Takeoff Flyaway

Bhloscaidh · Jan 28, 2021

I purchased a brand new Phantom 3 Standard in early 2016 just after the Phantom 4 entered the market. During that time I have never had an issue with the aircraft. I am a casual user, flying my drone primarily in the summer months. After flying it this past summer several times, I was going to fly it one more time early this past fall. After configuring the drone in all the usual settings of the past, I started the aircraft. The minute the aircraft lifted off the ground not more than a foot or so, it sped away at high rate of speed moving to the right. I could control the altitude but not the direction nor the speed. The only choice I had to gain control of the aircraft was to crash it before it became a complete flyaway. After retrieving the drone (there was no damage) I carefully reviewed all of my settings which were the same settings I always used. So I tried one more lift off which resulted in the same uncontrolled partial fly away towards the aircraft's right. I shut the engine down and brought it into the house for a close inspection again. I could not find any cause. Is there anyone who can provide me with insight into resolving this issue? Thank you in advance.

LarBear360 · Jan 28, 2021

First and foremost, post your flight log. Follow the instructions on this page. DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help

Post the link back here and there are are some really smart people that can decipher what happened.

Meta4 · Jan 28, 2021

Bhloscaidh said:
So I tried one more lift off which resulted in the same uncontrolled partial fly away towards the aircraft's right. I shut the engine down and brought it into the house for a close inspection again. I could not find any cause. Is there anyone who can provide me with insight into resolving this issue? Thank you in advance.

The little information in your description strongly suggests a yaw error issue, probably caused by your choice of launch spot.
You were lucky to get the drone back, most yaw errors end badly.
What was the surface the drone was on when you powered up and launched?

To post flight data go to DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help
Follow the instructions there to upload your flight record from your phone or tablet.
That will give you a detailed report of the flight.
Come back and post a link to the report it gives you.
Or .. just post the txt file here.

kndll · Jan 28, 2021

I had a similar takeoff flyaway caused by the magnet in my tablet cover that was in my backpack that i was using as a launch pad on the beach , more details of your launch area is needed .

seedslinger · Jan 29, 2021

I too had a similar experience with a P3S, after which I calibrated the compass. That seemed to fix the problem.

Meta4 · Jan 29, 2021

seedslinger said:
I too had a similar experience with a P3S, after which I calibrated the compass. That seemed to fix the problem.

Calibrating the compass doesn't "fix" things like this.
The issue was due to launching from an inappropriate location.
The fix is to launch from somewhere away from the source of the problem.

Bhloscaidh · Jan 29, 2021

Thank you for your suggestions. I am a Mac user and with macOS 10.15 Catalina, the primary functions of iTunes has been spun out into separate Music, TV, and Podcasts apps. Simply put iTunes no longer exists in the format and function suggested in the suggestion from moderator Meta 4. However in place of iTunes I exported my data from my iPhone 12 using Airdrop on my MacBook Pro (my iPhone was connected to my MacBook). The attached file will show the only possible flight data that I could find in the data export. Since I don't know what I am looking for, I don't know if any of these files are relevant. Additionally, the two near flyaways happened in October, both in bright sunshine and clear weather. Unfortunately I was using my iPhone XR with my DJI app. The third week of December I bought an iPhone 12. Since I transferred the data, again by Airdrop, from the iPhone XR to the iPhone 12, I am hoping that the flight data in the iPhone XR was likewise transferred to the iPhone 12.
As stated above the launch weather was in bright sunshine both days, calm wind. The first launch was from a grass patch on the lawn in front of our condo on Lake Cadillac in Cadillac, Michigan. The second launch was from my home front yard using a landing pad sitting on grass. I have launched from these locations many times in the past without any issues. There are no tall buildings, cell towers, power lines, etc in the areas.
Would some of the Phantom 3's aircraft settings that are configured in the DJI App a possible source of the problem?

My sincerest thank you to all of you taking the time to help me.
Mike McCloskey

Meta4 · Jan 29, 2021

Bhloscaidh said:
The attached file will show the only possible flight data that I could find in the data export. Since I don't know what I am looking for, I don't know if any of these files are relevant

Those files aren't the correct ones.
Here's a screenshot of the directory structure and flight records.

That's from DJI Go4 but in DJI Go it should be similar except that the folder you are looking for is:
DJI\dji.pilot\FlightRecord
The .txt files are encrypted and look like garbage if you try to read them

Bhloscaidh said:
There are no tall buildings, cell towers, power lines, etc in the areas.
Would some of the Phantom 3's aircraft settings that are configured in the DJI App a possible source of the problem?

None of those things would cause the incident you described.

HWB · Jan 30, 2021

Your drone doesn't like you anymore. It was trying to leave but you stopped it. It will continue to try and leave and you will never be able to trust it again.Like all relationships that sour this one will not get better. Your best bet is to let this one go and find a new one. One that loves you and can be trusted.