P3P drifting problem... Help, please!

trevormacdonald · Aug 30, 2015

Hey guys. My P3P drifts to the right quite a bit when flying straight forward or backward. It seems to hover in place without an issue, but won't seem to fly in a straight line. I calibrate the compass before each flight session, and have calibrated my IMU and done an RC stick calibration as well, and none of these have solved my problem. I have never crashed the drone or even landed it roughly. I've gone through my flight logs and verified that I'm not inadvertently pulling to the right or left when trying to fly in a straight line; I'm definitely not, and so I remain perplexed. I almost always fly in P-GPS mode, and I have tested ATTI mode, as well. It drifts super badly to the right when not in GPS mode.

I've tried to do some intense googling to see if I can figure this out without resorting to posting about it, but I'm at my wit's end here. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Meta4 · Aug 30, 2015

Is it just going off course or is it flying a curve?
Does RTH fly a straight course?
Compass is the first place to look if your Phantom is flying a curve rather than straight.

trevormacdonald · Aug 30, 2015

It veers to the right. It will slowly just start strafing right (sometimes left, but mostly right). Like I said, I calibrate the compass before every flight session, and in every new spot I fly. I honestly never use RTH, so I am not sure whether or not it will curve when in use. Here is a link to some clips I have shot over the last week that demonstrate the issue. The first clip is the one where you can see it best.

ryanfx · Aug 30, 2015

Short of a faulty GPS the only thing I could think of that's fixable is to calibrate your remote. If it were a faulty compass I would expect more of an angled turn rather than a strafe.

bobmyers · Aug 30, 2015

trevormacdonald said:
Hey guys. My P3P drifts to the right quite a bit when flying straight forward or backward. It seems to hover in place without an issue, but won't seem to fly in a straight line. I calibrate the compass before each flight session, and have calibrated my IMU and done an RC stick calibration as well, and none of these have solved my problem. I have never crashed the drone or even landed it roughly. I've gone through my flight logs and verified that I'm not inadvertently pulling to the right or left when trying to fly in a straight line; I'm definitely not, and so I remain perplexed. I almost always fly in P-GPS mode, and I have tested ATTI mode, as well. It drifts super badly to the right when not in GPS mode.

I've tried to do some intense googling to see if I can figure this out without resorting to posting about it, but I'm at my wit's end here. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Calibrate your controller.

Neil b · Aug 30, 2015

trevormacdonald said:
Hey guys. My P3P drifts to the right quite a bit when flying straight forward or backward. It seems to hover in place without an issue, but won't seem to fly in a straight line. I calibrate the compass before each flight session, and have calibrated my IMU and done an RC stick calibration as well, and none of these have solved my problem. I have never crashed the drone or even landed it roughly. I've gone through my flight logs and verified that I'm not inadvertently pulling to the right or left when trying to fly in a straight line; I'm definitely not, and so I remain perplexed. I almost always fly in P-GPS mode, and I have tested ATTI mode, as well. It drifts super badly to the right when not in GPS mode.

I've tried to do some intense googling to see if I can figure this out without resorting to posting about it, but I'm at my wit's end here. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

bobmyers · Aug 30, 2015

I had the same issue with mine and a controller calibration solved it. It there is cross stong cross wind the bird will drift when going forward
and you have to tack into the cross wind to hold it straight.

Neil b · Aug 30, 2015

This may sound crazy, but I have often found that little glitches come in errors in the firmware. I would reformat the memory card and run a repair. I would then reload the software. I have had little issues that where fixed doing this. For example, a few weeks before the latest update I would power up and the gimbal would make a grinding noise. Reloaded the firmware and viola problem gone. I had a hovering issue that went away as well. I have even considered a new memory card of higher quality.

Worth a try. Good luck.

hudiaratama · Aug 31, 2015

Same like me!
What about your VPS on/off?

cEllis · Oct 31, 2015

trevormacdonald said:
Hey guys. My P3P drifts to the right quite a bit when flying straight forward or backward. It seems to hover in place without an issue, but won't seem to fly in a straight line. I calibrate the compass before each flight session, and have calibrated my IMU and done an RC stick calibration as well, and none of these have solved my problem. I have never crashed the drone or even landed it roughly. I've gone through my flight logs and verified that I'm not inadvertently pulling to the right or left when trying to fly in a straight line; I'm definitely not, and so I remain perplexed. I almost always fly in P-GPS mode, and I have tested ATTI mode, as well. It drifts super badly to the right when not in GPS mode.

I've tried to do some intense googling to see if I can figure this out without resorting to posting about it, but I'm at my wit's end here. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Did you ever determine the cause of this and/or find a solution? I am experiencing the exact same problem all of the sudden with my p3a. Originally worked perfect, but I noticed it about 2 weeks ago and no matter what calibration I do it has not fixed it. I watched your video it and it looks exactly like what I'm seeing.

bobmyers · Oct 31, 2015

cEllis said:
Did you ever determine the cause of this and/or find a solution? I am experiencing the exact same problem all of the sudden with my p3a. Originally worked perfect, but I noticed it about 2 weeks ago and no matter what calibration I do it has not fixed it. I watched your video it and it looks exactly like what I'm seeing.

Be cognizant of cross winds, this will cause drift.

cEllis · Oct 31, 2015

Most definitely, I considered that early on. But have since noticed I can fly with the wind coming from any direction and it still drifts to the right (probably 20 degrees or more sometimes). I found another forum where it talks about "magnetic declination," and I am reading up on that now....http://www.ianwood.com/docs/dji-phantom-2-magnetic-declination.pdf

bobmyers · Oct 31, 2015

cEllis said:
Most definitely, I considered that early on. But have since noticed I can fly with the wind coming from any direction and it still drifts to the right (probably 20 degrees or more sometimes). I found another forum where it talks about "magnetic declination," and I am reading up on that now....http://www.ianwood.com/docs/dji-phantom-2-magnetic-declination.pdf

Ian is a moderator on this forum-- ask him.

III% Streve · Nov 1, 2015

Wind is irrelevant... completely! If the controller is in P mode it will, if properly running, she will hold a perfect position with 25kt winds. Its either a controller calibration issue, or a GPS issue. Calibrate both while standing at the location you plan to take off from. After calibration, note the Compass MOD value and post it here.

cEllis · Nov 1, 2015

III% Streve said:
Wind is irrelevant... completely! If the controller is in P mode it will, if properly running, she will hold a perfect position with 25kt winds. Its either a controller calibration issue, or a GPS issue. Calibrate both while standing at the location you plan to take off from. After calibration, note the Compass MOD value and post it here.

Will do, rain today here in MD but will get those figures tomorrow and advise. Thanks.