Random yaw in light wind...?

[zektiv]

My Anafi randomly pulls left or right in a yaw, then typically snaps back to position. This happens most often while panning or doing a pan-n-yaw/orbit pattern around a location. Almost always during slower, controlled flight, rarely during the quicker change-to-a-new-location types of flights. If I'm keeping the sticks highly managed (20-60%) and trying to get a shot, I'd say that... I don't know... 85% of my shots will end up with a random-*** yaw somewhere in them. It kills me because it basically makes any footage I just shot useless. Right now I'm using my Anafi for stills (it can still get that done) but for video I just don't trust it to fly with any kind of consistency.

In an effort to correct it, fix it, adjust for it, whatever: I've read a few posts on this site and others about some random yaw issues, firmware issues that cause all kinds of wonky behavior, and then also watched some very useful videos showing similar behaviors in heavy gusts of wind.

I'm not flying in especially heavy or windy conditions. Maybe 5-10mph gusts. Altitude rarely goes beyond 50 feet. If I keep the Anafi at 15-20 feet I have a little more consistency but it still happens. Once I'm up in the 40-50 feet range the only thing consistent about the flight characteristics is that it'll yaw randomly sometime during the shot. Ultra aggravating when I'm trying to get footage. In comparison: I've got an old BeBop (I know, right?) that flies in the same conditions without issues of any kind. I have a Mavic Air that also flies ultra-stable and consistent in the exact same conditions. Granted the BeBop is heavier so is probably a little more resistant to wind conditions, but the Mavic Air is comparable in weight. I've even flown a Mavic Mini in these conditions with better stability (thought to be fair the Mini does get a little squirrelly at about 100ft).

Is this a known thing that the Anafi does? Is it just really, really bad in any kind of wind? I've always been amazed at how stable these smaller units do in pretty intense wind conditions, and this Anafi just... doesn't compare at all. I'm inclined to think that maybe the motors are underpowered, or that maybe there's an issue with one (or more?) of the motors and it's just not responsive enough to manage light winds correctly. Or maybe the clever little folding props don't produce enough thrust? Very curious to hear from some of the experienced Parrot folks about why they believe this unit is behaving like this or if it's just endemic to the platform.

Parrot markets this thing as "industrial strength" and "professional" and blah blah blah. I understand the French 'penchant' for over-hype in their marketing but there's no world where I would trust the flight characteristics of this UAS anywhere *near* a powerline or anything of value. I want to like it - I'm over DJI and their obsession with regulation and overreach - but it's gotta fly right.

Any thoughts, opinions, advice, etc. very much appreciated.

 

[Dirk_ANAFI]

My Anafi is quite stable in light wind. In stronger wind, it struggles against the wind. But this is not a random movement -as you said in your case- but it tries to hold position against the wind and therefor only yaws in one direction.
Are your props ok? Perhaps change them?

 

[PollyWannaFly]

Do you typically use Smart Dronies, POI tracking, etc? Wind currents at higher elevations are of course much different than what we're experiencing on the ground. Can't assume 'There's no wind...what gives?'. Yes, the Anafi is very light, so it will most likely have to 'fight the elements' moreso than say a Mavic with a more stout platform...but is that Mavic as nimble?? Also, there might be some GPS conflicts the Anafi is trying to compensate for (found another satellite...oops-dropped one...and one more...re-align).
Check your Global Reactivity settings -if too strong your joysticks may be oversensitive to your motions/reactions.
Food for thought; Hope this helps.

 

[orybarfly]

My Anafi randomly pulls left or right in a yaw, then typically snaps back to position. This happens most often while panning or doing a pan-n-yaw/orbit pattern around a location. Almost always during slower, controlled flight, rarely during the quicker change-to-a-new-location types of flights. If I'm keeping the sticks highly managed (20-60%) and trying to get a shot, I'd say that... I don't know... 85% of my shots will end up with a random-*** yaw somewhere in them. It kills me because it basically makes any footage I just shot useless. Right now I'm using my Anafi for stills (it can still get that done) but for video I just don't trust it to fly with any kind of consistency.

In an effort to correct it, fix it, adjust for it, whatever: I've read a few posts on this site and others about some random yaw issues, firmware issues that cause all kinds of wonky behavior, and then also watched some very useful videos showing similar behaviors in heavy gusts of wind.

