FLY AWAY!!

[Marcus126]

just got my phontom 4 around Christmas. Upgraded from p3p. I took it to Tennessee and attempted to get some footage of a small waterfall between two mountains. I put the drone into Atti mode so the gps wouldn't kick in and ruin my day and vacation. Somehow the drone decided to fly away the second I took off staying around 4 foot from the ground. It ultimately crashed about 60ft from where it took off, breaking the prop and scratching the case pretty bad. It crashed only 3 inches from the edge of the cliff that was directly over the waterfall so I really lucked out but my question is 1. Why did this happen. Was it the mountains causing problems? And 2. How can I prevent this in the future? Thanks. Also I'm not a new pilot so this wasn't just an error on my part.


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[chadrob30]

Did you run all calibrations, including IMU on a flat, level surface?

 

[F3honda4me]

Can you please upload the TXT file from your device to here and provide the link: https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/upload/

Can you also hook the craft up to your computer and get the DAT file using Assistant 2? Then upload the DAT to dropbox and provide the link here. Here is the how to for that:
How to retrieve a .DAT

Without both of these, we can only guess as to possible causes.

 

[kirk2579]

just got my phontom 4 around Christmas. Upgraded from p3p. I took it to Tennessee and attempted to get some footage of a small waterfall between two mountains. I put the drone into Atti mode so the gps wouldn't kick in and ruin my day and vacation. Somehow the drone decided to fly away the second I took off staying around 4 foot from the ground. It ultimately crashed about 60ft from where it took off, breaking the prop and scratching the case pretty bad. It crashed only 3 inches from the edge of the cliff that was directly over the waterfall so I really lucked out but my question is 1. Why did this happen. Was it the mountains causing problems? And 2. How can I prevent this in the future? Thanks. Also I'm not a new pilot so this wasn't just an error on my part.


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without GPS once airborne the phantom will follow the wind unless controlled otherwise.
Unsure the reasoning to not use GPS to hold stable rather than ATTI

Good luck and have fun flying!

 

[Surfshop]

Atti mode is essentially manual mode, its going to fly where the wind takes it, unless u manually stabilize it. GPS mode would have kept it in one spot

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[AlecW]

I'm still learning and try to fly atti for a few mins every time I get the bird out. It's really a big difference laterally even when you think it's not really windy. I have my finger ready to flip back to P mode in an instant.

 

[cstout]

I put the drone into Atti mode so the gps wouldn't kick in and ruin my day and vacation.

I feel like your understanding of GPS and Atti mode might be reversed. Having GPS on would have kept it in place...unless this waterfall was in a cave. It sounds like your P4 drifted with the wind.

 

[RW-1]

I believe we're missing information here.

I'll give the OP the benefit of the doubt - he came from another phantom, however the OP plainly didn't fly his aircraft as it went with the wind. Why not?

That leads me back to what others surmised, no atti experience.

Plus ...GPS turned off so it wouldn't "ruin" his day?

Was it not allowing a takeoff based upon location? Hmm ...

 

[Fancher9-76]

When in atti mode, you are in control of P4. updraft, Down draft, crosswind, gusting wind , Propeller wash, turbulence, etc. you must compensate for manually with stick movement. You can't just switch to atti mode without steering P4 around.

 

[Suhail78]

just got my phontom 4 around Christmas. Upgraded from p3p. I took it to Tennessee and attempted to get some footage of a small waterfall between two mountains. I put the drone into Atti mode so the gps wouldn't kick in and ruin my day and vacation. Somehow the drone decided to fly away the second I took off staying around 4 foot from the ground. It ultimately crashed about 60ft from where it took off, breaking the prop and scratching the case pretty bad. It crashed only 3 inches from the edge of the cliff that was directly over the waterfall so I really lucked out but my question is 1. Why did this happen. Was it the mountains causing problems? And 2. How can I prevent this in the future? Thanks. Also I'm not a new pilot so this wasn't just an error on my part.


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I've had my P4 for about 6 months now, and based on my experience, i think the error is on your part.

Why would you suggest that ATTI mode would be better than P-Mode (GPS)???

With ATTI mode, the craft does not maintain is location and hover in place, it drifts with the wind, and requires the pilot to manually compensate for this.

Can you tell us why you think GPS mode would have ruined your day and vacation?

