Normal Flight -> Atti mode -> Compass Error -> Atti mode -> Normal Flight - What happened?

[Chrislaf]

Was flying my Spark today checking out ice conditions off of a local beach area that I have flown from numerous times and towards the end of the flight GO4 announced it was in Atti Mode. Glancing at the phone screen it then went to Compass Error, then back to Atti mode and eventually back to normal flight. The AC was in VLOS the whole time so when it went to Atti mode, I turned around and headed back. The compass error gave me a scare as I was worried about loosing control of the AC, however this does not appear to have happened as I was able to get back and land. I was flying over water that had frozen then thawed so there were lots of ice chunks floating around - would have been impossible to recover the AC if it had went down. The launch area was a grassy area covered in wet snow just up from the beach. It is an area I have launched in numerous times and as far as I know there was no metal nearby.

I have owned my Spark for just over 2 years and this is the first time I have ever had a compass error. The log file is linked below. Problems start at 5m 47.8s with Yaw Errors. I would really like to know what happened so that this does not happen again, so any help in figuring this out is greatly appreciated.

Flight Log

AirData Link

Additional info: I hand launch my Spark most times and did so this time as well.

Thanks,

Chris

 

[RotorWash]

It's looking a bit mysterious isn't it Chris. Log looks clean up to the point of the first yaw error. I've seen my Spark do this when I hard bank it at high speed especially in windy conditions but those weren't factors in your flight. Thankfully your skill and experience as a pilot kept the craft under control.

 

[Chrislaf]

It's looking a bit mysterious isn't it Chris. Log looks clean up to the point of the first yaw error. I've seen my Spark do this when I hard bank it at high speed especially in windy conditions but those weren't factors in your flight. Thankfully your skill and experience as a pilot kept the craft under control.

When my Spark went to Atti mode, I was startled but wasn’t too concerned as I have Syma X8G (first drone, no GPS) that I sometimes practice with, but when I got the compass error, that’s when I got worried about loosing control but thankfully I was able to turn around and come back.

The only thing I can think of that could have caused this was my landing pad. It’s one of those circular fold up ones with a metal ring. I was using it to keep my backpack dry on the ground while setting up and the Spark was sitting in the open top lid (Droneguard CS400) over top of the metal ring on the landing pad. I then hand launched by double-tapping the battery. Why the Atti Mode and Compass errors occurred well into flight is puzzling.

This whole incident reinforces the importance of flying in VLOS. If I had not had the Spark in sight, I could have lost it. Before I heard and saw the error messages on screen, I knew something was wrong because my Spark suddenly began to drift in the direction of the wind.

Hopefully, one of the resident experts will see this and can help me figure out what went wrong.

Chris

 

[graywoulf]

I am glad to hear that you did not lose your Spark. Sounds like a scary situation. I have a great deal of anxiety over the possibility of losing my Spark every time I fly it but I think that I am starting to get over a good bit of it. I hope you get some useful information on your unexpected event.

 

[vbonsite]

I am a fairly new pilot and had the same problem just recently: yaw error, compass error, IMU error and ATTI mode. Gave me a huge scare but managed to fly Sparky home. Still don't know what caused it so following this thread with interest.

 

[Satigger]

Was flying my Spark today checking out ice conditions off of a local beach area that I have flown from numerous times and towards the end of the flight GO4 announced it was in Atti Mode. Glancing at the phone screen it then went to Compass Error, then back to Atti mode and eventually back to normal flight. The AC was in VLOS the whole time so when it went to Atti mode, I turned around and headed back. The compass error gave me a scare as I was worried about loosing control of the AC, however this does not appear to have happened as I was able to get back and land. I was flying over water that had frozen then thawed so there were lots of ice chunks floating around - would have been impossible to recover the AC if it had went down. The launch area was a grassy area covered in wet snow just up from the beach. It is an area I have launched in numerous times and as far as I know there was no metal nearby.

I have owned my Spark for just over 2 years and this is the first time I have ever had a compass error. The log file is linked below. Problems start at 5m 47.8s with Yaw Errors. I would really like to know what happened so that this does not happen again, so any help in figuring this out is greatly appreciated.

Flight Log

AirData Link

Additional info: I hand launch my Spark most times and did so this time as well.

Thanks,

Chris

hi I also had the same issue on Friday Scary Stuff, i would like to submit my flight to the clever dudes to look at , Where on the app can i access the data please , i cannot find it
Thanks

 

[Spark 317]

hi I also had the same issue on Friday Scary Stuff, i would like to submit my flight to the clever dudes to look at , Where on the app can i access the data please , i cannot find it
Thanks

Try this. It will tell you how to retrieve the files.

Phantomhelp.com/logviewer/upload

 

[Satigger]

Try this. It will tell you how to retrieve the files.

Phantomhelp.com/logviewer/upload

Thank You!

 

[Satigger]

Here is my flight Record looks like a Yaw Error cause this, can somone please have a look at the flight record and perhaps give me an idea why i went inti ATTI mode?
Thank you

 

[Satigger]

Thank You!

 

[Chrislaf]

Yesterday I made another flight from same area that I had thand everything was fine, although I didn’t venture out too far.

Today, I flew again from a different location and everything was fine, so I am thinking that the metal ring in the landing pad caused the compass error. What I am puzzled by is that the error did not show up until well into the flight.

Maybe one of the resident experts will be able to give some clarity as to the cause of the problem.

Chris