Phantom tips over at start

[d99fish]

I have seen a few people having the same problem, but none of the issues seem to match mine...

I have been trying to get FPV working, while doing this I needed to upgrade the SW in the transmitter to enable forwarding of the pitch control to the NAZA. At the same time I switched to 9" props to handle the weight better (also added dual batteries). First flight it was a bit windy and the quad acted quite weird in the air, it touched the ground quite heavily at one point, breaking the usb connector on my go pro (that was sending images to the FPV) but the quad recovered and stayed in the air.

I landed and the next time I took it up I decided to not run it with the gimbal or the dual batteries, just to make sure it was still ok. I switched back to original props as well. As soon as I tried to take of, it tipped over and destroyed one of the props.

I recalibrated it, replaced the broken prop and tried again, same result.
I then tried a 3:rd time with a recalibration after having connected it to a computer and checked the compass calibration, but it all seemed to have good values.

I then tried a takeoff in attitude mode instead, since that would eliminate any potential compass issues as I understand it, but it had the same result, another prop busted.

I'm so incredibly frustrated now, I just want to get it back into tha air! Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

 

[jimdenburg]

You mentioned switching out the props. Did you use DJI props or the aftermarket one's (dji's have dji on them, aftermarket xoxo). After a couple of mishaps of my own I went the cheaper route (really not that much cheaper), and found that the atermarket one's are seriously out of balance, so much so that I couldn't get off the ground without tipping.

Invest $25 in a Dubro balancer. You can get a special balancing bar if you want, but I just used the bar that came with it and put the little rubber sleeve on the end which if you gently screw the props onto, will hold well enough to give you a good reading. I found that these props were WAY off and after a little sandpaper-work to lighten the heavy ends, it took off and flew fine, although the thing went a little crazy in strong wind gusts and scared the crap out of me descending one time, so I switched back to the DJIs and you can tell just by holding them that they're a lot more rigid. Even so, I would still check the balance of any props if I were experiencing problems. Happy flying!

 

[xplorer]

As you add weight to your Phantom, you need to increase the attitude gains to compensate for the extra inertia.
Mine are at 250% and flying perfectly with gimbal, gopro, VTX, iOSD, propguards, LED striplights, LED headlight, Low battery Audio alarm, and a few extras.

Even if you fail to do this, it should not tip forward. Perhaps you are trying to lift-off too slowly...

Instead, you should punch it up off the ground for the first two or three feet, then return throttle to hover or a gentle climb.

Once my left stick is centered with the motors running, I apply just a touch of up throttle, wait for the RPM to increase, then I punch it up hard for a moment, then ease off to hover or a gentle climb. Works perfectly every time.

 

[750r]

Once my left stick is centered with the motors running, I apply just a touch of up throttle, wait for the RPM to increase, then I punch it up hard for a moment, then ease off to hover or a gentle climb. Works perfectly every time.

^^^^^This ^^^^
Both P1 & P2 I have to do this or they will tip .

 

[JaysDMC]

That's the only way I can successfully get mine off the ground. I full throttle it and once it's up and back off.

Because mine is somewhat front heavy, it lurches forward about 3 or 4 feet as it makes its initial climb.

you can see it in this video as I take off. Once it's up though, i'm fine...

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xfdOVtW6Kw[/youtube]

 

[Seahorse]

The only tip on take offs have occurred when my son was at the throttle and gave it too little. Give it the berries, then hover and test your controls before going off to fly wherever... :ugeek:

 

[Mandrake]

Mine used to lean forward on takeoff until I put the battery at the rear under the flight mode LED..now it lifts up straight...
Its all about balance....Mandrake

Sent from the thing that does everything.

 

[d99fish]

You mentioned switching out the props. Did you use DJI props or the aftermarket one's (dji's have dji on them, aftermarket xoxo). After a couple of mishaps of my own I went the cheaper route (really not that much cheaper), and found that the atermarket one's are seriously out of balance, so much so that I couldn't get off the ground without tipping.

Invest $25 in a Dubro balancer. You can get a special balancing bar if you want, but I just used the bar that came with it and put the little rubber sleeve on the end which if you gently screw the props onto, will hold well enough to give you a good reading. I found that these props were WAY off and after a little sandpaper-work to lighten the heavy ends, it took off and flew fine, although the thing went a little crazy in strong wind gusts and scared the crap out of me descending one time, so I switched back to the DJIs and you can tell just by holding them that they're a lot more rigid. Even so, I would still check the balance of any props if I were experiencing problems. Happy flying!

