Spark went into ATTI mode:

I did use Litchi with OTG (i know..not supported).
I've had 100+ flights with Litchi, never encounter ATTI.
Oh well, this post is for pilots which has not expedienced this yet. To see first hand how quickly it happens, and the importance of having your eyeballs glued at the drone.

Log shows some yaw errors:

http://www.phantomhelp.com/logviewer/3O150I9RY0UVZ7TIKXIA/


Here is the video of the incident:




Fly safe

I wish you said balls glued to the drone, that would have been funnier, but all in all, great video

What do you think caused the drone to go into Atti mode?  Good job that you’ve plenty of experience and were able to deal with this. Thanks for sharing.

Very good recovery.

Good recovery. But why did it zoom away when it dropped into ATTI? That isn't supposed to happen is it?

Prairie Chicken Posted at 2018-9-23 19:48
Good recovery. But why did it zoom away when it dropped into ATTI? That isn't supposed to happen is it?

It zooms away because the drone can't achieve a perfect level with the minor tilt needed to stay still in moving air.  Anything trying to hover without GPS stabilization or some kind of visual positioning system (like this drone over water) will race off to one side or the other.  The pilot has to get on the sticks to arrest the vector it is traveling and then stay on the sticks to get it to hover, mostly still, in the air.

It will always slide or drift away while gathering speed until the pilot inputs corrective stick movements.

Hovering perfectly without the pilot is a miracle of autopilot, compass, IMU, and GPS.  Take away any one of those technologies and watch the photographer (pretending to be a pilot) sweat.

Gunship9 Posted at 2018-9-23 20:11
It zooms away because the drone can't achieve a perfect level with the minor tilt needed to stay still in moving air.  Anything trying to hover without GPS stabilization or some kind of visual positioning system (like this drone over water) will race off to one side or the other.  The pilot has to get on the sticks to arrest the vector it is traveling and then stay on the sticks to get it to hover, mostly still, in the air.

It will always slide or drift away while gathering speed until the pilot inputs corrective stick movements.

Thanks for that explanation, good to know. My Spark has never dropped into ATTI mode but now I have a better idea of what to expect if it does.

Thank you for your comments, guys!

There is no satellite drop.
But, a warning is given!

Notice the horizon line "drift" before entering Atti-mode?
This is a clear indication of an upcomming yaw-error.
If you experience this, limp back to HP with minimal stick input.
When going full forward stick, from P-mode (10 kmh) into Atti, you will immediately gain Sport-mode speed (50 kmh).
This caught me off guard, never thought Atti would be like this.

I had a lucky escape, no doubt about it..

Mine did once. I used the camera to keep it pointed roughly toward me and shoved the stick forward. Fortunately, I was pretty high and not drifting into anything. A few seconds later it switched back to gps mode. My biggest problem with flying a spark (or anything) is orientation--keeping track of which way it is pointed. Fixed wing airplanes were pretty easy, thirty-mumble years ago because they're always going forward pretty fast.

Prairie Chicken Posted at 2018-9-23 20:34
Thanks for that explanation, good to know. My Spark has never dropped into ATTI mode but now I have a better idea of what to expect if it does.

I fly model airplanes and used to fly unstabilized helicopters.  I got to where I could hover the helicopter without thinking about it and just by instinct.  Stopping into a hover was my bail out if I ran into trouble while flying around the field.

The small size of the Spark leads me to think that I might not be able to bring the drone back to me if it goes into ATTI.  Might not be able to get it back even with my RC flying experience.  There might be difficulty telling which direction it is facing and if it is retreating or approaching my position.  The bail out in that case is to land it where it is (crash land?) so I can at least find the thing.  I always pay attention to how suitable the area under the drone is for an ATTI drone landing.

Gunship9 Posted at 2018-9-24 10:10
I fly model airplanes and used to fly unstabilized helicopters.  I got to where I could hover the helicopter without thinking about it and just by instinct.  Stopping into a hover was my bail out if I ran into trouble while flying around the field.

The small size of the Spark leads me to think that I might not be able to bring the drone back to me if it goes into ATTI.  Might not be able to get it back even with my RC flying experience.  There might be difficulty telling which direction it is facing and if it is retreating or approaching my position.  The bail out in that case is to land it where it is (crash land?) so I can at least find the thing.  I always pay attention to how suitable the area under the drone is for an ATTI drone landing.

I don't have nearly your experience, but I did fly a toy drone for a couple of weeks before I got the Spark and that was pure flying by the seat of your pants. Hovering in one position was almost impossible, so I appreciate what the Spark has to offer even with its limitations.

I hear you about losing orientation of the Spark. The lights are impossible to see on a sunny day, and even when I can see them, it can be hard to tell which lights are pointing in my direction. I sometimes have to keep yawing until I see a landmark I'm familiar with to get my bearings. If it decided to drop into ATTI at one of those times, I could be in for a bit of a ride.

I had an ATTI moment not so long ago, first one in 55 flights.  Fortunately, it was only about 90 meters away and 10 meters up, and I was able to control it and fly back to myself (thanks to practice I had on the old toy drone I used to fly).

This topic raises a bunch of questions in my mind...  if its beyond RC influence in Litchi and this happens, is it bye bye birdy?  (guessing yes).    And as I have been drooling over Mavic2 videos, and trying to find and justify the $$$, does this ever happen on them?  (I know there is twin IMU and Compass on them, so perhaps not).  I really love the Spark, but this fail has spooked me some.

Thanks for sharing the video.

Nice save. My first one did almost the exact same thing over Lake Michigan after only having it for a week or so. I was inexperienced and did not fair as well as you, lol!

Nice save