Definition of a "fly away"

[Deleted member 29014]

Seems too many posting are titled “fly aways” when the poster suspects it isn’t so and goes on to list of items that could have been prevented. Just what is a flyaway?

In my humble opinion, it is not:


A bird that is intentionally ”shot out” to “see how far it will go?”

A bird that is intentionally shot UP to “see how high it will go?”

A bird that clearly communicates a failure, via the APP, but the pilot ignores it and continues to fly

A bird whose pilot never bothered with CAL or IMU

A bird whose pilot is only flying by looking at the screen(?)

A bird that is intentionally flown near known sources of RF or magnetic disturbance (high power lines)

A bird clearly showing a low batt indication but the pilot disregards it

A bird flown outside the recommended temperature envelope

A bird flown outside the recommended wind envelope

A bird flown behind obstacles (BLOS)

A bird flown with a low battery in the controller

A bird flown with user-installed devices (strobe lights, trackers) without a short, low altitude test flight first.


Please feel free to add to this list.

 

[Phantomsphere]

Do you think that there is a such a pilot that would forsake your list and take off ?
I sure hope not.

 

[Deleted member 29014]

Do you think that there is a such a pilot that would forsake your list and take off ?
I sure hope not.

Great question. Do you think there is such a pilot that would intentionally fly into an airport traffic control zone? Do you think there is such a pilot that would fly over crowds of people? Do you think there is such a pilot who would shot his P3 up just to see how high he can go before losing control?.
I believe a Google search of the web would answer your question. And the answer is a resounding YES!

I don't work for DJI but the blame game gets old after a while.

"Dear Ford Motor Company:
I was speeding and driving recklessly and crashed my new Mustang. Please deliver a new one to the address below." Seriously...

 

[vgt]

Bit of a silly list. These devices are designed to return to home in the event of a communication loss. So, shouldn't matter if someone did a range or altitude test or flew beyond LOS. If it fails what it is designed to do, it's a product failure.

 

[msinger]

These devices are designed to return to home in the event of a communication loss.

And, they sometimes return the to previous home point. So, it sometimes does inadvertently do what it was designed to do when the pilot does not check the home point before takeoff.

 

[Deleted member 29014]

Bit of a silly list. These devices are designed to return to home in the event of a communication loss. So, shouldn't matter if someone did a range or altitude test or flew beyond LOS. If it fails what it is designed to do, it's a product failure.

Yeah well the magic doesn't always works that's why God gave us common sense.

 

[vgt]

Yeah well the magic doesn't always works that's why God gave us common sense.

The point is, when the 'magic' doesn't work, that should be the definition of a flyway.

 

[Deleted member 29014]

The point is, when the 'magic' doesn't work, that should be the definition of a flyway.

yes, when none of the factors on the list apply, that should be a flyaway. If one flies beyond line of sight, how do you know you didn't ran into RF or magnetic or wifi interference that screws up your return signal? Trusting technology blindly is naïve.
But hey, I am unconcerned how fliers spend their 1,300 bucks, it's their money. But coming in here crying about how the Phantom "just flew away" after reckless operation is unfair to all the potential buyers who believe their bird is one day going to become sentient and fly away.

 

[vgt]

yes, when none of the factors on the list apply, that should be a flyaway. If one flies beyond line of sight, how do you know you didn't ran into RF or magnetic or wifi interference that screws up your return signal? Trusting technology blindly is naïve.
But hey, I am unconcerned how fliers spend their 1,300 bucks, it's their money. But coming in here crying about how the Phantom "just flew away" after reckless operation is unfair to all the potential buyers who believe their bird is one day going to become sentient and fly away.

There isn't a 'return' signal to screw up, it should just just return to the home point saved internally.

 

[Deleted member 29014]

There isn't a 'return' signal to screw up, it should just just return to the home point saved internally.

EOD

 

[Clipper707]

Explosive Ordinance Disposal

 

[Deleted member 29014]

End of Discussion...

 

[Holt]

End of Discussion...

Well I'm sure there's more we can discuss. Like how often do these things experience a legitimate "Fly Away"?

And maybe we can take all of your points up there and add some reiteration on how best to avoid making these mistakes, besides the obvious. More direction and info for new flyers.

Is there any documentation from DJI anywhere that states what will cause a fly away and things to avoid? Like a: "Hey *******! Don't do this stuff and your Fancy Phantom 3 won't FLY AWAY!!" statement somewhere?

 

[Deleted member 29014]

Well I'm sure there's more we can discuss. Like how often do these things experience a legitimate "Fly Away"?

