Battery Ejection
- Thread starter Squeamish
- Start date
I just crashed my P4 too. Was trying out the active track flight mode and tried to get the bird to follow me between a light pole and chain link fence that were only about 10 feet apart. The drone was about 15 feet behind me and 7 feet off the ground when I initiated active track. The obstacle avoidance worked as the drone stopped following me when approaching the light pole and hovered ,but I then tried to backtrack thinking I don't need to test my luck getting any closer to the pole. However while walking backward the drone compensated by also flying backward to keep me in the frame . It hit the chain link fence at 6 feet altitude. Luckily, only damage was 4 bent/destroyed props. No scuffs or dings on the chassis. Put in my spare battery and kept flying. Whew.
However the battery popped out immediately after the collision like you are describing above, even though it was snug and inserted correctly preflight. I realized after the fact that I had "fly backwards" enabled in the dji go app settings that caused this misshap. I knew I should have left this mode alone but It was my second flight since purchasing and I wanted to give it a go. Be careful when using active track and disable the flying backward button.
However the battery popped out immediately after the collision like you are describing above, even though it was snug and inserted correctly preflight. I realized after the fact that I had "fly backwards" enabled in the dji go app settings that caused this misshap. I knew I should have left this mode alone but It was my second flight since purchasing and I wanted to give it a go. Be careful when using active track and disable the flying backward button.
Looks like it may have got into the trees right on the E/W fence line just past where the power lines cross Kingsway towards the house where found it.
Likely started clipping tree branches, flipping and the battery came out.
However the data isn't specific enough to determine when the battery came out.
The txt files are better, let me see if I can find that link to upload them.
Likely started clipping tree branches, flipping and the battery came out.
However the data isn't specific enough to determine when the battery came out.
The txt files are better, let me see if I can find that link to upload them.
I keep hearing this word "Battery Ejection" is there a problem with the battery fitting? Why are people's batteries popping out? Unless of course there is a high impact incident the the P4 is surely not designed to do that.
GPS altitude isn't very accurate. Barometric can change with air pressure. The ONLY accurate way to fly that low is with ground following radar - be nice to have.
20' clearance isn't a lot really if you don't have line of sight.
20' clearance isn't a lot really if you don't have line of sight.
The battery is a relatively heavy item held in place by a couple of plastic clips, which work just fine as long as there are no sudden changes in speed or direction of the aircraft. In a collision, however, depending on impact direction, the momentum of the battery can easily overcome the restraint provided by the clips - Newton's 2nd Law at work again.
It would not be too difficult to design a battery holder that resisted such forces, but maybe the weight penalty is too high, perhaps allowing the battery to eject is actually a design feature to lessen damage to the aircraft, or possibly there is some other reason that I don't know about.
Thanks, I understand. So long as my battery doesn't do 'a runner' during normal flight!!! lol
He found the battery some distance from the crashed body. 20 ft I believe is the distance he stated.
For that to happen either the battery came out /moved enough to break electrical contact and / or it crashed into terrain at altitude resulting in separation of the body and battery in a line consistent with flight path and came to final rest 20 ft away from body.
If you drop a Phantom from 50 ft onto concrete, I would not be at all surprised if a battery ejected on impact with the ground ended up 20 ft away. Plastic, contrary to its name, is quite elastic (i.e. bouncy) under impact.
True. it's just that the debris field isn't consistent with impact and then squirting the battery 20 ft backwards along the flight line. Plus the two plastic battery halves are near the battery suggesting a low velocity impact and the pieces staying in close proximity to one another.
HOWEVER, we know very little so far based on limited data and pretty much anything could be and should be considered until we can view more definitive flight data.
It's typically all about impact angle - if the aircraft hit the tree and fell, even vertically, the impact orientation is completely unconstrained. If the aircraft hitting the ground ejects the battery intact and it then flies 15 - 20 ft through the air, the battery casing may separate just like that when it hits. Pure speculation, of course.
In terms of the cause of the crash - that tree looks over 50 ft tall on GE.
