We as pilots will come to an extend that we want to take video or pictures of the city. we have conquered the nature surroundings so we want the city. as we know its totally dangerous and uncontrollable to us as pilots and also to the craft. the craft is not designed to take off at areas that have so plenty of metals and interference. but if we still want to take a shot of any city i guess its a best logically to take off from a park and take the craft high as building and take that shot. thats the only way to do it. if take off in the middle of city its suicide. i dont know if anyone can build a craft that can withstand any kind of interference and take off anywhere in this world thats a breakthrough. as for know phantom 3 does have limitation. im guessing the future drone will have plenty of sensors. well i dont think the US government will not allow that...too advance will make their drone look old.
Crashed in a city
- Thread starter aaronrivera
- Start date
We as pilots will come to an extend that we want to take video or pictures of the city. we have conquered the nature surroundings so we want the city. as we know its totally dangerous and uncontrollable to us as pilots and also to the craft. the craft is not designed to take off at areas that have so plenty of metals and interference. but if we still want to take a shot of any city i guess its a best logically to take off from a park and take the craft high as building and take that shot. thats the only way to do it. if take off in the middle of city its suicide. i dont know if anyone can build a craft that can withstand any kind of interference and take off anywhere in this world thats a breakthrough. as for know phantom 3 does have limitation. im guessing the future drone will have plenty of sensors. well i dont think the US government will not allow that...too advance will make their drone look old.
ianwood
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I just flew mine in the middle of city. I was shooting a little jazz concert which located near goverment area and building. It's show my P3P has a little drift and when I go to 100m high, it was showing that the signal weak detected.
As long as u don't panic and try to control it, you wont crash it.
PS: goverment building has 2.4GHz signal that can distrub your connection beetwen your bird and your controller.
As long as u don't panic and try to control it, you wont crash it.
PS: goverment building has 2.4GHz signal that can distrub your connection beetwen your bird and your controller.
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I have not read the 10 pages of comments, but I saw the video- it is very clear that once up in the air your phantom moves to the left, above the building next to you. At that point you will lose connection with the controller and it will attempt to return home - hence the crash.
I know it is harsh, but the truth is that, it is irresponsible to fly in such environment. Conversely, I understand that we want to push the boundaries and try to fly those phantoms like flying planes in video games mazes, or like in the fifth element:
I know it is harsh, but the truth is that, it is irresponsible to fly in such environment. Conversely, I understand that we want to push the boundaries and try to fly those phantoms like flying planes in video games mazes, or like in the fifth element:
ianwood
Taco Wrangler
A general suggestion for everyone: unless you have actual experience of flying in the city and/or actual knowledge of what can happen, you should maybe stop guessing as most all of the guessing that I'm reading here and elsewhere is wrong.
Oso
Premium Pilot
Ian - a suggestion. Rather than just telling people they are incorrect or telling them to stop guessing, why don't you simply summarize your comments about flying in a city? I'm sure there are plenty of people who would love to fly in a city but are afraid to give it a try. Actionable info from a respected staff member such as yourself could help them. You could give a few tips on how to deal with the usually accepted guidelines of not flying near or over people, not flying xx feet from buildings, what to look for with regards to calibration, GPS, and anything else you think would add value in a city environment. I think it would be interesting for sure, and perhaps would help make this thread more positive overall than negative. Cheers sir.
ianwood
Taco Wrangler
Fair point. I should. The only challenge with that is it is not simple so it won't be comprehensive. Let me see if I can dig up an older post.
EDIT: I know there was lengthy post I made on it a while back but I can't find it. Here's a quick list of considerations I use:
- Avoid busy periods, rush hours, special events, etc.
- Avoid sensitive areas or anything that can be misconstrued without prior permission.
- Avoid crowds. Small groups only from the periphery with ground spotters and two-way radios.
- No flights near airports, TFR areas and restricted airspace (FAA class B, C, D).
- Be prepared for local air traffic below 400ft including awareness of helipad locations.
- Operate at or below roof lines to assure separation from air traffic.
- Avoid “loitering" next to residential homes and apts.
- Respect residential areas for quiet and right to privacy.
- Eliminate any material that inadvertently reveals someone in a place of privacy.
For the folks here, I would add:
- Build up lots of air time before getting anywhere near the city. Be 100% confident in you and your bird first. You should be a proficient flyer.
- Start in easy areas with a lot of open space. Don't go right to the center of town.
- Be prepared to not fly in a location that is for whatever reason not suitable and safe.
- Analyze each location for:
- potential RF sources that can weaken your signal.
- Iron, steel, electromagnetic sources (like trains).
- Know your ditch points. Just like a real aircraft, have places in mind to aim for if something goes wrong.
