Phantom 2 flyways

[iResq]

Re: Flyway questions

1. How common are flyaways? Probably an impossible question to answer...

Probably can't be answered unless DJI is tracking known information. It is not uncommon on any board about any topic to have problems appear to be frequent as people with problems are looking for answers. What we don't know is the amount of flights that occur without issues.

 

[BenDronePilot]

To be honest I didn't have a lot of time to try the anti S1switch this all happened in about 15 seconds I first tried every joy stick to see if i could possibly regain control, once I realised this was not working I went straight for the fail safe by turning the controller off about 6 seconds later it ditched the phantom did not even aper to try and slow down or react to the fail safe !!! it was flat out full speed heading hard left and down it was clear I had absolutely no control !!!! i was stood between the 2 end seats on the stone jetty (picture above) when all this happened so not even that far away from where it ditched I also had 9 satellites locked went it ditched !!!! hence the red pin mark still cant believe it !!!
I wonder if Colin Guinn has an explanation as to and why this happened ??
or if DJI will help with this !!

When I spoke of satellite lock I should have clarified better. You need good satellite lock before takeoff, noting the tail lights do a fast green flash indicating that your "Home" position has been locked. Also when you updated firmware on your phantom did you also updated the firmware on your controller? Not doing so could also cause serious problems.

The most common causes of problems are interference from other sources, bad compass, Pmu or imu calibration. Also not updating both Phantom and controller firmware. Also Atti mode could have helped but is not turned on by default unless you go from Phantom2 to Naza mode in the assistant software.

FYI DJI CIO did have a video regarding fly always issues and their potential causes and what they've done to combat it.

 

[BenDronePilot]

Re: Flyway questions

Happy New Year all!

I have a few related questions:

1. How common are flyaways? Probably an impossible question to answer...

2. Is there a list of things to avoid/do to prevent flyaways?

3. Is there some kind of GPS type tracker that can be added to the Phantom to help find a flyaway?

Clyde

No, fly away and non user error related fly away / crash problems are not very common relative to all of the successful flights. The checklists you ask about have been done in the phantom 2 vision forum and are currently at the top of the page.

 

[chippy jfl]

yes all pre flight checks where competed including waiting for GPS lock as per my first post !!!!

 

[dvm71]

I wonder if there have been many/any flyways with the stock TX/RX replaced with a Futaba TX/RX?

 

[BenDronePilot]

I wonder if there have been many/any flyways with the stock TX/RX replaced with a Futaba TX/RX?

Good question. On the earlier Phantom and Phantom 2 Vision firmwares it was possible outside sources could interfere with your control signal and take over flight of the plane. Firmware updates have helped correct the problem by stopping your Phantom should it fly with the exact same signal for more than a certain number of seconds.

I would imagine though that a more powerful Futaba transmitter when flown within reasonable distances from the user would be less susceptible to those kinds of fly aways over the stock transmitter mainly do to the higher power output power.

 

[Ksc]

fly aways occur for a few reason.

1. a signal superior to that of the TX over takes the phantom (this issue has been fixed with firmware updates)
2. the pre flight checklist of things were not done (most common is the compass calibration, followed by not getting enough sats)
3. the most common reason for a flyaway where the unit heads in one direction and takes off, a motor issue. The Naza is designed to keep the phantom balanced and steady. If a motor has an issue that causes it to spin slower, the Naza will try and over come this issue with more power and/or less power on other motors. In some cases the Naza is not able to save it and it flights the bad motor which in turn causes the unit to "take off". Picture a drunk guy walking down the road, he attempts to walk forward in a straight line but he starts tipping over. His body naturally tries to fix this issue by increasing his speed in that direction to help get his feet under his head. Instead of him leveling out, he has a flyaway into whatever object is off at a 2 o'clock angle from where he was headed.
4. In the case of this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkQ9eB7M7iQ the pilot is flying in an area of heavy disturbance. Watch this whole video, he is next to train tracks, a never ending set of power poles, and commercial buildings with god knows what going on inside. Any one of those buildings could house equipment that runs on a 5.8ghz system and is filling and clouding the channels.
5. My personal favorite, putting the lid on wrong. If you have flown a 450/550 or any DIY setup with a Naza, you know that if the GPS puck and the Naza are not pointing in the same direction, you are going to have a huge issue. It will not hold GPS lock and will occasionally just start to head off in a random direction. The same would happen with the Phantom. It will fly perfectly in ATT mode but the second you put it in GPS, its heading off to no mans land.
6. Compass placement. See #5. If the compass is not put on the correct leg, your calibration is not going to be correct and it will not be able to return to home or function correctly.
7. Crashes/unbalanced props/drops/misuse. The RX can disconnect if the unit suffered a hard enough hit. unbalanced props can vibrate the unit which can also disconnect the RX. If it disconnects, the unit should land on its own but could instead just fly away.
8. bad pilots. A bad pilot can also cause #2-7. Neglect as well as ignorance is not an excuse. if you are not checking your unit careful before all flights, don't be surprised if you don't have a phantom anymore.