I agree. It would initially appear that the contact started parallel with the road and into the East/West tree line along the property line just past where the power lines cross the road.
The battery came to final rest past that point onto the concrete driveway and the bird landed further along flight path at the far edge of the cement driveway 20 ft beyond and was in separate pieces.
Given the 70ish foot altitude and the nominal altitude discrepancies during flight, it is unlikely to clear those trees.
Likely a case of inertia. It's likely the least secure item.
duct tape is king
duct tape is king
following up on my post #22 above:
The battery does indeed pop out immediately upon impact and collision. I was testing the Active Track mode. As my bird flew backwards at less than 5 mph it collided with a chain link fence at around 6 feet high outside of a baseball field. The camera was facing me and the back of the drone and battery compartment were on the side that collided. The props broke off and the battery popped out instantly. Luckily I was right there to see it all happen less than 10 feet from me. The battery only flew a few feet since it wasn't flying high or fast at the time.
I've got new respect for the phantom 4. Took this small crash like a champ. No scuffs, dings, dents, or any other form of visual damage afterward. The battery that flew out still worked as I put it back in and flew the remaining 30% that was left once I put on 4 new props. It also recharged at the end of the night like normal and is still working fine. Granted, this crash and fall happened on grass at low altitude but the bird still flies like new.
The battery does indeed pop out immediately upon impact and collision. I was testing the Active Track mode. As my bird flew backwards at less than 5 mph it collided with a chain link fence at around 6 feet high outside of a baseball field. The camera was facing me and the back of the drone and battery compartment were on the side that collided. The props broke off and the battery popped out instantly. Luckily I was right there to see it all happen less than 10 feet from me. The battery only flew a few feet since it wasn't flying high or fast at the time.
I've got new respect for the phantom 4. Took this small crash like a champ. No scuffs, dings, dents, or any other form of visual damage afterward. The battery that flew out still worked as I put it back in and flew the remaining 30% that was left once I put on 4 new props. It also recharged at the end of the night like normal and is still working fine. Granted, this crash and fall happened on grass at low altitude but the bird still flies like new.
I do believe the bird in question was actually flying sideways during a mission, if I remember the OP correctly or at least not a frontal orientation.
So a good point about battery/crash/orientation.
So a good point about battery/crash/orientation.
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I'm thinking it's either the phantom clipped a tree or some kind of annoyed bird shut it down. Although the theory of flying sideways makes sense too. But I don't think it pop the battery out during flight.
On another note, dropping the battery "easy" after a crash, it's not all bad. My cousing saved most of his phantom 2 because of that. A defective battery caught in fire during a low flight, phantom crashed with minor damages and battery ejected and burst in flames for a few seconds (as expected in any lipo). Phantom needed only a new shell and props. (didn't really need the shell but to make it look cool again).
Good thread here. Thanks for sharing
On another note, dropping the battery "easy" after a crash, it's not all bad. My cousing saved most of his phantom 2 because of that. A defective battery caught in fire during a low flight, phantom crashed with minor damages and battery ejected and burst in flames for a few seconds (as expected in any lipo). Phantom needed only a new shell and props. (didn't really need the shell but to make it look cool again).
Good thread here. Thanks for sharing
Did you see the video of the idiot that crashes his p4 in a backstop going backwards? The battery ejected, thats possibly what happend here. As long as they do not eject in flight its not a bad thing, it may even prevent further damage to the bird caused by a battery fail.
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I'm thinking it's either the phantom clipped a tree or some kind of annoyed bird shut it down. Although the theory of flying sideways makes sense too. But I don't think it pop the battery out during flight.
On another note, dropping the battery "easy" after a crash, it's not all bad. My cousing saved most of his phantom 2 because of that. A defective battery caught in fire during a low flight, phantom crashed with minor damages and battery ejected and burst in flames for a few seconds (as expected in any lipo). Phantom needed only a new shell and props. (didn't really need the shell but to make it look cool again).
Good thread here. Thanks for sharing
True about a bird although I think he mentioned a night flight. Could be an owl though.
Wow an inflight battery fire
I did see that video.
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