8 Mistakes that can lead to disaster

[UpLift Aerial]

TJ,

I don't need/want credit specifically.
A simple member update (at-large) would suffice.

Beyond that.. part of my post that followed is now seemingly redundant thus unnecessary.
After pointing this out the member still did not 'get it'.

No hard feelings towards the OP, I'll just be more careful in the future.

I'm sorry. I credited you now. [emoji4]

 

[Pharm]

I guess I'll just steer clear of porpoises.

 

[UpLift Aerial]

I guess I'll just steer clear of porpoises.

Every things is good here now.

 

[UpLift Aerial]

This is why I thought this...

 

[Ing Zimmerman]

The reason for this is that the battery is not calibrated properly.
!

How do you calibrate a battery?

 

[UpLift Aerial]

How do you calibrate a battery?

**DJI dose not recommend doing so anymore.**

Discharge the battery to 8% and recharge it back up to 100%.

Warning: It will not be my responsibility if something happens to your drone! Take actions at your own risk!

 

[Mocho]

Thank you.
Didn't mean to imply I wasn't able (but will admit not interested) just pointing out that CSC, when properly done, is not a recipe for disaster. Mine has never tipped when executed properly.

Although some people can shutdown with CSC there is plenty of evidence one should not use CSC to shutdown a P3 when on the ground.
So if you have a P3x don't bother trying to shut off your craft using CSC when all you have to do is hold down one stick, which makes it a non issue.

 

[crash1sttime]

Just to add a comment

If you start the motors and let it idle then the quad won't lift off or make any movements, this ( in my humble opinion) will only happen if you have landed and leave the motors running as it is as this point still thinking it is in flight. I have actually tested this on my P2V and was able to leave the motors at idle for over 10 minutes with no effect,
I have also tested by strapping the quad down to a weight and the starting the props and powering the quad up and then bringing the motor speed down to idle and at this point the quad started to power up and down as it believed it was still in flight.

This was as stated on a P2V and maybe different on the P3/4

 

[roosta]

Good post. Being new to this, will be note sure to make some of the more obvious rookie mistakes. Think I need to graduate into FPV as well...

 

[Melvoid]

Warning: If you use my suggestions, it will not be my responsibility if something happens to your drone! Take actions at your own risk!


1] Watching the live feed and not the drone
While it might seem like an okay thing to do, you can only see whats in front of you, not whats to the left, right, or behind. If you are flying near something, and you want to get that perfect shot, you font actually know how close you relay are. If you are using the P4 or P4P you have obstacle avoidance to help you out. But its still not the best idea to watch the live view the whole time. There are still birds and hydro lines that the obstacle avoidance can't always detect.

2] Installing props to loose
Installing props to loose can obviously lead to a prop flying of mid flight. Always make sure you install props tight (not to tight) even tho they are “self-tightening” they can still go on their own little flight without the AC.

3] Not inspecting your UAV before and after flight
Something that I always do before and after flight is inspect my Phantom for stress cracks and anything else that might be damaged. This can cause the AC to crash mid air.

4] Flying with a battery that's not fully charged (Credit to @tcope)
I've seen numerous people start a flight with a battery that's not fully charged and their drone has either tried to RTH and crashed, flew away or something else. This can cause the battery into thinking that its low and tells the AC to RTH or land. The reason for this is that the battery is not calibrated properly.

5] loose battery
This one is pretty obvious. Make sure your battery is in snug. When putting in the battery, push it in until you here a “click” and double check before taking off.

6] Flying with propellers that are damaged and/or unbalanced
Flying with damaged props can cause them to be unbalanced. If you have damaged propellers you should change them before your next flight. Even it they only have a few nicks on the end they could be unbalanced and lead to a crash. It isn't worth it. It is better to spend a few on propellers than it is to spend 100's to 1000's on a new drone or parts.

7] Using CSC to shut off the motors (Credit to @N017RW)
Now i have to admit, I have done this myself. But now i don't because i realize what can happen. When you use CSC to turn off the motors you are telling the AC to yaw to the right, descend, move left, and move backwards all at the same time. This can cause the AC to tip. So instead, hold the left stick all the way down until the motors turn off. Or put the left stick down first, then perform the other three steps. It may not lead to disaster, it is still not a good thing to do.