Thanks for all replies, will try to comment on them here, I have been travelling without email access!

I used DJI props, the 9" I tried were not DJI, but I switched back when I tried to restore it to its original state.

I will look into a balancer along with some new props, thanks!

 

[d99fish]

As you add weight to your Phantom, you need to increase the attitude gains to compensate for the extra inertia.
Mine are at 250% and flying perfectly with gimbal, gopro, VTX, iOSD, propguards, LED striplights, LED headlight, Low battery Audio alarm, and a few extras.

Even if you fail to do this, it should not tip forward. Perhaps you are trying to lift-off too slowly...

Instead, you should punch it up off the ground for the first two or three feet, then return throttle to hover or a gentle climb.

Once my left stick is centered with the motors running, I apply just a touch of up throttle, wait for the RPM to increase, then I punch it up hard for a moment, then ease off to hover or a gentle climb. Works perfectly every time.

This could be the issue, I guess the incident I had made me try to lift of more carefully since I didn't want to ruin the props again... I will try to take off again with some more power applied! Thanks for the tip!

The last times I have tried it, it hasn't been loaded down, only original battery and original props etc.

 

[d99fish]

That's the only way I can successfully get mine off the ground. I full throttle it and once it's up and back off.

Because mine is somewhat front heavy, it lurches forward about 3 or 4 feet as it makes its initial climb.

you can see it in this video as I take off. Once it's up though, i'm fine...

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xfdOVtW6Kw[/youtube]

Interesting, will try to hit full throttle then!

Do you have lots of extras attached since it is fron-heavy?

 

[d99fish]

The only tip on take offs have occurred when my son was at the throttle and gave it too little. Give it the berries, then hover and test your controls before going off to fly wherever... :ugeek:

Ok, lot's of peaople with the same advice, so I will give it a go! Is yours stock or do you have extras on it that makes it heavier?

 

[d99fish]

Mine used to lean forward on takeoff until I put the battery at the rear under the flight mode LED..now it lifts up straight...
Its all about balance....Mandrake

Sent from the thing that does everything.

Ok, good to know, thanks!

And the only mod you have done is moving the battery?

 

[Seahorse]

Ok, lot's of peaople with the same advice, so I will give it a go! Is yours stock or do you have extras on it that makes it heavier?

Lens filters until customs bill me for my gimbal...

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

[Mandrake]

Mine used to lean forward on takeoff until I put the battery at the rear under the flight mode LED..now it lifts up straight...
Its all about balance....Mandrake

Sent from the thing that does everything.

Ok, good to know, thanks!

And the only mod you have done is moving the battery?

Had to put a 19mm hole in the side of the battery compartment to get the cable out .

Put all items on yesterday and weighed in at 1760 grams.. Managed to lift off but was too windy to attempt a flight .. Have increased gain to 140 from 125 and 110 from 100..
Way too heavy ...
Phantom with FC40 cam ,gimbal and go pro alike , 2 x 2500 mah for motor power , 1x2200 mah for gimbal power.
Going back to basics with single battery inside and record flight times
as I add extras.. That way I should find the perfect setup for me...
Will see if the forward lean has returned or not.
Mandrake


Sent from the thing that does everything.

 

[d99fish]

Great news! Got up in the air today, following the advice lots of people gave me here and just pinned the gas to get it up in the air, it tilted a little bit but not much and then took off without a hazzle!

I guess I had just become to careful after the first crash!

Thanks everyone!

 

[Mandrake]

Mine used to lean forward on takeoff until I put the battery at the rear under the flight mode LED..now it lifts up straight...
Its all about balance....Mandrake

Sent from the thing that does everything.

Sorry everyone but this is not a solution ... Unfortunately I forgot that I had also changed the props from my slightly scuffed P2V ( out of balance !!) back to the originals ( balanced !! ) ...
So Its all about balanced props - Now back to the Naza software and drop the gains back to default --
My ventures into heavy lifting are over .. Will try to remain under the 1350 grams ( P2V props ) from here on .
Mandrake