GPS? We Don't Need No Stinkin' GPS!

[Jubalr]

(Old people like me may recognize the title of this thread as a take from a famous line in the Mel Brooks comedy Blazing Saddles).

I hope you old timers and long time RC pilots will indulge me a moment here. Those of you that have been on here a while know I am a big proponent of new Solo pilots learning to fly in manual and getting comfortable with it. There is a video I did demonstrating this elsewhere in this forum and the feedback I have received from it is encouraging and I am glad that new pilots have found it useful. And I hope that it has saved a few from busted props or worse.

So this will be off the beaten path just a bit. As I encourage the newer Solo pilots to explore manual as much as possible, and save GPS for when you need it (smart shots, RTH, emergencies, etc..), I would like to present a couple of videos that demonstrate great FPV flying with no GPS on the quad. Beyond the capabilities of Solo, both quads were using 433mhz (Ham Band) for control. RC fixed wing pilots have gone over 100 miles one way on this band!

The first video is one of my all time favorites for a few reasons, but to see where this quad goes in total darkness as the pilot is flying in the woods by watching a live feed through goggles is impressive to say the least!. Obviously beyond LOS, he is using a small camera equipped with night vision. Watch it all the way through and see what he was able to accomplish. I have corresponded with him by email in the past and I know the equipment he was using. This was filmed in central Europe.

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For this 2nd video, a bit of a disclaimer; In no way am I condoning the flying and the dangerous conditions the pilot is often in. But I see it as an example of extreme FPV flying, and again with no GPS on board. This was filmed in Thailand. He too was piloting the quad by watching a live feed from the on board camera through goggles.

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Again, this is all in the same goal of getting new pilots to learn to do the actual flying as much as possible, and not be tempted to only fly by hitting buttons. It may very well save you some money and damages some day.

Have fun and fly safe..
Jubal

 

[GoodnNuff]

Amazing night video! Really impressed. I'd love to fly like that!

 

[Jubalr]

Amazing night video! Really impressed. I'd love to fly like that!

Yeah, believe it or not, that video is what got me started in FPV 3 years ago. Still like watching it to this day.

 

[Toiletbowl]

(Old people like me may recognize the title of this thread as a take from a famous line in the Mel Brooks comedy Blazing Saddles).

I hope you old timers and long time RC pilots will indulge me a moment here. Those of you that have been on here a while know I am a big proponent of new Solo pilots learning to fly in manual and getting comfortable with it. There is a video I did demonstrating this elsewhere in this forum and the feedback I have received from it is encouraging and I am glad that new pilots have found it useful. And I hope that it has saved a few from busted props or worse.

So this will be off the beaten path just a bit. As I encourage the newer Solo pilots to explore manual as much as possible, and save GPS for when you need it (smart shots, RTH, emergencies, etc..), I would like to present a couple of videos that demonstrate great FPV flying with no GPS on the quad. Beyond the capabilities of Solo, both quads were using 433mhz (Ham Band) for control. RC fixed wing pilots have gone over 100 miles one way on this band!

The first video is one of my all time favorites for a few reasons, but to see where this quad goes in total darkness as the pilot is flying in the woods by watching a live feed through goggles is impressive to say the least!. Obviously beyond LOS, he is using a small camera equipped with night vision. Watch it all the way through and see what he was able to accomplish. I have corresponded with him by email in the past and I know the equipment he was using. This was filmed in central Europe.

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Accept third party cookies

For this 2nd video, a bit of a disclaimer; In no way am I condoning the flying and the dangerous conditions the pilot is often in. But I see it as an example of extreme FPV flying, and again with no GPS on board. This was filmed in Thailand. He too was piloting the quad by watching a live feed from the on board camera through goggles.

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Again, this is all in the same goal of getting new pilots to learn to do the actual flying as much as possible, and not be tempted to only fly by hitting buttons. It may very well save you some money and damages some day.

Have fun and fly safe..
Jubal

the second video looks like your in asia because i spotted some coconut. the pilot is well experience even those tiny electrical cables he pass it away ohhh there is one guy want to catch the freaking drone hahaha and the music sounds porn apocalypse lmaooo.

 

[Flying Squirrel]

My collective pitch heli does not have GPS ...
Took me about 40 hours to learn how to hover - never mind forward flight. This is the "want it now" generation regardless of age ...

Personally, if it's a feature I want it to function properly. That said, I'd welcome am Solo without GPS at a lower price ... I am able to pilot without GPS just fine.

Great videos!

 

[Jubalr]

My collective pitch heli does not have GPS ...
Took me about 40 hours to learn how to hover - never mind forward flight. This is the "want it now" generation regardless of age ...

Personally, if it's a feature I want it to function properly. That said, I'd welcome am Solo without GPS at a lower price ... I am able to pilot without GPS just fine.

Great videos!

Thanks Squirrel. Yeah, it's for the newer pilots that are just learning the value of manual. In the late 80s I was sponsored by Miniature Aircraft and used to teach on Nitro helis. Just 1 mechanical gyro back then. It was not uncommon for the average student to take about 6 months to get the hover down before they went into forward flight. I remember teaching a man that flew slicks in Vietnam. He had a tough time with it and said it was tougher than the real thing for 2 reason; no seat of the pants feel, and didn't have to reverse the brain for nose in. But with all the automation now, I hate to see too much reliance on it and not know what to do when the automation gets funky.

