Inspire 2 strafing while flying nose forward?

[adminkatana]

Doing a few test flights with the Inspire 2 before a flight next week. A low 6mph wind. About 10m above an empty field, not touching sticks yet quite a bit of judder/ wobble/ up and down movement of the I2. You really notice it when flying in these very calm conditions.

Also seems to strafe a lot while flying nose forward (to correct it’s almost like flying in ATTI but in you’re in GPS, you’re applying pitch and roll to fly straight). Been doing this since new in April '17.

In similar situations a Mavic sits there like it's on a tripod!?

Latest firmware, cold IMU calibration, compass calibration on grass away from interference, VPS calibration.

Anyone else having these issues with an Inspire 2? Appreciate any input, or is this just usual behaviour you've noticed too? Thanks.

 

[Dr. Ifly Drones]

Do you mean "shake" and not strafe? Mine is quiet stable.

 

[adminkatana]

Do you mean "shake" and not strafe? Mine is quiet stable.

I wouldn't say it 'shakes', the craft seems relatively stable. By strafe I mean if trying to fly in a straight line it will head at a 5-10ᵒ angle off course. The only way to counter act this is to treat it as if you are flying in ATTI and to apply a slight roll correction as well as your pitch.

Have you noticed anything similar?

 

[Casey53]

Try a RC sticks calibration as it might help. Others have reported it flying off at an angle going straight forward too, usually to the right. With mine, the camera may yaw to the left (Some sort of drift thing going on with the firmware or hardware warming up.), but hey, it's DJI so I don''t expect perfection.

Might also try setting up a waypoint mission to see if it will fly it straight to the next waypoint. In Autopilot, mine will fly a straight line, but the altitude differs depending on direction which is annoying. Outbound is fine, but inbound it climbs maybe 15-25 feet. Dunno what's up with that, other than maybe the underbelly crash system playing around.

 

[Dr. Ifly Drones]

What Casey said above and do an IMU cal on a dead flat surface away from any ferrous metal. All that said, it's actually common for Inspires to "crab" or fly in a slight vector to true line of direction. The other option and my usual choice is to line up the craft for your trolly cam or whatever type of video run you're about to make and focus on lining up on the camera and not the nose of the craft. In other words, fly by what you see in the screen more so than what you see when looking directly at the craft.

 

[adminkatana]

Thanks for the advice! I will try an RC sticks calibration and see how the AC behaves in Waypoint mode.

Interesting about the Inspire 'crabbing' it does seem to exhibit that behaviour. Appreciate the tips for working around the issue. Will try to utilise that a lot more. I'm relying on ATTI more and more for the control it gives you.

Just so bizarre when you fly a Mavic and it feels solid as a rock in flight!

 

[Casey53]

Yeah, the Mavic seems to be one of their better birds for stability, if not the best, and I'm envious of its flight character. I don't know if the Inspire's design is at issue as it does seem to swing like a pendulum at times. Mine has hovered at bizarre angles at times like 30-40 degrees although the horizon is level with the camera. One time while hovering for a long while it began to slowly lean over, but the camera image was correct. Dunno, but probably firmware issues.

I have bigger issues with disconnects of the RC than anything. Not the GO app so much, although iOS 11 seems to have USB issues to my iPads, but the RC itself partially shuts off where green led goes dark and others remain on. So far with the bird set to hover in place, I can reboot the RC and bring it back - but it is annoying so I never let if out of VLOS as I do not trust it. DJI radios sure ain't Futabas or Spektrums.

 

[adminkatana]

Not good to hear, but puts my mind at ease about my Inspire. Thanks.

I always stay within VLOS as a PfCO pilot in the UK. It amazes me when a hobbyist approaches you after a job and asks you if you also get issues 'with your signal breaking up at 2miles range'

 

[Mizamook]

This also is a serious issue with my Inspire 2/X5S. It makes the 45mm lens completley unusable, in fact, it almost seems like the problem gets worse with the 45mm Olympus, whereas it seems almost OK with the 14-42 at full zoom. Go figure. Regardless of yaw adjustment, the gimbal yaws out of line with the bird one way or the other. Top that by adding in semi-random "crabbing" or strafing when attempting to fly straight. That can be corrected with input, but not so easy if the camera is randomly offset from centerline. Strongly leaning toward returning the aircraft for another unit ... welcome to DJI lottery! Interesting to note that I'm not alone, apparently. This is sad. Confirmed: Mavic flies straight and stable. Transplant Mavic brain into Inspire2? One is many thousands of dollars more than the other, yet flies like garbage. Not funny.

 

[adminkatana]

Yes, my 45mm on the X5S often drifts off course. It's using the DJI recommended balance rings but doesn't seem to like it.

I tend to keep the I2 moving slowly to compensate for the slight drift in footage.

 

[Mizamook]

Unfortunately mine is not slight, it is quite pronounced. Movement makes it worse.

Yes, my 45mm on the X5S often drifts off course. It's using the DJI recommended balance rings but doesn't seem to like it.

I tend to keep the I2 moving slowly to compensate for the slight drift in footage.

