Can I safely fly arduplane without a compass? If yes, what won't work as well without a compass? I have an APM 2.0 with a bad internal compass and it won't accept an external compass (even after cutting the trace). I read a few post that talked about the compass not be as important to way point flying on a plane. I mostly just use RTL as a fail-safe in case I fly out of range or lose a radio/video link for FPV flying.
I did my best to search before posting but didn't find anything.
Replies
did you place your apm near an electric engine (or other magnetic interference) ?
what can go wrong:
when flying in winds higher than what your aircraft flies, you will confuse your apm and loose it. (nearly been there...)
with compass, the nose will stay into the wind, even if the plane "flies backwards over the ground" (also tested this....)
i disabled the compass on one aircraft where the engine caused problems, now it flies perfectly.
but i know that i should not rely on rtl during high winds :)
Airplanes fly great without the compass. What won't work as well? maybe the auto takeoff as it will not know what the heading is until it moves forward a few feet. This can be overcome by moving withe the plane in the direction of launch a few feet before sending it skyward.