Ground station Phantom 2 questions

[duceno1]

Hi, I'm brand new to this forum and to quadcopters in general. I've been researching the Ground Station for Phantom 2, and had a couple of questions. First, when setting the flying altitude, does that altitude adjust in relation to the terrain? For example, if I set my altitude at 30m, but as the copter flies, it approaches hilly terrain, will the copter adjust to maintain 30m? The same if I fly over a valley. Another question with the ground station...just for example purposes, say I wanted to set a course that travelled the length of a bridge, flying along side of it, the camera aiming at the bridge. Being that the copter is rotated to allow the camera to point toward the bridge, the direction the copter is being directed is now to the right vs forward. Can this be done in ground station?

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

 

[BWJ]

Phantom will maintain the height you set from home point, if terrain raises it will flies right into it.
The height is set by the barometer inside Phantom.

 

[MadMitch88]

Flying altitude in GS is only in reference to the altitude of the home point. So if you have any large obstacles in it's path you don't account for like mountains or buildings --- your bird will crash into them.

This will eventually be replaced by a much smarter system --- either downfacing ultrasonic sensor (like currently on Inspire One) or probably some type of LIDAR that will not only maintain constant flight height above ground level, but also serve as autonomous collision-avoidance system. However, this is probably still 5-10 years away on an affordable level for most consumers.

 

[duceno1]

Thank you. Any help with my second question?

 

[IrishSights]

The P2 will always face the direction of flight in the current version of GS.

 

[Suwaneeguy]

BW2, to educate you, barometric pressure is not dependant upon altitude.
Height of the bird is determined by the starting point location, and the current location.
If both are the same, then it must be "home".

At this time, I know of no hobby RCMA aircraft that can detect its true height above immediate ground.
Military drones and maybe some really high end police style helo's can.

 

[BWJ]

BW2, to educate you, barometric pressure is not dependant upon altitude.
Height of the bird is determined by the starting point location, and the current location.
If both are the same, then it must be "home".

At this time, I know of no hobby RCMA aircraft that can detect its true height above immediate ground.
Military drones and maybe some really high end police style helo's can.

Maybe you get wiser too :lol:
" A barometric altimeter can automatically record the pressure changes.
Altitude can be determined based on the measurement of atmospheric pressure.
The built-in barometric altimeter of Naza-M makes the aircraft Hovering accurately; and make sure that when the RC receiver lost signal the aircraft can turn to Failsafe and secure the Semi Auto Take-off and Landing. "
In other words, the start out height is set by the barometer.
http://wiki.dji.com/en/index.php/Barometer