Fly Safe..
Jubal

 

[Jubalr]

the second video looks like your in asia because i spotted some coconut. the pilot is well experience even those tiny electrical cables he pass it away ohhh there is one guy want to catch the freaking drone hahaha and the music sounds porn apocalypse lmaooo.

Yes, I was wondering if it was filmed in your area. Not sure exactly where it was filmed.

 

[GoodnNuff]

Yes, I was wondering if it was filmed in your area. Not sure exactly where it was filmed.

I'm guessing that was filmed near Chaing Mai in northern Thailand just based on the hills in the background. But there are also some areas like that on the Southern peninsula as well. It looked familiar, but too many years since I've spent time in that country.

 

[Lonewulph]

There is a video I did demonstrating this elsewhere in this forum and the feedback I have received from it is encouraging and I am glad that new pilots have found it useful.

Very useful, I flew all my batteries hard and fast today in Manual, it's a ton more fun than Fly, and turns faster than Drift. I was in open country with trees out at the borders so I maintained plenty of margin for error. But once you get in the groove, and you have mastered 'nose in' flying, (I limit the FPV a lot when in discernable LOS), and you have an understanding of countering drift when you left go of the sticks, you're good to go.

I initially locked 14 satellites with hdop of 1.7 (KP was 3), once I switched to manual it was actually comforting that I was not so GPS dependant but they were there if I needed them.

 

[Jubalr]

I initially locked 14 satellites with hdop of 1.7 (KP was 3), once I switched to manual it was actually comforting that I was not so GPS dependant but they were there if I needed them.

Hey Wolf, Yeah, that's the beauty of it. You will rarely lose GPS when at altitude and flying. So it makes it easy to fly around in manual, hit Fly if you need to stop for a minute to set up a shot or need it because you got disoriented. But otherwise it is more fun to fly in the non GPS modes.
Fly Safe..
Jubal

 

[Raybro]

the second video looks like your in asia because i spotted some coconut. the pilot is well experience even those tiny electrical cables he pass it away ohhh there is one guy want to catch the freaking drone hahaha and the music sounds porn apocalypse lmaooo.

Was that you flying that around the hood?

 

[JLJ]

well, I just did my first ever Copter flight today and it was with the solo of course. I was following advices to learn how to fly in Manual so I just tried, everything went really bad. I did the level and compass calibration and it went well, turned on everything and hot fly:manual and took off, the solo started to go backwards really fast, I panicked and tried to control it but couldnd, I tried to landed, it hit the ground and bounced off a little and started to move sideways until it crash into some plants and I was able to shut down the motors right away. I was really really lucky that nothing happened to it, not a single scratch so tried again in GPS and this time it was a lot easier, could fly for several minutes with no issues. the only thing I noticed that while on GPS it was descending a little an then it would go up again (without any input from me) it was not that much but you could noticed it was moving up and down, then for several minutes it would be holding position perfectly and then moved again up and down a little, it was windy.

i just did the levl calibration again and will do compass calibration again before trying dor a second time.

Any ideas why it would be going backwards really fast when in fly:manual?

Any ideas why it would go up and down a little while in GPS?

thank You

 

[Jubalr]

well, I just did my first ever Copter flight today and it was with the solo of course. I was following advices to learn how to fly in Manual so I just tried, everything went really bad. I did the level and compass calibration and it went well, turned on everything and hot fly:manual and took off, the solo started to go backwards really fast, I panicked and tried to control it but couldnd, I tried to landed, it hit the ground and bounced off a little and started to move sideways until it crash into some plants and I was able to shut down the motors right away. I was really really lucky that nothing happened to it, not a single scratch so tried again in GPS and this time it was a lot easier, could fly for several minutes with no issues. the only thing I noticed that while on GPS it was descending a little an then it would go up again (without any input from me) it was not that much but you could noticed it was moving up and down, then for several minutes it would be holding position perfectly and then moved again up and down a little, it was windy.

i just did the levl calibration again and will do compass calibration again before trying dor a second time.

Any ideas why it would be going backwards really fast when in fly:manual?

Any ideas why it would go up and down a little while in GPS?

thank You

You say you took off in manual? You should save that for a little more experience. When learning manual, it's best to get it up about 15ft in a steady hover then switch to manual and start with slow inputs.

 

[Andrew Tarleton]

Great videos. I have been following your lead and been flying man at least half of every flight to get used to it.

 

[JLJ]

Yes, I took off in manual, I've read many people take off in manual and they say it is very easy. I took off in manual but inmediately it started going backwards really fast.

Now I am afraid to try manual again. I might wait some time after I fly some more and try to do what you say, hit fly:manual after I am hovering at some 15 feet.

any ide why it would fluctuate and go up and down a little while on fly: GPS mode?

Thank You

You say you took off in manual? You should save that for a little more experience. When learning manual, it's best to get it up about 15ft in a steady hover then switch to manual and start with slow inputs.

 

[DevRogue]

agreed; people will start needing GPS assistance so much in the near future. i still fly in manual as thats your "emergency" mode in event of GPS failure.

if you can't train in emergency mode, you won't know how to react when an emergency happens.