 

[Travels with Yoly]

If the vision positioning sensors were turned off, would this give the craft less chance of locating itself relative to the home point ? This same scenario happened to me with my P3A, only at the base of a waterfall. For some reason I wasn't getting any Sats to register in this remote mountain location (maybe just a couple intermittently ). Having flown a couple dozen issue free flights I made a decision to try and fly anyway (still in GPS mode). I did a compass calibration though. As soon as the quad lifted off it started traveling sideways ... there was not even the slightest breeze. I pulled the R/S stick to the left but the quad did not respond. I was afraid to give it altitude because of the surrounding trees (already learned that lesson). The only thing I could think of was to try and land the quad as quickly as possible and you can see the results in the video below at the 3 minute mark. .....

Believe it or not, there's more to the story ! Having tried to analyse what had happened I went over everything in my head and had to assume that I had done something wrong or not done something I should have. I put on a new set of props and took off again from the same spot only this time with a well rehearsed plan of action on my part .... fly the thing left if it's going right. Darn if the exact same thing didn't happen all over again. Inch for inch, the quad took off to the right (you can see the orientation) and I steered left. Once again, the result was a perfect repeat of what's in the video.

The reason I asked the question at the beginning was because I had VPS turned off. Everything else was calibrated perfectly. The craft flew perfectly before and after this event just as it was (and for the following 9 months). I can't believe that all this experience cost me was 4 broken props total.

 

[F3honda4me]

I believe we're missing information here.

I'll give the OP the benefit of the doubt - he came from another phantom, however the OP plainly didn't fly his aircraft as it went with the wind. Why not?

That leads me back to what others surmised, no atti experience.

Plus ...GPS turned off so it wouldn't "ruin" his day?

Was it not allowing a takeoff based upon location? Hmm ...

Turning on ATTI won't allow you to bypass a no fly zone. It doesn't disable GPS entirely.


As to the cause until the OP can get us the DAT file and uploads the flight log to phantomhelp, there really isn't much more we can do or say. It's all just guesswork.

 

[Marcus126]

Will get the dat files up tomorrow. There was no wind and the aircraft flew around 15-20 mphto the east as soon as it lifted off the ground even with the stick all the way in the opposite direction it just kept going like the energizer bunny!! LolLots of atti exp indoors. Never really flew atti outdoors so it might very well be just limited atti exp outdoors.


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[mikeinohio]

Maybe a dumb question, but you mentioned you had the stick "all the way in the opposite direction". Is it possible that the drone was facing the opposite direction of normal and you were actually inadvertently driving it in the direction it was going?

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[Pharm]

Will get the dat files up tomorrow. There was no wind and the aircraft flew around 15-20 mphto the east as soon as it lifted off the ground even with the stick all the way in the opposite direction it just kept going like the energizer bunny!! LolLots of atti exp indoors. Never really flew atti outdoors so it might very well be just limited atti exp outdoors.


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You still haven't answered why you thought ATTI mode was better than GPS mode and why you think using GPS mode would have ruined your vacation.

In addition, windy or not, there is ALWAYS turbulence and air movement near/around a waterfall.

If you really are here looking for help, you need to answer the questions you're asked by those trying to help you. Otherwise it's a waste of everybody's time (including yours).

 

[Marcus126]

I didn't want to be next to the cliff side and GPS kick in and pull into the side of the mountain. Isn't that what atti is for?


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[syotr]

I can understand the OP's choice to fly in ATTI mode instead of GPS. If you are in a valley surrounded by mountains or cliff walls, you may not have enough satellites to trust the GPS positioning Even if you have enough to take off, you may lose them in flight as you move closer to the waterfall, causing a crash. If you are experienced in flying in ATTI mode and there is little wind, it can be the best choice.

 

[Marcus126]

I'm not new to drones and I have my private pilots license I was just wondering if the mountains could have caused some kind of malfunction. I didn't mean to waste anyone's time...


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[Marcus126]

And pharm you aren't a very helpful person and you certainly haven't made me feel very welcome in the community.


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[Pharm]

And pharm you aren't a very helpful person and you certainly haven't made me feel very welcome in the community.


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Actually I try to be very helpful. I just get cranky sometimes when someone posts for help and they keep getting asked the same question and they post again but never answer the questions. Forgive me. I don't want you to feel unwelcome. I'm just a cranky old geezer sometimes. Carry on.