First Time Out with New Vision+, Crashed

[PhilAnderson]

First of all, I am humbled. You guys are good, very good. I've watched so many videos and you all made it look easy. It's not. Part of the problem was I couldn't see a thing on my Samsung Galaxy S4 due to glare. Gotta do something about that. Has anyone applied a non-glare screen protector? I found a nice one on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Tech-Armor-Anti-G ... B00BT7RCEK but some folks complain that high def pics and videos don't look good. Not too worried about that if everything is still clearly viewable. So, anyway, I couldn't see the screen to adjust the camera so it's pointing too low throughout this short video, well, at least the flying part.

I take off, head down the field maybe 30 feet off the ground, decide to do a left-roll, if that's what you call it, misjudged the distance required and promptly landed in a tree! A young man walking his dog saw my plight, went home and got a ladder and climbed the tree, handing me my now three-rotor aircraft. Well, 3 1/2 rotor, anyway. This was very kind of him and I'm extremely grateful. His name is Todd and while he was up there another man named Todd came over to help. I'm sure next time they see me in the field they will head the other direction.

So, the whole time I'm waiting for the first Todd to come back with the ladder, my + is spinning it's rotors, apparently against some branches. I couldn't figure out how to shut it down while up a tree. I finally flipped both switches to their lowest position and lowered the left stick and that did it. I was worried it might have burned out the motor(s). But, once back in my hands, new rotor in place, all was right with the world.

I learned a lot in this one lesson. I then flew much better for three more short flights before returning home, my pride in my back pocket... When Colin or someone tells you, as a new pilot, easy on the sticks, believe it.

I edited this in Windows Live Movie Maker and there are some compression artifacts but here's the embarassing video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GNWLdK ... e=youtu.be

 

[jimdenburg]

Left stick back all the way and hold it down for a few seconds will stop the motors. I wouldn't mess with the switches right now, just be sure they are in the top positions (furthest away from you). I was anxious to see how the new gimbal would fare in a crash! Would love to see some post-crash video with the camera tilted up I've got the "old" (5 months?) Vision and was thinking about upgrading, but I see yours hits trees just like mine does.

Not that I'm by any means an expert, but if you're new at flying, you might want to concentrate less on the app/fpv experience, and more on just controlling the craft by line of sight. I damaged my repeater attempting a modification a while back, so I was without wifi and it was actually a good flying experience without the app. Happy Flying!

 

[pault]

Sorry to read about (and see) your crash.
That was some fast flying immediately after take off on your maiden flight . I know it is after the event but as general advice even when you are very experienced it is a good idea to just go into a stable hover at 10 or 20 feet or so for a moment or two on each flight just to check everything is working as it should be.

Happy flying and enjoy your V+

 

[Nidge]

I want to echo Jim's comments above about concentrating on the flying aspect.

I bought my Phantom V1 last October. At the time of purchase I included a Gopro and Fatshark FPV goggles and transmitter.
When the kit arrived it was my natural instinct, as a noob, to attempt to use everything. I had seen many videos on YouTube and thought " How hard could it be ". Very quickly I learned that my flying skills were somewhat lacking, I never crashed but I always felt I was on the verge of losing control as I was attempting a lot of new things all at once. So I removed the camera and video transmitter and just concentrated on the flying aspect paying particular attention to flying the craft towards me as all inputs would be reversed.

Now when I fly my Phantom I no longer feel like a virgin on the verge and my flying style is very much smoother.

I think we can all admit that this stuff is very exciting and many who started out, like myself, with all the gear and no idea were only heading for disaster because we wanted to do all this new stuff all at once.

Really glad that your new Phantom survived its encounter with a tree virtually unscathed.

Regards

Nidge

 

[BlackTracer]

Left stick back all the way and hold it down for a few seconds will stop the motors.

First, so sorry about your mishap. Just to clarify, the left stick back all the way and hold I believe stops the motors only if the bird cannot descend any further (i.e. is on the ground or lodged in a tree). So left stick back all the way and hold will not stop the motors in flight.
However, it is my understanding that a CSC move will stop the motors no matter where it is. Some have said this but I don't believe it nor do I dare deliberately test it. Can someone verify this is true or false? Seems to me that a CSC should have the same requirement as a stick back and hold while in flight; stop motors only if the bird is in the slow prop mode like when you have just landed. Or start the props only if they are stopped.