- Be prepared to ditch.
- Any areas where you could be seen as a threat or problem, inform and/or seek permission first. Tell security guards. Cops nearby? Tell them what you're doing first.
There's a lot more but that's a start.
EDIT: I know there was lengthy post I made on it a while back but I can't find it. Here's a quick list of considerations I use:
- Avoid busy periods, rush hours, special events, etc.
- Avoid sensitive areas or anything that can be misconstrued without prior permission.
- Avoid crowds. Small groups only from the periphery with ground spotters and two-way radios.
- No flights near airports, TFR areas and restricted airspace (FAA class B, C, D).
- Be prepared for local air traffic below 400ft including awareness of helipad locations.
- Operate at or below roof lines to assure separation from air traffic.
- Avoid “loitering" next to residential homes and apts.
- Respect residential areas for quiet and right to privacy.
- Eliminate any material that inadvertently reveals someone in a place of privacy.
For the folks here, I would add:
- Build up lots of air time before getting anywhere near the city. Be 100% confident in you and your bird first. You should be a proficient flyer.
- Start in easy areas with a lot of open space. Don't go right to the center of town.
- Be prepared to not fly in a location that is for whatever reason not suitable and safe.
- Analyze each location for:
- potential RF sources that can weaken your signal.
- Iron, steel, electromagnetic sources (like trains).
- Know your ditch points. Just like a real aircraft, have places in mind to aim for if something goes wrong.
- Be prepared to ditch.
- Any areas where you could be seen as a threat or problem, inform and/or seek permission first. Tell security guards. Cops nearby? Tell them what you're doing first.
There's a lot more but that's a start.
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I think the major fault here is that OP had unrealistic expectations about the performance of the P3.
He is partially/mostly to blame here for failing to understand proper flight safety. Could DJI do a better job of educating their users in this regard? I think the fact that these types of incidents happen with any regularity answers that question.
He is partially/mostly to blame here for failing to understand proper flight safety. Could DJI do a better job of educating their users in this regard? I think the fact that these types of incidents happen with any regularity answers that question.
Oso
Premium Pilot
This is awesome stuff. I never thought to have a "ditch point" in mind ahead of time. That's a great tip, as are many of the others. Thanks for adding this Ian.
Also, your "LA" video on Vimeo is really outstanding. I thoroughly enjoyed it and tried to imagine where you were and how you captured each scene. I was impressed with how you avoided the dreaded drone shadow most of the time. I have found that to be tough at times when the sun is behind me and low during the less busy times of day. Good stuff.
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I might add that flying in downtown LA is vastly different from HK. Firstly buildings in HK are way closer together, and secondly, there is no grid system so it's fairly easy to lose LOS. While the guidelines for flying in urban areas are indubitably useful, one must recognize that margins of error vary considerably from city to city. HK is one of the densely populated cities in the world, so I can understand the angst from more than a few posters here when a pilot potentially presents news crews with even more negativity on our hobby.
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Its part of the learning curve, everybody crashes, take it as a lesson to move on. I have crashed 2 p2v+ beyond repairable condition, i have learned my lessons that certain risk can be minimized with most of it is common sense and a bit of research. Metal fence, metal objects, they are all deadly to phantom's compass. Even in the open, it too can mislead home point and often caused - fly-aways.
Just to share one of my experience, when situation like these happen, within seconds flip the RC mode to ATTI mode, gain control of your aircraft manually before it goes out of sight or drift too far.
We are often too rely on GPS and think its always accurate.
One other trick is to check the interference in the vicinity, this can be done by checking your DJI go apps signals, choose a custom channel that has the less noise/interference.
Again, that location is definitely not a good spot to fly, just walk around and have a feel of that place, you will see there's so much risk around. I live in HK too, there really isnt a lot of places to fly but there are certain nice spots i am sure you know. Dont take it as a blame, the fact that these people reacts this way simply because they recognize serious risk possess in these machines.
My two cents
ianwood
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Quick question, and Im not trying to be a smart ars but how do you avoid iron and steel in the city. I mean every piece of concrete has rebar in it, right?
Don't fly in the city! Go to the country to fly or find another hobby perhaps
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
ianwood
Taco Wrangler
That isn't what he asked, is it?
Once you're in the air, as long as you're not right up next to it or surrounded by it (e.g. > 20 to 30ft away), it shouldn't have any influence unless it has a strong magnetic field to it. It's most dangerous when calibrating and taking off. Always have ATTI ready in case something odd does happen.
And only fly in such areas if you feel 100% proficient in flying your bird, you've made sure it is safe and legal, and you're not interfering or disturbing others.
