Can anybody answer Why do the Phantoms Just Fall out of the Sky?

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I have a Phantom 2 Vision plus and I am wondering why do these Phantoms just fall out of the sky with a perfectly charged battery? Mine starts to go down and no control input can stop it. I just saw online where a new Phantom 3 dropped into a lake in Maine with a 58"% charge on the battery. What gives? Any thoughts? My phantom won't even go up with a 60% charge on the battery but flies for several minutes with a full charge.
Frustrating for sure. Thanks
 
I have a Phantom 2 Vision plus and I am wondering why do these Phantoms just fall out of the sky with a perfectly charged battery? Mine starts to go down and no control input can stop it. I just saw online where a new Phantom 3 dropped into a lake in Maine with a 58"% charge on the battery. What gives? Any thoughts? My phantom won't even go up with a 60% charge on the battery but flies for several minutes with a full charge.
Frustrating for sure. Thanks


I doubt there is one definitive answer to that question. Each "drop" probably has its own set of circumstances unique to it.

As far as your issue can be help with more info ?
How old is battery?
what is percent life left showing in assistant?
are the cell charging fully and evenly in assistant info?
have you crashed the quad and redone your IMU calibration?
More than 1 battery or just the one doing this?
etc.
good luck and have fun flying!

BTW they don't all drop.
I bought 2 phantom 2's in Jan and have hundreds and hundreds of flights on them.
I STILL have them.
 
I doubt there is one definitive answer to that question. Each "drop" probably has its own set of circumstances unique to it.

As far as your issue can be help with more info ?
How old is battery?
what is percent life left showing in assistant?
are the cell charging fully and evenly in assistant info?
have you crashed the quad and redone your IMU calibration?
More than 1 battery or just the one doing this?
etc.
good luck and have fun flying!

BTW they don't all drop.
I bought 2 phantom 2's in Jan and have hundreds and hundreds of flights on them.
I STILL have them.
This is very encouraging that you have done hundreds of flights. Nice to see that. I can only dream of that. Here's my situation. I have two batteries, both only have about 15 charges on them. When the performance starts to get erratic, I can have 70 to 80% charge left. Baffling. It will sometimes just start going toward the ground. motors still running, but a full upmovement on the joystick cannot override the crash. No, I have not done an IMU calibration but it sounds like I should. Readout on the assistant shows normal and nearly identical battery cell strenth. I am not received any warnings about battery problems. I have the current firmware, although I tried to overright it but it tells me it has failed. I calibrate the compass before each flight and on my droid app, it says "ready to fly" I had some older batteries that went bad, and replaced them. However, one brand new battery from amazon.com registered bad when I was flying it and I returned it. It seems to fly well at 100%. All inputs react as they should. It's just the up and down that starts it crashing shortly thereafter. I am seeing from 8 to 10 satellites in contact. Thank you
 
Definitely do a full IMU calibration, make sure the quad is cold( unused for a bit). when doing it.
IMU has all the sensors and so forth that maintain flight. IE barometer, etc.

I only fly about 10-13 minutes on a battery though and always start with full charge one myself.

Also real important are balanced undamaged props, they wont cause you to drop but they will cause strange and uncontrolled flight at times if way out balance. If you have crashed you may want to try new DJI OEM props if possible or balance yours
 
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Why do the Phantoms Just Fall out of the Sky?
Gravity.

Sorry, I couldn't resist.
I am sure there are many possible causes, battery disconnected, FC reboots, some device overheats, poor solder joint, bad bearing and such. The earlier Phantoms did not have this problem as much, so it may have to do with the proprietary battery and the way it connects.
 
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If yours is dropping their is a problem. I also have hundred of flights on my two phantoms. Only problems I have run into is pilot error. I would suggest a full IMU calibration then outside do a compass calibration. Check the motors to see if they start and stop at same time. Fly a couple of battery close by testing all the functions such as home llock, course lock and even fail safe. Check and see how much time you are getting out of the battery. You should get around 18 minutes. If all goes well at that level then push on. If not the find out where the problem lies. Have to know your plane and its limits before long flights. Any time you crash a new IMU calibration is recommended. Check it out and get into doing preflight checks on your satellites and home lock... they keep you out of trouble. Enjoy!
 
