Need advice.... Keep or return

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Hello, new member here.

My wife bought me a Phantom Vision. It's still in the box. I've been researching the PV and I'm alarmed at the problems people are having especially with fly always!

So my question is... Do I keep the PV or return and use money towards another quad copter?

What do you think? Thank you!
 
That is entirely up to your decision. Indeed it's a gamble. I kind of wished I found a more cheaper hobby like collecting dollar bills or something..

But in my honest opinion, I'm pretty sure all the "complaints" here don't do fair justice. Complaints would show up here at a higher ratio mainly because, well.. they're complaining! The quadcopter is gone so there's nothing else to do but mention it here and hope for the best!

If you're worried about losing a quacopter, I would suggest putting either a GPS tracker or phone number stickers on the quad. The odds of finding it just in case of a "rainy day" is much better that way.

Either way, there's always a big risk no matter what you fly!
 
Please do not be discouraged by a few posts about fly-a-ways!
I've had my phantom 2 Vision for nearly 5 months now , have kept it updated,
And followed the guidelines! I have had ( zero ) issues! I love mine!

If you look closely, a lot of fly-a-ways were from earlier models, and a lot were user error!

Just follow the rules and you'll be fine!

You can buy a cheap tracking device to keep tabs on your phantom ( in case it gets lost, you can find it )
( I use global tracker TK-102b )

Keep it updated, do your routine maintenance, pre/post flight inspections, calibrate compass, make sure you have home lock ( before lift-off ) ect.

If while you are flying, and something weird is happening, simply land, recalibrate compass, or hook to assistant to check mod values, to see if anything is out of whack? You may need a IMU calibration , occasionally, like after a crash, or hard landing! Things like this, just learn everything, and follow the proper steps, you should have no trouble.

Watch this:
http://youtu.be/2bxjL7wFyb8

Jerry D
USA
( J Dot )
 
Yep, had a Vision since launch day October last year. Never a sniff of a flyaway. Nearest I got was some erratic (but just about controllable) flying caused by user error - calibrated compass between car and metal railings sheltering from cold wind. Lesson learnt.

Since that early lesson I always perform a test hover at the beginning of each flying session at 10ft and close in and I watch it for 30 to 60 seconds. If it doesn't hold station like it usually does then down she comes and trouble shoot, otherwise good to go.

I've stuck a Flytrex on it and a Rotorpixel brushless gimbal and it's been great. That's not to say something won't go wrong - we are taking complicated electronics, putting them in a high-vibration environment and sending them up in the air. But so far I've not had any uncommanded behaviour, and my two minor crashes were caused by nothing more complex than the idiot holding the sticks...

As has been said, it's rare for someone to come on a forum and post "I have no issues and my aircraft flies beautifully", so you will naturally get a skewed view of user experience from forums and the like.

Get your great gift out of the box and enjoy it, I say.
 
I wish i had a wife who would buy a vision for me lol! But i would keep it.. There are only a few people with a Fly away and u always hear the bad story's above the good ones.
 
PapaPerk said:
Hello, new member here.

My wife bought me a Phantom Vision. It's still in the box. I've been researching the PV and I'm alarmed at the problems people are having especially with fly always!

So my question is... Do I keep the PV or return and use money towards another quad copter?

What do you think? Thank you!

Keep it... Enjoy it... If you aren't a hot shot pilot, this is a very stable craft for pictures and video at the prosumer end of the market. Its not intended to be considered "professional".. it is a good device to learn on. The flyaway reports are not nearly as common as a forum suggests, otherwise, these pages would be mobbed with claims... And they are not. DJI sells these globally. Just follow good flying principles do your cals and prechecks. You'll be fine.
You could fly it and have fun... In a few months.. You can tell your wife you need to UPGRADE to the Vision 3+ Ultra... (The latest iteration) with even more bells and whistles. :cool:



The Rookie
 
Wow thank you all for the fast responses! I appreciate your input!

Is there a way to disable the gps flight control and only use manual controls? I don't mind wrecking it myself but hate the idea of it taking off on its own and possibly hitting someone. Maybe I could rig up a shutdown feature on another remote that kills power and deploys a chute! Lol
 
I do not know if I would agree that the majority of fly aways are older Phantoms because right now on the Vision+ forum there are discussions about flyways happening and they are the latest and greatest. I will agree that a large percentage may of be avoided with more user scrutiny, as many have happened because of not following a specific pre-flight/flight check list. But, there are many that were due to no real defined user issue and fall into the realm of "well these things can and do happen".

Everytime I launch mine the possibility of this may be the last time I may see it or it may fall like a brick out of the sky is on my mind. I have a 102 style GPS/GMRS tracker on mine as a "just in case" insurance policy but I will not tell anyone that if you do everything perfectly and take every measure you can to insure it returns in one piece, that it will. It is just a risk one needs to accept when using one of these. It is a highly technically advanced toy that has no redundancy built into it so if something goes wrong sh-- happens and imo may just not be advanced enough for primetime. They are what they are....... a consumer level flying camera at a consumer level price. If you want redundancy, excellent IQ, and reliability it will cost you 6-10x more. This is a relatively low cost gateway consumer level product at best to open more people to the experience of aerial photography/videography.

Ya pay's yer monies and take yer chances :roll: :oops: :lol: :cry:
 
No doubt forums are a place for people to get together and discuss the good and bad about the product of interest. Usually, however, the bad comes out in force because folks want to crowdsource a solution.

I too have had a few issues with my Vision, and discussed them here with an incredible array of users that are super helpful. Dispite my issues, (here's the best part) I still love my P2V!

It's the same for me as anyone else...when the bird flies I don't spend too much time on here discussing it. Don't be too excited about the negative stuff. I would say that all multi-rotor forums discuss the bad WAY more than the good. So fly and enjoy, I say!

My only secondary thought is that you may want to look into the new Vision+. Nothing against our beloved Visions, but if I were new to the scene, I'd consider it for a very small additional amount. You can always return it and upgrade. :roll:
 
The instructions that come with the copter, to get it up and running, are awful!! They were obviously written by someone who forgot what it was like to receive a unit for the very first time, where you don't have a clue of what you're doing.. I'm not a stupid person-- I'm actually a pilot myself, but yet during the start-up phase I became so frustrated a few times, I felt like throwing the whole thing in the dump.. Even to putting the props on the motors.. Why don't they tell you how to do that at the start? Along with how to remove the battery, and what has to be charged.. I was afraid I was going to break something, removing the battery for the first time.. Thank God for the Colin Quinn you tube videos..
I've never even come close to a fly away.. I think a lot of them are caused by inexperience, and a rush to get the unit in the air.. Like another poster mentioned on here. I hover for a period of time, and make sure everything is operating, before I fly it out of visual range.. My suggestion: keep it.. You'll love it.. I'm still having compass issues, but by rotating my compass, I've eliminated the toilet bowl effect, and feel I can live with the left hooks etc., until DJI comes up with a permanent solution.
 
PapaPerk, if you decide to stick with the DJI products (like others have suggested) then I would consider returning the P2V and get the P2V+ that has the 3-axis gimbal.
 

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