Anti flyaway technique.

[Big Ben]

Although there are undoubtedly a significant number of genuine flyaways resulting from all different kinds of technical issues there are also many unnecessary pseudo flyaways resulting from loss of orientation when the Phantom is at some distance often resulting from wind drift and you can't see which way your bird is facing. Activating RTH is (too) often used as an emergency measure in the hope the Phantom will be able to fly home on its own but RTH is limited in speed and when winds are up a bit that lower autonomous manoeuvring speed might not be enough to get any decent ground speed in the right direction if any. Worst case is that wind speed exceeds the autonomous speed and it will drift even farther away. In such a situation active flying in the right direction is needed to bring your bird back to you. Only with full right stick will you achieve the maximum ground speed.

Your first choice should be switching to Home Lock mode and pulling the right stick (and descend when it's downwind and winds are strong - as long as you keep LOS to maintain Tx-Rx connection) but if the Phantom isn't configured to use HL so it isn't available or when Home Point isn't set correctly or GPS mode/reception fails for whatever reason this will give you the next best alternative to reliably bring your bird back to you. It also works in ATTI mode.

It's a fairly simple technique to make the Phantom fly towards you even when you can't see which way it is facing as long as you do have a line of sight and can see whether it is moving left or right or neither. If you practice this technique with a simulator like Heli-X and a game pad with two joysticks so you can use it with confidence it might help you out of a sticky situation (pun intended) in the future. The free demo version of Heli-X has a Phantom as one of the copters you can select.

Download and install Heli-X and attach your controller and get everything working. Then do the following.

Take off and fly away to such a distance that it is still visible but you can't see its orientation. Then hold the left stick to one side for a while so it rotates and you have no idea which way it is facing. Now let's start bringing her back.

Use the right stick and give full stick in a direction of your choice. I use full stick to the right but it really doesn't matter. Now watch in which direction the Phantom moves. If it moves to the right you gradually move the right stick clockwise while keeping it full stick until the Phantom no longer moves to the right but holds its position laterally. It's now flying straight towards you.

If when giving full stick it moves to the left you gradually move the right stick counter clockwise until it no longer moves laterally. Now it is also flying straight towards you.

If it isn't moving laterally it is either moving straight towards you or straight away from you. You can either move the right stick around in any direction until you see it moving sideways or give a short lateral jolt with the left stick to get it to move sideways and then do as described above. You might prefer to let go of the sticks to let it hover. Give it a short rotation input and re-initialise the procedure with giving full right stick.

When it deviates and starts moving to the right you move the stick a bit clockwise and when it deviates to the left you move the stick CCW. Keep doing that and soon you will welcome your precious bird flying at a comfortable distance again.

If you're flying fast nearby this works too of course. To fly away from you the CW and CCW directions are reversed.

Try it. You'll find it works. If you master this it will give you confidence you'll be able to bring your bird back to you when for whatever reason it turns up far away. As long as you can see it and its lateral movements you know you can steer it in the right direction and this will considerably ease the sense of panic that otherwise might overwhelm you and can interfere with reacting adequately.

Good luck and happy flying.

 

[QYV]

whatever Big Ben says.

 

[Big Ben]

decent tip, and I'm not trying to shoot you down for the sake of being rude but your whole post works under the assumption that the pilot has switched their flight computer from Phantom mode (the default) to Naza mode, enabling ATTI, CL, HL etc.

On the contrary. That's the whole point. This method doesn't rely on any specific flight mode. It's a flying skill! It only requires a working connection so the pilot has control over the Phantom and a line of sight making it possible to see which way the Phantom is moving. And I start with remarking this is not for those situations where a technical issue causes the Phantom to be out of control, which fortunately often is not the case.

 

[David DJI H]

Hi Big Ben...

Good tips....

Hey, is that your dog? Is it a white Akita?

 

[QYV]

whatever Big Ben says

 

[Big Ben]

Hi Big Ben...

Good tips....

Hey, is that your dog? Is it a white Akita?

It helps to have options to bring your bird back home again. You can never have too many of those.

And no, not my dog. The last dog I had, a lovely smart Sheltie, unfortunately is in doggy heaven since 4½ years already. Just a picture I like which makes for a good, funny and above all very recognisable avatar which I always find useful for the purpose.

http://www.memegenerator.nl

ATTI and therefore CL/HL flight modes ONLY work if the pilot has switched the flight computer of the Phantom to Naza mode... which to my prior point, many pilots don't need or do.
cheers

And again, this is for when specific flight modes are NOT available!

