Is a flyaway possible in atti mode?

[Trisnpod]

I've been lurking on this forum for a while now but this is my first post xD.

I'm a bit worried about flying in gps mode on the p2 because of the flyaway risk, so I'd rather keep gps for emergency recovery only and fly atti the rest of the time. I've flown quite a few cheaper non gps quads before that just have a gyro for stabilisation, and a cp heli a bit too so managing atti mode isn't a problem.

However, in atti mode is the GPS still controlling anything, or is it completely switched off? Is it the barometer alone that controls altitude hold in atti mode?
Is a flyaway possible in atti mode?

 

[jason]

I've been lurking on this forum for a while now but this is my first post xD.

I'm a bit worried about flying in gps mode on the p2 because of the flyaway risk, so I'd rather keep gps for emergency recovery only and fly atti the rest of the time. I've flown quite a few cheaper non gps quads before that just have a gyro for stabilisation, and a cp heli a bit too so managing atti mode isn't a problem.

However, in atti mode is the GPS still controlling anything, or is it completely switched off? Is it the barometer alone that controls altitude hold in atti mode?
Is a flyaway possible in atti mode?

There's no more of a risk of a flyaway in GPS then there is in or ATTI mode. In order to fly in ATTI mode you have to be in Naza-M mode as the Phantom (or beginners mode) there isn't an ATTI mode. While in ATTI GPS has no control over your craft and if you started up and tookoff in ATTI you have no home point and in failsafe it will not return to the takeoff point.

 

[lonjsnyder]

The combination of a bad compass calibration and flying in GPS mode can cause a erratic flight and a "flyaway". It's my understanding that switching over to ATTI mode will mitigate that should it occur. I still have my P2 with GoPro and have never had a problem flying in either GPS nor ATTI modes.
Yes it's the barometer that controls altitude. You can always wait for GPS lock before taking off and then switch freely between GPS & ATTI flight modes during flight.

 

[Trisnpod]

Thanks for the replies! So just to confirm - a flyaway should not occur while I am flying in atti mode, the only risk is if I have to use failsafe?
And if a flyaway did happen while I'm in gps mode, switching to atti mode should allow me to regain control?

 

[ScouseMouse]

Hello Sheffield! When you are in ATTI mode you shouldn't experience a flyaway given that everything is working as it should. If you lose radio contact for any reason then that statement can go out the window though. Conversely if you are in GPS mode it is definitely worth flicking back to ATTI to regain control. You have experience of flying other multi-rotors so this should be easy for you but a lot depends on distance and whether you are flying LOS or FPV.

 

[jason]

Thanks for the replies! So just to confirm - a flyaway should not occur while I am flying in atti mode, the only risk is if I have to use failsafe?
And if a flyaway did happen while I'm in gps mode, switching to atti mode should allow me to regain control?

Check your personal messages.

 

[Trisnpod]

Thanks for the replies, I'm now a lot more confident about flying the phantom than I was. I'll be flying it fpv when I start going far/high with a gopro on board so that should prevent issues like loss of orientation.

 

[lonjsnyder]

Big Tip: make sure GoPro's WiFi is OFF

 

[brianwwj]

My Phantom 4 crashed because it could not hover steadily when taking off without or with low GPS signal. I did not set it to ATTI mode nor disable the sensor manually. And, it was showing "ready to go" on DJI app.

DJI Support replied that "the incident was not caused by any product malfunction factors" because it was in ATTI mode (which I did not set) :
"1. ATTI is one status of the aircraft. In that mode, the aircraft was not able to hover, skid or avoid obstacle, because there was no GPS signal and also the obstacle sensor system is not available, which is the feature.
It is not that someone manually disable the obstacle sensor, but when there is no GPS signal and also the obstacle sensor system is not available, the aircraft would enter the ATTI mode.
2. We never informed that the pilot disable the obstacle sensor in this case. But when the condition for the obstacle sensor to work, is not met, the sensor won't work."

I personally think that the sensor obstacle sensor should be switched on under any circumstances since it is the core feature of Phantom 4 to avoid accident as much as possible. Unless the obstacle is out of the sensor detection limitation. Also, DJI app should not allow any DJI drone to fly off without the aforementioned sensor being switched on at least.

 

[Meta4]

My Phantom 4 crashed because it could not hover steadily when taking off without or with low GPS signal. I did not set it to ATTI mode nor disable the sensor manually. And, it was showing "ready to go" on DJI app.

DJI Support replied that "the incident was not caused by any product malfunction factors" because it was in ATTI mode (which I did not set) :
"1. ATTI is one status of the aircraft. In that mode, the aircraft was not able to hover, skid or avoid obstacle, because there was no GPS signal and also the obstacle sensor system is not available, which is the feature.
It is not that someone manually disable the obstacle sensor, but when there is no GPS signal and also the obstacle sensor system is not available, the aircraft would enter the ATTI mode.
2. We never informed that the pilot disable the obstacle sensor in this case. But when the condition for the obstacle sensor to work, is not met, the sensor won't work."

I personally think that the sensor obstacle sensor should be switched on under any circumstances since it is the core feature of Phantom 4 to avoid accident as much as possible. Unless the obstacle is out of the sensor detection limitation. Also, DJI app should not allow any DJI drone to fly off without the aforementioned sensor being switched on at least.

There are two ways your Phantom can find itself in atti mode:

1. You flick the mode switch from P-GPS to Atti .. or
2. You don't have enough GPS sats​

It doesn't matter you flick the switch or just don't have GPS reception, the result is the same - the Phantom has no horizontal position holding ability and can drift with the wind.
It's also got no brakes and flying is like driving on ice.
When you turn your Phantom on you get an initial Ready to Fly atti condition (Yellow), followed by Ready to Fly GPS (green) when your Phantom picks up enough sats.

Obstacle avoidance won't work in atti mode either because without position holding, the Phantom can't move one foot to the left and it can't stop if it did.
It's not safe to fly close to obstacles in Atti mode - do it out in the open where there's nothing to hit.

 

[lonjsnyder]

I wonder why your P4 wasn't in "Opti Mode" where the downward optical sensors provide the aircraft horizontal stability and the obstacle sensors function? I have flown indoors many times in that mode without incident. Unfortunately the technology that makes these UAVs so easy to fly also makes them easy to crash if you don't understand the various settings of the technology.

 

[N017RW]

My Phantom 4 crashed because it could not hover steadily when taking off without or with low GPS signal. I did not set it to ATTI mode nor disable the sensor manually. And, it was showing "ready to go" on DJI app.

DJI Support replied that "the incident was not caused by any product malfunction factors" because it was in ATTI mode (which I did not set) :
"1. ATTI is one status of the aircraft. In that mode, the aircraft was not able to hover, skid or avoid obstacle, because there was no GPS signal and also the obstacle sensor system is not available, which is the feature.
It is not that someone manually disable the obstacle sensor, but when there is no GPS signal and also the obstacle sensor system is not available, the aircraft would enter the ATTI mode.
2. We never informed that the pilot disable the obstacle sensor in this case. But when the condition for the obstacle sensor to work, is not met, the sensor won't work."

I personally think that the sensor obstacle sensor should be switched on under any circumstances since it is the core feature of Phantom 4 to avoid accident as much as possible. Unless the obstacle is out of the sensor detection limitation. Also, DJI app should not allow any DJI drone to fly off without the aforementioned sensor being switched on at least.

bwwj,

There's a P4 forum for your questions and discussions.

Cheers!