Hi. I’m a newbie from Nottingham, UK.

Joined
Jul 17, 2019
Messages
16
Reaction score
12
Age
53
Hi. I just started out and purchased a DJI Phantom 3 Pro and am learning how to fly using the DJI Go app. I anticipate issues in the future as I’m 48 and a bit dense, so if I request advice from you experts, I’ll very much appreciate some guidance. Many thanks and look forward to learning. I’m also a professional helicopter engineer, but my knowledge is useless regarding these machines. Cheers!
 
Welcome to the forum! I'm more than a bit dense and I've been flying(and crashing) my P3S for a while now. The experts here will help in any way they can! As @dirkclod would say, do a search for what you need. If you don't find what you're looking for, start asking questions! Someone will help, I promise, and it probably won't be me. I'm more for comedic value than anything, and pretty poor at that!

Brad
 
Hi. I just started out and purchased a DJI Phantom 3 Pro and am learning how to fly using the DJI Go app. I anticipate issues in the future as I’m 48 and a bit dense, so if I request advice from you experts, I’ll very much appreciate some guidance. Many thanks and look forward to learning. I’m also a professional helicopter engineer, but my knowledge is useless regarding these machines. Cheers!
Welcome to the forum!

If you are interested, click here for some tips that I often share with new P3A/P3P owners.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Shoot4fun
Hello
With out wanting to seem hasty can I suggest two 'lessons' that are best looked at before you even get off the ground.
1) Stopping the motors when the drone is still, which normally means upright, on the ground and sitting on its landing gear. To do this, move to fully down, its '6 o'clock' position, ONLY the throttle joystick i.e. fully 'close' the throttle. Hold the joystick there until the motors stop. DO NOT touch/move the other joystick, which should be centred, during this 'routine' shut down process.
2) Stopping the motors in an emergency, if you crash or flip the drone etc. and it is tilted or upside down on the ground BE WARNED, use the "CSC" command (page 46 of the pdf manual available at https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/phantom_3/User Manual/Phantom_3_Professional_User_Manual_v1.8_en.pdf) to shut the motors down BEFORE trying to pick the drone up. If the props were obstructed the motors may start up once the obstruction is removed. The props are effective knives. The CSC command needs to be held for around 5 seconds to work, also be aware the CSC command can stop the motors with the drone in mid air.

It is worth noting that holding the throttle fully closed WILL NOT stop the motors if the drone is in flight. The drone must be still for it to work and there is enough movement even in a vertical descent to prevent the motors from being stopped.
DO NOT try to practice the CSC command with the drone sat, upright, on the ground with the props on and running, it can cause the drone to flip, hence using method 1 above.

You can practise both methods with the props off, the drone will warn you that you have a loose prop etc., but don't leave the motors running for long. The motors and the drone probably rely on airflow for cooling and there will be no airflow with no props fitted. For the same reason I wouldn't try a large number of 'propless' shut downs in any one session, when I have done this I doubt I exceeded 10 shut downs in any session and I doubt that the motors ran for more than 10 seconds in any one experiment.
 
Hello
With out wanting to seem hasty can I suggest two 'lessons' that are best looked at before you even get off the ground.
1) Stopping the motors when the drone is still, which normally means upright, on the ground and sitting on its landing gear. To do this, move to fully down, its '6 o'clock' position, ONLY the throttle joystick i.e. fully 'close' the throttle. Hold the joystick there until the motors stop. DO NOT touch/move the other joystick, which should be centred, during this 'routine' shut down process.
2) Stopping the motors in an emergency, if you crash or flip the drone etc. and it is tilted or upside down on the ground BE WARNED, use the "CSC" command (page 46 of the pdf manual available at https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/phantom_3/User Manual/Phantom_3_Professional_User_Manual_v1.8_en.pdf) to shut the motors down BEFORE trying to pick the drone up. If the props were obstructed the motors may start up once the obstruction is removed. The props are effective knives. The CSC command needs to be held for around 5 seconds to work, also be aware the CSC command can stop the motors with the drone in mid air.