8] leaving propellers Idling (Credit to @N017RW, @crash1sttime)
Never, EVER leave propellers idling. If you are going to do so for testing porpoises please take the propellers off! If you leave the propellers on it can start to fly away on its own. The reason for this is that DJI Phantoms have a air presser sensor (and many others, GPS etc.) to help detect what its altitude and position is. If it is left one the ground idling it will heat up and the presser changes so it wants to go up to get it back to what it thinks is its right altitude.
Watch @crash1sttime's video:

Thanks for reading!
If you have any other ones to add let me know. If you find a mistake let me know and I'll do my best to change it. Got a topic you would like me to write on? Comment down below, and don't forget to drop a like!

Safe and happy flying everyone!

Just a suggestion, but in things like #7, you might not want to assume that we all know what "CSC" means. Might want to define it the first time at least. In context, it sounds like something to do with the joy sticks on the RC (remote control), but I'm still not sure exactly what it stands for.

 

[Melvoid]

I guess I'll just steer clear of porpoises.

Yeah, they'll jump up and try to eat it.

 

[UpLift Aerial]

Just a suggestion, but in things like #7, you might not want to assume that we all know what "CSC" means. Might want to define it the first time at least. In context, it sounds like something to do with the joy sticks on the RC (remote control), but I'm still not sure exactly what it stands for.

CSC = combined stick command.

 

[Pharm]

Just to add a comment

If you start the motors and let it idle then the quad won't lift off or make any movements, this ( in my humble opinion) will only happen if you have landed and leave the motors running as it is as this point still thinking it is in flight. I have actually tested this on my P2V and was able to leave the motors at idle for over 10 minutes with no effect,
I have also tested by strapping the quad down to a weight and the starting the props and powering the quad up and then bringing the motor speed down to idle and at this point the quad started to power up and down as it believed it was still in flight.

This was as stated on a P2V and maybe different on the P3/4

Interesting (and a bit scary) video.

I have landed my P3S and allowed it to idle for several minutes while I readjusted settings, and the motors never revved up at all. Interesting.

 

[UpLift Aerial]

I have landed my P3S and allowed it to idle for several minutes while I readjusted settings, and the motors never revved up at all. Interesting.

Nobody said it happens every time.
Also, if the metal affected the phantom, the phantom wouldn't have aloud him to start up the motors.

 

[Pharm]

Nobody said it happens every time
Also, if the metal affected the phantom, the phantom wouldn't have aloud him to start up the motors.

A. I didn't say it happened all the time (hence the reason I added " Interesting").
B. Not true. Myself and many others have started their Phantoms on metal surfaces or metal reinforced concrete (before we knew better). The Phantom will throw compass errors and go into Atti mode but it WILL start and WILL take off.

 

[UpLift Aerial]

A. I didn't say it happened all the time.
B. Not true. Myself and many others have started their Phantoms on metal surfaces or metal reinforced concrete (before we knew better). The Phantom will throw compass errors and go into Atti mode but it WILL start and WILL take off.

A) You said something did not take off on its own. I said they don't always.
B)I've landed my quaud on top of our truck in our yard. Ithe would not let me take off and had "strong magnetic interference" and wouldn't let me take off. It must have had more metal in the truck.

 

[Pharm]

A) You said something did not take off on its own. I said they don't always.
B)I've landed my quaud on top of our truck in our yard. Ithe would not let me take off and had "strong magnetic interference" and wouldn't let me take off. It must have had more metal in the truck.

Possible. When I was a newbie, I landed mine in the back of my truck with no problems. I think I got lucky. I also got the strong magnetic interference when I took off very close to a car but it still took off. Needless to say, I landed and took off further away. Maybe your truck has something nefarious hidden in it. Possibly aliens?

 

[UpLift Aerial]

Possible. When I was a newbie, I landed mine in the back of my truck with no problems. I think I got lucky. I also got the strong magnetic interference when I took off very close to a car but it still took off. Needless to say, I landed and took off further away. Maybe your truck has something nefarious hidden in it. Possibly aliens?

actually it was ontop of the cab. That may be why. If was a friend of ours that was at our house actually. He was fine with me doing it.

 

[crash1sttime]

Interesting (and a bit scary) video.

I have landed my P3S and allowed it to idle for several minutes while I readjusted settings, and the motors never revved up at all. Interesting.

They may have fixed this issue in the P3 range which was why I stated that this was with the P2V, for those who are taking about the metal, assuming your talking about it being on a metal BBQ plate, I was just intending to show how the quad would rev up if left idling, no doubt that had I switched on the DJI flight app ( the original app for the P2V for the new guys) it may have shown a compass issue, but I've never known a compass issue stop you from starting the motors at least not on a P2V, maybe the P3/4 does i haven't tried.