KP index

richard.dyson1 · May 29, 2015

Hi all,

In my efforts to have a fool proof preflight checklist I have been researching KP index.

Having established what it is and how it is measured I am now struggling to find any guidance of what is safe and not for craft like the inspire.

At what level one the scale of 1-9 should we not fly?

Cheers

Jacob · May 29, 2015

Great question. According to the app "Hover" (It tells you KP index and how dangerous it is to fly), currently I am at a KP index of 2 which is safe to fly in. I'm not 100% sure, but I think if you are in 6-9, I would not be flying.

The Editor · May 29, 2015

I have flown at level 6 (not with an Inspire though), although I suffered no loss of control, GPS hold was not good.
Obviously positional fix was being compromised to some to degree and there was distinct drifting going on. GPS hold was still evident although in a much larger 'box'
Atti was fine as expected.
As a rule now I do not fly if the KP index is above 5 and I want to rely on GPS.

Kauaigene · May 29, 2015

"Hover" iOS ?

Jacob · May 29, 2015

Kauaigene said:
"Hover" iOS ?

Yes. Very useful app.

kenny kustom · May 29, 2015

My KP is 2

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

lrwskyfilms · Jun 2, 2015

The Editor said:
As a rule now I do not fly if the KP index is above 5 and I want to rely on GPS.

Agree

AC8 · Sep 20, 2015

Hi All,

The Current Kp Index is 7 - Just wondering if anyone is out flying at the moment, and if so did you have any noticeable problems, particularly in regards to drift in GPS mode?

Cheers,

AC

Aviator · Sep 20, 2015

Yes!
There was some drift when trying to hover, in fact I had to make sure I hadn't flipped the flight switch into Atti Mode by mistake.
Glad I was not the only one!

AC8 · Sep 20, 2015

Aviator - was there much wind at the time also?

I imagine in calm conditions it wouldn't be so difficult to control. Wind gusts however might make things a bit more challenging.

Aviator · Sep 20, 2015

Yes a little wind, nothing too dramatic, enough to simulate Atti Mode though..

IrishSights · Sep 20, 2015

Normal flight charactetistics for me as all previous flights in high Kp. Down to 5 now.

SultanGris · Sep 23, 2015

ive never checked the kp level but ive flown nearly every day for the last 9 months without issue, presumably some of those times had to have a high kp level i would imagine, I dont think its as big of a deal as some people think, or else ive just been extremely lucky. Learn to fly proficiently in atti mode and then you wont have to worry about it, worse case scenario if kp level does have an effect is that it will lose gps signal and drop you into atti mode. Its easy to fly atti with a little practice.

Aviator · Sep 23, 2015

SultanGris said:
ive never checked the kp level but ive flown nearly every day for the last 9 months without issue, presumably some of those times had to have a high kp level i would imagine, I dont think its as big of a deal as some people think, or else ive just been extremely lucky. Learn to fly proficiently in atti mode and then you wont have to worry about it, worse case scenario if kp level does have an effect is that it will lose gps signal and drop you into atti mode. Its easy to fly atti with a little practice.

Clearly you don't have much idea of what affect a high KP index has on the AC.
Yes it will, and does interfere with GPS positional data but more importantly, it also affects the magnetic compass.
A very high KP index is commonly known as "A Magnetic Storm" with obvious implications for any aircraft that relies heavily on a calibrated compass for positional stability.
This page referencing the Exxon Valdez disaster attributes in part, the error in the ships compass to the very high KP index during that time and is worthy of note.
Space Weather

SultanGris · Sep 23, 2015

Aviator said:
Clearly you don't have much idea of what affect a high KP index has on the AC.
Yes it will, and does interfere with GPS positional data but more importantly, it also affects the magnetic compass.
A very high KP index is commonly known as "A Magnetic Storm" with obvious implications for any aircraft that relies heavily on a calibrated compass for positional stability.
This page referencing the Exxon Valdez disaster attributes in part, the error in the ships compass to the very high KP index during that time and is worthy of note.
Space Weather

fair enough, still ive experienced no problems, maybe just lucky, maybe it only affects small areas of the planet at a time or maybe its not as much a problem as people think. If compass is off causing erratic flight you can simply switch to atti mode. compass only matters when in gps mode. Most beginners wouldnt probably realize or think of that though, but it can save you from a crash if you have a compass malfunction due to whatever reason so its good to know.

Aviator · Sep 23, 2015

SultanGris said:
fair enough, still ive experienced no problems, maybe just lucky, maybe it only affects small areas of the planet at a time or maybe its not as much a problem as people think. If compass is off causing erratic flight you can simply switch to atti mode. compass only matters when in gps mode. Most beginners wouldnt probably realize or think of that though, but it can save you from a crash if you have a compass malfunction due to whatever reason so its good to know.

Yes you are correct, there is no substitute for learning to fly in Atti mode, it is no good waiting until you are forced to fly in Atti mode and then fumbling with the sticks to "Emergency Learn"

Dr. Ifly Drones · Sep 6, 2017

Just giving a bump to this post in light of this:

If you live in the northern U.S., go outside Wednesday night—you may see an aurora

I've not seen this discussed in a while and didn't know if opinions/hardware have changed in the past couple of years.