It is worth noting that holding the throttle fully closed WILL NOT stop the motors if the drone is in flight. The drone must be still for it to work and there is enough movement even in a vertical descent to prevent the motors from being stopped.
DO NOT try to practice the CSC command with the drone sat, upright, on the ground with the props on and running, it can cause the drone to flip, hence using method 1 above.

You can practise both methods with the props off, the drone will warn you that you have a loose prop etc., but don't leave the motors running for long. The motors and the drone probably rely on airflow for cooling and there will be no airflow with no props fitted. For the same reason I wouldn't try a large number of 'propless' shut downs in any one session, when I have done this I doubt I exceeded 10 shut downs in any session and I doubt that the motors ran for more than 10 seconds in any one experiment.
Great advice and thank you. I’m getting into the habit of reading my flight manual for 20 mins after flying and batteries have been depleted. Thanks again, much appreciated.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Shoot4fun
I'd also suggest going out somewhere quiet, flat and unobstructed and practicing with, or experiencing, the various RTH's and how the drone behaves. The "if within 20m of home it lands where it is" thing can be rather 'disconcerting' if you aren't expecting it or don't remember the behaviour.
Set your critcal battery level high, you can adjust it whilst the drone is in flight, fly low and let it run into the critical zone then experience bringing home or closer once it has decided it wants to land.
You might also want to see if the "only sufficient charge to get home" thing works, I had a problem with that during a test to see how it behaved but I am beginning to think it was my fault.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Shoot4fun
Welcome to the forum Dozzle71! Great advise above. Just one more thing --- have a blast. Learn to stay relaxed and your reactions will be much smoother.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Shoot4fun
Welcome to the forum! I'm more than a bit dense and I've been flying(and crashing) my P3S for a while now. The experts here will help in any way they can! As @dirkclod would say, do a search for what you need. If you don't find what you're looking for, start asking questions! Someone will help, I promise, and it probably won't be me. I'm more for comedic value than anything, and pretty poor at that!

Brad
Hi and thanks for taking time to reply. I’m a bit dense on the old software stuff, glad to see there are like minded folk out there too. Cheers!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Shoot4fun
I'd also suggest going out somewhere quiet, flat and unobstructed and practicing with, or experiencing, the various RTH's and how the drone behaves. The "if within 20m of home it lands where it is" thing can be rather 'disconcerting' if you aren't expecting it or don't remember the behaviour.
Set your critcal battery level high, you can adjust it whilst the drone is in flight, fly low and let it run into the critical zone then experience bringing home or closer once it has decided it wants to land.
You might also want to see if the "only sufficient charge to get home" thing works, I had a problem with that during a test to see how it behaved but I am beginning to think it was my fault.
I’ve been doing just that. Going to a really big open space and testing safety features, like RTH etc. I spent considerable time flying a Syma X5 and had great fun learning to fly the machine, with some pretty spectacular smashes. It belonged to my 13 year old nephew, who had zero interest in it because it wasn’t an X box, so I didn’t really care if it got bashed around. During my last 10 flights with it, I found it almost impossible to crash, as my skills were sufficient to avoid a crash. That’s when I knew it was time to upgrade. When I’m flying the Phantom however, I’m aware that it’s not a Syma and cannot be flown like one as the crash risk will be very expensive. Having said that, I have tumbled the thing and felt terrible afterwards as it contains so much equipment that I have no clue how to fix. Would you go out and buy a really smart DSLR camera for £400 then swing it around using the strap, then let go? No, you wouldn’t, but that’s what I felt like I’d done when I had a tumble. The machine made an awful squealing sound when the blades hit the ground. Would really like to know what caused the noise. Recent flights have been crash free though. Anyway, thanks for your input, really appreciate it. ?
 
Mine squeals too in such circumstances, as best I can judge. It must be loud for me to even begin to hear it lol
 
The squeals you guys are hearing (or NOT hearing in Philius' case :tonguewink:) is your prized possession screaming "TURN ME OVER... PROPS ON TOP!!!"
My P3S said something similar a short while back. Wasn't pretty. Wasn't something I can repeat here either.

