First crash and was a total loss

[xspwhite]

How many flights did you have on the drone when this happened?

 

[Himark]

just maybe...20!

 

[xspwhite]

And this was your first compass error?

 

[Himark]

And this was your first compass error?

Yes sir.

 

[xspwhite]

I wonder could have caused it. Did you get home point recorded message on take off?

 

[xspwhite]

Well I Guess that's all beside the point. We can't pickup milk, and put it back in the glass.

Get a new shell and a sodering iron, and start rebuilding. Start searching the bone yards. Hopefully you can find a doner quad.

 

[Just_nick]

Your first mistake was flying BLVOS, not compass calibration. This is precisely why they say to fly VLOS, so that you can control your craft. People get so fixed on the idea that you can fly with the camera footage that they fail to realize that a camera-out situation means no way to control the craft, and a compass error would render the RTH useless.

 

[xspwhite]

Your first mistake was flying BLVOS, not compass calibration. This is precisely why they say to fly VLOS, so that you can control your craft. People get so fixed on the idea that you can fly with the camera footage that they fail to realize that a camera-out situation means no way to control the craft, and a compass error would render the RTH useless.

Well I'm sure he's learned a lesson. Not to mention paying a hefty price, but now he has to pickup the pieces, move on, and start rebuilding.

Like I said, you can't put the milk back in the glass.

 

[WV. Rootman]

Your first mistake was flying BLVOS, not compass calibration. This is precisely why they say to fly VLOS, so that you can control your craft. People get so fixed on the idea that you can fly with the camera footage that they fail to realize that a camera-out situation means no way to control the craft, and a compass error would render the RTH useless.

No, the first was the compass calibration! I always check to make sure the compass is good to go. If the calibration is off, I find out why. Many posts have been made on this subject with in sight. The drone still went spinning and crashed. One went into the ocean taking off from a concrete pier. I learned the hard way on my first phantom. There was no controlling it. First I do preflight check, then let it hover and make sure all is right.
I learned on my P3 and as an old fart, I crashed a lot. Between DJI firmware update and my slower reflexes I crashed 3 times in the water and 6 times on land all within site. My P3 still flies, but doesn’t look pretty. I fly a P4 now with over 70 flights, with no incidents.

 

[solentlife]

"Other question is it worth trying to find another "drone only" or just buy another set up?"

Repair this one. New body shell, few new parts of gimbal, new OMFD board cover.

To be honest - given the extent of damage - you have no idea of his real needs ...

He could be spending money on parts that like many others who try to repair themselves - especially those not au fait with these machines end up still not in flyable condition.

Personally - there are plenty of second hand ones out there giving a machine that flys.

Back to OP : "when screen went black and into ATTI mode. My screen went black and it continued to say atti mode." ..... mmmmmm that sounds like link was still there between controller and AC as it would need link to tell you ATTI. The blank or black screen is loss of video feed ... can be loss from AC back to ground - or the display itself. Most likely AC to ground.

"screaming towards ground about 150 yards away from me was first sight of it. I tried to quickly recover but it happend in a split second." ...... mmmmmm strange .... why would it scream into the ground ? Sounds like no-one on sticks and with ATTI - the AC just went down.

The question is why ATTI ... why no screen video ?

I would suggest that Log file MAY in fact have clues because of the ATTI feed back to display.

As to the VLOS comments : Not really helpful at all ... especially as the guy was NOT at great distance ... I would also say that it is likely that more people fly out of VLOS than those who don't. They just keep quiet about it.
Further - comments such as VLOS that you can also determine orientation visually - means really close !! I fly many different types of models and the Phantom is one of the hardest in VLOS to determine which way it is ... unless you are moving it in a direction.
I will now don my Flak Jacket !!

Nigel

 

[solentlife]

@Himark Just to give you a heads up on one thing. I am taking a guess that this data will not show us anything. I say this because you mentioned the fact that your screen went black, which I can only assume means you lost FPV, which in turn means you also lost data transmission. It is still worth a look though, there could be pre data loss factors that may be present. That is your call.

I do not agree. His display as he said showed ATTI mode ... that means info was coming back to his controller / display. It is possible he lost video feed back to ground and something on the AC to cause ATTI.

Nigel

 

[solentlife]

This depends on which AC you are flying. Some are dual band, some single band.

His is a Lightbridge machine ... Adv or Pro ... you can see the VPS unit cover hanging loose.

Nigel

 

[Fly Dawg]

His is a Lightbridge machine ... Adv or Pro ... you can see the VPS unit cover hanging loose.

I had already "Assumed" that, due to posting in the ADV/PRO area. I just did not elaborate on which was which. This entire thread is really a mute point until there is some data to reference. Just IMO.

 

[solentlife]

I had already "Assumed" that, due to posting in the ADV/PRO area. I just did not elaborate on which was which. This entire thread is really a mute point until there is some data to reference. Just IMO.

I have to admit that without seeing the photo - as many people seem to post in wrong sections - point taken.

Nigel

 

[Meta4]

And this was your first compass error?

I wonder could have caused it. Did you get home point recorded message on take off?

So far there's nothing to say that there was any compass error but compass errors don't make Phantoms fall from the sky anyway.
Unless he was flying in a canyon, under a metal roof or had the GPS disconnected, the home point would have been recorded.
But again the home point doesn't have anything to do with the incident as described.

 

[xspwhite]

So far there's nothing to say that there was any compass error but compass errors don't make Phantoms fall from the sky anyway.
Unless he was flying in a canyon, under a metal roof or had the GPS disconnected, the home point would have been recorded.
But again the home point doesn't have anything to do with the incident as described.

Well, I'm thinking that if he didn't have a good IMU calibration, then the craft would have been almost impossible to control in ATTI mode.

 

[Meta4]

Well, I'm thinking that if he didn't have a good IMU calibration, then the craft would have been almost impossible to control in ATTI mode.

At this point, the described incident is vague and lacking enough detail to make any determination as to what happened or why.
There's no reason to guess that there was anything wrong with the IMU calibration and how and when the aircraft entered atti mode is unexplained.
Making guesses without the data or even a good description of the incident is usually going to be a waste of effort.
When/if the OP ever comes back with the flight data we'll be able to start putting the puzzle pieces together.
But now we don't even have the pieces.

 

[xspwhite]

I saw him in the classifieds trying to buy a new drone. So I guess he's moved on.

 

[Sixgun89]

Total loss is up to you! You may rebuild it!

 

[solentlife]

At this point, the described incident is vague and lacking enough detail to make any determination as to what happened or why.
There's no reason to guess that there was anything wrong with the IMU calibration and how and when the aircraft entered atti mode is unexplained.
Making guesses without the data or even a good description of the incident is usually going to be a waste of effort.
When/if the OP ever comes back with the flight data we'll be able to start putting the puzzle pieces together.
But now we don't even have the pieces.

Exactly ..... and is why I questioned the info we had in first post ... and some wrongly decided was enough to start posting reasons for the crash !!

Nigel