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New Alta 8 does not fly where it is pointed.

Discussion in 'ALTA 8' started by Rick Gerard, Dec 15, 2018.

  1. Rick Gerard

    Rick Gerard Active Member

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    I have a lot of experience with my Alta 6 and even more with other drones from DJI and others. I have never seen this problem before. If I stand directly behind the Alta and push straight forward on the stick it moves away from me as expected but the path is about 10º to 12º to the left. Did you follow that? Line up with a tree on the horizon, make sure the FPV camera has the tree centered, stand directly behind the Alta so you are sure that everything is lined up and push the stick forward making sure not to throw any yaw into the controls, and the aircraft drifts to the left by 12 to 15 feet for every hundred feet you go forward.

    I have checked trim and everything else I can think of but unless I constantly apply right yaw (rudder) I can't get the Alta to track in a straight line. It isn't turning in an arc like it would if the trim was off, it just does not go where it is pointed. If it was a car I would say that it is out of alignment. If it was an airplane I would say that the vertical tail was not lined up with the fuselage. The angle is constant no matter what the speed.

    Any troubleshooting tips would be greatly appreciated.
     
  2. Henry Symons Jones

    Henry Symons Jones New Member

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    Have you set the compass declination to your area?
     
  3. Rick Gerard

    Rick Gerard Active Member

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    Yes, the compass is calibrated. I also get the same drift no matter which heading I fly. If it was a compass error it would drift left flying east to west and drift right flying west to east. It just flys crocked and it's pretty hard to deal with. A trim issue would make the drone continuously turn in one direction or the other so it would fly an arc. It's like the flight controller is not lined up with the fuselage so it thinks straight is about 10º off center. If I pointed the FPV camera 10º left then I could easily fly directly to a target using FPV.
     
  4. Andy Johnson-Laird

    Andy Johnson-Laird Administrator
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    Sorry to hear about the issue you're having. If you've not already done so, you might want to open up a ticket with Freefly Support and the best way of doing that is to head over to https://freeflysystems.com/contact

    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 : Forensic Drone Expert
     
  5. Rolands Zelders

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    Rick, I cannot find the bulletin right now, but the FF advice to turn your compass off.
     
  6. Gary Haynes

    Gary Haynes Administrator
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    Double check that your remote control doesn't have the trim un-centered. Do a stick calibration on the remote controller. Really dumb one but check that the props are spinning in the correct direction for the prop pitch. Check trim settings in the app.
     
  7. Daniel Waghorne

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    Have you measured the angle that each prop sits? I feel like this could be an issue if one of your props is outside the 2.5 degree angle.
     
  8. Rick Gerard

    Rick Gerard Active Member

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    I spent the day double checking everything and the machine (brand new from FreeFly) will be test flown tomorrow. I'll report back. Everything was perfect.
     
  9. Rolands Zelders

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    Is the angle the same in every mode equally?

    Does it drifts flying backwards as well?
     
    #9 Rolands Zelders, Jan 2, 2019
    Last edited: Mar 29, 2019
  10. Rolands Zelders

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    Hey Rick, have you got this fixed?
     
  11. Rick Gerard

    Rick Gerard Active Member

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    I went through a complete firmware update again, Wiped the GPS SD card, Reset everything and ran a firmware update on the radio. Now it is fine. I don't know what fixed it because I did everything at the same time. It took the better part of an afternoon.
     

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