 

[r62ewa]

This also is a serious issue with my Inspire 2/X5S. It makes the 45mm lens completley unusable, in fact, it almost seems like the problem gets worse with the 45mm Olympus, whereas it seems almost OK with the 14-42 at full zoom. Go figure. Regardless of yaw adjustment, the gimbal yaws out of line with the bird one way or the other. Top that by adding in semi-random "crabbing" or strafing when attempting to fly straight. That can be corrected with input, but not so easy if the camera is randomly offset from centerline. Strongly leaning toward returning the aircraft for another unit ... welcome to DJI lottery! Interesting to note that I'm not alone, apparently. This is sad. Confirmed: Mavic flies straight and stable. Transplant Mavic brain into Inspire2? One is many thousands of dollars more than the other, yet flies like garbage. Not funny.

This is exactly how my I2 and 45mm acts.

 

[Mizamook]

I got fed up with this again .. it makes what could be really great shots into half-a%%ed so-so shots, that ONLY work if you purposefully make it more extreme, like turning and crabbing while rising. However, there are a lot of situations you want to see, for instance, an object, say, a house, or a person, or whatever, at the center of frame, and you move forward, say, through a row of trees or along a fenceline toward the subject .. and when you get closer, the subject should be still at the center (or at least close) otherwise the effect is spoiled. Even without a particular subject, it's very much like driving down a straight road with your head turned to one side. I've not yet found a way to fix this in post.

I recently got mad enough to start trying for the DJI warranty repair lottery, but I realize that either DJI does not fully understand this problem, or they don't see it as a problem, don't know what to do about it, or just don't care. I keep researching it and I keep finding more posts regarding this (with X5s as well as with X5r and with P4P) ... the X5r was at one point fixed by turning a magnetic nut ... but this voids the warranty.

It is my thinking that the lastest firmware on the I2 that gives us the ability to adjust yaw setting should deal with this .. no physical magnetic nut required to adjust ... but sadly, it just does not work! I mean, yes, it changes the yaw alignment in relation to the nose, but it doesn't stay put! You certainly can't adjust it while shooting, especially on a straight run through narrow trees corridor or such, and the precision of the adjustment is not so good, and there is no index.

So I am very very leery of sending in the I2 and X5s just to fix this .. it is unlikely it will come back fixed. What I WOULD consider is an exchange of the X5s unit ... I do think it is more likely a physical problem in the gimbal than some issue with the Inspire 2 ... it would be SUPER informative to compare, actually. Plus my superb time for potentially cool stuff is coming up ... if I have to send something in, I'll do it after!

 

[Casey53]

My X5S veers off looking to the left over time. Seems like something is warming up and maybe some electrical thing going on with it. The last firmware seemed to help a bit though as it doesn't seem to be as rapid.

I should have compared it to the X4S I also own but never thought about it. Could be with it being a much wider angle, it's not as noticeable as the 45mm on the X5S. Wish someone would make a 35-40mm lightweight lens.

Somehow I doubt DJI will do much about it. They seem to put this stuff out there and not really seem quick to fix their high-end gear like the Ronin, Osmo's, and some M-platforms.

Someone gave me a link to China's quality control and DJI. Go to 5 min. 25 secs. for the DJI part and you'd think 100% of the Mavics in China do not work.

Market first, and service last.

 

[Mizamook]

Kind of shocking, really. i wonder how much is the Chinese people (from what contact I've had, they are just like us, and care very much) and how much the Chinese corporate (probably just like western, and out for a buck).

I rather think the Mavic is a funny example, as both of mine (yes, I lost one in a tree) were exactly the same, Wifey thinks they are cute, and I think they are junk video, but the funnest to fly no matter what, and reliable, steady, and did I mention fun? One does not expect such performance from a flying cell phone camera. Sure wish the I2 was so rock solid.

Let us keep our hopes up for just one moment more ... maybe a firmware update that fixes these woes once and for all. Would be nice to hear something from DJI, but, as I quoted in another forum already today:

DJI (Support)

Mar 7, 02:39 CST

Hello ----,

Good day to you.
Thank you for contacting DJI Technical Support.

We really apologize for the troubles that you are experiencing about this concern. For software or a hardware issue, the best way to have this assessed and fixed is by going through with our repair center. If the firmware was really what is at fault, we can try to downgrade the current firmware for this and see if this will help and yes there is always a new update. We will just have to wait for the next available update for the firmware to come if sending the drone is not an option. Although we cannot confirm when. Sorry.

My X5S veers off looking to the left over time. Seems like something is warming up and maybe some electrical thing going on with it. The last firmware seemed to help a bit though as it doesn't seem to be as rapid.

I should have compared it to the X4S I also own but never thought about it. Could be with it being a much wider angle, it's not as noticeable as the 45mm on the X5S. Wish someone would make a 35-40mm lightweight lens.

Somehow I doubt DJI will do much about it. They seem to put this stuff out there and not really seem quick to fix their high-end gear like the Ronin, Osmo's, and some M-platforms.

Someone gave me a link to China's quality control and DJI. Go to 5 min. 25 secs. for the DJI part and you'd think 100% of the Mavics in China do not work.

Market first, and service last.

 

[vertrider1]

This is exactly how my I2 and 45mm acts.

mine as well [emoji51]

 

[psionic001]

Mine too. Mine crabs at about 15°left, so I point the nose 15° right to fly in a strait line. Has gotten gradually worse over the years since it was new.