IPAD MINI 4 Panic encounter.

[sparky1111]

I learned another VALUABLE lesson today ffs.
I charged all batteries to max and checked the ipad which had 30%.
Decided to go for a coastal flight out to sea to get shots of wind turbines in action.
I got about 8000ft out when the rotor speed went to 0000rpm and the ipad said craft disconnected.
I have never had such a sinking feeling knowing my Phantom was at the bottom of the sea. I kept asking myself how and what did I do wrong... Did I not clip the battery in properly or did I take my eyes away from the screen for too long. I had nothing. I restarted the app but nothing. I waited 10 minutes with each minute becoming more and more unlikely she was coming back. I even had people about 200ft away watching me, I felt embarrassed that I'd lost it. I didn't want to go home with an empty box.
I said to my wife it's gone and she could of cried for me.
Then she came back at 50m rth altitude and started her descent but I just could not regain control even tho she was right over me. She landed safely and I could of cried in joy!
Then my happiness turned to despair when I closed the Dji app and noticed in the BACKGROUND was a 10% battery warning which I'm convinced is what caused the close shave.
Lesson for me... Bloody charge my tablet before flights.

 

[rhoffart]

Glad it worked out with a happy ending. If my iPad gets below 50% I switch to my iPhone. I never want to experience that feeling.

 

[AeroMirage]

I keep my ipad fully charged. All the time.

 

[SteveThePhantom!]

Happy she came back, looks like you did everything correctly before flight including RTH enable and Home point established before heading out to sea.

Different OS and tablet, I had a similar problem with my Android Nvidia K1 tablet with the android 7 os and the new DJI go 4 app, but now that it's not crashing or panic since I downgraded the android os down to 6.0.1 But I don't trust the app. I have done a number to emergency tests with my controller like shutdown it down in flight to make sure it go's to the proper RTH height of 30 meters and from a distance our and it works. At least I know if the app fails, the RC is still with me, or if the RC fails, she will RTH.

Happy you have your bird back,
Best regards,
Steve

 

[John Locke]

I learned another VALUABLE lesson today ffs.

Then she came back at 50m rth altitude and started her descent but I just could not regain control even tho she was right over me. She landed safely and I could of cried in joy!
Then my happiness turned to despair when I closed the Dji app and noticed in the BACKGROUND was a 10% battery warning which I'm convinced is what caused the close shave.
Lesson for me... Bloody charge my tablet before flights.

The 10% battery level will make you descend, however if the controller LED is green, that means you have a connection. If you have a connection, and you have disabled RTH, you can slow the descent and potentially maintain altitude by giving it "full up" left stick, in case you need to travel horizontally farther.

Sounds like you barely made it back. Sweet ending.

 

[Olroy]

Not sure why your iPad wouldn't be charging when it's plugged into RC
Anyways glad it came back for you[emoji106]

 

[AeroMirage]

Glad you got it back. We can all learn from each other, that's the beauty of the forum.
RC will not charge an ipad. It does put out a little juice but less than the ipad uses.

 

[Olroy]

Glad you got it back. We can all learn from each other, that's the beauty of the forum.
RC will not charge an ipad. It does put out a little juice but less than the ipad uses.

Thanks
Good to know as I just bought the new release iPad for my P4....I've always flew it with my iPhone

 

[stones]

When outside, the tablet is using maximum energy for max screen brightness. Run it inside at max brightness and watch how much faster it discharges. 100% AC batteries and 100% tablet, I say.

 

[AeroMirage]

Think about it. There isn't much room inside a tablet or a smart phone for a battery. So, there isn't much of one. I'm amazed these devices run as long as they do considering the size of the battery. If my ipad gets down to 80%, I plug it in.

 

[Hawkwind]

I've got an iPad mini 4. Great little tablet.Had a situation at about 2300 ft out where I had a total disconnect of at least 8 minutes.It scared the hell out of me,but it finally came back.I definitely know the feeling and glad it worked out and you got your bird back. For the first time today I finally flew out over 2 miles. Had great signal and could of went further,but maybe another time I'll go a little further.

 

[sparky1111]

I've got an iPad mini 4. Great little tablet.Had a situation at about 2300 ft out where I had a total disconnect of at least 8 minutes.It scared the hell out of me,but it finally came back.I definitely know the feeling and glad it worked out and you got your bird back. For the first time today I finally flew out over 2 miles. Had great signal and could of went further,but maybe another time I'll go a little further.

It's always that feeling of will the wind change on the way back and your fighting to bring it back.
I did a coastal flight a few weeks back and coming back I run into a wind direction change where the distance was actually getting further away. With my fingers shaking I carefully put it in sport mode but got a battery warning stating I was low. I managed to get back JUST.

 

[jbrown630]

The 10% battery level will make you descend, however if the controller LED is green, that means you have a connection. If you have a connection, and you have disabled RTH, you can slow the descent and potentially maintain altitude by giving it "full up" left stick, in case you need to travel horizontally farther.

Sounds like you barely made it back. Sweet ending.

I believe the OP is saying his TABLET was at 10%, amirite?

 

[tstowe]

Dude... I so know what you went through.

I had a Phantom 2 with too few satellites to get a lock get blown out of my sight over some trees once. Return to home didn't work twice... sweat was pouring off my forehead until it worked the third time.

Glad you got it back!

 

[sparky1111]

I've got an iPad mini 4. Great little tablet.Had a situation at about 2300 ft out where I had a total disconnect of at least 8 minutes.It scared the hell out of me,but it finally came back.I definitely know the feeling and glad it worked out and you got your bird back. For the first time today I finally flew out over 2 miles. Had great signal and could of went further,but maybe another time I'll go a little further.

With wind sails I've got mine out to 13000ft easily.

 

[dcreisman]

I am considering an iPad Mini 4 for my Phantom 4 Pro. I want to get the Wifi only version to save money. Not having cellular connection, what concerns might there be regarding the drone's capabilities? Will not having cellular data while flying affect GPS, intelligent flight modes, or anything else in any way? If I do wind up having to get the cellular version, does that also mean having to get a data plan with my carrier? I did read in the iPad's specs that only the cellular version has bulit in GPS. Any clarification is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Mix_]

Hi!
With iPads (and most other devices) is simple - the mobile data modem and gps/glonass resides on one and the same chip/board. So - if no cellurar, no gps, too.
It affects You in two ways:
-no map data download (you need to cache the area before flight)
-no flight modes, which use RC/mobile device location (unless You use your phone with, let's say, Litchi Magic Leach or similar solution).

btw, You don't need to have an SIM inserted to get location data. It will consume a bit more time to get position (since no assistance from cellurar network), but it works.

 

[JWH]

I have the iPad Mini 4 with cellular. It is well worth the money. I used to run the android version of the DJI Go on a Samsung phone. The software locked up on nearly every flight. I am glad the remote control doesn't rely on the mobile device. It has performed flawlessly with the ios version on the Mini 4. I am amazed at how long the iPad last on a full charge. As mentioned above, the iPad uses more power than the RC batteries can deliver. I would not want the RC batteries to be depleted by a mobile device. The RC is much more important to keep power!

 

[Hawkwind]

Recently beat my 2 mile record and went over 16,500 ft. That's enough for me. Turned it around just in time and made it back at just under 20 percent.

 

[JMR]

-no map data download (you need to cache the area before flight)

How to do this?, iPad mini 2 wifi only.
Thanks