Phones in airplane mode?

[Kipp]

So I hear and read a lot of people saying that you should always put your phone in airplane mode while flying. It seems that if cell signals can affect your i1 then you would have a large problem with flying around anyone or anywhere since cell phones are everywhere.

So I guess the question is why is this, or is the issue only within a certain proximity to the TX?

 

[Kilrah]

Proximity to the TX, and annoying things like notifications popping up or people trying to call you while you're in flight as it's a distraction and may also cause the app to crash.

 

[Kipp]

Proximity to the TX, and annoying things like notifications popping up or people trying to call you while you're in flight as it's a distraction and may also cause the app to crash.

The distraction part makes sense, there are applications I am using the i1 for that will require either a cell signal or a WIFI signal to the device I'm controlling the i1 for. Is there a minimum safe distance and I can just tether the device I'm controlling the i1 with to my cell phone say in the car 20 feet away?

 

[Scotflieger]

Apart from the very good anti distraction argument, one of the reasons I put my iPhone and controller-mounted iPads in Airplane mode is to remove the possible interference from wifi. This operates in the same 2.4GHz band as the main Command & Control (C2) link for the Inspire 1. If you use a spectrum analyser, with and without the wifi turned on, you will see a very noisey competing channels. I prefer to give my Inspire 1 first call on the available bandwidth.

 

[Kilrah]

Based on previous posts on this forum you'll get answers ranging all the way from "no issues it's made for it" and "you should absolutely never fly with any radio enabled on your device"...

Envoyé de mon SM-G920F en utilisant Tapatalk

 

[Fletcher]

Based on previous posts on this forum you'll get answers ranging all the way from "no issues it's made for it" and "you should absolutely never fly with any radio enabled on your device"...

Envoyé de mon SM-G920F en utilisant Tapatalk

what about turning wifi off but leaving cellular data on in order to stream maps and aerials?

 

[Scotflieger]

what about turning wifi off but leaving cellular data on in order to stream maps and aerials?

Plan ahead. Cache the maps before you go out into the field.

 

[Fletcher]

Plan ahead. Cache the maps before you go out into the field.

How do I cache them? Can I use a georeferenced aerial?

 

[Kilrah]

You just scroll/zoom into the area you're going to fly in.

 

[Scotflieger]

How do I cache them? Can I use a georeferenced aerial?

To cache the Pilot App maps open up the map page at home with a good wifi connection. Then select the area you intend to operate in. You need to move around the map to view the satellite imagery out to about 5km or 3 miles moving the map as you go. There are 3 levels of zoom that you need to do this for with the highest zoom taking a little more care and time to do. You need to make sure you see all the tiles in sharp focus. Every map you display is saved on the iPad in the cache.

 

[sirnikolas]

I hotspot my Samsung Note 4 to my Air 2 with 0 issues.
The pilot app is the only app I have installed on my Air 2.

I just realized that your question is in regards to phones. Ignore my reply because it's 0250 here in Melbourne and I can't see the delete button.
Nn

 

[AC8]

Sorry for my ignorance, I'm still learning about this.

Would there be an issue if operating near large public gatherings? That is - not flying dangerously close to people or in a way which could endanger them, but for example at a park or festival where there are lots of people nearby where you're controlling from?

Even if you had your cell phone switched off, and any wi-fi devices disabled.....would lots of people nearby who all have phones, would that potentially interfere and cause a signal or control loss?

 

[SultanGris]

I originally purchased a tablet for flying which ive since taken back and i now use my cell phone for the explicit purpose of having a constant data connection to use the map features. I fly all over the country and caching is not feasible for me. Much easier to use a device with live data and ive had zero issues, other than someone texting or calling and having the notification popping up over the camera feed

Im no expert on radio frequencies and interference but ive flown in cities over people frequently with no problems, I use my cell phone with wifi, Bluetooth and all other data connections enabled and ive never had any problems caused by my device or anyone elses in the near proximity other than shortening the max video transmission range. Problem due to other radio devices or buildings/trees im not sure but I definitely get much farther ranges in the flat country away from buildings/trees/other people. Even in the city its still farther than you can see the drone LOS for anyway so not an issue IMO. Ive never once lost control or had it fly erratically. Only problem is intermittent loss of the GPS lock due to faulty firmware. Im running an older version and dont want to update for various reasons.

 

[Solid]

I always put mine in airplane mode.

No extra signals messing around, no girlfriend/mom calling, no text messages that I accidentally open while trying to jig the camera around, and no extra load on the cellphone that might cause it to crash the app. I do forget to turn the airplane mode back off all the time, and people cant call me, but I love that part.

 

[Mazz]

Also, the less going on in your device the less likely the device will crash.