Phanthom fly-aways

[runeste]

So,

I have been reading these dreadful flyaway posts, and I feel like i lost 90% of my will to keep flying these things at all.
But then it struck me, just the sheer numbers of these sold, the few hundred fly-aways, altho unfortunate, must be below what a producer considers as an acceptable limit of "DoA's"/faulty units ?

The sucky part of it, is that these things cost ALOT, and can be lost in an instance. Im gonna be looking at insuring it somehow. I got an accident insurance covering things like me knocking over the TV or dropping my laptop. Wonder if it covers this thing too.

Anyway, I really hope they pinpoint and fix these issues, as I guess the will to buy a new one and fly it is lost with the flyaway heli. Unless ofcource you **** money and fart rainbows.

What does others think in terms of faults vs sales ? When I bought mine, from a dealer firstly known for computers and accessories, they had 14, 2 days later, they had 0. That tells me the sales numbers must be extreme.

 

[syotr]

Flyaway poll
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthre ... 00&page=69

 

[iResq]

If you live in the US and have homeowners, you can probably purchase an insurance rider for a few bucks. If you don't have homeowners then get a rental policy. Both should give you 3rd party liability coverage as well (non commercial use).

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[jondrew]

If you live in the US and have homeowners, you can probably purchase an insurance rider for a few bucks. If you don't have homeowners then get a rental policy. Both should give you 3rd party liability coverage as well (non commercial use).

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I don't know this for sure, but I would guess insurance would not cover your liability if your phantom fell out of the sky and hurt someone or caused property damage if you were operating it out of your yard and flying over a populated area. I think these things are generally considered RC aircraft and you are expected to operate them at some club field or some other unpopulated area. Then if you get a fly away that causes damage or injures someone you may have coverage.

Just an opinion. Suggest you proceed at your own risk. I have a large greenspace in my neighborhood and I don't fly over anyone's house. Not sure if that provides me with any lawsuit inoculation.

 

[iResq]

Read your policy, I did. There are very few exclusions. Most liability policies are essentially the same. (This is my line of work).

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[goldfishrock]

I would guess insurance would not cover your liability if your phantom fell out of the sky and hurt someone or caused property damage if you were operating it out of your yard and flying over a populated area.

In the UK the BMFA (British Model Flying Association) offer an insurance scheme exactly for that. I would imagine that there must be an equivalent in the US?

 

[jondrew]

I would guess insurance would not cover your liability if your phantom fell out of the sky and hurt someone or caused property damage if you were operating it out of your yard and flying over a populated area.

In the UK the BMFA (British Model Flying Association) offer an insurance scheme exactly for that. I would imagine that there must be an equivalent in the US?

I believe so but it would only apply flying at a club or something. Not if you knock your neighbor off a ladder at home

 

[iResq]

The insurance by the ama is secondary to your home owners.

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[thongbong]

So,

I have been reading these dreadful flyaway posts, and I feel like i lost 90% of my will to keep flying these things at all.
But then it struck me, just the sheer numbers of these sold, the few hundred fly-aways, altho unfortunate, must be below what a producer considers as an acceptable limit of "DoA's"/faulty units ?

The sucky part of it, is that these things cost ALOT, and can be lost in an instance. Im gonna be looking at insuring it somehow. I got an accident insurance covering things like me knocking over the TV or dropping my laptop. Wonder if it covers this thing too.

Anyway, I really hope they pinpoint and fix these issues, as I guess the will to buy a new one and fly it is lost with the flyaway heli. Unless ofcource you **** money and fart rainbows.

What does others think in terms of faults vs sales ? When I bought mine, from a dealer firstly known for computers and accessories, they had 14, 2 days later, they had 0. That tells me the sales numbers must be extreme.

Trust me on this one, the flyaway problem was waaayyy waaayyy WAAAYYY worse with the original Phantom. Most the flyaway stories I see or read about now with the Phantom 2's are attributed human error. I've been looking at flyaway stories since last year when the original Phantom came out and mine flew away. I'm honestly surprised/happy that 3 months in and there are considerably less flyaway stories with the P2 as there were with the P1 3 months in.

And to clarify, a flyaway is when the pilot no longer has control and the Phantom shoots in one direction until it hits something. If the pilot still has control and the Phantom is just twitchy, its something else.....

This is me being hopeful after close to $3000 spent on 3 Phantoms and gear :mrgreen:

 

[ianwood]

Thongbong is right. If you compare the number of P2 flyaways to P1, it seems there is a marked improvement in reliability. I think the improved firmware and better stock receiver have a lot to do with this. The rest is mostly up to you as it seems the majority of flyaway related reports with the P2 can be attributed to user error.

Read your policy, I did. There are very few exclusions. Most liability policies are essentially the same. (This is my line of work).

So if I have renter's insurance, what exactly am I adding to my policy to include coverage for my P2? And if I am 1/2 mile away from my home flying my P2 and it appears to have a malfunction and kills itself in some power lines, I can call up my insurance provider and say my Phantom is dead and I'd like you to buy me a new one?