Your first choice should be switching to Home Lock mode and pulling the right stick (and descend when it's downwind and winds are strong - as long as you keep LOS to maintain Tx-Rx connection) but if the Phantom isn't configured to use HL so it isn't available or when Home Point isn't set correctly or GPS mode/reception fails for whatever reason this will give you the next best alternative to reliably bring your bird back to you. It also works in ATTI mode.

It works in any NON-IOC mode!

 

[Monte55]

Love the picture of the dog

 

[QYV]

first off, yes it's a cute dog

and whatever else Big Ben says

 

[Big Ben]

Please read my posting again, and again, and again if necessary until you understand what it is I am saying because you clearly are not getting the point.

And "Phantom Mode" only exists in Phantom 2 models and not in Phantom 1 models (P1 and FC40). P1 type models only have NAZA-M mode. It's just that IOC is not enabled out-of-the-box and you need to enable it using the Naza-M Assistant software. P2 type Phantoms first need to be switched to NAZA-M mode using the Phantom Assistant software before additional flight modes can be used. The method I describe works in GPS mode (Phantom mode) or ATTI or even Manual if you can manage that. As long as you have regular control over the Phantom. It does NOT work in Home Lock or Course Lock modes because then the Phantom's reaction to stick inputs is entirely different from 'normal' control inputs.

I am NOT, I repeat NOT primarily saying ANYTHING about how IOC or any other flight modes work. Not PRIMARILY! I only mention them BEFORE I describe the essential part of my posting because they (in casu Home Lock) offer the easiest way to get out of a 'near flyaway situation' resulting from loss of orientation (and thus loss of adequate control) when your Phantom 'gets away from you' and has become a distant spot.

If for whatever reason you can NOT use Home Lock THEN the method I describe gives you a reliable FLYING TECHNIQUE that can bring your bird back to you and which in NO WAY WHATSOEVER relies on ANY special flight mode. On the contrary.

Please just try it with the Heli-X simulator. There are no IOC flight modes there. You'll have to do all the flying yourself. That's the whole point.

 

[Mori55]

What Ben is saying , has nothing to do with IOC ! If your flying and losing orientation , if you move the right stick right and it moves right it's facing away from you. If you move the right stick right and it goes to your left, it's facing you. Just like a Rc plane , left and right are reversed when coming towards you. Has nothing to do woth IOC.
He SAID IF you had naza IOC you could use home lock.

 

[wkf94025]

One additional technique I learned when I was mastering Ben's technique for regaining orientation of a distant phantom is to consider the contrast between the flying dot and the background. Altitude often matters when trying to identify your distant dot, and bring it home. Depending on the background (mountains, sky, etc.) going to a higher or lower elevation with left stick may improve contrast between your flying dot and the background, and increases your chances of regaining orientation. Of course, all this assumes you haven't panicked and can think and fly your way out of the jam.

The other advice I would give new pilots is this: don't let pride get in the way; if switching to Home Lock is the best way out, do that. And last resort, powering off the radio (except in high wind conditions noted earlier) is usually pretty **** effective, assume your pre-flight sequence includes waiting for satellite lock and the rapid flashing green sequence signaling home point set.

Happy flying,
Kelly

 

[quadcopter]

?.....If it moves to the right you gradually move the right stick clockwise while keeping it full stick until the Phantom no longer moves to the right but holds its position laterally. It's now flying straight towards you.

Great post.. Just so I understand though, once the Phantom is no longer moving right and is heading toward me I should release the right stick and the push it up? If I keep it where it was the Phantom will continue to turn and move to the left.

 

[DesertFlyer53]

LOL. I unserstood what the OP was saying the very first time I read it. :mrgreen:

 

[Phantom_Menace66]

decent tip, and I'm not trying to shoot you down for the sake of being rude but your whole post works under the assumption that the pilot has switched their flight computer from Phantom mode (the default) to Naza mode, enabling ATTI, CL, HL etc.

most people especially newer pilots have no need for all that and stick to Phantom mode, in which I do recommend people enable manual failsafe in Phantom Assistant so the right toggle switch can manually trigger Failsafe (is there any way to manually trigger Failsafe in Naza mode other than turning off the RC?). I acknowledge this doesn't address your "high wind speed" issue and if there happens to be really high wind in the wrong direction it might struggle to RTH, but at least Phantom-mode Failsafe would have turned the Phantom facing "home", so if it were struggling the person could then switch back to NormalFly and press full forward on their lateral stick and get full forward speed in the direction of "home", at least enough to get orientation back. plus the fact that they shouldn't be flying in high wind situations anyway

Your post is indeed great info for people who are in NAza mode and how to work ATTI, but labeling it a catch-all anti-flyaway technique imho is a bit of an overstatement, your post is more of a ATTI / HL technique which absolutely can be useful info to someone in that mode.

but, for example if the flyaway is occurring because the GoPro's wifi is turned on, the whole point is the gopro's signals are now overriding the RC and there's pretty much nothing you can do unless it randomly flies back towards you and you can somehow gain control.

anyway I'm just trying to help avoid confusion here if some newbie or anyone in Phantom mode tries to take your recommendation but doesn't understand Phantom vs Naza and why their toggle switches / ATTI don't operate like you describe.

