All these reported flyways are going to kill sales

ElGuano said:
"APM flyaway" 35,500 hits
"Kk flyaway" 6 million hits (there's a song)
"Arducopter flyaway" 12,400 hits
350qx flyaway: 12,800 hits


Now map those hits with estimated sales figures.

For example, I bet there are more than 3X the number of Phantoms than 350QX's.
 
FlyingFanta said:
ElGuano said:
"APM flyaway" 35,500 hits
"Kk flyaway" 6 million hits (there's a song)
"Arducopter flyaway" 12,400 hits
350qx flyaway: 12,800 hits


Now map those hits with estimated sales figures.

For example, I bet there are more than 3X the number of Phantoms than 350QX's.

Three times? Before Christmas a DJI rep in China was saying they were moving 10k Phantoms a week (pre-P2 I think). I would say it's likely there's an order of magnitude more Phantoms than 350s being sold.
 
I don't know what percentage of fly away reports are legitimate vs. user error but if I had to guess, I'd bet it's less than 50%.

I'd bet people get pretty emotional when their very expensive toy is either dead or gone. And because it probably happened much too fast, they probably don't remember everything that happened as it happened. And sheer disappointment will drive them to vent their frustration online whether the incident was their fault or not.

Also, my belief is that as much as DJI is trying to "consumerize" these machines, they are still complicated. New technologies that venture into the consumer space for the first time will invariably have aspects of them that are not obvious and are not user-friendly. They are also going to have a higher rate of technical issues than we are willing to accept.

As the consumer multi-rotor space matures, the equipment will get less expensive, more reliable, more user-friendly and people will be more familiar with them out of the box. I think that's already evident looking at the differences between the P1 and the P2. But until it fully matures, you need to be careful. With the little experience I have with it so far, it seems that if you take your time, absorb a whole lot of the useful information online and take the needed precautions, your odds of a fly away are probably very low. Not zero but very low.
 
I'm new to ask this, and yes I have had a fly away, right out if the box.

When I got my second one (dji phantom v1.1.1) I actually read the manual, waited for the lights, prepped it correctly.

Over 12 flights later, not a single problem. Watch you lights, fly with a good home lock and be patient. It's not a matchbox car you just open and put in the track. It is a very sensitive, amazing piece of equipment that you must respect.

Stay safe.

Gary
http://www.flytrex.com/gary.goodloff
Phantom, Sony Action Cam, Flytrex, (awaiting 2w tx, board camera)
 
More than just looking at the lights (gps home position set, etc) a part of your pre-flight checklist should also visually inspect the flying area for possible sources of radio and magnetic interference like cell towers, power lines, etc.
 
Gary,

While I waited for my Phantom, I read these boards and watched every video imaginable. Twice.

I actually read the "manual". Twice.

14 perfect flights. Perfect!

Flight 15, my Phantom took off from me, never to be seen again.

It happens. It's not always pilot error. (Can I prove that? Nope.)

Interference? I was on the middle of a frozen lake without a pole or tower within half a mile at least.

It does happen. Prepare for the worst, expect the best. My next Phantom will not leave the ground without a GPS tracker on board. No way.

riems.net said:
I'm new to ask this, and yes I have had a fly away, right out if the box.

When I got my second one (dji phantom v1.1.1) I actually read the manual, waited for the lights, prepped it correctly.

Over 12 flights later, not a single problem. Watch you lights, fly with a good home lock and be patient. It's not a matchbox car you just open and put in the track. It is a very sensitive, amazing piece of equipment that you must respect.

Stay safe.

Gary
http://www.flytrex.com/gary.goodloff
Phantom, Sony Action Cam, Flytrex, (awaiting 2w tx, board camera)
 
jthorstad said:
Gary,
While I waited for my Phantom, I read these boards and watched every video imaginable. Twice.

Interference? I was on the middle of a frozen lake without a pole or tower within half a mile at least.

