I have been trying to fly in ATTI mode a lot more lately, and I am finding on  the is aricraft it is so much harder than on the P4Pro I have. With my P3Pro it seems very unstable, even in very light/calm wind. I know and appreicate it will not be a smooth ride in this mode, but could anyone suggest any ways of making it easier? For info I have balanced all the props, calibrated compass, but not the IMU which incidentally takes forever and a day to "warm up".

Many thanks

Mike

1. IMU calibration - look up the procedure on youtube or forums - u want to calibrate in the cold, make sure the aircraft is cold (not the battery). Also make sure it's perfectly level - i usually level a glass board that rests on top of motors, so the heads of the motors is what's leveled, as if i had props. The cool calibration will help you with warmup time.

2. ATTI, yes, the aircraft will be moved by the wind, and it should so.. I do not believe in p3 there's any auto leveling and such as long as you have you fingers on the controls and they are not in 0 positions.. Perhaps p4 does something different. ATTI is more than just no gps, it lets you fly more on your own....

If u r in a big open field, just relax and do not overcontrol, let it drift a bit, do slow smooth controls and u will get it.. I have to say that I do not fly ATTI much; I can, especially after flying RC for the last few years.. but I simply like the technology to do it's job, so I only practice atti enough to be able to take over in case of an issue, or to measure wind speed.

Thank you Phantomski that is really helpful. I am not too keen on flying in ATTI mode myself but I am going through the course to get my CAA PfCo and my udnerstanding is that some, if not most, of the flight test, is to be done in ATTI mode. hence i need the practice. Clearly in real life the safest mode is through the P setting. I have expected drift with the wind, and where I do my training, down on our beach, there is a good lot of it even on quiet days. I can learn to cope with the drift but it does seem to want to move randomly in some rather starnge directions. I know some of it is down to turbulence, some of it my poor flying, but some of it seems, well, unexplainable. Hence the need to make sure the hardware is sorted.
I will do a calibration if the IMU and see if that helps, and take it on from there.

Mike

embayweather Posted at 2017-4-19 08:10
Thank you Phantomski that is really helpful. I am not too keen on flying in ATTI mode myself but I am going through the course to get my CAA PfCo and my udnerstanding is that some, if not most, of the flight test, is to be done in ATTI mode. hence i need the practice. Clearly in real life the safest mode is through the P setting. I have expected drift with the wind, and where I do my training, down on our beach, there is a good lot of it even on quiet days. I can learn to cope with the drift but it does seem to want to move randomly in some rather starnge directions. I know some of it is down to turbulence, some of it my poor flying, but some of it seems, well, unexplainable. Hence the need to make sure the hardware is sorted.
I will do a calibration if the IMU and see if that helps, and take it on from there.

You probably know this but, I spent some time with a certified instructor, he had me almost always practicing in ATT mode,  doing   allot of figure eights, & after I'd pretty well mastered doing nice tight eights. He then added- Now, make sure your bird is pointing  the way your going , I want the camera view showing the way your going, always.
Sounds pretty simple, eh?
Fairly easy in P mode, but, in ATT, jeez, After 2-3 days, I'm still trying!
Winds up there (60 meters) were totally different, switching to ATT my bird(P3A) went off sideways at a high rate of speed, first thing I though- A flyaway! Must have been 20-30mph up there.
Its quite an accomplishment to have her hover, under these conditions.

Thank you for that thought fans987d278a , I have been prac tising all sorts of manouvers in ATTI mode. not tried that one, so I must give it a go. The last one I tried was doing the opposite, i.e. afigure of eight in reverse in ATTI mode. Managed it a few times but far from easy, but easier in the Phantom 4 than the 3 that I have.But you comment actually begs another question now. Can anyone come up with any ideas to practice plying in ATTI mode. i have done, spirals, hower, vertical box, horizontal box. 45˚ upward away from me and back down again. I have done diagnoal down and up across a box, and also drawn a circle. So whats missing please? I have no real idea what will be in the practical test, I do hope I wont have to perform them that high as my neck does not bend back that far lol.

Mike

embayweather Posted at 2017-4-20 03:34
Thank you for that thought fans987d278a , I have been prac tising all sorts of manouvers in ATTI mode. not tried that one, so I must give it a go. The last one I tried was doing the opposite, i.e. afigure of eight in reverse in ATTI mode. Managed it a few times but far from easy, but easier in the Phantom 4 than the 3 that I have.But you comment actually begs another question now. Can anyone come up with any ideas to practice plying in ATTI mode. i have done, spirals, hower, vertical box, horizontal box. 45˚ upward away from me and back down again. I have done diagnoal down and up across a box, and also drawn a circle. So whats missing please? I have no real idea what will be in the practical test, I do hope I wont have to perform them that high as my neck does not bend back that far lol.

Mike

Sounds like you have done just about everything you can! Probably more than most. You are the one that needs to be comfortable with what you are doing. Like you said, ATTI should really be for when you have a problem and need to get your phantom back home. Not that it is not fun at times to fly that way at times, but why not let the GPS do what is was intended for? To me, constantly flying in ATTI mode will only increase your risk of something going wrong. But it's up to you.
One suggestion I might also give.........if your are comfortable with it, try softening the control a bit by changing the "Gain, Expo, Sensitivity and little. Be careful and make sure you test in an open area, but some adjustments here can make for some nice flying also. Slows down you reaction of the aircraft to your stick inputs and will allow for nice panning, etc.

Many thanks RicardoGray, I agree completely. If I can get trhough my flight test for teh PfCo for teh CAA I intend to fly the safest way possib le, i.e. with the GPS mode switched on. To do otherwsie would be silly, and possibly infringe my insurance. For now, I prac tice as much as I can in ATTI to get the experience I need to do the fight test. I am stills truggling with a reverse figure of eight though, which is very disappointing. I am also going to experiment with teh settings too. My 4Pro is only a few weeks old so I am still getting used to flying her. But as with the 3Pro the sticks are a bit viscious and do need to be toned down. I have extened them as far as they will go , but a bit more needs to be done yet.

Mike