For all you pilots who pay attention to geomagnetic events...the Planetary K-index is relatively high as of now.

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/planetary-k-index

http://spaceweather.com/

Does this really affect someone flying the Inspire much?

Wow, is going 8!!!

SkySight Posted at 2015-3-17 23:28
Does this really affect someone flying the Inspire much?

I dont think this will have any bearing on us.  I never checked these when I was flying professionally so I am surely not worried about it now.  I could be wrong though so if someone has more insight into it, please correct me.

If an event were strong enough and you were in the right place, it would.  It can certainly affect radio and GPS navigation systems.   I don’t know if it is practical to keep an eye on it during more common events, but it is something I do out of interest.  Solar flares also.  I wouldn't doubt the lighter events affect multi-rotors in subtle ways.   How much interference would be needed to make a noticeable impact seems a matter of debate.   Like the previous poster it doesn't worry me too much but I pay attention to it.  

SkyDen Posted at 2015-3-17 23:54
I dont think this will have any bearing on us.  I never checked these when I was flying profession ...

It DOES have a hugh impact on GPS signals.  8 is off the charts.  My ham radio interference is gigantic. I'm grounded. not flying until it gets down to 2

Space weather can affect gps and rf signals. Worst case, you fly out to far, loose tx signal and the drone can't return because gps data is inaccurate. To be honest I flew 3 months without checking the forecast, but ever since I do I have much less gps issues (especially with the inspire, my phantom never lost gps lock, inspire did a lot!). I believe the interference gets worse near the earths poles, but it's definitely not a bad habit to check space weather (especially kp index). I still fly if kp is below 7 or 8 but I don't push the limits on those days.

Thank you so much for the information. I was about to take the Inspire and shoot on a golf course. I'm in Dallas, TX which is not near any poles but I'll reign it in and be extra careful. I downloaded the app Magnetology and it is showing a current Kp=5 here. Not sure how accurate that app is though. Either way, I'll be careful. Thanks!

How many feet away would you say is too far to risk on a day like today if you don't mind taking a second. Thanks!

HOVER is an excellent app. Shows Kp at 8. WAY too high in my opinion. 200 ft would be max if you have to fly

xzces Posted at 2015-3-18 00:40
Space weather can affect gps and rf signals. Worst case, you fly out to far, loose tx signal and the ...

Very interesting.  Again, I never had issues as a real world pilot but I am certainly going to keep an eye on this going forward.  Thank you for the clarification, I just went and read all about it.  I think it is significant enough to at least take into your pre-flight considerations.  I stand corrected, partially.

Major geomagnetic storm (G4)  I dont think I would risk flying with a KP of 8.  On the plus side, we may get a good Aurora show tonight

daninperth Posted at 2015-3-18 00:23
If an event were strong enough and you were in the right place, it would.  It can certainly affect r ...

Yep, get the solar monitor iOS APP it's very very informative for Instant solar data , it just alerted me to the severe storm (geomagnetic feild) info box . Does this always mean you'll be affected where you are , probably not but it can have an effect . If you also get the earthquake app you'll soon see how the two definatly interact , solar flares , filaments , CMEs and earthquakes very interesting ....

daninperth Posted at 2015-3-18 00:23
If an event were strong enough and you were in the right place, it would.  It can certainly affect r ...

Yep, get the solar monitor iOS APP it's very very informative for Instant solar data , it just alerted me to the severe storm (geomagnetic feild) info box . Does this always mean you'll be affected where you are , probably not but it can have an effect . If you also get the earthquake app you'll soon see how the two definatly interact , solar flares , filaments , CMEs and earthquakes very interesting ....

Ip 8 , severe storm , magnetic field , now .

dbeck@promobox. Posted at 2015-3-18 00:37
It DOES have a hugh impact on GPS signals.  8 is off the charts.  My ham radio interference is gig ...

Yup ! It can definatly have an effect .

Read the last part...

A severe geomagnetic storm currently affecting Earth was responsible for some beautiful displays of aurora borealis early this morning as far south as Illinois. If the storm continues and skies continue to clear, there's a possibility that portions of the Garden State could be treated with a rare visit by the "Northern Lights."

Geomagnetic storms most commonly occur when the sun releases massive bursts of gas and magnetic field, called coronal mass ejections (CME), which can cause disruptions in the planet's magnetosphere when they come in contact with Earth. According to forecasters at the Space Weather Prediction Center (an arm of NOAA), a pair of CMEs released from the sun on March 15 are likely responsible for the current storm, which is the most severe the planet has seen in the current solar cycle.

Such a storm can have impacts on flight communications, GPS navigation systems and can cause unpredictable behavior on power grids. Thus far, there do not appear to be any significant impacts in New Jersey.

