Horseshoe Up My Toucas!

[Dirty Bird]

I've been wondering, running the motors flat out to reach 15m/s...is there a chance that the constant high demand from the battery to achieve that speed caused the voltage problem? I know ZERO about batteries but maybe?

Good question? I would think the Phantom is slightly more efficient moving than hovering, though I have no evidence to support my belief. Directional flight is sort of a "controlled fall." Rotors on one side slow down, the other side speeds up, and both maintain proper thrust to allow her to fall sideways. Either way, I had flown over 7 miles @ 15 m/s twice earlier in the day and returned both times with 25-30% battery remaining. It was much windier during the morning also, and there was a noticeable difference in airspeed heading towards the wind vs. returning. Something was awry because it was only 14 minutes into the flight when she went into auto-land.

 

[flyNfrank]

With all of the red lights & traffic 15-20 minutes. :roll:

The fall foliage is beautiful right now. I'll be picking the mess up soon though!

Speaking of the big TV's, I love how these new tv's are internet capable. I often go to my YouTube channel and start the first video and let them play in sequence. A nice distraction from the blood-pressure-rising, lock-&-load, 24/7 news I normally watch... :lol:

Internet capable tv's..... No you're getting into subjects I could spend all day talking about.

Hey did you notice how the color dropped off when your quad stopped to descend at the end? It was kind of like the alternator belt was loose or something. :lol:

 

[djczing]

Wow - epic flight - it woulda been great had it not been for the autoland.

I spent the whole video finding it hard to believe that you would set up a long distance mission so /low/ to the ground (although the trees look way cooler when ur skimming their tops).

I woulda been at 399.999 feet for that flight . Thats where I am for my mere 3/4 mile flights

 

[slothead]

Directional flight is sort of a "controlled fall." Rotors on one side slow down, the other side speeds up, and both maintain proper thrust to allow her to fall sideways.

Interesting... Aside from the "rotors" that's just about how I would describe surfing!

 

[slothead]

I was just studying the Flytrex page and I am very impressed with the telemetry collection and display. I am NOT impressed with the way the map jumps around while trying to move and expand/compress it. I'm not sure it's for me, but I haven't sworn it off completely.

I would not have guessed that was 100 you were flying over (I had been expecting it was 295), and I didn't even see it on the trip out (just noticed in on the return trip).

 

[Dirty Bird]

Hey did you notice how the color dropped off when your quad stopped to descend at the end? It was kind of like the alternator belt was loose or something. :lol:

LOL yes I did notice that. When she stopped forward momentum & leveled off the front LEDs were no longer flaring on the camera lens. While it sucked knowing she was going to auto-land, the cool thing was I knew exactly where she was and I was on the way before she set down. The guy who saw it come down asked me how I knew where it was. He was impressed with the technology.

Still puzzles me why that battery dropped so low in only 14 minutes? :?

 

[Dirty Bird]

I was just studying the Flytrex page and I am very impressed with the telemetry collection and display. I am NOT impressed with the way the map jumps around while trying to move and expand/compress it. I'm not sure it's for me, but I haven't sworn it off completely.

The Live Flight screen always forces the aircraft's current location to remain in the map view. If you zoom in with the bird off screen it will immediately zoom back out enough to bring her back onto the map. It won't pan the map as the bird traverses the screen. Instead, it zooms out to keep her onscreen. Opting for panning rather than zooming is something Flytrex could probably address on the server side, perhaps even making it a selectable choice?

I have to say, if you are going to do long-range GS missions, the ability to keep real-time tabs on the bird is priceless. It is so much better knowing how the mission is progressing as opposed to looking at your watch and wondering.

 

[Dirty Bird]

Wow - epic flight - it woulda been great had it not been for the autoland.

I spent the whole video finding it hard to believe that you would set up a long distance mission so /low/ to the ground (although the trees look way cooler when ur skimming their tops).

I woulda been at 399.999 feet for that flight . Thats where I am for my mere 3/4 mile flights

Thanks! Another minute of battery and she would have made it home. I wanted to fly relatively low to give the sense of speed, but it was not my intention to cut it quite so close to the foliage. :shock: Pasadena is fairly flat. It just so happened my flight took me over one of the few elevated spots in the area. I began the flight at around 180' and had it set to top out at 320'. The first waypoint was my friend's house, and it took every bit of that distance to gradually work her way up to 320'. If you view the Flytrex log, she was in a nice linear climb all the way, and she stayed at that altitude all the way back. Watching the video as she traversed the hill, barely clearing the treetops, was interesting but nerve-wracking.

 

[fastsmiles]

Just a thought, but if your flight was in the evening and the temperatures were cooling, perhaps there was a down draft that your bird had to contend with. In the morning with air temperatures rising it would have been the reverse, an updraft that actually helped maintain altitude.

 

[djczing]

DB, if by nervous you mean curled up in the fetal position crying for mommy, yeah thatd about describe me if I did that flight.

Watching it from inside is very cool. Ultimately id like to fly it from a joystick in front of my computer monitors. I have the bird-side FPVLR antennas on the way, and Ill have to reorder the flytrex 3G (I canx'd the live when they graciously told me of the upgrade).

Glad to see the flytrex is a true bacon-saver. Great job !

 

[flyNfrank]

Hey did you notice how the color dropped off when your quad stopped to descend at the end? It was kind of like the alternator belt was loose or something. :lol:

LOL yes I did notice that. When she stopped forward momentum & leveled off the front LEDs were no longer flaring on the camera lens. While it sucked knowing she was going to auto-land, the cool thing was I knew exactly where she was and I was on the way before she set down. The guy who saw it come down asked me how I knew where it was. He was impressed with the technology.

Still puzzles me why that battery dropped so low in only 14 minutes? :?

I would take it to the backyard and let it hover throughout the duration and see what it comes up with. And so you don't end up in any type of situation like this again, you might consider logging the batteries you want to use for long flights. This of coarse will give you piece of mind once you sen one off on a mission. Btw, I know you know everything I just said, but I know I tend to forget about things until it's too late in some cases.