Calibration when travelling, and at altitude?

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Guys, off on hols in a few weeks, couple of Q's on calibration..

As I'll be a couple of thousand miles from my usual flying spot I will of course calibrate the compass before first flight, which will probably be on/close to the beach. We do intend taking a trip up Mt Teide (Tenerife) where we should be around 7000ft. Will probably only be 20 miles from last calibration but as it's higher should i do another calibration there too?

Same thing for IMU also, do I need to do this after an airplane flight or being at a different altitude?

Ive not calibrated either compass or IMU since first getting the P3 as its all peachy at the mo :)

Cheers

Dave
 
As you fly couple of thousand miles, it's a must that you calibrate your compass. I'm not sure if you would get ideal platform for IMU calibration, I suggest to avoid it.

One can do compass calibration as many times as one wish to do but you should be sure of no magnetic material hidden or exposed in the vicinity else your calibration can get screwed up. This is the catch why it is advisable not to frequently calibrate your compass. But as you are flying far, you should definitely do compass calibration. You can again do it at 7000' if you are sure of magnetic material free place. :)
 
Will probably only be 20 miles from last calibration but as it's higher should i do another calibration there too?
20 miles is nothing and the altitude should make no difference to the compass.
I wouldn't bother recalibrating the compass for only 20 miles distance.
Launch and see if it hovers in place and flies straight.
If it does, you're good to go.
 
Don't calibrate after 20 miles. I don't even consider it unless it's is more than 100 miles


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20 miles is nothing and the altitude should make no difference to the compass.
I wouldn't bother recalibrating the compass for only 20 miles distance.
Agreed, no need to recalibrate for only 20mi or the 7000' altitude. By the way, I've flown at 12,000 ASL with my P3P, no problem. I couldn't even tell any difference in flight characteristics, however I didn't fly a whole battery, just 10min. I've heard the flight times are less from the thinner air.
 
If you are going higher, it will be cooler. If it gets cooler, the IMU warm up times will take longer.
I went from balmy 25C coastal to 14C at the top of Mount wellington in Tasmania. It took about a minute for the IMU to warm up. Also keep in mind that the battery performance will be diminished at colder climates. Best is warm the battery by keeping them near your body or in the car with the heater on.
 
Cheers guys, been up the mountain a few times before and unless you go upto the summit (or close) it still stays around 21 degs C so still pretty warm. Take on board about battery drain at altitude though, I certainly have felt the lack of oxygen on previous visits.

Looking forward to getting some footage of the Lunar Landscape (hope I can do it justice) :)
 

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