What if any reasons (particulars of an incident) would they site as grounds to deny such a claim?

 

[iResq]

You will need to schedule the Phantom. Coverage is very broad. Excludes intentional acts. Five your agent a call.

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[thongbong]

I'm need to talk to my insurance some more. We tried to get it listed under our homeowners insurance but were told we cant because it is too much of a risk including the gopro camera. I know of insurance for flying in a club at a designated location but I'm not sure if its the same thing or something totally different.

 

[goldfishrock]

Personally, I think that some form liability insurance is a must. The one thing I have noticed is that wherever I take my P2 it’s sure to draw a crowd and suddenly the risk is increased through no fault of my own choice of flying site. In the UK it’s a nominal amount to get up to £25 million cover against any third part claims and when we are trying to be responsible P2 owners, I think it’s a small price to pay.

I’ve yet to come across any policy that would cover my in the event of a Fly-Away though… although I will check with my home insurance… it could technically be am ‘unintentional loss’ :lol:

 

[jondrew]

Personally, I think that some form liability insurance is a must. The one thing I have noticed is that wherever I take my P2 it’s sure to draw a crowd and suddenly the risk is increased through no fault of my own choice of flying site. In the UK it’s a nominal amount to get up to £25 million cover against any third part claims and when we are trying to be responsible P2 owners, I think it’s a small price to pay.

I’ve yet to come across any policy that would cover my in the event of a Fly-Away though… although I will check with my home insurance… it could technically be am ‘unintentional loss’ :lol:

Agreed. Insurance is necessary. Here are some guidelines for insurance in the UK
http://youtu.be/kO2R_DDZPCM

 

[runeste]

Yeah, the liability insurance goes without saying. You dont want to have to cash out your neighbours new ferrari due to a misstake or error.

However, I want something that covers loss due to errors with the device. If I crash it or run it into the sea by myself, I dont expect anything, but reading about these flyaways, I am nervous flying it at all

 

[goldfishrock]

It's a problem that has always been there since the dawn of time with R/C models. In the old days, you'd spend 100s of hours lovingly creating these models however the investment these days is more financial than time based; either way, you still worry everytime you put it in the air..... It's a lot of investment to lose one way or the other.

 

[al404]

but if it lose some kind of signal the phantom is not suppose to fly back home?
is the main reason that user doesn't wait for GPS signal?

 

[ianwood]

but if it lose some kind of signal the phantom is not suppose to fly back home?
is the main reason that user doesn't wait for GPS signal?

RTH requires a successful home location fix via GPS at startup and it also requires a clear path back, strong ongoing GPS signal, enough battery power to get home especially if fighting a headwind and a calibrated compass and IMU. Not waiting for a full GPS fix and confirmation of home location recording is pretty much asking to have your P2 fly away on you unless you are planning on only flying close range or indoors.

 

[ussvertigo]

I just had a scary flight at near dark when I like to fly so to still see the dim sky and lights of P2 are clearly visible, I got far enough away that I could not tell which direction it was facing and all movements I made to determine this seemed to move it further away. I began to panic and switched off the transmitter. I waited and it did not appear to be heading back, if anything it was still moving away. Barely visible over the distant tree tops, I jumped into my car and zig zagged thru the streets to keep it in sight until I came to a large cemetery, and the P2 seemed to be at the far side (approx. 400-500 yds), now it is just about dark, and my heart is pounding, I turned the controller on and tried to rotate to determine its orientation, but the colors seemed to blend together, I then tried to move one direction then another but still could not figure its orientation, or if I even had control, it still appeared to be slowly moving away. Now completely dark, but with full moon I ran across the cemetery wide open toward the P2 until I got to the far side which was a thick line of trees, but it was no longer in the sky, I searched there for the lights in the tree tops, and along the ground-no luck. On the other side of the tree line was a large neighborhood, so I ended up driving up and down the streets there looking for the lights on house and tree tops. On my second pass on one of the streets I noticed flashing lights in my rear view mirror, and behold, some kids were trying to flag me down by waving my P2 around. They said it had scared the hell out of them by landing with those flashing lights in their yard. And by the way, I had printed on the side of the P2 with a permanent pen "Reward if found" with telephone number. They asked about it and I gladly gave them a nice cash reward. When I got home, my wife said the kids parents had called that they had recovered my P2.
Lucky honest people found it for me, unlucky in that I don't know why it did not come home when I switched off the transmitter. It was blinking all green when I took off, no wind and plenty of battery left. I wonder if it is human error or if I had inadvertently switched S1 or S2 to something causing this. I always start with both up. But while running across the cemetery, I noticed S1 had been knocked to the middle position, just don't know when. I would like a very bright horizontal light of some sort that gives a visual of the P2 orientation, any ideas? captg

 

[ussvertigo]

I also meant to mention when I came up to the cemetery with the P2 appearing to be on the far side, I wish I had thought to just land it right away, but when you are panicking, running thru a cemetery at night and dollar signs are flashing before your eyes you tend to become un-rational, actually **** near crying.