In regards to assigning 'FAILSAFE' to the lower position of S1 in PHANTOM mode, The assistant software will not allow me to do it. I have asked people in several posts for help, but they insist I am doing something wrong. If you would, could you list the procedure in detail how to set 'FAILSAFE' to S1 in PHANTOM mode? Connect USB cable to what etc.... Many thanks

 

[OI Photography]

In regards to assigning 'FAILSAFE' to the lower position of S1 in PHANTOM mode, The assistant software will not allow me to do it. I have asked people in several posts for help, but they insist I am doing something wrong. If you would, could you list the procedure in detail how to set 'FAILSAFE' to S1 in PHANTOM mode? Connect USB cable to what etc.... Many thanks

1. Connect USB cable to PC and Phantom
2. Power on Phantom
3. Run P2 Assistant software on PC. Note: if you have to click "skip" to get past the loading screen, the software is not seeing your Phantom
4. In the pic below, click the menu indicated and the other option besides "Normal Fly" is "Failsafe" Note: if it doesn't let you choose/retain that option, the software is not seeing your Phantom.

 

[Big Ben]

?.....If it moves to the right you gradually move the right stick clockwise while keeping it full stick until the Phantom no longer moves to the right but holds its position laterally. It's now flying straight towards you.

Great post.. Just so I understand though, once the Phantom is no longer moving right and is heading toward me I should release the right stick and the push it up? If I keep it where it was the Phantom will continue to turn and move to the left.

My technique is intended to effectively give you Home Lock flying behaviour without Home Lock being actually used. Because Failsafe/RTH only flies with limited speed and may not be able to overcome strong winds you'll want active flying at maximum right stick controls to achieve maximum ground speed. Strong wind flying is what gets many people into trouble because your bird can get away from you very quickly when flying in strong wind conditions.

So keeping the stick at maximum deflection is what's needed to bring your bird back to you the quickest. You only move it along that maximum deflection circle. CW as long as your Phantom is moving to the right or when starting to move right again after it was holding steady laterally (and thus was flying at max speed towards you), and CCW as long as your Phantom is moving to the left or when starting to move left again after it was holding steady laterally (and thus was flying at max speed towards you). If it isn't moving laterally you keep the stick at maximum deflection where it is. By making these small corrections you'll be keeping the Phantom flying on a straight line towards you which is exactly what switching to Home Lock and pulling the right stick would do and which is exactly what you want if for whatever reason you can't use the 'real' Home Lock.

It's Home Lock without Home Lock. It will also work with multicopters that don't HAVE Home Lock. The poor man's Home Lock.

And as a PS to what I said earlier about it also working in Manual Mode. You can't give full stick then of course because the Phantom would start looping (and dropping fast) but with a smaller deflection of the stick and moving it along a smaller circle theoretically it would work too. In reality you will crash your bird hard if you would attempt to fly your Phantom in Manual mode when it's far away.

 

[QYV]

HAHAHAHAHAHA so you've been talking about a Phantom 1 the whole time? man why didn't you say so WAY earlier! lf your post had been in the Phantom 1 forum I never would have even commented.

you didn't actually specify, and I assumed alls well that ends well I guess if you want I'd be happy to go nuke my prior posts so they don't take up all that space

 

[Rumlvr]

Does the phantom come already programmed with the RTH function enabled right out of the box? Or does it have to be programmed in some other function?
Thanks Rob

 

[Mori55]

Does the phantom come already programmed with the RTH function enabled right out of the box? Or does it have to be programmed in some other function?
Thanks Rob

Yes it does , just shut off the transmitter.

 

[Big Ben]

so you've been talking about a Phantom 1 the whole time? man why didn't you say so WAY earlier! lf your post had been in the Phantom 1 forum I never would have even commented.

No, I haven't been talking about the P1. This technique is completely non-specific for any particular Phantom model and can be applied to any multirotor. Hence me posting it in the General Discussion section of the forum and not any Phantom type specific section.