Very Depressing FlyAway DJIPhantom2 ( Non Vision )

[Gizmodude]

Well, where do I start ... at our flying club field ( a space we rent from a farmer ) we are a heli only club in Bloomingdale, Ontario Canada... and I have flown at our club numerous times with no issues... It was very overcast this day and I made sure i had full battery power all around, compass calibration completed successfully and was seeing at least 4+ sats ..so all good to go! With my daughters gift to me strapped to the phantom 2 a Go-pro Hero camera that I have used many times before I proceeded to fly over the tall corn fields to get some good Arial video of the crop layout and an appreciation for how tall the corm crop was this year... all is going well till at about a 2:00 O'clock direction the quad started to continue to drift away with NO response from the transmitter inputs ! :shock:

I tried all the recommended steps that have been mentioned to try to get it to come back or at least start descending, nothing.. .I cold no longer see it as the corn crop was now blocking m line of sight as the quad continued to drift away....

In summary, I am not soo upset about the loss of the quad, crap happens... but more so about loosing the gift from my daughter... since I have seen many of these reports posted and from what I gather DJI's response is typically " its not our problem "... has me at a loss of faith in their product and the ability to provide great customer service .... The firmware was completely up to date when this occurred with about 1/2 dozen flights since so I know it was up to that point working correctly.... is there a place where one can file a claim against DJI for stuff like this, or would that just be another bundle of RED Tape and a waste of time...Oh well $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ flushed down the toilet....

 

[QYV]

go to your vendor, wherever it was purchased from. don't go directly to DJI. I had a flyaway where the Phantom was not recovered and managed to arrange a 70% discount on a new one.

 

[N017RW]

Of course all due condolences to you.

But what does "at least 4+ sats" mean... 6, 8, 10?

Not enough for home point 'lock", or is that a typo?

 

[Monte55]

It would have been nice if you had a gps tracker on it.

 

[IrishSights]

Of course all due condolences to you.

But what does "at least 4+ sats" mean... 6, 8, 10?

Not enough for home point 'lock", or is that a typo?

Agree, sounds like not enough satellites therefore you were flying in the equivilent of ATTI mode. When you say 4+ it means you dont really know otherwise you would have said so. Sorry, this is not a flyaway it sounds more like pilot error in not checking/waiting for homelock and satellite lock. Just based on what you have told us. I dont think you have a pups chance getting anything out of DJI under these circumstances.

Nevertheless sorry to hear of the loss.

 

[Gizmodude]

Of course all due condolences to you.

But what does "at least 4+ sats" mean... 6, 8, 10?

Not enough for home point 'lock", or is that a typo?

Sorry TYPO, I meant at least 6 satellites found by way of the led indicator.. No USER error here my fellow phantom pilots... just dumb luck and a roll of the dice ..... but I will contact my Reseller and see what they can do for me... thanks for the idea !

Cheers

 

[IrishSights]

You really need at least 7 satellites for takeoff. Were you in Naza or Phantom mode? Did you have fpv and iosd mini? You didn't say specificlly if you initiated RTH (switch off transmitter) or tried homelock and pulled the stick (Needs Naza mode and satellites). Still sounds like a satellite lock problem, pilot error or loss of satellite lock mid flight. It would then drift in the wind. Still think with the lack of evidence dji will not respond. Could be wrong but good luck anyway.

 

[Damon]

I noticed you mentioned the new gift. Go Pro Hero ....please tell me you had the Wi-Fi turned off.

 

[HarryT]

Presumably you had a label on your Phantom with your name and phone number on it? Really all you can do is sit back and wait for the phone to ring. I got lucky when I mislaid my Phantom (pure pilot error - not a flyaway) - it landed in someone's garden and an hour later I got a phone call from a very puzzled elderly gentleman wondering what on Earth it was.

 

[Gizmodude]

I noticed you mentioned the new gift. Go Pro Hero ....please tell me you had the Wi-Fi turned off.

Yes , Wifi was turned off... most definitely known issues there.. Thanks

 

[Gizmodude]

Presumably you had a label on your Phantom with your name and phone number on it? Really all you can do is sit back and wait for the phone to ring. I got lucky when I mislaid my Phantom (pure pilot error - not a flyaway) - it landed in someone's garden and an hour later I got a phone call from a very puzzled elderly gentleman wondering what on Earth it was.

I wish i did, oooh boy sometimes the simplest things you think of afterwards... permanent marker on it would be better ! LOL Unfortunately NO I did not...

 

[HarryT]

That's very unfortunate . Sadly, it's these little things that make all the difference.

 

[ianwood]

Sorry for your loss. This does not sound like a flyway. It sounds like intermittent loss of RF caused by lack of RF LOS (occluded Fresnel). Drift likely caused by limited number of satellites locked at take off. Possibly regained RF without visual and may have inadvertently crashed it as result (CFIT).

 

[krsdj1]

I had a flyaway once and wasn't sure what happened,My friend had crashed several times and the last crash probably loosened something up inside and just flew away never seen again,sorry for your loss,contact the dealer,my dealer gave me a good price on a new one

 

[Gizmodude]

Of course all due condolences to you.

But what does "at least 4+ sats" mean... 6, 8, 10?

Not enough for home point 'lock", or is that a typo?

Typo, sorry 10 sats locked at that time ...

 

[jason]

Typo, sorry 10 sats locked at that time ...

Little late in trying to make your point are you not?