Turned the GPS off today........

[wings]

Second flight with GPS off to practise. Light wind but still had to stay right on it. Made my first GPS off landing. Noticed that you had to make slow inputs to the controls or you will find the drone moving away quickly perhaps in a direction you do not want it to go. Especially if there is some wind.
Now here is the question. Is it not technically possible for Yuneec to design into the drone a fail safe for runaway. I have heard a lot of reasons for fly aways, the compass, the gps, etc. Obviously the bird can be flown with GPS off but, to prevent it from just flying away cannot Yuneec design in some kind of fail safe or is it that even Yuneec cannot always figure it out. If your compass fails is that an automatic runaway? Does anyone make a drone that is flyaway proof?

 

[Eagle's Eye Video]

All drones are flyaway proof... up until you press that red button to turn on the motors.

 

[BobW55]

Short of placing it on a tether. Anything that flies, can run away.
I have seen RC aircraft at the field be flying perfectly fine, and then with out warning take off in a direction of their own.
All one can do is hope that it lands in a way that causes no injuries or harm.
Had my H start to fly off right after a firmware update. Thankfully it hit a bush before it got too high or far away.
Flying GPS off can be fun, (she flies faster) but it keeps your fingers busy.

 

[PatR]

In over 40 years if RC I’m still waiting to see the model that’s 100% assured to come back every time. Even the military stuff can, and has, experienced fly aways.

 

[wings]

Short of placing it on a tether. Anything that flies, can run away.
I have seen RC aircraft at the field be flying perfectly fine, and then with out warning take off in a direction of their own.
All one can do is hope that it lands in a way that causes no injuries or harm.
Had my H start to fly off right after a firmware update. Thankfully it hit a bush before it got too high or far away.
Flying GPS off can be fun, (she flies faster) but it keeps your fingers busy.

All one can do is hope that it lands in a way that causes no injuries or harm.
This is why I ask the question. The liability potential is real and it may be the reason eventually I give up this hobby. Risk/ reward. For me the jury is still out.

 

[PatR]

Some very serious injuries, including deaths, have occurred through RC modeling long before multirotors came into being. Basic day to day activities have generated the same at far higher rates.

It is indeed a question of risk versus reward, but that is common to any endeavor. Each has to make their own choices but I have not found a rewarding risk free activity in my life time.

 

[wings]

Some very serious injuries, including deaths, have occurred through RC modeling long before multirotors came into being. Basic day to day activities have generated the same at far higher rates.

It is indeed a question of risk versus reward, but that is common to any endeavor. Each has to make their own choices but I have not found a rewarding risk free activity in my life time.

To be clear, I am not looking for "Risk Free". You would have to stay in bed to get close to that. However, and you are right it is a personal decision, I am not sure that the enjoyment of flying the drone is equal to the potential liability. Maybe if all I did was fly it in a 500 acre field with no one around but what fun would that be? As I said the jury is still out for me.

 

[PatR]

Flying around people always increases risk, and the number of people and their proximity to the aircraft increases that further. I flown a couple of events, that I won’t ever do again, where risk mitigation was virtually impossible because the people would not be controlled. For this operator there was not a moment of enjoyment or satisfaction in flying the projects aside from them being over with. As I said, I will never do it again for just that reason. I suppose that’s partially why the AMA has their safety code written as it is, and it’s so easy to invalidate their insurance coverage for any breech of compliance.

In all candor, if we want to be safe we’ll minimize the people aspect of the equation at every opportunity, either by reducing the number of people present, increasing our separation from them, or controlling their movement when we are flying. Each has to honestly assess each situation on it’s individual conditions. There will be times we’ll throw in the towel without bothering to power up.

Bottom line, if you feel nervous about a flight because of the risk, don’t do the flight. Your brain, or stomach, is giving good advice in providing that feeling.

 

[wings]

Flying around people always increases risk, and the number of people and their proximity to the aircraft increases that further. I flown a couple of events, that I won’t ever do again, where risk mitigation was virtually impossible because the people would not be controlled. For this operator there was not a moment of enjoyment or satisfaction in flying the projects aside from them being over with. As I said, I will never do it again for just that reason. I suppose that’s partially why the AMA has their safety code written as it is, and it’s so easy to invalidate their insurance coverage for any breech of compliance.

In all candor, if we want to be safe we’ll minimize the people aspect of the equation at every opportunity, either by reducing the number of people present, increasing our separation from them, or controlling their movement when we are flying. Each has to honestly assess each situation on it’s individual conditions. There will be times we’ll throw in the towel without bothering to power up.

Bottom line, if you feel nervous about a flight because of the risk, don’t do the flight. Your brain, or stomach, is giving good advice in providing that feeling.

Well said PatR.

 

[FlushVision]

Flying around people always increases risk, and the number of people and their proximity to the aircraft increases that further. I flown a couple of events, that I won’t ever do again, where risk mitigation was virtually impossible because the people would not be controlled. For this operator there was not a moment of enjoyment or satisfaction in flying the projects aside from them being over with. As I said, I will never do it again for just that reason. I suppose that’s partially why the AMA has their safety code written as it is, and it’s so easy to invalidate their insurance coverage for any breech of compliance.

In all candor, if we want to be safe we’ll minimize the people aspect of the equation at every opportunity, either by reducing the number of people present, increasing our separation from them, or controlling their movement when we are flying. Each has to honestly assess each situation on it’s individual conditions. There will be times we’ll throw in the towel without bothering to power up.

Bottom line, if you feel nervous about a flight because of the risk, don’t do the flight. Your brain, or stomach, is giving good advice in providing that feeling.

One of the worrying points on the U.K. law relating to drones is that it allows for quite legal flights directly over individuals or small groups of people so long as you fly more that 50m above them. It occurs to me that the higher you are the more impact on someone's head if the aircraft drops out of the sky. If you are going to allow flights over people then wouldn't it be better if it were done at a lower altitude?

(The law says that apart from taking off and landing one must maintain a 50m separation in the form of a bubble. No separation is needed if the people are under the pilot's control. Note: This is UK law. It may be different in other countries!)