My first flight I followed the directions in the training manual. Call me a wuss if you wish, but I was am still am paranoid about wrecking my expensive and cherished investment. Had my daughter next to me reading the steps to me. In a very large field. 100' + clearance on all sides of me. Then after I completed the training procedures. I did some of them again. Then I slowly rang it out further and further, faster and faster. Until I am where I am now, which is comfortable with losing sight of it and flying well above RTH obstacles, and I constantly use home lock to bring her back.

 

[Jezabel]

PhilAnderson, the 3M anti-glare film worked VERY well on my iPhone when I had my P2V. There are several others out there that do not necessarily say "anti glare" so be sure to look for that when you purchase. I have used the 3M on other computing surfaces as well and it is very good in cutting glare but not altering the image (very much).

Sorry about your crash and hope you can pick up and work through some of the basic maneuvers as you get more comfortable with the Phantom.

 

[akonisiya]

wow this is so disheartening to hear after spending usd$1300.

so anyone can teach us HOW TO STOP SPINNING ROTOR when it crashed ?

 

[Dirty Bird]

so anyone can teach me HOW TO STOP SPINNING ROTOR when it crashed ?

Just hold the left stick down for a few seconds and the props will stop.

 

[Dirty Bird]

Fortunately it seems to have been a relatively minor mishap. Far better to get caught in a tree than to smash into the pavement! Might I suggest that, if you are new to flying RC, fly at first by watching the aircraft. Don't get wrapped up in the FPV view. Try to fly in as big an open area as you can find, and practice the "flight training" maneuvers mentioned in the manual until you gain confidence and get a feel for how the Phantom responds to your stick inputs. If you find yourself in a bind or become disoriented, the best thing to do is DON'T PANIC and just RELEASE THE STICKS! The Phantom will settle and hover while you get your bearings.

Some people have difficulty flying RC because they have a hard time transposing the direction of flight to the stick inputs. Sort of like some people have trouble reading a map unless they rotate the map so their direction of travel is always up. I have a friend who flies real planes, but whatever you do don't give that boy the controls to your aircraft because she is going down! :shock: Once you become comfortable flying in Vision mode, you can enable the NAZA mode which will open up some options that help those who have spatial orientation issues, like selectable Course Lock/Home Lock, and a Return to Home command.

As to your glare issue, in bright sun I would suggest a phone "hood" as opposed to a screen protector. You can make a down & dirty hood in less than a minute with some heavy black construction paper, tape, and scissors. Or you could buy something ready made like the Glare Stomper found here: http://www.glarestomper.com/. I'm sure there are other similar items available elsewhere.

 

[dabe1971]

so anyone can teach me HOW TO STOP SPINNING ROTOR when it crashed ?

Just hold the left stick down for a few seconds and the props will stop.

....as it says on page 39 of the manual. You have read the manual after spending $1300 haven't you ?

 

[PhilAnderson]

so anyone can teach me HOW TO STOP SPINNING ROTOR when it crashed ?

Just hold the left stick down for a few seconds and the props will stop.

....as it says on page 39 of the manual. You have read the manual after spending $1300 haven't you ?

Thanks all for your sympathy! I promise you, all of you, I held the left stick down. That was the first thing I did. It did NOT stop the motors. I know after you land, left stick down stops the motors, but up a tree, not so much.

I feel like I need the FPV not so much for the camera view but for the ability to adjust the camera. All of my videos are really boring because the camera is pointed down the whole time. On my last flight of the day, I did take it up pretty high, trying to get a shot of Lake Tapps, and that worked, but if I could adjust the camera it would have been sooo much better.

I'm not giving up, looking forward to next time out. I did have fun after the tree incident and will in the future.

