Any flyaways since the 4.02 firmware?

[TheMattSanner]

Like many new Phantom owners, I get nervous when I read about flyaways.

As I see videos on YouTube of flyaways, it seems like the craft stops responding to the transmitter. I know the 4.02 is supposed to "fix" this by examining the signal to see if it changes (like it would if being operated by a human) vs. a constant as if it was receiving interference.

Are all the "flyaway" stories still old-school, or is it still happening post-4.02?

 

[Corben]

Happened to me. Not sure if it was just because it was cold but the imu warmup indicator wasn't on… Gotta get a new zenmuse because of it.

 

[DeweyAXD]

Yep... happened to me on my F450 with T8J but I am 95% sure it was my fault. I was forced to to do a compass calibration next to large metal shed 500 yards from hight tension cables. All because i forgot to fold my GPS antenna up when I powered on (which then caused a compass calbration warning light when I re-powered it in the right position).

I believe that doing the compass dance in that location got it confused due to magnetic interference in the area. It flew fine loads of times before in that location but that of course was with a full calibrated compass.

It displayed similar signs to others I've seen in vids... flying sloppy, eratic movement and eventually powering itself full speed (in my case pitching down into a nice soft field).

Full details can be seen here at the link but the video is here:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost ... stcount=14

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwDwnOzI4sE[/youtube]

Don't get me wrong I think 4.02 is a MASSIVE improvement from the 3.16 to the (dier) 4.00.

As always on this subject you can never actually be 100% certain it won't happen to you. There are simply too many factors involved (most of which you can't even see!). Personally I think upgrading your TX goes a long way to lowering the risk (especially if you are not on an FHSS v1.1.1 Phantom with two antenna).

 

[Gizmo3000]

Flyaways are very rare, but when they do occur, they're sometimes attributed to user-error, (unfamiliarity with controls, not following proper setup/startup procedure), environmental issues (GPS blockage/magnetic interference), and occasionally a damaged unit itself.
DJI has made recent changes to help alleviate problems, by adding limits to the NAZA and adding additional antenna's to provide better reception.

But while there have indeed been legit instances of flyaways, there are thousands of others out there who've never experienced such an occurrence, so if you play it safe , learn everything you can and fly safely (as well as write your name down on your craft), its' not something you need to stress over.

 

[Ton4]

If there is GPS blockage or magnetic interference it should not result in a crash. (like this). There may be circumstances where conflicting parameters result in a naza software crash and therefore in an aircraft crash. IMHO this looks like a software error.

The nav algorithm gets a stack overflow or something. My guess is that if DJI would adjust the software to detect these kind of circumstances and go into a hover instead of calculating itself "to death" these type of disastrous fly aways are over.

Sent from my SM-T311 using Tapatalk

 

[MILLER4PRESIDENT2020]

when did 4.02 come out?

 

[DeweyAXD]

when did 4.02 come out?

25th October 2013

Reaction time is important on flyaways - i know that if i had flipped to Atti or Manual mode i'd of been able to know for sure if it was the compass... But when u are in that moment it is soooo easy to forget such things.

 

[vanatic99]

Unfortunately, I experienced a flyaway last Sunday. Even more unfortunately, my Phantom (new version with two antennas) didn't just crash, it just flew off into the sunset and disappeared along with my GoPro attached and what I believe was probably some really good footage of geese flying very close-up.
I'm guessing it was approximately 250 feet straight above me when it stopped responding and it was probably about a mile away when it finally vanished from sight.
It was my 5th flight of the day and I checked all the programming that morning. Fail Safe was enabled, it was calibrated, Home Lock was on and it was communicating with more than 6 satellites. I really don't understand why it didn't just return to it's takeoff point, like it's supposed to, but it didn't.
At least I had it labeled with my contact information, so there is a slight chance that someone might find it and return it, but I'm not going to hold my breath.
At this point, I don't know if I'll be buying another one or not.

 

[Ton4]

Sorry to hear that vanatic. You flew in IOC home lock mode (which probably switched off if it was right above you) ? What steps did you take to regain control?

Sent from my SM-T311 using Tapatalk

 

[vanatic99]

I first turned off the controller and turned it back on, which did nothing, then as it got further and further away and panic began to set in, I toggled IOC between HL. CL and Off, which did nothing then I toggled between GPS and ATTI. After that I went into HOPE mode and waited a few minutes for it to return. Then I went into SEARCH mode and got in the car to go look for it. When it finally got dark, I gave up and went into DEPRESSED mode, which I am still trying to recover from, so far, the medications are not working!

 

[MILLER4PRESIDENT2020]

im sorry, condolences. I wish there was at least some concrete explanation for these randoms.