How fast would you guys dare to drop straight down vertically with a full heavy payload? And how long do you think it would take to stop? What happens if you reduce the throttle to zero while flying in manual mode?
I think your first two questions of how fast and how long depends entirely on how much spare underwear you have out on location. I don't mean to be entirely facetious, but it really is just a question of experimentation. However, I would be sure to experiment with an ALTA, MoVI, and camera that belongs to a friend that you really don't like too much. The ALTA can generate a lot of thrust, but it cannot bend the laws of physics -- in fact they will tend to bend it. If you reduce the throttle to zero, you will enter Plummet Mode -- the real risk is that the vertical slipstream will rotate the ALTA over to the point that even if you give it full throttle it will not arrest the downward plummet because it has rolled over. I refer you to my Trademark in my signature line below. I would therefore not chop the throttle entirely -- that way the prop-wash provides a "drogue chute" effect and will at least keep the ALTA from rolling. If you need to do a rapid descent, the other problem you have is that you're descending into the turbulent prop-wash from the ALTA itself and that might be more than the MoVI can overcome.. You'd be better off therefore to reduce the throttle but do a diagonal descent so that the ALTA is descending into non-turbulent air. Please do report on the results of your experiments and the final state of your friendship with the ALTA/MoVI/Camera owner. 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
You might actually ask the Freefly support team that question. I vaguely remember in the Alta marketing video that they were discussing the extreme testing they do with every Alta and showed a 15 pound weight (I think it was 15) attached under the Alta doing 100% throttle climb outs followed by zero throttle descents. The point of the testing was that Freefly test flies their equipment to far more extreme levels than most any user ever will. So based on that, i think they have probably already found the limits! It would be an interesting answer to know.