 

[Dirty Bird]

The other way to stop the motors is to perform a CSC...the way you start them up. The CSC is immediate...DO NOT DO IT WHEN AIRBORNE! As to adjusting the camera, one of the best features of the Phantom is you can just release the sticks and it will hover in place (in GPS mode). Release the sticks and then you are free to adjust the camera tilt. Also, I assume you know from the App you can enable tilt mode, where the camera will respond to your tilting your phone. Lastly, you can order the 7th channel switch, spend a few minutes installing it to the controller & calibrating, and then you will have a hardware tilt control you can simply control with your finger. Don't be dismayed. Just take your time, learn the basics of controlling the Phantom, and in time it will become instinctive.

 

[a_fan]

First of all, I am humbled. You guys are good, very good. I've watched so many videos and you all made it look easy. It's not. Part of the problem was I couldn't see a thing on my Samsung Galaxy S4 due to glare. Gotta do something about that. Has anyone applied a non-glare screen protector? I found a nice one on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Tech-Armor-Anti-G ... B00BT7RCEK but some folks complain that high def pics and videos don't look good. Not too worried about that if everything is still clearly viewable. So, anyway, I couldn't see the screen to adjust the camera so it's pointing too low throughout this short video, well, at least the flying part.

I take off, head down the field maybe 30 feet off the ground, decide to do a left-roll, if that's what you call it, misjudged the distance required and promptly landed in a tree! A young man walking his dog saw my plight, went home and got a ladder and climbed the tree, handing me my now three-rotor aircraft. Well, 3 1/2 rotor, anyway. This was very kind of him and I'm extremely grateful. His name is Todd and while he was up there another man named Todd came over to help. I'm sure next time they see me in the field they will head the other direction.

So, the whole time I'm waiting for the first Todd to come back with the ladder, my + is spinning it's rotors, apparently against some branches. I couldn't figure out how to shut it down while up a tree. I finally flipped both switches to their lowest position and lowered the left stick and that did it. I was worried it might have burned out the motor(s). But, once back in my hands, new rotor in place, all was right with the world.

I learned a lot in this one lesson. I then flew much better for three more short flights before returning home, my pride in my back pocket... When Colin or someone tells you, as a new pilot, easy on the sticks, believe it.

I edited this in Windows Live Movie Maker and there are some compression artifacts but here's the embarassing video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GNWLdK ... e=youtu.be

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PRICELESS!

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Q:
How many Todds does it take to get a Phantom out of a tree?

A:
Two - AFTER PHIL WRECKS IT!!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[PhilAnderson]

No, Mav, the gimble is fine as is everything else. I flew 3 short flights after the tree thing and all worked as it should. Just broke one rotor, otherwise not a scratch.

 

[Madwak]

I tried a matte screen protector on my iPad mini retina and it completely stops all reflections of yourself in the screen but obviously won't stop direct sunlight causing a problem but does give you some extra visibility due to the lack of you're reflection. Took mine off as it dulls the image when using the iPad for non flying activities which kinda defeats the purpose of buying a retina screen in the first place. Theres one on amazon that only costs 96 cents and free shipping so why try one and see if it helps.

 

[PhilAnderson]

I posted another video of my tree landing, this time from my wife's point of view. I forgot she was making a video at the same time. The first 30 seconds is my entire first flight of my life, the rest of the video is after I was able to get the camera pointed out instead of down. This is Lake Tapps and in the distance you can see Mr. Rainier behind the clouds. The video ended with me making a perfect landing on my Phantom case, but it included my wife and I and she didn't want to be in the frame so I edited that part out. I know, still not a great video but there were some questions about how the Phantom survived the tree landing and whether or not the gimble was affected. It wasn't.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tYk414 ... e=youtu.be

 

[Drone-Outlaw]

I'm impressed by how well the 3D gimble worked as it was being taken down have a tree! Looking forward to mine coming this Wed's....
Moose

 

[Geoffdb]

Just crashed the plus from about 60' up, hit some prop wash and bounced the thing off of the grass (luckily), flipping it upside down.
Survived intact...this time...

J

 

[buford]

Interesting mods on this bird, the two sticks wire tied onto the longer landing gear, with a go pro strapped onto them. And the headlight, bet that helps you see the random tree during the daylight hours. But, it's probably useful at night when flying 2" of the deck. I'm assuming you are better at kite boarding than drone flying?

 

[Ian Holmes]

Tip. If you're not sure what to do when flying just take your hands off the controls and think it through, especially if you are in GPS mode.