Without GPS

[brandonofaat]

This may be common knowledge in this forum, but I'm still fairly new to Solo. Is it possible to fly 100% manually and disconnect from GPS?
I recently had an important shoot, and Solo couldn't see more than 6 satellites (in a Fjord in Alaska) and wouldn't fly. Is there a work-around?
Thanks
BA

 

[Pedals2Paddles]

The answer to your question is yes. The mode called FLY:Manual will allow you to take off and fly around without the assistance of GPS. There are numerous caveats you must understand.

• It will not hold position on it's own. It will drift with momentum and the wind.
• In Fly:Manual mode, it will hold altitude on it's own. In stabilize mode, it will not.
• The Return to Home button will not work because it will not know where home is
• Failsafes that rely on return to home, such as flying out of range, the controller failing, or the battery getting too low will no longer return to home. It might drift away with the wind, or it might just arbitrarily land on whatever happens to be below it at the time.
• You will not be able to use the logs to find it if it gets lost, because there is no location data.
• If it happens to finally get a GPS lock while up in the air, the location it happens to randomly be at will become the new home location, even it happens to over water or trees.

If you are asking this question, that means you refused to watch any of the training videos or read any of the guides. All of which you are prompted to do prior to ever taking your first flight. Please go watch and read, for your sake and the sake of those around where you're flying.

 

[brandonofaat]

The answer to your question is yes. The mode called FLY:Manual will allow you to take off and fly around without the assistance of GPS. There are numerous caveats you must understand.

• It will not hold position on it's own. It will drift with momentum and the wind.
• In Fly:Manual mode, it will hold altitude on it's own. In stabilize mode, it will not.
• The Return to Home button will not work because it will not know where home is
• Failsafes that rely on return to home, such as flying out of range, the controller failing, or the battery getting too low will no longer return to home. It might drift away with the wind, or it might just arbitrarily land on whatever happens to be below it at the time.
• You will not be able to use the logs to find it if it gets lost, because there is no location data.
• If it happens to finally get a GPS lock while up in the air, the location it happens to randomly be at will become the new home location, even it happens to over water or trees.

If you are asking this question, that means you refused to watch any of the training videos or read any of the guides. All of which you are prompted to do prior to ever taking your first flight. Please go watch and read, for your sake and the sake of those around where you're flying.

Thanks

 

[brandonofaat]

The answer to your question is yes. The mode called FLY:Manual will allow you to take off and fly around without the assistance of GPS. There are numerous caveats you must understand.

• It will not hold position on it's own. It will drift with momentum and the wind.
• In Fly:Manual mode, it will hold altitude on it's own. In stabilize mode, it will not.
• The Return to Home button will not work because it will not know where home is
• Failsafes that rely on return to home, such as flying out of range, the controller failing, or the battery getting too low will no longer return to home. It might drift away with the wind, or it might just arbitrarily land on whatever happens to be below it at the time.
• You will not be able to use the logs to find it if it gets lost, because there is no location data.
• If it happens to finally get a GPS lock while up in the air, the location it happens to randomly be at will become the new home location, even it happens to over water or trees.

If you are asking this question, that means you refused to watch any of the training videos or read any of the guides. All of which you are prompted to do prior to ever taking your first flight. Please go watch and read, for your sake and the sake of those around where you're flying.

Actually, I appreciate your scolding. I do remember reading that and seeing it in the training videos. Apparently I didn't think I would ever have a reason to not use GPS and dismissed it until recently. Your description of the possibility of Solo suddenly linking to GPS while flying in manual and then doing who knows what convinced me. Thanks again for taking the time to reply.

 

[Pedals2Paddles]

You're welcome. You should always have your A or B button set to FLY:Manual mode. Otherwise, you have no way to actually switching into manual even if you wanted to. You will need that ability in order to take off and fly without GPS. You also want it there as a safety in case the GPS craps out while in the middle of a flight. If it ever starts acting stupid and drifting all over the place as if it's got a bad GPS lock, you can immediately hit the button and switch out. It is also a useful and fun mode to fly in.