Been out flying today - Out to just over 1km
Flew 4 TB48's and one TB47 without incident
Solid GPS at all times
No drop into Atti
No loss of video feed
No glitches or loss of control
No Alien encounters of the third, fourth or fifth kind
No 5 tones heard
No mothership appeared (bit disappointed about that one)

KP Index didn't bother me because I had aluminum foil on my head !

SkySight Posted at 2015-3-18 00:56
How many feet away would you say is too far to risk on a day like today if you don't mind taking a s ...

It may not be so specific, SkySight.  I was out flying conservatively today in the mid Atlantic region and didn't have issues.  That doesn't mean others can't, especially in specific areas. Folks who understand this better than I do are paying attention to it, so I will as well.  People do report problems with other equipment during storm effects and from flares.  Since these multi-rotors are relatively less robust it seems something to keep in mind.

We got a KP  8 big solar storm

Here is some light reading for you storm and aurora seekers up north

Severe solar storm may disrupt power, satellites (Update)

http://phys.org/news/2015-03-sev ... -disrupt-power.html

Ok then can the sun cause an effect to your flight , as I suspected yes absolutly as I noticed with my phantoms several times after a solar event but only paid some attention to it,  just went out to see how the compass and sat lock was in the back yard where I've flow many times inspire and phantoms , 30' some miles north of Seattle is my location on an island away from most disturbances.
Couldn't get a sat lock pre take off or home point after several try's , flew up a couple meters which usually gets a lock if I can't get it before taking off , no deal as she would get one or two locked then go atti back and forth , drifting and acting funny droped her down to see if she'd smooth out in optic and she held somewhat better went up again 15 meters got a few sats again and new  homepoint updates , moment later lost and back to atti , I update homepoint again no deal , so I fly her around a bit in atti realizing she will likely not be able to do a rth on her own .... I fly her in and land .
First off dji has to change the display from safe to fly to the actual number of sats locked and its a must have period !
Next the home point drop out will not due ! It has to record and keep this info .
Third the HDMI out to my monitor and goggles also does not include the actual number of sats locked either , dji what were you thinking ?
This is just plain lame , as to the fact you DO include sat lock number on the phantoms dji made iOSD mini telemetry hud .... Get it fixed please it's really a huge mistake SAFE TO FLY as well as first time flyer for every one ..... Now I see why the gone to atti mode could cause lots of lost birds and crashes because most new guys just are not going to know what to do except panic , luckily I do have the expierience to react accordingly quick enough knowing what's happening .....some will not and be in panic mode over correcting with too much stick input resulting in an out of control panic or thinking it will RTH automatically and save itself from destruction and or Total loss of the bird. ... Rewrite the dang thing now please . I was looking at the app and the HDMI out display , a few times it said safe suddenly I look at the HDMI display of sat bars and it shows one bar and it red , when it did show more bars they were white and only three show , there's five bars like an iPhone signal , I don't want a cute phone icon whaen I'm piloting a 6.5 pound uav , stop trying to make the dang thing a phone , give us the number of sats locked thank you ... Ok then I feel much better now !

markjacobs.talk Posted at 2015-3-18 03:30
Been out flying today - Out to just over 1km
Flew 4 TB48's and one TB47 without incident
Solid GPS a ...

Good one , funny !

OK, as suspected I think this is mostly for folks living and operating much closer to the poles which is also why I never had any encounters with it as a helicopter pilot in all my years.

Just got done flying here in beautiful Scottsdale Arizona and didn't have a single hickup.  I am going to go download that app and see what the rating is currently in my area.

daver/m Posted at 2015-3-18 05:51
Ok then can the sun cause an effect to your flight , as I suspected yes absolutly as I noticed with  ...

Sorry but I disagree.
On the Inspire the number of satellites is meaningless.
If you were given a number on your screen of 8 satellites would you consider that safe to fly? Probably yes from the Phantom days but on the Inspire it's positional logic is different.
The Inspire uses both Navstar and Glonass constellations so a number appearing on your FPV screen of say 8 satellites could be misleading since it may well be 4 Navstar (GPS) and 4 Glonass.
For trilateration to work 4 values are needed.... Longitude, latitude, elevation and time. In the situation above a credible fix may not be achievable and yet  you would have a false sense of security because you can see '8 satellites' being received.
It is far better to have 'Safe to fly' displayed which will only be given with HDOP/VDOP which is no doubt what the bars are displaying.

Excellent points

turn off gps and fly like a man!

markjacobs.talk Posted at 2015-3-18 06:45
Sorry but I disagree.
On the Inspire the number of satellites is meaningless.
If you were given a  ...

