Noobie Question: Can you fly exclusively on a tablet/phone and ditch the clunky controller?

[ProFPVRacer]

Hey guys and gals – I was a long time stalker of the forums; but now I am now a first time poster. Yay! I tried to search the forums for these answers, but I came up short.

I have always been interested in purchasing a Phantom, but with the prices dropping, and new versions coming out, I think it’s time for me to finally purchase a formidable quad.

Since everyone seems to be dumping their Phantom 2 Vision +’s for the 3’s and now the 4’s, the prices have really, really, dropped. So I have been eyeballing the Phantom 2’s for that reason. From what I am seeing on Craigslist and EBay, you can purchase a fully loaded multirotor with the camera and gimbal for around $300-600 US on average.

I don’t have much operational experience with the Phantoms, so I have a couple of questions that hopefully someone here can answer before I spend my hard earned cash.

1. With the different tablet based ground stations, is it possible to simply fly using the app’s that are out there, such as what DJI produces and the Universal Ground Control Station as found on the Google Play store? What I mean is that you can ditch the controller entirely, and simply fly via the app. Call me lazy, but it would be nice to have one less thing to carry around.
   
   
2. Is it possible to arm/disarm the propellers from apps? Some of these apps say that you can fly entirely via the apps, but is that true?
   
   
3. For those of you that utilize the apps, what’s the typical range that you have seen on a Galaxy or iPhone before it enters lost link?
   

Thanks! I look forward to hearing from the experts.

• Pro
  

 

[flpholt]

with phantom no you have to use controller as for a good start for a new drone cant go wrong with p3 standard range for that model is little over half mile 0.6 but a lot of people have went a lot farther

 

[Gary M]

Flying with the app only would be stupid. These apps and the devices they run on are known to crash. If that happens you better know how to fly that bird home, which means you'd need something to do that with. Many apps like Litchi you can program missions before you fly and it will do the rest. But just like real aviation, YOU learn how to be the pilot, autopilot is only a convenience. You MUST learn the basics first. Besides, with the way tablets and phones are mounted to the remotes these days, its really no burden carrying both.

 

[ProFPVRacer]

Flying with the app only would be stupid. These apps and the devices they run on are known to crash. If that happens you better know how to fly that bird home, which means you'd need something to do that with. Many apps like Litchi you can program missions before you fly and it will do the rest. But just like real aviation, YOU learn how to be the pilot, autopilot is only a convenience. You MUST learn the basics first. Besides, with the way tablets and phones are mounted to the remotes these days, its really no burden carrying both.

Stupid, sure. This is a question of pure curiosity. Then again, if the unit purchased is GPS equipped, then it should RTL if something happens to the control link correct?

Can you arm/disarm the props from these apps?

- Pro

 

[Gary M]

Stupid, sure. This is a question of pure curiosity. Then again, if the unit purchased is GPS equipped, then it should RTL if something happens to the control link correct?

Can you arm/disarm the props from these apps?

- Pro

Yes, it definitely will RTH if signal is lost. Arming/disarming props I know nothing about.

 

[Mark The Droner]

1) The controller is what broadcasts the radio signal which controls the aircraft. So no, you cannot "ditch the controller entirely."

2) Some apps allow you to launch from the screen. I don't know any that allow you to land.

3) The aircraft does not receive a signal from the Galaxy or iPhone at all. It receives a signal from the Range Extender which is attached to the controller.

Phantom 2 Vision+

 

[RoyVa]

Sorry but it's not possible to just use a phone. The Phantom 2v+ operates off of two radio bands both the 2.8 ghz for control and the 5.2 ghz wifi for video and telementry. The phone is bound to the wifi extender via the 5.2 ghz. Using wifi. Phones operate on an entirely different band.
Using the app on the phone is utilizing the wifi extender and transmitting the control data the the quad. Without the wifi extender, no control.