It does happen. Prepare for the worst, expect the best. My next Phantom will not leave the ground without a GPS tracker on board. No way.

Sorry to read that. I'm curious though about being in the middle of a frozen lake with little to nothing around you. When it took off, wouldn't having nothing around you make it easier to head to that direction and find it?
 
"Twas a smallish lake, with treeline along the shore. It ended up flying up and away, over woods and fields. It had enough battery that I can imagine it may have flown a mile or more in that direction. Frozen fields and woods...and 2 feet or more of snow.

I did mark a landmark in the distance that lined up with its course. I walked about half a mile in that direction, through woods, over barbed wire fence into a field...and realized that looking for a white Phantom in the snow would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

My name and number are on it. I was hopeful a snowmobiler might happen upon it and call. It was four weeks ago today, and we've had considerable snow since then, so the odds of that happening are nil.

I'm pretty sure it will be plowed under in the spring by some unsuspecting farmer.

FlyingFanta said:
jthorstad said:
Gary,
While I waited for my Phantom, I read these boards and watched every video imaginable. Twice.

Interference? I was on the middle of a frozen lake without a pole or tower within half a mile at least.

It does happen. Prepare for the worst, expect the best. My next Phantom will not leave the ground without a GPS tracker on board. No way.

Sorry to read that. I'm curious though about being in the middle of a frozen lake with little to nothing around you. When it took off, wouldn't having nothing around you make it easier to head to that direction and find it?
 
Ton4 said:
Flyaways are real. People who did everything right loose a Phantom because of issues beyond their control.

Don't be protective of a product that sometimes has its issues.

Suppose we had a number, what would be acceptable for you?

A chance of 5% that you will loose your investment? 2%, 1% 10%?

In the rc world crashes are common but these products are getting another audience.

Its time people don't accept anymore to be put to sleep by stories about calibration, interference, bad gps reception and the like.

It's time that companies producing these machines start addressing safety issues. They should come up with satisfying answers on questions like "What happens when the flight controller fails?"

No skydiver jumps without a backup, no quad should leave the ground without one too.

In a time where a complex OSD costs relatively nothing redundancy should be cheap as well.

Don't play the issues down. There is enough reason to ask for a safer product.


I am 100% in agreement with you Sir.
 
PetePerrim said:
hancop said:
I can't believe the number of flyways and battery issues I have been reading about.
I was all excited about purchasing one of the phantom 2's with the gimble and getting a go pro 3+ to put on it.
After spending many hours reading about fly aways and battery issues, I can't stomach the thought of watching $1,400 worth of equipment be destroyed or be unrecoverable.
Couple thoughts that might help:
-add a smaller second battery as backup so if main battery or contacts fail it takes over and notifies user to fly it back home or flies home automatically
-change the gopro gimble so that the gopro can fit into it with the protective case on. At least if you crash or go into water hopefully your $400 camera would then survive.

I want to purchase one of these but just can't until the issues with them have been ironed out

Signed one sad wannabe phantom pilot

I would suggest that a great deal of the flyaway a are pilot error, pure and simple. I know this because like most new owners of this type of quad you tend to believe that they can be pulled out of the box, charged up and flown immediately without any real effort from the pilot. Wrong. These machines are inherently fickle and are affected by many atmospheric and environmental influencers. Just like a 747 they need a pre flight check every time and I also saw someone make the great suggestion of a 1 minute hover before departing the take off area to ensure the compass is calibrated and there are no other control or electronic issues.

I learned my lesson the expensive way with my last quad (Walkera QRX350) which is now a total loss of well over $1000 so when my new DJI arrives it will be treated with the respect it deserves and will be kept up to date with firmware upgrades etc. I don't think I could afford to lose another expensive toy so it is up to me to make sure that I have done absolutely everything I can to keep it flying home at the end of each flight.

