life is 10-15 minutes in Sport Mode, depending how radical you fly.

In the context of Phantoms, Manual mode does not compare to Sport.

Manual mode has NO flight controller stabilization. It will crash immediately if you do not know what you are doing.

Conflating the two, here, will be confusing to those who have owned a P2.

 

[Rudder Bug]

It's important to note that you can lose your Phantom due to a compass error. The compass and the GPS work together. If your craft starts making a beeline in the opposite direction that you intended and you see compass errors in your app, switch it into ATTI before it gets too far, you can then regain control and fly it back (carefully). Too many people have lost their birds not realizing this.

This is very important advice, thanks! This should be put in all of our emergency checklists. Too many drones are being lost because people don't practice enough manual flying (read ATTI).

 

[xpert66]

I always fly in ATTI and even in high winds I seldom drift. Why is this?

 

[N017RW]

Phantoms without GPS assist will drift with wind currents. Maybe you are mistaken as to the mode you’re in?

 

[sar104]

I always fly in ATTI and even in high winds I seldom drift. Why is this?

Are you referring to yourself or your drone?

 

[Dpanetta]

I always fly in ATTI and even in high winds I seldom drift. Why is this?

There are a couple of possibilities. First, if the Multiple flight mode is not setup in the controller, you might think you are in ATTI mode, but really you are not switching over. Another possibility is that the downward visual sensors might be turned on, but I am not 100% positive if this can be turned on or off while in ATTI mode. The visual sensors have a very limited distance too. So if you are like 100’ up, the visual sensors do you no good.

 

[Meta4]

P4. I should have said "Sport Mode". Other UAV's call it Manual. Same thing really. The obstacle avoidance sensors are turned off, and you get about a 15% increase in speed and maneuverability. Just be confident that you can fly in ATTI mode before attempting it. The controls respond way faster in this mode, and watch out for trees and walls. You can crash easily in this mode. I have reached ground speeds of 50mph with little tailwind. Kinda cool having the bird keep up with the boat at that speed! Accent and decent speeds are faster too, so watch out for hard landings. If you want to fly through doorways, this mode will allow it. Sport Mode will keep your GPS enabled too, so Return To Home will still work. (DONT use RTH when in a boat!) In ATTI mode the RTH is disabled. Sport Mode does drain the battery faster though (or that might just be my radical flying). Battery life is 10-15 minutes in Sport Mode, depending how radical you fly.

If you switch to Atti mode that does not disable RTH.
If GPS is available, the Phantom will use it for RTH.

 

[Forman]

I have a old P2 with Naza and I use manual mode when I want to do flips or rolls . My mavic can’t do wild flying like manual with the old phantom

 

[Waylander]

A “collateral” secondary benefit of ATTI mode is the possibility to use this mode to measure real wind velocity at a determinate altitude. If you take off in GPS mode and rise vertically up to 100 ft (or any other altitude), your Phantom will try to maintain its position with GPS satellites’ signal, thus indicating a horizontal speed 0.0 mph (or m/s or km/h). After checking that there are no obstacles in its path, you can change mode from P to ATTI: the aircraft will drift with the existing wind and you can see how the numbers in the horizontal speed indicator start to increase from the initial zero value. In a few seconds, such number will stabilise, indicating then the wind speed at that altitude. Do not let the drone drifting alone for a long time, specially if the wind is strong. After checking that wind speed at your scheduled flight altitude is under limits, you can fly with the confidence that it will be possible to go back home against that wind.

Hi Javier

I proposed this method for wind speed and direction over a year ago, and at that time my post was rubbished, by some of the OP's on this site. I'm glad that someone else has seen the sense in this method.

Regards Waylander

 

[Speedmeister]

‘Manual’ is just a word to best describe atti compared to a p on a P4P for the OP. It is not the same as the manual on a P2. For pilots who started with this hobby with just atti and p as your flight modes, atti is the closest thing to a manual mode. Does it really confuse pilots who owned a P2? It is like describing a manual mode on an automatic transmission to a person who have driven on a real manual transmission. This person knows what a real manual is.

 

[sar104]

‘Manual’ is just a word to best describe atti compared to a p on a P4P for the OP. It is not the same as the manual on a P2. For pilots who started with this hobby with just atti and p as your flight modes, atti is the closest thing to a manual mode. Does it really confuse pilots who owned a P2? It is like describing a manual mode on an automatic transmission to a person who have driven on a real manual transmission. This person knows what a real manual is.

This discussion, starting at #45, illustrates precisely that confusion. "Manual", in the context of DJI flight controllers, has a specific meaning, namely direct motor control.

 

[professorpg]

Why would I want it to drift?

I use it to see the wind speed. Don't want to use half a battery going down wind and then cant get home.