So after two flights on two different days here are my findings. Initial satellite linking went from about 30 sec with no chute to 1 min with chute mounted, and was a little slower acquiring more satellites with maximum GPS before take off of 15 with no chute and 10 with chute. Warnings received while flying were none for no chute, too Weak GPS signal, Satellite Positioning Off, and audio warning that I was flying in ATTI mode with chute. I’ve flown in ATTI mode several times and know how the wind drifts the aircraft in its direction. At no time while flying with the chute and with audio or screen warnings about GPS lost did I ever felt I was flying in ATTI mode. I took my hands off the sticks several times and the aircraft stopped as you would expect when flying P mode. The inflight average wind speed for first day was 15.8 gusting to 21.7, and second day 7.4 gusting to 11.7. I would say my flying skills in ATTI mode are fair.
I didn’t really notice much if any sluggish stick controls with chute. I only flew in P mode at a maximum speed of 21 mph as I don’t see why I would need to fly faster over people. The max speed rating on the manual has it at 43.5 and a recommendation not to fly in sport mode. The battery did see a decrease of about 4 to 5 minutes of flying time, keep in mind I was moving most of the time vs staying stationary.
I would not fly with the chute on unless I were to fly over people (only if acquired waiver of course). If you want chute for protection from mishap I would tell you get insurance, it is cheaper and you can fly longer times with less work of putting and taking chute off. If you want to try and get waiver then this I hope is a step in that direction.
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