FYI:
Yesterday I was flying in an area that I fly regularly and had my Spark do an uncommanded descent then climb. It dropped about 70ft, then ascended 250ft over about 50 seconds. As I play back the logs and watch the stick inputs, neither the descent nor the ascent were commanded.
Prior to this, just after launch, I did briefly get "Weak GPS signal" (with 15 satellites!), then "IMU heading error, please restart the aircraft" and "Compass error, exit P-GPS mode".
Before the descent and ascent, it seemed to respond and everything appeared normal after the error messages. During the ascent, I brought it back closer to me, it dropped altitude without stick inputs. From there, the aircraft appeared to respond normally, so I continued the flight.
Afterwards on this flight and the next flight, I had no issues. I checked the IMU and compass later and there were no errors.
Next time, I will plan to bring it back home and restart the aircraft when I get IMU heading and compass errors.
I have many hours (and miles) of flying this spark and have never encountered this before. This aircraft and system are a robust integration of technology that has way exceeded my expectations. I'm not sure what caused the weak GPS and error messages.
Bottom line, be aware, when in doubt, bring it back.
Yesterday I was flying in an area that I fly regularly and had my Spark do an uncommanded descent then climb. It dropped about 70ft, then ascended 250ft over about 50 seconds. As I play back the logs and watch the stick inputs, neither the descent nor the ascent were commanded.
Prior to this, just after launch, I did briefly get "Weak GPS signal" (with 15 satellites!), then "IMU heading error, please restart the aircraft" and "Compass error, exit P-GPS mode".
Before the descent and ascent, it seemed to respond and everything appeared normal after the error messages. During the ascent, I brought it back closer to me, it dropped altitude without stick inputs. From there, the aircraft appeared to respond normally, so I continued the flight.
Afterwards on this flight and the next flight, I had no issues. I checked the IMU and compass later and there were no errors.
Next time, I will plan to bring it back home and restart the aircraft when I get IMU heading and compass errors.
I have many hours (and miles) of flying this spark and have never encountered this before. This aircraft and system are a robust integration of technology that has way exceeded my expectations. I'm not sure what caused the weak GPS and error messages.
Bottom line, be aware, when in doubt, bring it back.