power management switching to manual mode/rth in manual mode

[theSelf]

Hi all

I maidened my p2v yesterday in nazam mode (I'm an experienced RC pilot and would rather have the atti and manual modes available should any signs of a flyaway occur in GPS mode)- mostly flew in GPS and atti mode and it flew very nicely, behaving itself- I set position 3 on the s1 switch to manual instead of RTH through the assistant software (and enabled IOC options to S2 though not yet tried IOC)- when I switched to manual mode in flight it lost power, dropped and crash landed- fortunately this happened only 2 feet above the ground and didn't do any damage- however I would like to figure out what happened so this doesn't happen again , particularly if at altitude- do I need to configure something extra in the assistant to ensure manual mode responds correctly- if I remember correctly, the left (throttle) stick was in the middle position when I switched s1 to the bottom position, so I would think that (50%) would be enough power though not sure if I needed to add more or full throttle if changing to manual mode in flight..? 'Pull_up' on this forum said- 'In manual mode 50% may not be enough to maintain lift, or it may be too much...' Anyone have any experience in effectively switching from gps or atti modes to manual mode mid flight and how to manage the throttle or any settings through the assistant software to make the switch work well?

Regarding Return To Home (RTH) if in manual mode (by switching off the transmitter or losing RC signal)- will it still rth if RC control is lost in manual mode? - if so and in manual mode and it starts returning to home, if I want to regain control and the s1 switch is already down will switching s1 up to the top and back down again to regain control equally? If i manual mode and rc link is lost and it doesn't RTH does it autoland only instead?

PS- here’s a quick video I put together (only 4 mins) of my maiden flight- above the hills here in LA:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YZ_AM3HZA0&list=UUoieyN-Xz7vVPQvzbauWovw&feature=c4-overview

Thanks for anyone's feedback in advance

 

[EMCSQUAR]

Re: power management switching to manual mode/rth in manual

very cool vid...

 

[iDrone]

Re: power management switching to manual mode/rth in manual

Nicely done, welcome to the Vision throng... I thought my PV was acting a little distracted like it saw a relative; we were out flying a couple miles to your NE doing range tests today. It was a beautiful flying day for large & small aircraft alike, a chilly 84°F for those of you east of us or abroad & north of the equator.

I don't fly manual, so someone else will have to confirm, but from what I understand of the firmware the sticks don't "cross fade" when switched into manual mode from any other mode and the amount of throttle being applied in GPS mode is constantly adjusting to hold altitude/station (not sure about ATTI & altitude) so the only safe way to transition is to push & hold throttle just before switching to manual so if anything you gain altitude, not lose it. Hang until one of our more experienced PV'ers comes along I'm sure they can answer this better than me.

There's just enough time to go back up and catch the sunset...

iDrone (the Very)

 

[theSelf]

Re: power management switching to manual mode/rth in manual

Nicely done, welcome to the Vision throng... I thought my PV was acting a little distracted like it saw a relative; we were out flying a couple miles to your NE doing range tests today. It was a beautiful flying day for large & small aircraft alike, a chilly 84°F for those of you east of us or abroad & north of the equator.

I don't fly manual, so someone else will have to confirm, but from what I understand of the firmware the sticks don't "cross fade" when switched into manual mode from any other mode and the amount of throttle being applied in GPS mode is constantly adjusting to hold altitude/station (not sure about ATTI & altitude) so the only safe way to transition is to push & hold throttle just before switching to manual so if anything you gain altitude, not lose it. Hang until one of our more experienced PV'ers comes along I'm sure they can answer this better than me.

There's just enough time to go back up and catch the sunset...

iDrone (the Very)

thanks iDrone- I guess I can confirm my manual settings by taking off from the ground in manual mode as well- yes- loving this 'winter' weather we're having here in SoCal too- happy flying!

any other people out there experienced flying in manual mode?

 

[changkh]

Re: power management switching to manual mode/rth in manual

may i know if rth works in Manual mode?

 

[Big Ben]

Re: power management switching to manual mode/rth in manual

In Manual mode the mid position of the throttle is not enough to keep the Phantom in the air so if you switch in flight you have to push some extra throttle the moment you switch to Manual mode. And RTH, or better 'entering fail-safe mode' with whatever is activated there, works in every flight mode. It's in the NAZA manual.

Try the following. After starting the motors on the ground reduce throttle and switch to Manual mode. Then ease the throttle to the mid position. That's what I did before I tried manual mode. I found the Phantom didn't take off but did become a bit wobbly.