Why does DJI allow a CSC in flight?

I never said anything about going 31 miles per hour or descending. I will say that holding both sticks down and outwards or down and inwards will initiate CSC. I don't try to descend. But, have caught myself in close CSC combinations by trying to orbit around an object. you have to fly your quad to the side a little bit. But, you can't just hold the sticks to the left or to the right because then it will just move sideways and not in a circular orbit. You also can't just hold the the throttle to the left or to the right because then it will just yaw in 360's. If you have truly tried orbiting around and object and successfully done so then you will know exactly what I'm talking about.
So you're not actually close to CSC at all then? Not judging, just trying to understand which CSC you're fearfull of...

I use control mode 1, and could never imagine getting near all four corners at once, unless it was on purpose. 100% throttle vertically and horizontally, while going spinning and straving left or right... wow
 
@stlblufan LOL sorry man!

Yes people are pretty agressive here. No idea why. Sorry for my curt reply.

Initially I used other methods to shut off power, but found the left straight down best and easiest. When left is full down, it still takes a second to shut down. While landing from say 20m it will not just suddenly stop the motors mid air. Whereas the other CSC options will.

If you plan on holding the left throttle stick 100% for more than 5 seconds while still in the air, you need to do more research and google VRS
I do it all the time...

VRS is as overblown as CSC issues...
 
I agree with removing it or a confirmation. I think the CSC is stupid as hell.

its for emergency stop when everything doesn't work properly? So then why would CSC work properly if nothing is working properly?
Probability of failure.
baro, VPS, GPS need more complicated system than Rx, and even some RC helis they're processed by other chips than main FC. With traditional PWM receiver, CSC emergency shutdown can be realized even with few electronic parts (no computer, no digital parts) - although I don't think P3 is that. :p Also 4 channel combination is much reliable 1 channel shutdown switch.
Barometer is thought as reliable on above posts, but... after recent version up, my P3 shows 0m after takeoff till 15'', then I descended, it shows -3.x meter. I was lucky that I was not the one who must apply CSC shutdown then, but if I was, the schizoid CSC may avoid me.
 
forget about CSC issues. the problem i have is the "full down" mode on the left stick. if i want to bring her down, it's an issue. if i want to bring her down quickly, it's a bigger issue. CSC is nothing compared to that issue.
For the benefit of any newcomers wondering about left stick down ... it looks like it's time to bring this out again
This question is asked so often I have saved this reply so I don't have to type it out every time.

The smart DJI designers of the Phantom are smarter than to design the P3 to crash when you descend for >3 secs?
And if it was a concern they would have mentioned that in the manual?

If you are high enough you can hold the left stick down for 33 seconds and it still won't stop the motors until you have landed.
That's what the manual says and that's the way it works.
Hundreds of pilots have tested and confirmed this.
You can descend left stick full down and it WILL NOT stop the motors in flight.
First of all. I would never hold the stick 100% full down in fear of Vortex Ring State. I hold it 75-95% all the time for 30+ seconds. Never had a problem. Motors never shut off. .. If you plan on holding the left throttle stick 100% for more than 5 seconds while still in the air, you need to do more research and google VRS before you put your bird back up in the air and danger other people.
For the benefit of those scared of VRS ...
It seems that the smart designers of the P3 also gave this some thought.
They have slightly angled the motors of the P3 so that the downdraft is not vertical.
This appears to have reduced/eliminated the possibility of VRS.
They have also indicated that they are happy for you to descend faster by allowing the P3 to descend 50% faster.
There have been no reports of a P3 encountering VRS as yet. It seems to be a thing of the past (from back before they limited the P2 to 2 m/sec.).
I have tested mine at full descent from significant heights in still air with no hint of VRS.
 
There have been no reports of a P3 encountering VRS as yet. It seems to be a thing of the past (from back before they limited the P2 to 2 m/sec.).
I have tested mine at full descent from significant heights in still air with no hint of VRS.

