Gotta Love Angle Mode

[PatR]

So I'm out doing some portfolio shots this morning and on my way downtown to pick up some stuff I'm driving through the "country" and pass by a couple of fairly large new homes under construction. Standing out front of one of them is a group of people so I figure, "what the heck, the worst they can do is say no". I stop and check with the homeowner to see if I can do some aerial shots using a "drone". No problem she says. She wanders back to the group so I head there next to give her a business card. While walking up to the group I hear one of the men in the group call me by name. Who's that I wonder? As I get a little closer one of the gentlemen standing there is the CEO of a major UAV company, yes, they know multirotors, and.... it's my boss. I'm thinking it just won't look very good to back out now, and this is not a good time to encounter any problems. Do it well and no grief should come of it, do it badly and I could be retiring a lot sooner than May.

So, set up, pre-flight with extreme care, wait for satellites, get in an advantageous sight line position. Satellite count for the -16 comes up slow. 8-10-11. 15 on the bird. Could be better for the -16 but it should be good enough. I do wonder why the =16 count is coming up so slow but I wasn't all that concerned. So I lean against a rather tall fire hydrant and get comfortable. Hover about 10' off the ground, 20' out and set up the shutter speed and EV. Go for the first shot location, raise the gear... compass error warning, instructed to land in Angle mode immediately. The H is in about a 5mph drift straight ahead. No problem, I was already in Angle so speed slider down and just drive it where I want it to go. Lower the gear and start a return, move away from the fire hydrant. Compass warning goes away and positioning again becomes rock solid. Left the gear down for the remainder of the flight. Finish the shoot with nobody the wiser.

What caused the compass error? Good question. Was it the tall fire hydrant I was leaning against? What is the gear retraction? Was it just a random event? Yesterday I had the H sitting between fence posts on a table located in the middle an open chain link fence gate working with ISO, shutter speeds and EV to develop a good feel for what worked with changing light conditions. No intention of flying so I wasn't concerned about interference from the fence. I did observe that every time the wind blew the gate shut where it came between the H and the ST-16 it would generate a compass error. What's somewhat odd is this morning I was doing some inspection work of an overhead loading chute and had no compass issues at all, and the H got pretty darn close to a lot of metal pipe and railing.

Moral of the story, use Angle mode whenever you can. If you get a compass error warning, take control of the situation. Assume you've lost GPS as well. Expect the aircraft to start drifting. DO NOT use RTH or Smart mode during a compass error. Reduce the speed and bring it home. If the H was in Smart mode, get on the switch as fast as you can because the H may start moving out pretty fast. Despite crappy lighting and the compass error it was a pretty good day.

 

[Steve Carr]

Well, that was an interesting morning. More questions than answers. I wonder if the telemetry would shed some light.

 

[ArnhemAnt]

Great to hear it all went well, and yes, Angle mode is something that everybody should become familiar with.
It staggers me to think that there are people out there that have never flown a UAV before, and then go and buy something like the H - and they rely on 'Safe' mode to 'fly'.

 

[PatR]

I like your choice of terms Ant Steve, it was most interesting indeed, and a a shining example of where and when Murphy's Law can kick in. You're ready for it or you're not.

 

[NorWiscPilot]

Great to hear it all went well, and yes, Angle mode is something that everybody should become familiar with.
It staggers me to think that there are people out there that have never flown a UAV before, and then go and buy something like the H - and they rely on 'Safe' mode to 'fly'.

Hi ArnhemAnt!

I couldn't help but chuckle when I read your post, considering you described exactly what I did. However, before anyone laughs along, here is the rest of the story in an attempt to help others thinking of jumping into the UAV/UAS hobby/profession:

1. I did the research and ordered Typhoon H; the best (in my opinion and others) in the class best suited for me and my intended uses, considering my UAS entry level status. (Note: I do have radio control aircraft and marine experience, so maybe not so much a complete novice?)
2. Before my H order had even been acknowledged, ordered a Husban H107L along with 6 batteries and prop guard. (I have since ordered a 2nd for me, and another as a gift for a friend who had mentioned he was thinking of getting a drone.)
3. Practiced every chance I could with the Husban. Lots of fun during commercial breaks for those couch potatoes out there!)
4. Ordered and received the Typhoon H simulator - more fun at the controls. Went through several charge cycles of the controller using the simulator.
5. Started studying for my Part 107 test, took the test a few weeks later and managed to pass it.
6. Received my temporary UAS pilots certificate.

All the above was done before even thinking of putting on the props and taking my new "baby" out for a flight. I did run through the binding processes, the calibrations, camera settings and controls; trying to become as familiar as I could without actually flying the craft.

