VERY close call, please help!!

[dksoundz]

Hey guys,

Earlier this afternoon something very strange happened which resulted in an extremely lucky escape of what could have been a wrecked bird. I was filming aerial footage of some trees when and then all of a sudden the 'Phantom Connection Broken' message popped up. No big deal i was only 700 feet away but facing toward the sun, so I couldn't actually clearly see the bird. With no FPV to see and not knowing which direction I was in I decided to turn off the transmitter and engage Return to Home. Around 30 seconds later I could hear it approaching so knew it was coning home however WiFi connection between me and the bird did not reconnect.....As it came into sight I turned back on the transmitter flicked, the S1 switch down and then back up again in the hope to regain control as I normally would but no.....nothing. I tried everything but it seems as though it was almost stuck in RTH mode with no way out! It landed automatically landing on the flat roof of my house 30 feet away from its GPS locked take off point. I am worried now, i have never had any issues regaining control before and its also worth mentioning after this disaterous flight I purposely did the same thing again as I was curios. I was on this occasion able to regain control. I'm now extremely confused as to what happened here, its made me very wary of the RTH feature...
Has anyone else had this same problem or can anyone shed some light? Many thanks! Dan

 

[mede8er]

I had the same problem a few weeks back....two packs in a row...one at 10ft away! Never did regain visual on the way back either as I usually do, but my RTH brought her down in the proper location both times....

Couple weeks later I flew 3.2 miles with no probs and no equipment maintenance....go figure....

I'd say the flipping of S1 had something to do with your failed RTH, as I didn't touch the controls , only exited and re entered the Vision app a couple of times, with no success....

 

[dksoundz]

I had the same problem a few weeks back....two packs in a row...one at 10ft away! Never did regain visual on the way back either as I usually do, but my RTH brought her down in the proper location both times....

Couple weeks later I flew 3.2 miles with no probs and no equipment maintenance....go figure....

I'd say the flipping of S1 had something to do with your failed RTH, as I didn't touch the controls , only exited and re entered the Vision app a couple of times, with no success....

How strange ay? Seems like it was a temperamental problem, possibly a glitch where it will either work for you won't. Something they will always be in the back of my mind from now on!

 

[justin00]

Wow very lucky you have a flat roof!
I had an issue were r/c inputs just stopped.. and it flew off into the wind.. luckily it detected a problem by its self and RTH.. did a hand landing as soon as it came down. I'm hoping it was due to some microwave antenna's in that area...

Not sure about your issue... sorry but your issue could of been alot worse if you had a sloped roof!

TBH I'm fairly scared every time I fly it.. which is 2 batteries worth a day, some times more... Getting a little more confident now after my issue.... but yeah... So many horror stories but the thing is we don't hear about the 1000000 successful flights each day.

 

[dksoundz]

Wow very lucky you have a flat roof!
I had an issue were r/c inputs just stopped.. and it flew off into the wind.. luckily it detected a problem by its self and RTH.. did a hand landing as soon as it came down. I'm hoping it was due to some microwave antenna's in that area...

Not sure about your issue... sorry but your issue could of been alot worse if you had a sloped roof!

TBH I'm fairly scared every time I fly it.. which is 2 batteries worth a day, some times more... Getting a little more confident now after my issue.... but yeah... So many horror stories but the thing is we don't hear about the 1000000 successful flights each day.

Thanks for your feedback Justin! Haha yes you are right very lucky I have a flat roof or it could have been a different story indeed! I'm sorry to hear about the problem you had but glad you managed to resolve it with a safe hand catch I also am kinda scared when flying too....not a fear of confidence or being a competent pilot....just the everyday techy problems that can arise beyond our control. I think that's why we all enjoy it so much, the buzz of flying, landing and thinking wow....lol. I also agree, this forum is here to help people with problems so we only see the bad staff, not all the good that totally outnumbers this

 

[Dirty Bird]

Perhaps your S1 is working intermittently, or it just didn't pick up that you had thrown it to regain control. If you can see the lights, the rears will be flashing rapid yellow during an RTH. When you flip the switch they should change back to normal when you regain control. Should this happen again, try flipping the switch a second time.

 

[dksoundz]

Perhaps your S1 is working intermittently, or it just didn't pick up that you had thrown it to regain control. If you can see the lights, the rears will be flashing rapid yellow during an RTH. When you flip the switch they should change back to normal when you regain control. Should this happen again, try flipping the switch a second time.

Thank you for your response! Its much appreciated. The rear lights were flashing rapid yellow yes indicating RTH but no matter what I did with the transmitter or the S1 switch I was unable to regain control on this occasion. I have managed to take over many times previously and the test flight after was fine. Its just strange how on this one and only occasion the bird didn't want to know me! Haha I'm hoping this is just a mysterious one off......:S

 

[AHill]

I would hook it up to the assistant software and watch switch position indication while switching multiple times and putting slight pressure in different directions while switching. There have been many reports of S1 failing. It is easy to replace if needed.

 

[dksoundz]

I would hook it up to the assistant software and watch switch position indication while switching multiple times and putting slight pressure in different directions while switching. There have been many reports of S1 failing. It is easy to replace if needed.

Thank you very much, I shall do this tomorrow for sure!

 

[enterprise1]

If you were only out 700ft and loss FPV and couldn't see your bird is it possible you went behind the trees. Maybe you would then not be able to regain control signal until line of sight was clear.

One time I was flying out at 3000ft. and loss FPV. Kind of exploring so had no idea where bird was. Flipped off transmitter got my RTH. FPV would not return. Had a few high palm trees off to my left. **** bird was coming straight for them. Tried to regain control with S1 flip. No luck but bird flew right over them by a few feet. Talk about panic. Guess what, forgot to turn trnsmitter back on.

 

[dksoundz]

If you were only out 700ft and loss FPV and couldn't see your bird is it possible you went behind the trees. Maybe you would then not be able to regain control signal until line of sight was clear.

One time I was flying out at 3000ft. and loss FPV. Kind of exploring so had no idea where bird was. Flipped off transmitter got my RTH. FPV would not return. Had a few high palm trees off to my left. **** bird was coming straight for them. Tried to regain control with S1 flip. No luck but bird flew right over them by a few feet. Talk about panic. Guess what, forgot to turn trnsmitter back on.

Haha oh man talk about a tense flight! I bet you had to change your underpants as you saw the bird heading towards those trees! I'm glad it made it back safe and sound though As for my scenario it really is a mystery, I had a clear line of sight, and was well above the trees when I lost FPV. I think my best bet is to check the S1 switch out on the assistant software as has been suggested to see if there is a fault.

 

[Meta4]

i was only 700 feet away but facing toward the sun, so I couldn't actually clearly see the bird. With no FPV to see and not knowing which direction I was in I

Bottom left of the screen on the app - there's your radar. It shows what direction to look the see your bird and it shows what direction it is pointing. I often lose sight of mine for 10 mins or more during a flight but I always know where it is and which way it is pointing. Makes it easy to bring her home every time. That feature is pure gold.