Does it makes sense / is it possible to fly in GPS-Mode without Compass? In other Autopilots (Mikrokopter/DJI/ArduPilot) that Config is not possible/flyable. Regards Haydar
Haydar welcome to the forums. Would you be kind enough to change your user name to your real first name and last name, please? The reasons for this (and how to do it) are explained here: http://forum.freeflysystems.com/index.php?threads/real-names.497/.
Let me check. Sorry for the confusion. There was an update to the forum software and that setting looks like it has disappeared. I'll let you know if we get it fixed. Thanks for trying.
This is pretty much applicable to all single GPS autopilots, without a compass and only using a GPS - the craft's location from the GPS signal is only a point in space with no sense of direction. Imagine being in the middle of a flat salt plain as far as the eye could see, with no clock or watch, a completely overcast sky with no way to discern where the sun is, nor the time of day and a GPS unit without a working compass module or clock display. You could see where you are on the earth, but only by moving in any one direction and checking the change in location change determine your heading. Because it has no data on which way it is oriented it's not an actual GPS flight mode as it would be unable to execute any GPS based safety functions like return to home. Compass errors usually change flight modes to another one not GPS assisted to avoid errors in navigation and potential crashes.
Nice metaphor Glenn. I think it might need just one minor clarification. When you wrote "but only by moving in any one direction and checking the change in location change determine your heading." For a multi-rotor, which can fly in any direction regardless of which way the "nose" of the aircraft is pointing (its heading), integrating GPS readings over time allows you to determine your ground track, but not the aircraft's heading. For example, if the copter's nose is pointing to true North, but the wind is blowing the aircraft towards true West, you could not determine the copter's heading. Just its ground track. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Course_(navigation) My apologies for being a navigational pedant! Andy. ---------- Forensic Software & sUAV / Drone Analyst : Photographer : Videographer : Pilot (Portland, Oregon, USA): Trees=2, Ground=1, Props=11. The Ground Is The Limit™ ---------- Forensic Drone Analyst : Forensic sUAV Analyst : Forensic Unmanned Aircraft Analyst