 

[Jimmy Jim]

Curious as to what caused mine. Brand new unit. All flight checks done. Updated firmware. Hovered to about 15 feet then it left of its own accord with no control whatsoever. No ability to control or intervene. No return via GPS. In a large open football field with nothing nearby whatsoever to interfere. Open to suggestions

 

[LeoS]

Curious as to what caused mine. Brand new unit. All flight checks done. Updated firmware. Hovered to about 15 feet then it left of its own accord with no control whatsoever. No ability to control or intervene. No return via GPS. In a large open football field with nothing nearby whatsoever to interfere. Open to suggestions

You've mentioned that you've had 4 flyaways, is this the 4th one?
Can you tell us more about the 3 previous ones?

 

[Ksc]

define brand new unit. as in was delivered to your door brand new? The drops and jars it takes during shipping are just as bad as if it was to have crashed. You should open the phantom up when you get it and make sure everything is connected and all soldered spots are still making good contact.

 

[Jimmy Jim]

define brand new unit. as in was delivered to your door brand new? The drops and jars it takes during shipping are just as bad as if it was to have crashed. You should open the phantom up when you get it and make sure everything is connected and all soldered spots are still making good contact.

Like new unopened in a sealed box. "New". Not sure how there could be any lack of clarity here. We all know how new (literally) the Phantom 2 is so that should help in your grasping of this concept.

When you buy a new TV you should open it up, unscrew the TV housing and check all the solders? (And void your warranty?) Come on :roll:

This is 2014. Holy Internet :roll:

 

[Ksc]

Do you buy TVs from the internet and have them mailed to your home?

You could have purchased it in a hobby shop. Have you heard of those places.

 

[Jimmy Jim]

Do you buy TVs from the internet and have them mailed to your home?

You could have purchased it in a hobby shop. Have you heard of those places.

Hey Sherlock - sure have heard of those , and guess what - that's where it was bought from - a brick and mortar store. I never said it was shipped from the Internet and mailed to my home.

Any other pieces of brilliance you'd like to impart on me?

 

[Ksc]

Ask them if they did the opened the lid and checked all the connections. If they didn't, why didn't you. This is a known issue. Some have found little pieces of metal in their motors. Others have found their soldered connections were poorly soldered and had come loose.

 

[Jimmy Jim]

Ask them if they did the opened the lid and checked all the connections. If they didn't, why didn't you. This is a known issue. Some have found little pieces of metal in their motors. Others have found their soldered connections were poorly soldered and had come loose.

I don't have to ask them that nor do I care to. They'll make it right and there's no need to be a **** about it on my part.

Are you done trolling?

 

[Cirrob]

I agree: cracking open a brand new product to make sure its connections and circutry have not been damaged in shipping is simply unreasonable. The liability remains on the manufacturer while in shiping status; so their response to this liability is to package it in such a manner that it can suffer reasoanble levels of shipping hazards without the need for the consumer to perform repairs upon receipt. If it suffers unreasonable handling while in transit, the box will show some signs of abuse etc, at which point the consumers reasonable response is to return it so the seller can seek damages from the shipping agency while replacing the consumers funds or purchased product. However, if no visible damage is done to the box, it is correctly assumed that the product is operational as advertised because the shipper took proper precautions (packaging).

 

[Ksc]

Maybe this is more up your alley: http://www.funpaperairplanes.com

 

[LeoS]

[Are you done trolling?

'

Mirror, mirror, on the wall... who's the trollest of them all?

 

[raymondtse]

I had my flyaway when I lifted up the 2 weeks old P2V on a mountain top with a tall (emission) tower nearby about 100 feet away. I had read the manual and the video tutorials but just blinded sight at that moment. I tried to fly the P2V close to me to see if the tall tower would have any effect on it but when I found the P2V behaving a little strange, it was too late already.

I drove an hour downhill towards the line of last sight. Luckily, I spotted it crashed over the top of the bush trees through a small & cheap 8x binoculars. It was high up just below the skyline of a hill. A reservoir attendant spent half an hour to climb uphill to pick up the P2V for me. Nice guy, just like an angel to save my P2V.

A prop and 2 guards were damaged. The camera had to be reset by turning off and on its switch. I had to reset the sim card. Then it flew normally until the S1 switch was found faulty a few days later. See my another thread on P2V not entering into compass calibration mode.

Raymond

 

[steadicamhawaii]

i had a flyaway with my phantom 1 and dji just blew me off
said they weren't responsible