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I have a Phantom 2 Vision plus and I am wondering why do these Phantoms just fall out of the sky with a perfectly charged battery?

maybe you should read lots more posts here so you can answer your question. if you read lots of them, you will find out why a few have fallen....

once you get past that and realize all phantoms don't fall out of the sky, you can go on to begin figuring out why YOURS does not appear to work like all ours.... all ours do not operate at all like yours...

I can give you one piece of important advice: stop doing compass calibration! if you go 100 miles away, then calibrate, otherwise stop trying to break it.
 
maybe you should read lots more posts here so you can answer your question. if you read lots of them, you will find out why a few have fallen....

once you get past that and realize all phantoms don't fall out of the sky, you can go on to begin figuring out why YOURS does not appear to work like all ours.... all ours do not operate at all like yours...

I can give you one piece of important advice: stop doing compass calibration! if you go 100 miles away, then calibrate, otherwise stop trying to break it.


compass calibration!

that is a loaded question it seems.
I have seem some insist it must be done each flight.
Others say not so much!
many crash reports I have read mention they did a "compass" calibration prior to launch and loss.....

Myself I calibrated my 2 phantoms I'm march/april or so when last updated to 3.12 on one.
Then I recalibrated on Sanibell island Fl in July.
When I returned to ohio 2 weeks later I recalibrated and have NOT touched since , but that is ME.

if it aint broke fly it!
 
The % charge data is dubious.

There's also a [hidden] low-voltage cut-off parameter @ 10.65VDC.

Once this level is reached there's no stopping a descent.

I can see this (Batt. voltage) with my P2-NV which has Futaba radio w/telemetry.

All this calibration advice is superstition.

Auto descent is always a battery (or power) issue.
There's no other cause for such behavior.
 
No17rw
"All this calibration advice is superstition."

so you are suggesting that when I drove 1300 miles to florida in july took out my phantoms and recalibrated my compass I was superstitious as opposed to proper.
Then again weeks later I was again wasting my time in Ohio being superstitious when I redid the compass calibration!

After I crashed last march and my hover was unstable and yawing caused all kinda issues. I recalibrated the IMU with all motor mounts at level.
I suppose maybe I was superstitious when It then Flew perfectly fine again as a result of that IMU calibration!

I agree overdoing them and constantly doing them is overkill and un needed!
But it is not superstition to recalibrate devices AS NEEDED.

have fun flying!
 
No17rw
"All this calibration advice is superstition."

so you are suggesting that when I drove 1300 miles to florida in july took out my phantoms and recalibrated my compass I was superstitious as opposed to proper.
Then again weeks later I was again wasting my time in Ohio being superstitious when I redid the compass calibration!

After I crashed last march and my hover was unstable and yawing caused all kinda issues. I recalibrated the IMU with all motor mounts at level.
I suppose maybe I was superstitious when It then Flew perfectly fine again as a result of that IMU calibration!

I agree overdoing them and constantly doing them is overkill and un needed!
But it is not superstition to recalibrate devices AS NEEDED.

have fun flying!

None of these listed calibrations have any effect on the auto descending the OP described.
 
This happened to my P3P for the first time a few days ago, but I was able to control it with upward stick movements until it landed.

I have four batteries, and was using the oldest. At about 60%, I got a "low battery / landing warning". The copter was stable and followed all stick commands, except it wouldn't stop landing. At full-upward stick, it rose just slightly.

The other three batteries are fine. So, I have recharged the offending battery and will try it again soon in a safe environment for my further knowledge.
 
None of these listed calibrations have any effect on the auto descending the OP described.


I agree completely

I only disagreed with you implying to folks that calibrations are "superstitious" and unneeded ever!
nothing more , nothing less. Many , many new folks on the boards lately , just thinking of them. you and I know this stuff.

had you said "None of these listed calibrations have any effect on the auto descending the OP"
I would have agreed entirely on that aspect and never commented!

I
 
I posted on-topic. I never used the term 'never' in reference to calib.

I stand by my implication that the vast number of calibrations are not required or effective and many do it [just] to do something.
It gives the individual a sense of control where there may be little to begin with.

My use of the term Superstition comes from this definition: " a false conception of causation".

I have posted many times my flight, travel, and calibration experiences to which I base MY opinion(s) on. These have nothing to do with the changing membership demographics.
 
Definitely do a full IMU calibration, make sure the quad is cold( unused for a bit). when doing it.
IMU has all the sensors and so forth that maintain flight. IE barometer, etc.

