Webheadfred
Air Traffic Controller
Ok... I almost lost the hex. It's DEAD calm. Clear Blue. I go out front where I have had a few issues with the GPS finding satellites and try again. It starts up, gets a green lock on in about a minute. I wait. No blue lock on. I fly. VERY SMOOTH! NICE! I rotate to the SSW and climb to about 150' Altitude Hold is perfect. Well, as perfect as I can see from the ground. I engage Position hold. Seems perfect. There was no wind and it just sat there for about 10 seconds. THEN.... At about a 45º angle, it raced to the south. Not just coasting to the south, RACING SOUTH! by the time I looked down and disengaged PH and keep my wits about me, she was too far to see orientation but I didn't turn her so, I engaged AL and started coaxing her home. Perfect I thought, I'll download the FLIGHT LOG and send it off so I can learn how much of an idiot I am not building this correctly. No dice.
First, I fire up the programming computer and hook up the HFP. It beeps and such and flashed purple. I go to the diagnostic page and click connect. LIKE EVERY OTHER PAGE! No dice. WTF I think. Anyway, I try again several times. Still, no dice. So I just click on the save button, and a window pops up wanting me to name the file. Cool. I save it, and IT'S ZERO BYTES! CRAP! I try several more times and nothing. What the heck!?! I so want this to fly nicely, do what it's supposed to do and get the wife-unit off my back for spending so much.
So, in my previous discussion I tried to point out the differences in starting points. I thought about the rebar in the driveway, the trees, the house, the length of the grass, the kid practicing hoops across the street, and about everything else I thought could be an issue. I took my handheld compass to see a few things.
In back, on a deck facing 020 magnetic, about 30" above the surrounding ground, close to the house (about 12' to the multi's right) I get a satellite lock-on in about 10 seconds, blue in about another 15 seconds. PH is perfect. The other day I flew in about 12mph wind and she held, Up over the house to the front, she held until I got there. Nicely.
In front, this morning, I sat her on the driveway facing 120 magnetic. Post-near-disaster, I took my hand held compass and tried to find a variance with the driveway etc. Same whether it was sitting on the driveway or hand held or over the grass. No variance. I get a green light lock-on in about a minute, maybe two. I lift off and smoothly turn 90º right, looking down the street and climbed. You know the rest of the story.
How do I download the flight log? Is this something that's been disabled? Is it stored on the little chip on the GPS? Did I do something wrong?
First, I fire up the programming computer and hook up the HFP. It beeps and such and flashed purple. I go to the diagnostic page and click connect. LIKE EVERY OTHER PAGE! No dice. WTF I think. Anyway, I try again several times. Still, no dice. So I just click on the save button, and a window pops up wanting me to name the file. Cool. I save it, and IT'S ZERO BYTES! CRAP! I try several more times and nothing. What the heck!?! I so want this to fly nicely, do what it's supposed to do and get the wife-unit off my back for spending so much.
So, in my previous discussion I tried to point out the differences in starting points. I thought about the rebar in the driveway, the trees, the house, the length of the grass, the kid practicing hoops across the street, and about everything else I thought could be an issue. I took my handheld compass to see a few things.
In back, on a deck facing 020 magnetic, about 30" above the surrounding ground, close to the house (about 12' to the multi's right) I get a satellite lock-on in about 10 seconds, blue in about another 15 seconds. PH is perfect. The other day I flew in about 12mph wind and she held, Up over the house to the front, she held until I got there. Nicely.
In front, this morning, I sat her on the driveway facing 120 magnetic. Post-near-disaster, I took my hand held compass and tried to find a variance with the driveway etc. Same whether it was sitting on the driveway or hand held or over the grass. No variance. I get a green light lock-on in about a minute, maybe two. I lift off and smoothly turn 90º right, looking down the street and climbed. You know the rest of the story.
How do I download the flight log? Is this something that's been disabled? Is it stored on the little chip on the GPS? Did I do something wrong?
Maybe I'll get a little more insight on my multi. I shall report back.