Altitude issue

[Jon Goetsch]

I was flying this weekend in a are with lots of mountains and valleys I normally fly on flat areas so it was fun until I looked at my altimeter and it said -6mts now I had dropped down in to a valley but how if I have s - value do I know how high I am ?

I also had my phone disconnect in a flight screen went black and it stated disconnected batteries were all charges full at start and was about 5 mins in to flight I pusher Return and drone returned but was scared




Www.aquamarines.co.za

 

[Jon Goetsch]

One of the valleys that was 105 mts high


Www.aquamarines.co.za

 

[bbfpv]

You mean how high you are above the floor of the valley? You won't know because the bird has no idea either. All it knows is +/- your home point. I suppose if you have VPS turned on, you'd know how high you were above the floor once you get within 9m of it. Otherwise you could find the elevation of the valley in relation to your home point, and do the math in your head.

 

[Jon Goetsch]

So altitude is only linked to home no to gps map hight


Www.aquamarines.co.za

 

[bobmyers]

So altitude is only linked to home no to gps map hight


Www.aquamarines.co.za

Yes

 

[Jon Goetsch]

That sucks lol
So if I fly at a mountain that has a steep incline it will not automatically gain altitude
Unless it's 9mts from it?


Www.aquamarines.co.za

 

[SiliconGeek]

Yes, if you fly flat at a mountain with an incline you will lose altitude. I've taken to google earth as a tool to look at where I'm going to fly, it can be used to tell you relative altitude from different points, i.e., if you want to clear the top of the mountain how high do you have to fly from your starting point.

 

[SteveMann]

GPS altitude is very unreliable due to the geometry of the satellites, and it's based on an imaginary sphere with no relationship to actual MSL elevation. Even manned aircraft with a GPS approved for approaches still use the barometric altimeter for the approach.

 

[SiliconGeek]

Steve is correct on GPS altitude accuracy. I'm pointed out that I try to use elevation mapping prior to flying so that I'm clear on "how far down is the valley floor?" or "how high up is that peak?" before I get the wonderful toy in the sky.

 

[Meta4]

That sucks lol
So if I fly at a mountain that has a steep incline it will not automatically gain altitude
Unless it's 9mts from it?

If you fly fly towards a mountain you would crash into it.
Someone's confused you about the VPS system.
It works up to about 9 feet (not metres) - but it is not terrain following radar.

Yes, if you fly flat at a mountain with an incline you will lose altitude.

No .. if you fly flat anywhere, you will maintain altitude.

 

[Jon Goetsch]

Understand thank you all


Www.aquamarines.co.za

 

[Dronebow]

Are there other apps for the P3 that will help with this? Something that integrates Google Earth for instance so on the map you can see the terrain and maybe do some math in your head to your current location? Seems you would certainly want to keep an eye on the bird in these circumstances or you may be in trouble...

 

[Jon Goetsch]

So keeping it all in eye sight is the key when flying in the mountains


Www.aquamarines.co.za

 

[SiliconGeek]

Yes, my wording is not correct. If you fly at constant barometric pressure towards a mountain the vertical distance to a hard landing decreases. All joking aside, if the term for height above launch is altitude, was is the correct term for the vertical distance to ground? Thanks!