And maybe we can take all of your points up there and add some reiteration on how best to avoid making these mistakes, besides the obvious. More direction and info for new flyers.

Is there any documentation from DJI anywhere that states what will cause a fly away and things to avoid? Like a: "Hey *******! Don't do this stuff and your Fancy Phantom 3 won't FLY AWAY!!" statement somewhere?

My EOD with an individual means don't expect a response.

"]Well I'm sure there's more we can discuss. Like how often do these things experience a legitimate "Fly Away"? How do we do that unless every poster fully explains the incident and provides logs, routes, weather conditions, etc. And we can't still never be sure. No one likes to admit their faults.

"Is there any documentation from DJI anywhere that states what will cause a fly away and things to avoid? Like a: "Hey *******! Don't do this stuff and your Fancy Phantom 3 won't FLY AWAY!!" statement somewhere?" Beats me. Is there anything in the manual that says if you try to fly too far you may not get your Phantom back? Common sense; and I 'm not an apologist for DJI. Just saying posters should stop blaming the mysterious flyaways if the have reason to know they themselves contributed to the problem; not fair to new or prospective buyers.

 

[Holt]

My EOD with an individual means don't expect a response.

"]Well I'm sure there's more we can discuss. Like how often do these things experience a legitimate "Fly Away"? How do we do that unless every poster fully explains the incident and provides logs, routes, weather conditions, etc. And we can't still never be sure. No one likes to admit their faults.

"Is there any documentation from DJI anywhere that states what will cause a fly away and things to avoid? Like a: "Hey *******! Don't do this stuff and your Fancy Phantom 3 won't FLY AWAY!!" statement somewhere?" Beats me. Is there anything in the manual that says if you try to fly too far you may not get your Phantom back? Common sense; and I 'm not an apologist for DJI. Just saying posters should stop blaming the mysterious flyaways if the have reason to know they themselves contributed to the problem; not fair to new or prospective buyers.

Well of course. But I'm just trying to generate more helpful discussion and maybe work on educating more people to prevent losing their bird. It's healthy for us all. This is a good start.

 

[Deleted member 29014]

Well of course. But I'm just trying to generate more helpful discussion and maybe work on educating more people to prevent losing their bird. It's healthy for us all. This is a good start.

AGREED.

 

[vgt]

EOD

Yeah, no. Just because you seem to have a fundamental misunderstanding of how this device works doesn't mean 'end of discussion'.

There ARE things that WILL contribute to a flyway, like unnecessary calibration of the compass, or performing the operation in a suboptimal location. "Flying too far" and "Flying too high" aren't on the list. But you know, whatevs, carry on.

 

[vgt]

Seems too many posting are titled “fly aways” when the poster suspects it isn’t so and goes on to list of items that could have been prevented. Just what is a flyaway?

In my humble opinion, it is not:


A bird that is intentionally ”shot out” to “see how far it will go?”

A bird that is intentionally shot UP to “see how high it will go?”

A bird that clearly communicates a failure, via the APP, but the pilot ignores it and continues to fly

A bird whose pilot never bothered with CAL or IMU

A bird whose pilot is only flying by looking at the screen(?)

A bird that is intentionally flown near known sources of RF or magnetic disturbance (high power lines)

A bird clearly showing a low batt indication but the pilot disregards it

A bird flown outside the recommended temperature envelope

A bird flown outside the recommended wind envelope

A bird flown behind obstacles (BLOS)

A bird flown with a low battery in the controller

A bird flown with user-installed devices (strobe lights, trackers) without a short, low altitude test flight first.


Please feel free to add to this list.

I've gone ahead and struck out the scenarios that should absolutely never lead to a flyway, with the exception of an internal defect to the phantom, which the user would likely not be able to correct regardless of its positioning.

 

[Deleted member 29014]

Yeah, no. Just because you seem to have a fundamental misunderstanding of how this device works doesn't mean 'end of discussion'.

There ARE things that WILL contribute to a flyway, like unnecessary calibration of the compass, or performing the operation in a suboptimal location. "Flying too far" and "Flying too high" aren't on the list. But you know, whatevs, carry on.

So you've identified what causes flyaways? You know w/o a doubt? DJI is breathlessly awaiting your wisdom.
What is unnecessary calibration of the compass? Is that a DJI recognized issue? Do you have some secret flight test info the rest of us don't have? I mean other than urban myths?

 

[Deleted member 29014]

I've gone ahead and struck out the scenarios that should absolutely never lead to a flyway, with the exception of an internal defect to the phantom, which the user would likely not be able to correct regardless of its positioning.

"struck out the scenarios that should absolutely never lead to a flyway" You an engineer with DJI?