While I did initiate my first flight in Smart Mode, I had learned exactly what to expect, being in a clear area (can't think of a better location than winter in northern Wisconsin out on a frozen lake!) and more than twenty-six feet away from the craft. I waited for satellites to sync, checked all the readings, then gradually pushed the throttle for lift off.

Didn't try to do too much. Instead, just took it slow and easy to become familiar with how the H really reacted to my controls and trusting the release of the sticks. After a few take offs, short flights, and landings, I had to trust by old RC roots and try it in angle mode. I don't think I have been back [to Smart Mode], to be perfectly honest!

While I have to admit those first few flights felt like my heart was in my throat, it was more to do knowing how much of my investment was out, away, and high above me than anything else. Now that I have over forty flights under my belt (and in my log) the nerves are much more relaxed these days when the winter weather decides to let me take her out every once in a while.

I cannot image doing anything different than how I described, at least for me. I do know I did not want my first post to read like we have seen here, describing those not so fortunate first flights.

Jeff

P.S. an added note about logs: I try to record how the H was behaving during each flight. For instance, if the wind was up, I write down if the H stayed steady or seemed to struggle to maintain position. Then, if I notice something on a subsequent flight, I can go back to see if I had experienced something similar in any earlier flights. It is quite reassuring to get that "Oh, did the same thing before" feeling rather than stew on it and wonder if I am just biding my time toward a failure of the magnitude some of our more unfortunate brethren have experienced. I can also check, if reading something here, whether or not I may have observed something similar.

Can't always trust the long term memory, so... write it down!

 

[gwhuntoon]

Most importantly you kept your head. Not under any pressure like you, today I went out to fly the H Pro. Hadn't flown in a while and just updated to the latest firmware so I let it sit for around 15 minutes to completely download the almanac. Had 17 satellites, started the motors and just before I throttled up, got a GPS warning while it sat saying acquiring while the ST16 still showed 17 satellites. Decided to stop the motors, power down, change the battery, power up, only had 15 satellites this time but everything seemed OK. Took off and ran through the battery no other issues. Still not sure why I lost the GPS.

 

[PatR]

Jeff,

There's nothing wrong with using Smart mode, or learning with it, as long as you do smart things along the way. Your post says you did that.

 

[Rayray]

From time to time, I notice that there can be momentary signals of lost GPS or compass, even with perfectly good equipment, even with a number of Sats showing locked in and time-tested compass. These fault indications then disappear, and there is no way to know why they happened.

When they happen to me, I slow down and observe closely for a minute or two, then do whatever I set out to do. The alert Pat got was of a more serious nature; he kept his cool and handled it appropriately.

 

[Steve Carr]

Hi ArnhemAnt!

I couldn't help but chuckle when I read your post, considering you described exactly what I did. However, before anyone laughs along, here is the rest of the story in an attempt to help others thinking of jumping into the UAV/UAS hobby/profession:
Jeff

I remember my first series of quads. It was fairly repetitious. Fly, crash...fly, crash....fly, crash....fly, crash, repair....fly, crash. I'm a slow learner.

 

[PatR]

You're not alone, I did similar.

As an example of how little things can bite us on the butt; when I downloaded the card from yesterday's flight I was perplexed to find there were >400 photos on the card. WTF, I didn't shoot that many pictures! Didn't remember that when working with the system the day before I forgot to switch out of burst mode... there should be some amusement for people in seeing my error.

 

[Rubik]

Didn't remember that when working with the system the day before I forgot to switch out of burst mode...

Interesting. It remembered that you were in burst mode even after powering down. One more thing to check before flying.

 

[PatR]

Indeed. Typically it will always switchback to video mode if left in camera, remember the last "scene" mode, retain the last video setting, but reset camera ISO, shutter, and WB to system defaults when powered up.

 

[R12NDS]

Great to hear it all went well, and yes, Angle mode is something that everybody should become familiar with.
It staggers me to think that there are people out there that have never flown a UAV before, and then go and buy something like the H - and they rely on 'Safe' mode to 'fly'.

I always use angle mode, except for complex footage like orbit!...that requires some expert piloting and probably team mode! Gulp!

 

[Dr Delta]

You can easy make Orbit footage in Watch Me mode. If you put the H hovering at the desired distance and altitude just gently fly it in the desired orbiting direction. If you have the desired speed you have a hand free to work the camera.
I suppose but did not yet try) you could do this with the 'cruise control' as well, so you have another hand free for adjusting the H's position.

Sample... do not forget to play it in HD.

 

[Air Pauly]

sadly my H is going back for assessment for that dreaded twitch and the video downlink keeps disconnecting at about 2-3 mins into each flight, so frustrating this is a new replacement ST16 for a faulty one, now a disconnect problem, and the aircraft has always had the dreaded twitchy flight even if you just touch a stick it lurches all over the place

Ive only flown it in angle mode which just seems normal to me !