DJI FLY AWAYS ARE REAL!! Before I begin...here my credentials: I am an experienced RC pilot with well over 2000 hours flight time, half of which are dedicated to multi-rotor craft, I am sufficiently educated in the rules, regulations, procedures, standards, characteristics, protocols and aerodynamics of RC flight, and do not come from a family of inbreeders. Ok, my intention here is to share my story in an effort to save people from the indescribable financial, and psychological pain as suffering associated with DJI Fly-away's that have affected thousands of people around the world. After my beloved Walkera QR X350 Pro was murdered by a fire in my garage, i decided to see what all the hype was about with these DJI phantoms and how awesome they are, some professionals even claimed DJI was the best that money can buy. its all over the internet. So bury my walkera in a shallow grave, wipe away my tears.. and i jump on the DJI band wagon with the rest of the Jones's . I purchased two phantoms. First one i bought was the P330 V1, Crap...Second one was a P2,..also Crap. Both fly away's. P1 was not just a piece of crap, but a big heaping steamy nutty brown pile of elephant crap..Only a 6 minute flight time of mostly erratic behavior, 3 failed esc's, 2 failed motors and 2 failed receivers all within the first 12 flights. Both times the rx receiver failed and tx was lost, the RTH failsafe FAILED .First time it failed the P1 fell like a brick and hit the ground smashing the landing gear, battery, go-pro 3, zenmuse gimbal and compass. Second time the rx receiver failed and lost tx, it was about 50 meters up and 130 meters out when it began to fly in a tight circular pattern for 30 seconds or so...then, with a rapidly flashing yellow LED, it did a 180 and began hauling *** at full speed. Nearly inverted...it flew NW over the horizon of the pacific ocean. Spent $1500 on that piece of crap. Still confident, and willing to give DJI a second try, i purchase the Phantom 2 V2 for $2,500 with the idea that if i spend more, I'll get a more. For the most part, I was right. I did get more....more crap. It boasted several new upgrades including a more powerful Tx/Rx with stronger transmission signal and extended control range of 3,280'. Persuaded by this false sense of security and enticed by the claims of a more powerful Tx/Rx signal, I was convinced that DJI had resolved the issues with the P1 V1 and that my new P2V2 was immune to flyaway's. So I take the bait and shell out $2,500 for the top of the line P2 V2 with all the bells and whistles including a DJI 5.8GHz Video TX & RX Cloverleaf Antennas, 2.4G Datalink for DJI Ground Station, Autopilot, Go-pro Hero 4 black, Zenmuse H4-3D 3-Axis Gimbal, AVL58 5.8 GHz FPV video Link Kit, etc. So with the best DJI had to offer and sparing no expense, I launch my new P2 for the first time in the middle of the high desert of apple valley with nothing around me but a few tumbleweeds for at least 3 miles or more. 5 minutes into the first flight the P2 was 150 meters off the ground and 75 meters out when it suddenly it began to gain altitude until i could not see it anymore, i initiate a failsafe return to launch, grab my binoculars and finally i see this tiny speck in the sky...the phantom descended to 2,575 ft., did a 360 and began flying NW in an accelerated corkscrew pattern. All i could do is watch my $2,500 P2 fly NW over the horizon and out of my life for good. I was able to use GPS coordinates to track it down but there were not enough remains to identify the body. Another $2500 down the crapper. LESSON... FLY AWAYS ARE REAL. IF YOU THINK IT WONT HAPPEN TO YOU, YOU'RE WRONG. I spent top dollar on the best DJI had to offer to the tune of $2,500.00 and followed all instructions provided, performed all preflight procedures required, and complied with all precautions and requirements provided by DJI to ensure safe flight and still fell victim to controversial but very real, very expensive DJI Fly-Away. Thats when i decided to pack my bags folks, i cut my losses, bid farewell to the jones's,... jumped head first off the DJI hype wagon and onto the first wagon back to Walkera. I know walkera has had a shady past, but I had a good experience with the new QR X350. A good 300 flights and only issue i ever had was a motor and esc failure once while about 40m off the ground and still managed to land it with the 3 remaining motors by switching to manual mode and maxing out the yaw to get it spinning as fast as i could while working the throttle at the same time. it was a rough landing into the sand, but was repairable & for about $100 i was back in the sky for many many more trouble free flights. What lesson did i learn from all this?? Always go with what ya know,..And NEVER follow the jones's. Thats like the blind leading the blind. One thing that still bothers me to this day...what caused the P2 to fly away? I should not be worried about flyaway's with a two and a half thousand dollar aircraft. So that being said... Anyone got a QR x350 pro for sale??
On sound principles as well.
