P3S Won't Fly Straight

[Liam_89]

Good evening,
So I took my P3S for a flight this afternoon,
Weather was great and no problems at all,
I just keep getting the same problem all of the time I fly it,
Whenever I try and fly in a straight line the drone just wants to fly off another direction and seems to be drifting and pulling to one side,
I am finding myself having to correct it with the controls all of the time and it's looking terrible in my videos,
I can see every tiny adjustment trying to keep it straight,
Not good when I really want a smooth flying video,
I have purchased a prop balancer so all of my props are balanced perfectly,
I have done fresh IMU calibrations and compass calibrations,
I have even calibrated the controller inputs too,
I just don't know what else to try,
Could it be a faulty motor ?
I would really like some help if possible as I can't enjoy the footage I'm getting,
Any idea what could be the problem, I will add a link to my video from today so that you can see what I mean,
Thank you in advance for any help or input,

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[Great_Lakes]

Drone not flying straight is usually because the compass needs calibrating. I know you said you did, but be sure you are not near any metal objects, or buildings. Metal objects includes your keys in your pocket, your belt buckle if it's iron, etc.

 

[Liam_89]

Yeah I was right in the middle of nowhere, so not much that could interfere,
I was wearing a belt hmm..


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[mdowney58]

Any chance it could have anything to do with stick calibration?

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[BobMcKinlay]

I've got this exact problem with my P3P. Constantly nudging the left stick to get back on target. I've fiddled with all kinds of settings with no luck. I'm pretty confident I have a good compass calibration. As well as IMU. Frustrating.

 

[Pharm]

It's either the bourbon or the tires are overinflated on one side. Other than that, I got nothin'.

Addendum: You might want to try an automated flight using waypoints and see if it continues. If it does NOT do it with waypoints, it's likely an RC issue. Also, are you SURE your thumb isn't slightly resting on the left stick, gradually and barely pressing to the side (kind of like people that look to the left or right while driving and inadvertently steer their vehicle in the same direction?) Try it again but keep your thumb completely off the left stick once you start moving forward.

 

[Liam_89]

I did yet another rc calibration last night and another imu calibration,
I have yet to try this out as its raining,
When going forward I tend to push my right thumb from under the right stick and not rest it on top,
It's perfectly straight on the sticks even after looking in the flight log during playback,
Don't know what else to try


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[BobMcKinlay]

Addendum: You might want to try an automated flight using waypoints and see if it continues. If it does NOT do it with waypoints, it's likely an RC issue. Also, are you SURE your thumb isn't slightly resting on the left stick...

I'll try the automated test if it stops raining long enough. Good idea. I am very careful to not touch the left stick until I need to nudge thing back on target. My pattern goes... fly towards target... drift off target... nudge it back on target... repeat in a 5 second loop. Wind, drone speed, height, GPS count, app being used, etc don't appear to be a factor at all.

Actually, the other interesting observation is that the drone only drifts off target once, until I nudge it back into place. IOW, if I point at a target and only use the right stick to move forward (flat out no touching of the left stick). As I travel forward the drone will point a few degrees left or right. If I just go with it and do not nudge it back on target with the left stick, it will not then move left/right a second time on its own. Only if I nudge, will it give me the finger back.

How far does it drift? Anecdotally, I'd say quite a bit. I have a large water tower about 1 mile away. If I center on it and don't readjust when the drone drifts, it will end up about 700-800 feet to the left/right of the tower by the time it reaches it.

 

[mdowney58]

How far does it drift? Anecdotally, I'd say quite a bit. I have a large water tower about 1 mile away. If I center on it and don't readjust when the drone drifts, it will end up about 700-800 feet to the left/right of the tower by the time it reaches it.

Based on your last description, maybe the camera is what is not pointing 100% true forward.

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[Liam_89]

Now you mention it, I did notice when I powered the copter on last night to do more calibrations, I did notice that the camera seemed to be stuck / jammed to one side and makes a buzzing noise, then I tap it and it seems like it frees up and centralises and the buzzing stops,
The yaw arm does seem like it's moving freely though
I will get a video of this happening and I'll link it here


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[Pharm]

Ah! That's probably your problem. If you're lining up based on the camera view, it's going to skew sideways. Apparently, after you nudge it, the camera frees up and then your view is correct. Can't wait to hear the end result. Sounds like a camera repair is in order...or just thump it every time before you take off.

 

[BobMcKinlay]

Based on your last description, maybe the camera is what is not pointing 100% true forward.

That doesn't seem to be my problem but I'll pay close attention. The camera appears to be pointing straight at all times. Sort of hard to tell by eyeballing though.

 

[mdowney58]

I would think that a camera that is a fraction off center could easily get you 700 feet off target a mile away...

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[BobMcKinlay]

I would think that a camera that is a fraction off center could easily get you 700 feet off target a mile away...

100% agree. But I don't think that's the case here. I set up a simplistic test rig to see if the camera looked skewed. Three people looked at it while powered on and the consensus was that it looks dead on straight. Stumped. Once the flying season winds down a bit I'm going to send it in. Still under warranty and I have DJI Care.

 

[Hellofly]

I have been having a similar issue out of the box with my P3S. I have corresponded with DJI for replacement however the issue doesn't seem to be consistent . Has me wondering what type of interference might be causing this .