Am I F'd? 1st day, slow landing on grass, disaster!

[Scotts]

Hey All,

I've got about 9 minutes of flying under my belt-- read the manual, watched videos, 1st day--

In an open field, calibrate compass, good to go. I take some one minute flights, using auto takeoff and auto land. Before I took it up the last time, there was some kind of warning on the status bar-- trying to remember, something like 'rotors too tight'?... I cycled the power off and on, and then it said ready to fly...

5 minute flight, manual takeoff, when I came in to land, lowered aircraft slowly and hovered about 2 feet off the ground. I then gently lowered the throttle and it set down, then it immediately turned on its side and started SCREAMING! I tried to kill the motors with the remote, but still loud sound, I tried to power off the battery, then I saw smoke coming from one of the motors, I reached in and disconnected the battery...

Sooooo, is this my fault? What would you guys suggest?

Thanks,
Scott

 

[msinger]

Upload your TXT flight log here and post a link back here. We can take a look at it and let you know what it reveals about your flight.

 

[WWK888]

Probably overloaded the motor when it tipped and jammed the prop. Have you tried to fire it up since the accident?

Usually for instant shut off you throttle down all the way and hit the RTH button.

 

[msinger]

Why the RTH button? Holding the throttle down for 3 seconds will shut off the motors.

 

[WWK888]

3 seconds is a long time when your bird is screaming, I thought by doing the throttle down and RTH is was instant.

 

[msinger]

Ah, I was thinking you were talking about a normal landing. A CSC should be done like this for the Phantom 3.

 

[WWK888]

Been awhile since I flew my P3, it is not the same as the P4?

 

[msinger]

Nope. CSC was changed on the Phantom 4 shortly after it was released. It now works like you described when the Phantom is mid-flight.

 

[Scotts]

OK, I'm searching on how to upload my flight txt log-- I see a nice video on the memory card, haha,
still looking on how...

 

[msinger]

See my link above for instructions

 

[Mako79]

Did you land on tall grass and then tipped over or did you land and did a CSC to shut off motors and then it flipped over?

 

[Scotts]

Thanks msinger
Phantom Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

 

[Scotts]

Did you land on tall grass and then tipped over or did you land and did a CSC to shut off motors and then it flipped over?

very short grass, a mowed soccer field, land then CSC, then flip

 

[Mako79]

very short grass, a mowed soccer field, land then CSC, then flip

Don't use CSC to turn off motors on landing. This is the cause of your flip-landing. Think about it, if you are pulling it directly to centre on both sticks, you are asking it to tilt back and roll left whilst throttling down and yawing right. The Phantom's have poor centre of gravity especially with the narrow landing skids and any input will cause it to flip.

Best method is to let it land by holding down the left stick until motors automagically shut off. You need to remember the CSC is for emergency shut off.

If you grow some tocklies, try hand catching. Read and watch examples on youtube before attempting.

 

[M1shootr]

Seems to me, being a new pilot, that most of these anomalies belong to two classes. One being newbs. The second being those who flaunt the limits. Hopefully this will not come back and bite me in the ***.

 

[Scotts]

Thanks Mako,

OK, soooo, now... any suggestions?

 

[msinger]

This is the only message I see in your log above:
"Max Flight Altitude Reached. Adjust in Main Controller Settings if necessary"

When you restart your Phantom, it starts a new flight log. If you upload your other logs, you might be able to track down the "rotors too tight" error.

As for your tip over, I see you've already solved that one. Never do a CSC on the ground to shut off your motors. Save it for mid-flight emergencies only -- and, to start up your motors (if you're not using the auto takeoff feature).

Do the motors feel smooth when you turn them? Have you tried to start the motors again (with the props off)? Do they make any unusual sounds?

 

[mmtphoto]

This is why I think it is almost mandatory that NEW P3 owners
Should buy a small flyer like a Hubsan X4 so you learn what to do without losing $100.s of dollars at once.

 

[Digdat0]

I would first hand spin the motors without props .. see if they all spin equally and smoothly. If not, you got a problem. Luckily, replacement motors are cheap and easy. Then, put in battery, load up DJI go and check that everything is okay, no errors reported. Then, again WITHOUT the props on, startup the motors and see how they sound. If one is bad, it should be apparent .. I'm assuming you know which one was smoking, so you can watch out for that one in specific. If all checks out okay, take a short flight and make sure everything works fine.

Learn from it ... we all screw up man, don't kick yourself too hard, cause its gonna happen again. Maybe not this, but something. I was at the coast the other day, I flipped the phantom trying to take off cause of the wind. I didnt decide to stop and go home, i came to fly .. I changed my style. Learned that i need to go hard on the takeoff, and fly straight into the wind with good power to get it up and prevent that. Worked perfectly after that Here's a video of that flip. Stuff happens.

 

[msinger]

Unfortunately, a Hubsan is nothing like a Phantom. Sure, it'll help you understand how a quadcopter flies. But, it won't teach you all of the complexities of flying a Phantom (e.g. don't do a CSC after landing).