I'm not flying in especially heavy or windy conditions. Maybe 5-10mph gusts. Altitude rarely goes beyond 50 feet. If I keep the Anafi at 15-20 feet I have a little more consistency but it still happens. Once I'm up in the 40-50 feet range the only thing consistent about the flight characteristics is that it'll yaw randomly sometime during the shot. Ultra aggravating when I'm trying to get footage. In comparison: I've got an old BeBop (I know, right?) that flies in the same conditions without issues of any kind. I have a Mavic Air that also flies ultra-stable and consistent in the exact same conditions. Granted the BeBop is heavier so is probably a little more resistant to wind conditions, but the Mavic Air is comparable in weight. I've even flown a Mavic Mini in these conditions with better stability (thought to be fair the Mini does get a little squirrelly at about 100ft).

Is this a known thing that the Anafi does? Is it just really, really bad in any kind of wind? I've always been amazed at how stable these smaller units do in pretty intense wind conditions, and this Anafi just... doesn't compare at all. I'm inclined to think that maybe the motors are underpowered, or that maybe there's an issue with one (or more?) of the motors and it's just not responsive enough to manage light winds correctly. Or maybe the clever little folding props don't produce enough thrust? Very curious to hear from some of the experienced Parrot folks about why they believe this unit is behaving like this or if it's just endemic to the platform.

Parrot markets this thing as "industrial strength" and "professional" and blah blah blah. I understand the French 'penchant' for over-hype in their marketing but there's no world where I would trust the flight characteristics of this UAS anywhere *near* a powerline or anything of value. I want to like it - I'm over DJI and their obsession with regulation and overreach - but it's gotta fly right.

Any thoughts, opinions, advice, etc. very much appreciated.

It started after a certain version number and was never corrected. It has nothing to do with the propellers, it mainly deals with the horizontal stabilization, they messed up the stability of the POI at the same time. I hope they will deal with it, but it is highly unlikely.

 

[Dirk_ANAFI]

It started after a certain version number and was never corrected. It has nothing to do with the propellers, it mainly deals with the horizontal stabilization, they messed up the stability of the POI at the same time. I hope they will deal with it, but it is highly unlikely.

I'm in this forum for a long time. Where is the proof for your claim?

 

[zektiv]

My Anafi is quite stable in light wind. In stronger wind, it struggles against the wind. But this is not a random movement -as you said in your case- but it tries to hold position against the wind and therefor only yaws in one direction.
Are your props ok? Perhaps change them?

So I'm familiar with lighter units and how they 'fight' the wind, and what that looks like. The lighter mavics (air, mini, etc) will definitely fly at an angle, fight the wind, increased thrust, etc, and my old BeBop was really dramatic about it - but the footage was (mostly) stable and it didn't have a 90-180 degree yaw randomly thrown in. This is definitely not the same. I haven't tried swapping out props yet - they seem fine and they haven't suffered any damage, but it's certainly one place to start in terms of troubleshooting.

It *feels* like maybe a loss of power in at least one of the motors. I've even had it where it'll yaw and drop a foot or two, and sometimes just drop a foot or two. Now, that behavior (an altitude drop) I've seen in plenty of other units in higher wind conditions (i.e. usually more like a buffeting to a slightly lower altitude, not really a "drop" per se), but I've definitely seen that kind of level drop in my fpv racers when a motor is going bad or an ESC isn't working right.

 

[zektiv]

Do you typically use Smart Dronies, POI tracking, etc? Wind currents at higher elevations are of course much different than what we're experiencing on the ground. Can't assume 'There's no wind...what gives?'. Yes, the Anafi is very light, so it will most likely have to 'fight the elements' moreso than say a Mavic with a more stout platform...but is that Mavic as nimble?? Also, there might be some GPS conflicts the Anafi is trying to compensate for (found another satellite...oops-dropped one...and one more...re-align).
Check your Global Reactivity settings -if too strong your joysticks may be oversensitive to your motions/reactions.
Food for thought; Hope this helps.

I don't typically use the presets and flight patterns - I'm a very hands-on pilot and will almost always do orbits and tracking shots by hand. I also work in a high angle/high altitude industry and I'm familiar with the 10-15knt difference in wind that is possible even at 30-40 feet when there's nothing to block it like trees.

I'm not ready to dismiss the fact that the behavior *could* be attributed to the higher wind and the ANAFI just being really bad at dealing with it. I just... don't understand how a Bebop (a much older platform) can be that much better at managing far heavier winds (yeah, I get it, it's a heavier platform) or how similar units from DJI manage winds that much better. And yes, the Mavic Air and Mini are just as nimble as the ANAFI.

I'm intrigued by the GPS conflicts - that's something I hadn't really considered, that it might somehow be hopping between sats and re-aligning according to that? But if that was the case, why would it immediately snap back to the original orientation (unless it re-connected with the original sat?) It's a curious thought, might be worth investigating further, turning off the GPS and seeing if I can replicate the behavior. Good thought. I remember running into awkward behaviors triggered by GPS way back in the old IRIS+ days.

