Bit of a scare when switching GPS on/off midflight

David Armstrong · Oct 17, 2016

I tried switching the GPS off mid-flight and didn't have any issues other than the drone wouldn't hold a steady hover anymore. It would kind of drift with the wind with no stick inputs. I assume this is normal.

However, I got a scare when I switched GPS back on in mid-flight. The drone suddenly lurched sideways about 4'. (it was a really fast motion) I immediately counteracted the movement with the corresponding stick control and the drone settled down. Is this normal?

JulesTEO · Oct 17, 2016

I had this same issue.

I was practicing non-gps flight, once I switched GPS back on it pulled very fast away from be.

I didn't counter the movement as it happened very quickly, but once it backed up about half a meter it held position perfectly.

Graeme Buckley · Oct 17, 2016

Yes I also had this every time I was practising atti flight for my pfco, mine tended to jump up about 1/2 a foot and wobble a bit, but would the settle down [emoji106]

Russ M · Oct 17, 2016

It wouldn't be trying to re-align with its last known position would it?

David Armstrong · Oct 17, 2016

Russ M said:
It wouldn't be trying to re-align with its last known position would it?

I don't believe so. That would be a very dangerous situation.

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Dragonflyerthom · Oct 17, 2016

Russ M said:
It wouldn't be trying to re-align with its last known position would it?

Russ I think you're right it is trying to realign itself with this last known position while in the GPS mode.

BobW55 · Oct 17, 2016

I have had mine do the same, it will move a few feet before it finally settles into a stable hover.
I have NEVER had it dart in anyone direction when turning GPS back on, but it does move a bit.

Dragonflyerthom · Oct 17, 2016

A dart to one side for one person is a readjustment to another.

Rayray · Oct 17, 2016

Russ M said:
It wouldn't be trying to re-align with its last known position would it?

Not if the drone is working correctly. That would be intolerable.

Brian Mackey · Oct 17, 2016

Rayray said:
Not if the drone is working correctly. That would be intolerable.

It happen to Richard Gilmore during his practical test I guess you cal it, in the UK they had to prove they can fly as well as written ! Anyway part of the flying test is to turn off gps fly around a bit and then turn it back on, well Richards when he turned it back on darted about 40 feet before locking in!

Dragonflyerthom · Oct 17, 2016

Brian the way I understand it the GPS even though it's turned off is still knows where it's at because it still uses the GPSs to do that.

David Armstrong · Oct 17, 2016

Brian Mackey said:
It happen to Richard Gilmore during his practical test I guess you cal it, in the UK they had to prove they can fly as well as written ! Anyway part of the flying test is to turn off gps fly around a bit and then turn it back on, well Richards when he turned it back on darted about 40 feet before locking in!

So, this would be bad if there was an obstacle in between the point of your current bird location and where you turned off GPS. Seems like a poor design. (Note to self: don't turn on gps mid-flight...)

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Brian Mackey · Oct 17, 2016

Dragonflyerthom said:
Brian the way I understand it the GPS even though it's turned off is still knows where it's at because it still uses the GPSs to do that.

I have no clue -- I read where some folks say it holds its last position -- Some folks say it speeds off in a direction -- I do not know - I can only assume that whens its off, its off! it certainly requires you to pilot it allot more than with GPS on (from what I have read) I have never flown without it - So I do not know yet how mine will react - Since Yuneec is in the larger UAV business as well, one would think that they would have white papers as we used to call them (ie) spec's on the things they sell - I have not researched it but I would wager you get allot more tech in on the 920 than we can get for the H -, or maybe we are not asking the right people?

And, how does it know where it is with GPS off?

JulesTEO · Oct 17, 2016

I happened to record when it this happened to me a couple of months ago:

Brian Mackey · Oct 17, 2016

JulesTEO said:
I happened to record when it this happened to me a couple of months ago:

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yeah that seems to be the norm or worse --

Rayray · Oct 17, 2016

Brian Mackey said:
I read where some folks say it holds its last position

i believe if GPS is on and then turned off in flight, it holds the last known position of the ST-16.

Mickeyboo · Oct 17, 2016

I had this happen to me as well and noted it with a post warning people about this a few months ago, as I recall I was able to eliminate it by flying above 20 feet and also 40 or 50 ft away from me. It only happened when it was in close proximity to me. Giving it a bit of distance seemed to allow it to make a much smoother transition back to GPS.

David Armstrong · Oct 17, 2016

Mickeyboo said:
I had this happen to me as well and noted it with a post warning people about this a few months ago, as I recall I was able to eliminate it by flying above 20 feet and also 40 or 50 ft away from me. It only happened when it was in close proximity to me. Giving it a bit of distance seemed to allow it to make a much smoother transition back to GPS.

Is that in smart or angle mode?
I was flying in angle and it was 30-40 feet away from me. I was only about 10 feet off the ground and that is what scared me. Although, it happened so fast it was over before I realized what had happened. It didn't take, but a moment to settle down. It may have settled fine with my corresponding stick input. It was just kind of a reflex.

Since I use it for videography purposes, there really is no need for me to fly without GPS. I just figured I would try flying it turned off, just in case there came I time that I would need to.
The bird was fine when I turned off the GPS, the erratic behavior happened when I turned it back on.

Mirko H. · Oct 22, 2016

I have also tried to fly without GPS and it was funny experience. But I noticed that ST16 reacted very strange. When I touched screen to Off position display reacted but GPS was still on. I repeated several times and finally got reaction. Same happens, when I switched on again. Did anybody have similar situation?