I just about had a heart attack

Joined
Jul 8, 2014
Messages
558
Reaction score
4
Age
57
Location
Sonoma County, CA
I decided to do a range test this evening and try to fly her out to 1500 feet. I had some goals in mind within a 1500 foot radius according to google earth.

I was 75 meters up when I set off. I got out pretty far. Farther than I had planned, and I was exploring in FPV since I couldn't see the Phantom anymore, though it was still in LOS.
I was hovering for a minute to look at how far I had gone and when I tried to turn it around I wasn't getting any response from the sticks.
I took a quick screenshot on my iPhone and again tried to get some response from the controls. Still nothing, and then I lost the WiFi. "Connection to Phantom lost"
Hmmm...

OK, Don't panic. Hit fail-safe and wait for it to come back. You still have plenty of battery life left.
So I flip S1 all the way down and wait. I can't see it. I can't hear it. It shouldn't have been that far away. I should be able to see it by now.
Waiting.... Nothing. Now I'm starting to worry. What if it doesn't come back? How long do I wait?

That was the longest 120 seconds in recent memory. Scanning the sky I begin to hear her but still can't see her until it get's about 250 meters away. Relief.

Reviewing the video, I see I never lost control, I just lost screen update. The app didn't show "connection to phantom lost" as it usually does if I lose wifi. The screen must have been frozen and I couldn't tell.
On the video I can see my control inputs as I was testing trying to get some response. Then when I switched it to failsafe it started to return but little did I know what a close call it would have on the way back.

The screenshot I took when I lost picture shows it 698 meters out and 47 meters up. I could swear I was 75 meters up when I left and I never deliberately descended. Some of the trees around here are 50 meters high.
On the video I can see, right about the time I hit failsafe, it descended another 10 or 20 meters. I can't be sure of the timing. Maybe I accidentally caused it to descend with stick inputs before I hit failsafe. At the end of that descent it pauses for about 7 seconds before it turns and heads off deliberately for home. At what must now be no higher than 30 meters.
And on the way home, it skims directly over the top of a tall tree, missing it by what looks like about 10 feet but I was in wide-angle view so it's hard to judge the distance.

Lessons Learned:
Be careful with the left stick so that you don't accidentally cause elevation gain or loss while you are yawing.
Keep an eye on your elevation while flying. Don't assume you're still at the same altitude you were.
Always give extra elevation before you hit failsafe. Even if you can't tell it's working.
Don't panic.
Oh, and I shouldn't be flying BVR

Thanks for listening.
 
Thanks for sharing. Hoping stuff like this makes me a better pilot.
 
I would love if they updated the software to allow you to pick the return to home default height. Trees around me are about 100 - 150ft! They must have low trees where they make the phantoms!
 
Yes. Hope to learn from your story as well.

I may have to rehearse the "what if this was to happen" and go through the steps to get her home. Naturally first thing most people do is panic. But knowing exactly what to do in certain situations is drone-saving :)
 
I learn something with every flight, I think.

To me, nothing's a scary as losing control signal. You care counting on RTH to kick in AND that you prepped the GPS right. One thing I find very useful is Home Lock.

If you fly out to the point where FPV starts to fail, you can 'back up' towards home, no matter what direction you're facing. If you lose FPV in a turn, you're just guessing on the heading trying to fly it back in range. Hit Home Lock and down right stick, and it comes directly back under control.
 
cahutch said:
Reviewing the video, I see I never lost control, I just lost screen update. The app didn't show "connection to phantom lost" as it usually does if I lose wifi. The screen must have been frozen and I couldn't tell

solution to that.? install wifi range boosting app and next time you will lose controller connection before losing FPV.
 
Tails_Up said:
I learn something with every flight, I think.

To me, nothing's a scary as losing control signal. You care counting on RTH to kick in AND that you prepped the GPS right. One thing I find very useful is Home Lock.

If you fly out to the point where FPV starts to fail, you can 'back up' towards home, no matter what direction you're facing. If you lose FPV in a turn, you're just guessing on the heading trying to fly it back in range. Hit Home Lock and down right stick, and it comes directly back under control.

Exactly the reason and benefit of NAZA mode. I have had this happen several times and having Home Lock is the only thing that would have worked other than activating RTH. However RTH speed is really slow and if you are low on battery it may be an issue, where HL returns much faster.
 
Cocoa Beach Kiter said:
Tails_Up said:
I learn something with every flight, I think.

To me, nothing's a scary as losing control signal. You care counting on RTH to kick in AND that you prepped the GPS right. One thing I find very useful is Home Lock.

If you fly out to the point where FPV starts to fail, you can 'back up' towards home, no matter what direction you're facing. If you lose FPV in a turn, you're just guessing on the heading trying to fly it back in range. Hit Home Lock and down right stick, and it comes directly back under control.

Exactly the reason and benefit of NAZA mode. I have had this happen several times and having Home Lock is the only thing that would have worked other than activating RTH. However RTH speed is really slow and if you are low on battery it may be an issue, where HL returns much faster.

Yes. Yes. Yes. I always use HL to bring her back within FPV range when I lose FPV. I don't use failsafe. The OP could have used HL in his case. He only lost wifi, not control signal. HL would have worked fine I would say. Remember to always test HL before flying away to a great distance. That way u have confidence that it will come home in RTH and HL.
 
slothead said:
Is there another term for "home lock?" It doesn't show up in a search of the user's manual.

If you are looking in the P2V+ manual you won't find it. NAZA mode is not described in that manual. Look for the NAZA-V2 manual on DJIs website for everything you ever wanted to know about NAZA.
 
Strange thing is, home lock wasn't working for me on the way back.
When I got back into visual range I flipped back up to GPS mode and switched to Home lock to bring it back in manually.
But when I pulled back on the stick, she went backwards away from me. I flipped S2 back up and down again thinking it needed to be reset and tried again but still she moved further away.
I couldn't tell her orientation at that distance, So I just hit failsafe again and let her come home on her own.

I need to read up on HL to find out when it doesn't work. Like when you get within 30 meters.
Maybe something about failsafe makes it work differently.
 
Tense story, Cahutch! I truly felt your anguish as you were telling your story. Glad it wasn't your day to die and because you remained calm and cool. Good advice as well that you shared after this event.
 
I lost my Vision using home lock because i was flying in Atti. I learned later that home lock changes to coarse lock if your s2 switch is in Atti. you have to be in GPS mode for HM lock to work. Just a heads up (viewtopic.php?f=7&t=12564)
 
nptor said:
I lost my Vision using home lock because i was flying in Atti. I learned later that home lock changes to coarse lock if your s2 switch is in Atti. you have to be in GPS mode for HM lock to work. Just a heads up (viewtopic.php?f=7&t=12564)

This is good information. Thanks.
 

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
143,066
Messages
1,467,355
Members
104,934
Latest member
jody.paugh@fullerandsons.