Oh, wait! That was ME screaming as it hit the dang tree and tumbled to its' death from 40 feet up... :confused:

Still waiting on one more part and then, hopefully, she soon shall fly again. My daughter is getting concerned her new P3S will become the new 'Dad's Toy'.
Brad
 
The squeals you guys are hearing (or NOT hearing in Philius' case :tonguewink:) is your prized possession screaming "TURN ME OVER... PROPS ON TOP!!!"
My P3S said something similar a short while back. Wasn't pretty. Wasn't something I can repeat here either.

Oh, wait! That was ME screaming as it hit the dang tree and tumbled to its' death from 40 feet up... :confused:

Still waiting on one more part and then, hopefully, she soon shall fly again. My daughter is getting concerned her new P3S will become the new 'Dad's Toy'.
Brad
On a real helicopter, if the blades suddenly are forced to stop due to an obstruction ( ie the ground) the blades will either rapidly disintegrate, or the airframe will try spinning, causing massive damage.
I’m wondering if the Phantom has a clutch system which allows the rotors to disengage from the transmission, thus causing minimum damage and no motor burn out. I’m gonna be extra careful when flying, but I’m sure my inexperience will show itself again. I’ll try my best though. Bet some chaps on here have some terrible horror stories.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Shoot4fun
@Dozzle71 Soon as my #1 P3 is returned to functionality, if the video from it's last flight will go ahead and finalize, I'll have a real nice crash video for you to watch. May not be as bad as some, but the real-time view I had as it happened made me sick...
It's all about practice and patience. I'm currently teaching my daughter to be patient and do things slowly with the "new" bird, as she's more a run 'n gun type. Her older drones were cheap and disposable. I'm making her learn these are NOT. And I have a perfect example to show her right now!
 

Attachments

  • 20190625_152526.jpg
    20190625_152526.jpg
    2.2 MB · Views: 189
  • 20190625_151456.jpg
    20190625_151456.jpg
    2.4 MB · Views: 186
Dozzle I do not think a Phantom has a mechanical clutch but given that it shows "motor obstructed" and "loose prop" warnings it seems it can sense when things are amiss and, at a guess, then, in the case of an obstruction, shuts down the supply to that motor to prevent overheating and damage. A stalled electric motor has very little electrical 'resistance' so could draw huge currents.
I have seen threads concerning less well protected drones where a stalled motor caused the control device (an ESC perhaps?) to burn out.
At a guess the P3 'occasionally' checks to see if the motor is still obstructed and if not restarts it. Something akin to that certainly happens, hence the danger of picking up a flipped drone if you have not CSC'd the motors BEFORE you pick it up.
 
Hi Dozzle, welcome to the group. There's loads of useful info on here, so just browse around.

I'm from a few miles N of you - near the top end of Robin Hood line.

Just enjoy flying!!
 
Hi Dozzle im from burton on trent look on you tube there are lots of helpful videos on there ....enjoy flying
Spent the last week looking at YouTube, then going flying and implementing what I saw. It’s the only way to learn. Many thanks!
 
Dozzle I do not think a Phantom has a mechanical clutch but given that it shows "motor obstructed" and "loose prop" warnings it seems it can sense when things are amiss and, at a guess, then, in the case of an obstruction, shuts down the supply to that motor to prevent overheating and damage. A stalled electric motor has very little electrical 'resistance' so could draw huge currents.
I have seen threads concerning less well protected drones where a stalled motor caused the control device (an ESC perhaps?) to burn out.
At a guess the P3 'occasionally' checks to see if the motor is still obstructed and if not restarts it. Something akin to that certainly happens, hence the danger of picking up a flipped drone if you have not CSC'd the motors BEFORE you pick it up.
Thanks for that tip. I’ll just be extra cautious from now on and treat the machine with heaps of care and respect. Many thanks!
 

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
143,066
Messages
1,467,354
Members
104,933
Latest member
mactechnic