APM mission planning

[pheasant_plucker]

Hopefully someone knows the answer.
I have been enjoying using the planner and running auto missions from take off to landing but this has always been a return to the take off point.
I';m now in the position of planning a cross country flight of about 2 miles which is easy enough but the question I have is what if the landing point is higher than the take off point, how does it know?

Gerry

[Cloudbuster]

r we planning a moon landing LOL !! seriously though it should all work out fine as with all GPS devices it also knows its height as well as position !! the only thing i would suggest is not to have a massive difference between A & B as the APM does quite a slow controlled decent and after a two mile flight a 400ft decent may be beyond battery life and it may end in tears !! very brave sending your expensive toy on a one way mission !!

regards rob 

[orfordness]

Not forgetting you shoud according to the CAA maintain unaided visual contact with your craft at all times.....

[Hands0n]

... the question I have is what if theblanding point is higher than the take off point, how does it know?

Gerry

The autopilot will use the barometer (and sonar if you have it) to sense its height from the ground.  Some explanations here: http://copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/land-mode/

[JerryCampbell]

Hopefully someone knows the answer.
I have been enjoying using the planner and running auto missions from take off to landing but this has always been a return to the take off point.
Im in the position of planning a cross xountry flight of about 2 miles whixh is easy enough but the question I have is what if theblanding point is higher than the take off point, how does it know?

Gerry

There is a command to have the rig follow the contour of the land at the altitude you choose. GEOTRACK or something like that. I have seen it but can';t remember where. I';m not at my PC now so I can';t tell you but I think it';s in the waypoint setup.
Good Luck
Jerry

[Hands0n]

There is a command to have the rig follow the contour of the land at the altitude you choose. GEOTRACK or something like that. I have seen it but can';t remember where. I';m not at my PC now so I can';t tell you but I think it';s in the waypoint setup.
Good Luck
Jerry

You';re not thinking of Terrain Follow are you? http://copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/common-terrain-following/

As of APM:Plane 3.0.4 you can use automatic terrain following for fixed wing aircraft if you have an autopilot board with local storage (such as the Pixhawk). This page explains how terrain following works, how to enable it and what its limitations are.

ArduCopter 3.2 (on Pixhawk/PX4) supports terrain data but only for viewing purposes.  AC3.3 (and higher) will likely allow using this data for missions, landing, etc.

[pheasant_plucker]

The autopilot will use the barometer (and sonar if you have it) to sense its height from the ground.  Some explanations here: http://copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/land-mode/

No the height is planned relative to the take off point in a mission. If the waypoint height is set to 100m then it is 100m relative to the launch location.

There is a command to have the rig follow the contour of the land at the altitude you choose. GEOTRACK or something like that. I have seen it but can';t remember where. I';m not at my PC now so I can';t tell you but I think it';s in the waypoint setup.
Good Luck
Jerry

I found it, it';s a tick box labeled verify height. It then references the Google map data at waypoints to get that points specific height.

Thanks for the help, it';s really appreciated.

Gerry

[JerryCampbell]

No the height is planned relative to the take off point in a mission. If the waypoint height is set to 100m then it is 100m relative to the launch location.



I found it, it';s a tick box labeled verify height. It then references the Google map data at waypoints to get that points specific height.

Thanks for the help, it';s really appreciated.

Gerry

I knew it was somewhere. I have not used it but I plan to give it a try because I live in the hills.
Good Luck
Jerry