I like the Global Reactivity suggestion - I'd already kind of worked through that thinking maybe I'm just overcaffeinated and it's reacting to an off twitch. I can say with certainty this isn't it.

Great suggestions though Polly, thank you!!!

 

[zektiv]

It started after a certain version number and was never corrected. It has nothing to do with the propellers, it mainly deals with the horizontal stabilization, they messed up the stability of the POI at the same time. I hope they will deal with it, but it is highly unlikely.

This piques my curiosity. Is this a documented issue? What version does this start with? I found this post with a similar claim.

I don't use the POI tracking mode at all, but what interests me about what you said is the horizontal stabilization. The yaw happens most often when I'm panning (i.e. flying side to side) and also when panning while introducing yaw (i.e. for an orbiting shot). Maybe it's fighting inputs with its internal h.stabilization (but then snapping back to original zero?)

I've been disappointed with Parrot before, and I can't say I'm going to be surprised that they introduced a bug that renders their products useless and don't do anything to fix it.

 

[Dirk_ANAFI]

Ok, random yaw and also a "level drop"!? You didn't mention this in the 1st post.
There must be another problem.
Perhaps do a complete reset of Anafi.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

If this is what you are referring to the Anafi has been doing the Yaw snap since day one. There was no bug introduced an any version of the firmware that cause this to happen.
Most people including myself believe it has to do with the way the wind currents happen to hit the Anafi.

 

[zektiv]

Ok, random yaw and also a "level drop"!? You didn't mention this in the 1st post.
There must be another problem.
Perhaps do a complete reset of Anafi.

Yeah, I'd forgotten to add this information, and it's not as common as the yaw. It happens, but it's once in a while.

I'll try a complete reset and see if it helps.

 

[zektiv]

If this is what you are referring to the Anafi has been doing the Yaw snap since day one. There was no bug introduced an any version of the firmware that cause this to happen.
Most people including myself believe it has to do with the way the wind currents happen to hit the Anafi.

So yes, that's very similar to what I'm referring to, except it doesn't happen when I'm flying in a straight line - mostly when I'm panning side to side and adding some yaw to the shot. But that's kind of/basically what it looks like where it yaws then snaps back to original position. I saw a few other videos with similar behavior as well. I'll put the bird up and record some video so you can see it firsthand.

If I'm reading this correctly: this is a known issue and something that happens regularly and has been happening since this product was released. It is a flight characteristic of the unit or at least the result of how wind currents hit it while in flight. It hasn't been addressed by Parrot over the years and several iterations of this model.

If this is something that has been happening since day one then this UAS is basically useless for aerial videography. It happens in well over 75% of my shots and I've been flying in dead-air days and had it happen. That video is at a pretty high altitude - it happens to me at very low altitudes and the lightest of breezes. I can't believe nobody's done any 'review' videos mentioning this incredibly fundamental flaw, if this is true.

Thank you for adding the video, btw!!!

 

[Gipsz Jakab]

So yes, that's very similar to what I'm referring to, except it doesn't happen when I'm flying in a straight line - mostly when I'm panning side to side and adding some yaw to the shot. But that's kind of/basically what it looks like where it yaws then snaps back to original position. I saw a few other videos with similar behavior as well. I'll put the bird up and record some video so you can see it firsthand.

If I'm reading this correctly: this is a known issue and something that happens regularly and has been happening since this product was released. It is a flight characteristic of the unit or at least the result of how wind currents hit it while in flight. It hasn't been addressed by Parrot over the years and several iterations of this model.

If this is something that has been happening since day one then this UAS is basically useless for aerial videography. It happens in well over 75% of my shots and I've been flying in dead-air days and had it happen. That video is at a pretty high altitude - it happens to me at very low altitudes and the lightest of breezes. I can't believe nobody's done any 'review' videos mentioning this incredibly fundamental flaw, if this is true.

Thank you for adding the video, btw!!!

I’ve had it for years, but it hasn’t produced such swings for me yet. True, I don't even fly in strong winds.
Augustine also says that this happens from the beginning, but only in certain cases where the wind comes with sudden jolts and is strong enough to tip over the boundary when you can no longer smooth out this movement with the gimbal.
Up to a certain limit, the gimbal smoothes out the movements, but if they are strong enough, they are already visible in the image.
You wrote that rocking is less frequent when flying low, so that may be because the gusts are smaller at low.
So I think it could be smoothly caused by the wind.
Record a video with another drone as the anafi works and you can see what happens to the drone during the swings.