Are flyaways a thing of the past because of P4?

[Juventino]

I'm pretty impressed with the P4 and I am seriously considering getting one after some other people get theirs and real reviews are out...

But I'm wondering now that the motors are so powerful and it has a sports mode that can fly as fast as 72 km/h does that mean flyaways are a thing of the past? I know Phantom 3 could flyaway, I don't know if that happens to the Inspires? But what do you guys think?

 

[BigAl07]

Honestly anything with RTH, GPS guidance, and self stabilization has a good potential to "Fly Away". All it would take would be loss of signal along with an erroneous Home Point and it's Bye Bye P4 (or 5 or 6 or 7).

The more automation you include more chance for a fly away.

 

[WetDog]

Quadcopters just want to be free!

And the closer they get to sentience, the worse this is going to get. Just say'in.

 

[Phantom Flyer123]

The more automation you include more chance for a fly away.

no... this can be true sometimes but if you work very hard on the automation/features for a long time (not saying that DJI has though!) and make sure that it is safe, it does not automatically mean that it has a higher chance of a flyaway
If you improve the accuracy and safety protocols of things while still automating it, it can make it much safer.
I believe that flyaways will be just as common as before, but more likely for them to have a better ending.

 

[fly_it]

Do Inspires fly away too? I would assume so, but I haven't read much about them.

I'm wondering if the pause button on the phantom will stop the fly away momentarily. Can you imagine realizing that you're entering a fly away situation, hit the pause button, and then just sit there realizing it's only going to start flying away when you resume the flight? I'm not sure if that's exactly how it would work or not, but perhaps it's a possibility.

 

[Jussaguy]

Honestly anything with RTH, GPS guidance, and self stabilization has a good potential to "Fly Away". All it would take would be loss of signal along with an erroneous Home Point and it's Bye Bye P4 (or 5 or 6 or 7).

The more automation you include more chance for a fly away.

Yes, it's true, the more automation, the more chances there are for a "fly away" which should really be changed to "If you don't take care of your business you will lose you bird".

Let's use modern aviation as an example. Everything on a modern airplane is automated so the pilot only trains for emergencies like something going bad in the sky but we are MUCH MUCH safer because of all the automation so yes, less problems with the automated features but that is only a product of it's existence.

Let's put it another way. Want to get rid of all car accidents tomorrow? Nobody drive.

 

[Mako79]

Define a flyaway.. is when the phantom is in front of you and it zooms off without your input?
Or
When you lose it on a long mission when FPV just cuts out like the scenarios below:

You lose FPV behind a hill
The phantom RTHs and flies under a tall wide bridge and loses GPS and goes into ATTI. ATTI means there is no GPS or home point. The phantom remains in hover mode until it runs out of juice and lands,

Or you look away from your FPV when the phantom is RTH. You have confidence in the avoidance system not realising it cannot see wires/thin branches/narrow objects.

 

[fly_it]

Define a flyaway.. is when the phantom is in front of you and it zooms off without your input?
Or
When you lose it on a long mission when FPV just cuts out like the scenarios below:

You lose FPV behind a hill
The phantom RTHs and flies under a tall wide bridge and loses GPS and goes into ATTI. ATTI means there is no GPS or home point. The phantom remains in hover mode until it runs out of juice and lands,

Or you look away from your FPV when the phantom is RTH. You have confidence in the avoidance system not realising it cannot see wires/thin branches/narrow objects.

I define it as when it flies away without input because of sensor/interference issues. All the other options you gave are user error.

 

[Arcticm39]

Most drone "flyaways" are due to pilot errors (lack of planning/knowledge).
Is bad sensor calibration considered a pilot error? I don't know. Maybe.
Pilots, amateurs and even the experienced, will continue to err.
So, yes, there will be flyaways with P4.

 

[ringolong]

Not even obstacles can stop fly aways now!

