I am really, really bummed out! Not more than two hours ago I was into the 4th battery of the morning on my #2 Phantom at a hiking trail parking lot that I have flown at countless times with my #1 Phantom. (I have approximately 60 flights on #1 with no issues whatsoever). OK, 10 days ago I took delivery of Phantom #2. Both Phantoms are v1.1.1 and both running firmware 4.0. I had no more than 7 flights on this new Phantom and had just attached my old trusty GoPro Hero for the first time before lifting off with battery pack #4. Conditions this morning were sunny skies, no wind and 32 degrees outside. I always do the compass dance prior to a flying session and had just recently rerun an IMU and Tx calibration, everything was within software specifications. I even did a successful "failsafe" and HL test during the 1st flight of the day.
OK, so I liftoff in GPS ATTI mode (slow blinking green, all is a 'go') and recall a fleeting moment of motors not sounding in sync.. But I soon disregarded that as being just paranoid old me and proceeded to set her into a hover at about the 10 foot level. I also recall that particular GPS hover not being all that steady with a slightly greater than normal drift, but nothing in the way of setting off any alarms in my brain. So anyway, I slowly throttle up and when she was maybe 75 to 100 feet in front of me and at an estimated altitude of 350 to 400 feet, I stop and start a 360 yaw for a video shoot. I pan left and when I started to pan right the Phantom all of a sudden started accelerating, flying away and in front of me. When it was almost out of sight, I hit HL and could hear the Phantom motors reacting and I thought I had regained control. But, to my horror, the unit passed over my head at an altitude of at least 300 feet (I had since switched IOC to "off") and continued on that course behind me towards a sparsely populated rural area. While I could still hear her, I hit "failsafe" and waited, but she was gone, soon to be out of hearing and sight range. I was left standing there in total silence and disbelief, a more devastating and lost feeling I don't think I have ever experienced in my 69 years! I have my home phone and address attached to the belly of the Phantom, but even if someone finds it in one piece (which I doubt) my confidence in flying this unit would be zero and the only thing I would want to salvage would be the GoPro, although that is more than likely trashed, as well. It might be out in the sagebrush somewhere where a hiker might find it or it might have crashed into someone's yard or roof. The battery only had about 2 to 3 minutes on it, so it could be just about anywhere in Nevada!
Well, sorry for the long post guys, but I guess you can add me to the list of unexplainable Phantom "flyaways".
Be careful and be mindful of any little changes in flight behavior, if that is possible or even applicable (in my case?). I would hate this happening in the future to anyone else in our tight knit family of Phantom owners!
Jim
OK, so I liftoff in GPS ATTI mode (slow blinking green, all is a 'go') and recall a fleeting moment of motors not sounding in sync.. But I soon disregarded that as being just paranoid old me and proceeded to set her into a hover at about the 10 foot level. I also recall that particular GPS hover not being all that steady with a slightly greater than normal drift, but nothing in the way of setting off any alarms in my brain. So anyway, I slowly throttle up and when she was maybe 75 to 100 feet in front of me and at an estimated altitude of 350 to 400 feet, I stop and start a 360 yaw for a video shoot. I pan left and when I started to pan right the Phantom all of a sudden started accelerating, flying away and in front of me. When it was almost out of sight, I hit HL and could hear the Phantom motors reacting and I thought I had regained control. But, to my horror, the unit passed over my head at an altitude of at least 300 feet (I had since switched IOC to "off") and continued on that course behind me towards a sparsely populated rural area. While I could still hear her, I hit "failsafe" and waited, but she was gone, soon to be out of hearing and sight range. I was left standing there in total silence and disbelief, a more devastating and lost feeling I don't think I have ever experienced in my 69 years! I have my home phone and address attached to the belly of the Phantom, but even if someone finds it in one piece (which I doubt) my confidence in flying this unit would be zero and the only thing I would want to salvage would be the GoPro, although that is more than likely trashed, as well. It might be out in the sagebrush somewhere where a hiker might find it or it might have crashed into someone's yard or roof. The battery only had about 2 to 3 minutes on it, so it could be just about anywhere in Nevada!
Well, sorry for the long post guys, but I guess you can add me to the list of unexplainable Phantom "flyaways".
Be careful and be mindful of any little changes in flight behavior, if that is possible or even applicable (in my case?). I would hate this happening in the future to anyone else in our tight knit family of Phantom owners!
Jim