P3A fell out of sky... can someone look at data and explain???

[msinger]

You should not launch with your battery at 75%. That was your first mistake.

Your second mistake was launching yet again on the same battery.

How are these mistakes? When is the last time you saw a battery shut off mid-flight due to either of these scenarios?

You got lucky on the first flight. Fate prevailed on the second flight.

Without seeing the flight log, all we can do is assume.

 

[olof Ekbergh]

Sorry for your loss, it would be helpful to get a look at the logs to help explain what happened.

I would say that it is safest to always take off with a fully charged Lipo (battery). I almost always do.

The only time I may fly without a fully charged Lipo is if I just had a short flight down to 70% or so (and I mean in the last 15 minutes or so), then I may go for another short flight. But if I had another fully charged Lipo I would use that, more margin for safety.

I would never take off with a battery that was even at 80% or anything less than fully charged if the Lipo had been sitting 24 hrs or more. And if a Lipo will not charge to more than 90% then it is time to retire it. Safety first, it is not just about your aircraft, it is also about damage it can cause in an uncontrolled meeting with the planet or its occupants.

The DJI manual does state always take off with fully charged battery. And don't forget to make sure the TX and iPad/or whatever pad is also fully charged before a day of flying.

 

[Mark The Droner]

...

There's too much victim blaming on this board. ....

I think if you research, you'll find that victims are usually only blamed when they make fatal errors. Also, you'll find that the victims are generally inexperienced, while the ones doing the blaming have quite a bit of experience.

 

[Mark The Droner]

How are these mistakes?

....Because I've seen something like six dozen examples of Phantoms dropping from the sky in this scenario.

When is the last time you saw a battery shut off mid-flight due to either of these scenarios?

This morning.

 

[msinger]

....Because I've seen something like six dozen examples of Phantoms dropping from the sky in this scenario.

Got links?

 

[JamesG2571]

May I ask out of curiosity as to why you shouldn't fly your phantom with a battery that isn't 100%...

That's like saying guys don't use your tablet unless it's 100% it might just die randomly because well you didn't charge it?

Makes no sense. 100% or 50% the volts should be consistent?


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[Mark The Droner]

Got links?

No but there's a search button

 

[msinger]

May I ask out of curiosity as to why you shouldn't fly your phantom with a battery that isn't 100%

Back when firmware 1.5 was out, it contained some kind of bug that allowed batteries to dip below 3.0V and shut off mid-flight. I think some folks are recalling those days and still fear that issue will occur again today.

When flying with a low battery, you risk the danger of the Smart RTH and critical low landing functions kicking in. If you're aware of how those things work (many people are not), you can easily work around them.

 

[msinger]

No but there's a search button

Unless you have proof to back up what you're claiming, I'm going to have to call you out on this one. I don't think what you're saying is accurate.

 

[Mark The Droner]

May I ask out of curiosity as to why you shouldn't fly your phantom with a battery that isn't fully charged...

Yes you may. It's because you take on an unreasonable risk that your aircraft will drop from the sky. It's been discussed and concluded in many threads over the past year. I agree it doesn't make sense, and that's why so many people are willing to do it.

 

[JamesG2571]

Back when firmware 1.5 was out, it contained some kind of bug that allowed batteries to dip below 3.0V and shut off mid-flight. I think some folks are recalling those days and still fear that issue will occur again today.

When flying with a low battery, you risk the danger of the Smart RTH and critical low landing functions kicking in. If you're aware how those things work (many people are not), you can easily work around them.

I see! But surely the error has been solved in recent updates?


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[Trackman1]

You can't just say failure because his battey was not full. Temperature of the battery is a key factor in it's output capacity. We don't know what that was.
Without seeing the logs it is just a guessing game.

 

[msinger]

I see! But surely the error has been solved in recent updates?

Correct. It's no longer an issue.

 

[JamesG2571]

Correct. It's no longer an issue.

So maybe the op wasn't on the latest firmware and therefore that was the cause of this incident?


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[Mark The Droner]

Unless you have proof to back up what you're claiming, I'm going to have to call you out on this one. I don't think what you're saying is accurate.

I need to go out and fly in a few mins (track me live here if you like, you might find it interesting: ...)

Give me about 10 mins or so...

...

When I'm done I'll search "drop from the sky" and see what I can find...

 

[msinger]

So maybe the op wasn't on the latest firmware and therefore that was the cause of this incident?

That's possible. We won't know for sure unless he posts his flight log here.

 

[Mark The Droner]

Just lost pro 3 in the ocean.

 

[Billisminimus]

I will post logs as soon as I get home... I have latest firmware also, I updated the day I got phantom, which was about 2 weeks ago...


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[Mark The Droner]

Just lost pro 3 in the ocean.

 

[WetDog]

Makes no sense. 100% or 50% the volts should be consistent?

No and more no.

The battery capacity value that DJI puts up on the screen is very approximate and typically spurious. It is calculated using several ASSumptions that often do not hold up.

Furthermore, if the battery has sat unattended, uncharged and unloved for several days, it is anything but clear that the numbers displayed on the app mean much of anything. Supposedly they have fixed this after the 1.6 upgrade but many of us wonder. The OP really had no idea what his battery status actually was when the thing crashed. The logs will help.

Always turn on 'Show voltage on screen' from the app and look at it carefully. Land early, land often.