Maybe so , but the safe to fly is still very misleading . And the HDMI  bars were at one and it was red meaning nothing ! While the safe to fly was up , and was still flashing yellow atti and the bird could  NOT home lock nor could it gather enough satellites period a. I'm not new to this and it's very obvious then that this new birds way of getting sat lock or otherwise isnt nearly as good as my p2 or my old p1 , a better way of showing a definite safe to fly is needed you don't agree ? That's really funny if you say you've flown rc lots and know the way it needs to be , just safe to fly is for everyone , not so good for serious pilots and the already expierienced , great if your trying to sell them ... to everyone ...
Otherwise the inspire performs very well , rock solid hover , fast to the shooting area and back and a ton of great features too , but safe to fly just does not work well enough for a real confident distant run , if your needing the sat mode , I can fly atti all day but GPS is what can save Yer ass the conflicting info from the sequence led if you know how to use it and the ios apps display verses the HDMI out display of 1 or no sats is no way a good thing . I'm I afraid to fly ? , No Way , but it needs more than safe to fly GPS .....if the info doesn't match !!  

Dangair Posted at 2015-3-18 08:47
turn off gps and fly like a man!

Do it all the time no prob , run an obstacle course in atti anytime just for fun ...You ready !
We can go to the big four ice caves and I'll show you a few tricks then ......for fun.

Dangair Posted at 2015-3-18 08:47
turn off gps and fly like a man!

There is always one in the class

Satellites can be turned away or shut down so they do not get hammered ....

daver/m Posted at 2015-3-18 09:45
Do it all the time no prob , run an obstacle course in atti anytime just for fun ...You ready !
We ...

I'm in! Sign me up. I am thinking of doing Helmiken Falls not too far from here, maybe two hours drive. That's close for BC ers! there is another set of falls just up my airstrip. Kinda small but nice.

Wicked if I get some time off , well I'm not The pro and have no claim of expert fame .. but always pushed everything extreme as safe as I deemed at the moment for myself. Now the quad camera can do my deeds and I can relax knowing I won't die in some stunt or adventure out in the boonies I'd done many times past ... Go to the big four IceCaves east of granite falls wa.  Best during the mid week almost no one there no parking fee , a half mile walk to the caves at the base of big four mountain lots of film and photo ops , flying or hand held .
Flown my p2 Gopro with goggles hear once , and I've been there many times through the years .. You won't be disappointed , also if your coming from bc you could come the back way from  i 5 east to Oso where the huge landslide happened last year then on to darington and the mountain loop highway which will bring you to big four parking area, no cell service .... You can see big four IceCaves listed on Google earth too.  There is no ranger or any one posted for safety at the caves or the parking area so it's pretty wide open still ....

Well if we do come down there I know a good guide ! Always use your connections!

SkySight Posted at 2015-3-17 23:28
Does this really affect someone flying the Inspire much?

Today I did tons of flights. I needed pictures for Pix4d on one of my projects, so I flew it like 1.5 hours. What I noticed, that whenever I got close to a high voltage line the inspire drifted sideways. Before you say that its because of the high voltage line -  I did the same path 3rd time. 1st time a month ago, 2nd time a week ago, and now the final shots. Only today I got drifts, so I think it has something to do with it..

I don't think anyone can predict what will happen if you fly during a magnetic storm. Gps signals are definitely influenced by the storm, but it varies from area to area. Most reports are that the interference is at its worst when the sun is low on the horizon. But that doesn't mean your drone will take off and fly straight to china! ;)

I guess you should do your research before taking off and accept the risks. Take an independent outdoor gps locator and see what the accuracy is. Our smartphones will always have good signal because of cell tower triangulation, so I wouldn't use that as a comparison.

And in the end you should be able to fly in atti mode, so as long as your comfortable with that you should still be able to control it. I also use pix4d, that's the main reason for me to check solar status, the drone flies completely autonomous, just like ground station. It's not that I don't want to risk it, I'm usually not in a hurry to fly (where I live it rains almost all the time so no need setting up tight deadlines and such).

xzces Posted at 2015-3-18 00:40
Space weather can affect gps and rf signals. Worst case, you fly out to far, loose tx signal and the ...

I have 3 poles living next door to me so if the kp is 7 or 8, should I check to see if they have gone out before I fly?

markaguille Posted at 2015-3-30 02:24
I have 3 poles living next door to me so if the kp is 7 or 8, should I check to see if they have g ...

This is epic man.

dundee Posted at 2015-3-30 03:11
This is epic man.

Hi m8...maybe a silly question. How does one measure the Kp?

stephenbrink62@ Posted at 2015-3-31 21:52
Hi m8...maybe a silly question. How does one measure the Kp?

First you listen for strange noises. Count every different noise.
1,2,3,4 is ok
5,6 better not
7,8,9 stay home at watch your things