Why do I lose signal when I turn?

[DonWerner]

Hi,

I often do long distance runs where I push the limit. One thing I've noticed on these flights is that I can have full signal at 2 miles out and then as soon as I turn the aircraft around, to head home, I lose the videosignal. Sometimes I even lose the connection to the aircraft it self, engaging the RTH function. And sometimes I won't regain the signal before I'm half way home? Why is this happening? Why is it so sensitive to turning?

 

[flyNfrank]

It's likely that the camera and gimbal both may be blocking signal in that direction. Increase the altitude and see if it improves any.

 

[WetDog]

You are changing the orientation of the antennas. Increase in altitude might help but at distance the angle change is going to be fairly small unless you REALLY increase the altitude. But increasing the altitude should help you regain control faster. Return to control shouldn't take flying half way home unless you are right at the edge of the beam pattern but otherwise this is pretty typical for distance runs. The other thing to realize is that you usually lose video before control. If you are making a gentle turn and can just watch the 'radar' view, you can often just get back to a better antenna configuration in a few moments.

New operators often forget you can control the AC without the video link. The control channel has enough information.

Exciting but not especially dangerous. And then there are all of the antenna improvements....

 

[shockwave199]

Or, just fly *** backwards all the way home! What does it matter!