I'll still spiral or use forward elevator / pitch if I'm descending though. Old habits :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: flax
" It would be near impossible to preform a CSC in flight unless you intended to do one."

Yet newbies seem to do it once a week unintentionally. For this very reason the whole CSC procedure should be re-evaluated. Just because it's not changed since the dawn of drones, is no reason NOT to look at the procedure once in a while.


Yup.

Dumb it down to the lowest common denominator.
 
  • Like
Reactions: snerd and Marlin009
The last thing I want to say on this matter is that drones are coming to the masses as prices are dropping and availability is increasing. If a drone requires an emergency shut down procedure that must happen in 3 seconds, else lives are in danger, then perhaps the why and how a drone got into that situation should be reviewed. The P3 has 2 CSC toggle maneuvers that may or may not shut down the engines in flight. My original thought was to invoke discussion as to the ease and potential accidental activation of either CSC maneuver. My intention was to re-think IF there’s a better way to do an emergency and non-emergency shut down and IF it’s still required with the high level of automation the P3 has.

I live and work in the aviation world and read accident reports all the time. If highly trained professional pilots make dumb errors, and they do, then the common non-RTFM people are guaranteed to make more errors and transgressions. Also, to read is one thing, to actually respect the procedure in another.

I agreed that the designers of the P3 are smart; I was just offering a suggestion in case the obvious escaped them. I'm just trying to improve the product.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Stephan and taroh
For the benefit of any newcomers wondering about left stick down ... it looks like it's time to bring this out again
This question is asked so often I have saved this reply so I don't have to type it out every time.

The smart DJI designers of the Phantom are smarter than to design the P3 to crash when you descend for >3 secs?
And if it was a concern they would have mentioned that in the manual?

If you are high enough you can hold the left stick down for 33 seconds and it still won't stop the motors until you have landed.
That's what the manual says and that's the way it works.
Hundreds of pilots have tested and confirmed this.
You can descend left stick full down and it WILL NOT stop the motors in flight.

For the benefit of those scared of VRS ...
It seems that the smart designers of the P3 also gave this some thought.
They have slightly angled the motors of the P3 so that the downdraft is not vertical.
This appears to have reduced/eliminated the possibility of VRS.
They have also indicated that they are happy for you to descend faster by allowing the P3 to descend 50% faster.
There have been no reports of a P3 encountering VRS as yet. It seems to be a thing of the past (from back before they limited the P2 to 2 m/sec.).
I have tested mine at full descent from significant heights in still air with no hint of VRS.

With still air and wind plays a factor. There has been a couple times where I seem to be descending too fast. Even RTH seemed to be descending too fast sometimes. I will be honest and say VRS has never happened to me on my P3. But, I will say there has been a few times where a gust of wind came and the P3 started to wobble pretty aggressively. I live in South Florida so the wind and breeze is never less than 15 mph. I rather be safe than sorry and keep testing the limits of the P3's descents because once it crashes it will obviously never be the same.
 
If you were going to get into a VRS situation it would be in still air.
I have come down at full descent from hundreds of feet up in still air with no problems, as have many others.
If you descend in a wind, that is the same effect as descending as you move forward or sideways.
You won't be descending into propwash (VRS) as the propwash is being blown away and you always have clean air under your props..
 
  • Like
Reactions: Stephan
If you fly it like a normal person, you don't need to ever think about CSC. It won't happen.

If you fly it like you stole it, you need to make sure you don't accidentally CSC. And you need to accept you're probably going to crash anyway. The Phantom is not a high-performance speed racer. It's a fat chicken with propellers.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Stephan
If a drone requires an emergency shut down procedure that must happen in 3 seconds, else lives are in danger, then perhaps the why and how a drone got into that situation should be reviewed.
The P3 has 2 CSC toggle maneuvers that may or may not shut down the engines in flight.
No .. when you have to make an emergency shutdown, you have to immediately - not in 3 seconds.
Usually when an emergency shutdown is required it is because the spinning props are likely to hurt someone and this is almost always when the Phantom is on the ground - not when it's flying.
There are 2 CSC positions for the P3 and they do shut down the motors whenever CSC is initiated - it's not a case of may or may not, it happens instantly.