There are so many people here that behave exactly like a good fanboy should :)

Denial can only last for so long. All manufactures make mistake and produce garbage from time to time.
Often boiling down to the parts/components supplier. But the QC and QA are resposibilities of the manufacturer
of the finished product. Not the end user ;)

Some just can't admit to it and fix it...
 
Does anyone know the hour ratio for a motor bearing to fail?, someone mentioned that the motor bearings can fail and consequentially have a fly away. How long will the motors usually last, is there a test to check the motors?.

Thanks for your help

Joe
 
Joeg1937 said:
Does anyone know the hour ratio for a motor bearing to fail?, someone mentioned that the motor bearings can fail and consequentially have a fly away. How long will the motors usually last, is there a test to check the motors?.

Thanks for your help

Joe

Don't know, but this is one of the culprits I have began to blame too. There are several reports of out of the box motors (1 out of 4) having unusual behaiour. I know - now the fanboys start screaming pilot error in one voice... :)

The behavoiur in Phantom flyways are strikingly similar.

Out of the blue the phantom stops responding, hitting full throtlle and more often than not banking steeply to one direction ending up running circles at full speed. So it could be that one motor is losing its thrust and the others are over compensating thus full throttle and circles.

Many consider that the 2.4GHz frequency disturbance/interference is to blame... could be... but many of flyways have also occurred in remote and unihabited areas. With exact same type of characteristics. So I dont think it is to blame. And why only phantoms? (and reportedly some/few other DJI naza based systems)
 
Joeg1937 said:
Does anyone know the hour ratio for a motor bearing to fail?, someone mentioned that the motor bearings can fail and consequentially have a fly away. How long will the motors usually last, is there a test to check the motors?.

Thanks for your help

Joe
DJI doesn't officially publish this. But for their e300 motors, which are the incremental improvement on the phantom motors (both 2212/920 but with nmb bearings) the minimum target was stated as 300 hours @ 300g/axis. You can use that as a rough ballpark. I know some people who fly in really harsh environments and they go through bearings like crazy. But never as a "flyaway" as bearings tend to let you know as they are going bad.
 
I have been wondering about these bearings... Might it in any way be sensible (if possible of course) to lubricate them every xx hours as part of normal preventative maintenance?
 
There are huge threads and long-lived arguments of whether you should lube the bearings and if they're sealed and if the lube kills the plastic shell and if you should replace or swap to boca etc. Plenty to fill up a weekend of light reading.
 
I see a trend for this to turn into, "it's all user error" vs "it's all dji's fault". As with most things I think the truth is somewhere in the middle. These are getting cheap enough that any dumb yahoo can buy one, and that is surely bringing a ton of user error in. But we've got a lot of cases of people who know what they're doing having fly a ways. I think that there is some product failure involved in a lot of them. Is it computer, mechanical, interference or something else? I don't know. I think DJI may not know. I think they've attempted to fix most of the issues they can track down, but I don't think they have it all right.

More redundancy is probably the answer, but that will bring cost and weight up, so it's not going to be popular.

It's also darn hard to figure out what happened on many of these the the evidence has flown away into oblivion.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Jermz said:
I see a trend for this to turn into, "it's all user error" vs "it's all dji's fault". As with most things I think the truth is somewhere in the middle. These are getting cheap enough that any dumb yahoo can buy one, and that is surely bringing a ton of user error in. But we've got a lot of cases of people who know what they're doing having fly a ways. I think that there is some product failure involved in a lot of them. Is it computer, mechanical, interference or something else? I don't know. I think DJI may not know. I think they've attempted to fix most of the issues they can track down, but I don't think they have it all right.

More redundancy is probably the answer, but that will bring cost and weight up, so it's not going to be popular.

It's also darn hard to figure out what happened on many of these the the evidence has flown away into oblivion.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's a very sensible take.
 
Never ask a dealer about flyaways they will tell you it's mostly user error. Can you imagine buying a car from a guy and he tells you about drive aways?
 

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