 

[Fplvert]

I'm predicting more fly aways due to complete beginners just using the touch controls and never learning the "sticks". A perfect example would be a tablet overheating or App. crash which would cause a beginner to panic. Time will tell!

 

[Deanster]

While we clearly have no real data, I'd imagine that the dual compass/IMU will greatly reduce true 'flyaways', where the aircraft stops responding appropriately to control input and just heads off on its own.

Operator-error-induced crashes where the operator claims it was a 'flyaway'? There's just no fixing some of those, though I imagine the P4's collision-sensing gear will help meaningfully reduce the numbers.

It obviously won't solve all operator-error crashes, but it should take a goodly proportion (half?) of CFIT- Controlled Flight Into Terrain - off the table.

While these are just numbers I'm making up out of thin air, I'd guess is that P4 will crash at something like 60% of the P3's rate, with about 2/3 of the reduction due to anti-collision, the remainder to dual-Compass/IMU preventing sensor-fail crashes.

I suppose it's possible that P4 will reduce crashes even more than the 40% I'm guessing at, but I'd like to leave plenty of room for people to find ways to crash despite the P4's best efforts to prevent it.

 

[Meta4]

But I'm wondering now that the motors are so powerful and it has a sports mode that can fly as fast as 72 km/h does that mean flyaways are a thing of the past? I know Phantom 3 could flyaway, I don't know if that happens to the Inspires? But what do you guys think?

Flyaways were a thing of the past once the P3 was released.

 

[Mako79]

While we clearly have no real data, I'd imagine that the dual compass/IMU will greatly reduce true 'flyaways', where the aircraft stops responding appropriately to control input and just heads off on its own.

Operator-error-induced crashes where the operator claims it was a 'flyaway'? There's just no fixing some of those, though I imagine the P4's collision-sensing gear will help meaningfully reduce the numbers.

It obviously won't solve all operator-error crashes, but it should take a goodly proportion (half?) of CFIT- Controlled Flight Into Terrain - off the table.

While these are just numbers I'm making up out of thin air, I'd guess is that P4 will crash at something like 60% of the P3's rate, with about 2/3 of the reduction due to anti-collision, the remainder to dual-Compass/IMU preventing sensor-fail crashes.

I suppose it's possible that P4 will reduce crashes even more than the 40% I'm guessing at, but I'd like to leave plenty of room for people to find ways to crash despite the P4's best efforts to prevent it.

I don't think the P4 will reduce crashes. I think it will create confidence and create more crashes. The P4 sensors are at the front (where we can already see via the normal camera). Most crashes are from confused orientation which normally occurs at the rear/side and above of the phantom and ironically where there is no sensors.

P4 users should also be aware of limitations - Sports mode does not use sensors; sensors cannot see narrow branches, cables, wires etc.

 

[Justgregg]

I have never had a fly away with my p3p.

 

[dewster]

Search for phantom and inspire flyaways on YouTube. I think that there is that perfect storm of conditions (software, sensors, pilot, environment) that come together and produce these events.

DJI's implementation of dual IMUs and compasses in addition to an error checking processor tells me that they have addressed the flyaway issue. Sometimes you have to read between the lines. DJI states the P4 is more reliable.


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[Toph]

I don't think the P4 will reduce crashes. I think it will create confidence and create more crashes. The P4 sensors are at the front (where we can already see via the normal camera). Most crashes are from confused orientation which normally occurs at the rear/side and above of the phantom and ironically where there is no sensors.

P4 users should also be aware of limitations - Sports mode does not use sensors; sensors cannot see narrow branches, cables, wires etc.

I fully agree. With only front facing obstacle avoidance, now not even a tree, building, mountain can't stop your flyaway. Front facing FPV is the best obstacle avoidance there is. I'd spend more money for an all direction obstacle avoidance. Anything less seems kinda gimmicky to me. Gotta respect DJI for being the front runner for innovating with every model. But I hope the P5 blows us away.


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