My original thought was to invoke discussion as to the ease and potential accidental activation of either CSC maneuver. My intention was to re-think IF there’s a better way to do an emergency and non-emergency shut down and IF it’s still required with the high level of automation the P3 has
I agreed that the designers of the P3 are smart; I was just offering a suggestion in case the obvious escaped them. I'm just trying to improve the product.
This discussion has been done over and over (didn't you start by saying you've read lots of CSC threads?)
The potential for accidental activation is near zero and the designers have a lot of experience.
The obvious didn't escape them.
You haven't commented on how much P3 flying you have done but the indications are, not much.
With some flying experience, this will make a lot more sense to you.
 
Without reading all of the posts, I 100% believe it needs to remain a function on the Phantom. If my bird, for whatever reason, should loose control and head towards a crowd or something that could be harmed, I would initiate CSC in a second to spare any injuries. Another thought is if it were to randomly head towards a lake, I would take it down then too. A busted up P3 is worth more to me then one lost in a lake.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JBG
For what it's worth, I'd just like to add that IMHO, the CSC should stay and be easily accessible. It literally saved my P3 about a month ago.

I took off quickly, like an idiot, and had the drone rotated the wrong way. Instead of launching "up and out" over the ocean, I launched "up and backwards" into the middle of the branches of a palm tree. The props hit a branch, sending the P3 out of control and straight towards the water. I instinctively hit the CSC, shutting down the P3 and letting it crash upside down into the sand instead of the water. I walked away with a sandy drone with 2 broken props instead of a wet useless drone. $8 later (plus a lot of inspection) and I was flying like it never happened.

The moral of the story is that when you need to use a CSC, you need it immediately.
 
If a smart drone knows it's above X feet and allows a CSC without confirmation, why not re-name the CSC to SDP (Self Destruct Procedure). A confirmation would, at best, add a second or two to the shut down.
The Phantom only knows the altitude above it's home point. As others have said, CSC has been around long, long before the people at DJI even graduated from primary school, so don't blame them.

I use CSC to turn off my motors after every landing. It is instant instead of the Phantom watching the barometer module for three seconds to make sure you really landed. A gust of wind could cause it to tip over or to take off again if the barometer thinks you are still flying during that three seconds. But to your question, if you take off from a point lower than your landing spot, how would you stop the motors if CSC wouldn't work?
 
@stlblufan LOL sorry man!

Yes people are pretty agressive here. No idea why. Sorry for my curt reply.

Initially I used other methods to shut off power, but found the left straight down best and easiest. When left is full down, it still takes a second to shut down. While landing from say 20m it will not just suddenly stop the motors mid air. Whereas the other CSC options will.

I do it all the time...

VRS is as overblown as CSC issues...

VRS is not entirely overblown, you can encounter it. If I want to come down fast, I'll push in some forward power when the left stick is all the way down.
 
The Phantom only knows the altitude above it's home point. As others have said, CSC has been around long, long before the people at DJI even graduated from primary school, so don't blame them.

I use CSC to turn off my motors after every landing. It is instant instead of the Phantom watching the barometer module for three seconds to make sure you really landed. A gust of wind could cause it to tip over or to take off again if the barometer thinks you are still flying during that three seconds. But to your question, if you take off from a point lower than your landing spot, how would you stop the motors if CSC wouldn't work?

If I hand catch, the take off point is lower than launch. Never had a problem using left stick to kill power that way.
 
It's a tough situation. CSC is instant and can be done at any time for good reasons. However, by this same token it can be done when it should not be done. It's the nature of the beast.
 

Recent Posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
143,066
Messages
1,467,357
Members
104,935
Latest member
Pauos31