When Home Point (AC) is set - how close is it really?

[bmarlowe]

New Spark owner. Just curious, if you have plenty of GPS satellites acquired, how close is the set home point typically to the actual AC take off point.

I have a 43 inch landing pad - should I expect to hit it if I do RTH? Also - on descent will I have stick control on the way down so that I can be sure to hit the landing pad, or is that disabled during RTH? (I am familiar with the 4 RTH distance regions, RTH at current altitude switch, etc.)

I am asking (instead of trying) because it is now and will be for a while way too cold to fly here. Thanks.

 

[aviscomi]

With no wind and strong GPS signal you should be "dead balls on" provided the home point was recorded.

 

[Eljay]

It should land on the pad but it cheats. The GPS has some radius of error, but the downward facing sensors see your landing pad and what it looks like and remembers it. If you take off from some relatively featureless surface like concrete or sand or whatever it'll land a few feet away.

For best results take off straight up and give it a few seconds to do its thing.

 

[bmarlowe]

It should land on the pad but it cheats. The GPS has some radius of error, but the downward facing sensors see your landing pad and what it looks like and remembers it. If you take off from some relatively featureless surface like concrete or sand or whatever it'll land a few feet away.

For best results take off straight up and give it a few seconds to do its thing.

GPS + VPS. Thanks guys.