I only fly about 10-13 minutes on a battery though and always start with full charge one myself.

Also real important are balanced undamaged props, they wont cause you to drop but they will cause strange and uncontrolled flight at times if way out balance. If you have crashed you may want to try new DJI OEM props if possible or balance yours
Hi Kirk,
many thanks for your suggestion on doing an IMU calibration. I did it this morning and was quite shocked that the Phantom seems to be flying regularly now. I was cautious and only took it hovering near the ground, but went down to 34% battery strength and still was able to control it well. Should have done that a long time ago, I guess, before I broke 10 blades. By the way, when I turned on the phantom assistant, I got a quick warning on my screen that I wasn't using a dji intelligent battery. However the warning went away, and all the battery voltages and numbers look normal. each cell, when fully charged, had over 4100 strength. and on the battery, it does say Phantom intelligent flight battery, serial number 1341. who knows, maybe it's a knock off, but I got it from amazon.com
 
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Hi Kirk,
many thanks for your suggestion on doing an IMU calibration. I did it this morning and was quite shocked that the Phantom seems to be flying regularly now. I was cautious and only took it hovering near the ground, but went down to 34% battery strength and still was able to control it well. Should have done that a long time ago, I guess, before I broke 10 blades. By the way, when I turned on the phantom assistant, I got a quick warning on my screen that I wasn't using a dji intelligent battery. However the warning went away, and all the battery voltages and numbers look normal. each cell, when fully charged, had over 4100 strength. and on the battery, it does say Phantom intelligent flight battery, serial number 1341. who knows, maybe it's a knock off, but I got it from amazon.com

thanks for the update , good to know for everyone!
take care.

good luck and have fun flying!
 
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This happened to my P3P for the first time a few days ago, but I was able to control it with upward stick movements until it landed.

I have four batteries, and was using the oldest. At about 60%, I got a "low battery / landing warning". The copter was stable and followed all stick commands, except it wouldn't stop landing. At full-upward stick, it rose just slightly.

The other three batteries are fine. So, I have recharged the offending battery and will try it again soon in a safe environment for my further knowledge.

Suggest you discharge oldest battery done to 5% and then recharge. You will find your bird should now have lots of power, even down to 20%. Batteries that have been sitting fully charged for a while are the problem. Always discharge the batteries to the 60% range if you aren't going to use them for a while.
 
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Suggest you discharge oldest battery done to 5% and then recharge. You will find your bird should now have lots of power, even down to 20%. Batteries that have been sitting fully charged for a while are the problem. Always discharge the batteries to the 60% range if you aren't going to use them for a while.
That is very helpful. Thank you for your reply! There's a lot to learn with these devices, isn't there? I have not had a bad flight since acquiring my P3P in May. But that one was a bit scary. I'm glad I knew how to use the sticks to steer it to a safe landing. I appreciate your advice about the batteries, and will do exactly that!
 
If yours is dropping their is a problem. I also have hundred of flights on my two phantoms. Only problems I have run into is pilot error. I would suggest a full IMU calibration then outside do a compass calibration. Check the motors to see if they start and stop at same time. Fly a couple of battery close by testing all the functions such as home llock, course lock and even fail safe. Check and see how much time you are getting out of the battery. You should get around 18 minutes. If all goes well at that level then push on. If not the find out where the problem lies. Have to know your plane and its limits before long flights. Any time you crash a new IMU calibration is recommended. Check it out and get into doing preflight checks on your satellites and home lock... they keep you out of trouble. Enjoy!

With ---2 PV2+, total of 6 batteries, Have never been able to get over 14+ minutes, usually between 12 and 13. Have tried various flight methods just to see if I could get more time, turning off camera, flying slow and easy, different heights, etc: Any ideas on how I might get 18 minutes?
 
I have a phantom vision + v3 and I've had it since March 2015. A couple of weeks ago it started wobbling and coming down. I gave it full throttle and it ascended normally. It kept going away from me as I tried to bring it home. I rotated 180 degrees and kept trying and it was coming my way. I thought it was going to fly away because the closer it got to me the less control I had. About 15 feet away it came down hard. No response to my efforts to climb. After contacting DJI, I sent it in. Three weeks later I got it back. New shell new imu and beefed up according to DJI. I flew it today cautiously but it flew better than before the crash. Much better experience than expected from other experiences I've read here [emoji1]
 

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