Indoor Flight Question

[APost]

Had two possibly related issues yesterday. I was flying indoors over an Astroturf football field.

1st flight, I had no GPS as I expected, but could not make the Inspire 2 go higher than 25'. It has been suggested that powering up in the absence of GPS signal will force that 25' limit, and that I should start outdoors, get GPS lock, THEN carry indoors for flight.

Is this the solution?

I ended up turning off all the sensors I could to no avail. When I switched to fresh batteries (I was at 60%) I initially hit the same ceiling, then it magically broke through and let me get to where I needed.

By that time I was in full ATTI and had a very hard time holding position in all the AirConditioning currents. I"m not sure how well the downward sensors would help as I'm over the very absorptive artificial grass.

So...what are best practices for a flight that needs to hold position indoors?

 

[MrTVR]

I have flown indoors many times, in many locations and several building types. Sometimes i achieve a GPS lock, sometimes I don’t but I have never experienced the 25’ limit or at least, not that I have noticed. It’s possible that the indoor locations that I have been flying without GPS haven’t required flight above that height...

I have however experienced a height limit under different circumstances ...

I did do some flights on a dock side last week and was unable to find a location that was not giving a compass error. I tried all available take off locations and even tried raising the I2 2m above the ground but still could not get rid of the compass error. In the end I decided to launch the I2 and fly up to clear the magnetic interference at the dockside. I did then experience a height limit for around 60 seconds but the height limit went away once the compass calibration error cleared. I flew 4 times with the same experience.

 

[APost]

That may have been it. When I tried to calibrate my compass, it failed, suggesting that I raise it 2m. I ended up calibrating over my head and that seemed to work. Must have been scads of rebar under the field, and there was certainly a lot in the stands, and a metal roof and....

I"d just been flying outdoor only 50+ yards away. I wonder if I could have just taken off, and if so, would the error clear once in the air.

I'll try and see if they will let me back to test, or find somewhere that produces a similar issue.


Thank you for the feedback.

 

[MrTVR]

I’d be very cautious about taking off with a compass error if there is anyone in the area just in case you lose control. I took a calculated risk and it was ok but as they say, your mileage may vary.

 

[APost]

Understood.
Looking for a place to test alone.