Don't launch from roof of your car ...

I use the inspire harness and replaced the tablet mount with a metal one that has a second hole farther up. It balances nicely so hand launching is not a problem.
So that's what the harness is for. ('~')

Actually that reminds me...I almost dropped the RC while flying the other day. It could have been an ugly situation. Time to break out the lanyard.
 
NEVER, EVER launch from a metal surface, unless you don't want to keep your bird. The compass is on the bottom of the landing leg within an inch of the car top, and the metal will seriously screw with the compass. Some times it will correct itself after lift off, and others it will just fly erratically or do a fly away. This has been discussed many times and is also covered in the manual. Rebar in cement, underground cable, or a beach with a lot of iron in the sand can also affect your compass. I have been hand catching for 2 years without issue, and if I am in an area with no easy launch point I also hand launch. (tip: I keep one leather glove in my flight case for hand launching, if you have ever had an encounter with a prop you know why)

I understand why launching near an area with a high concentration of metal could cause erroneous compass readings - but why would it ever "not" correct itself once you moved away from the area with the interference?

More troubling is the intermittent behavior you mention - that sometimes it corrects itself and sometimes it doesn't.

Since moving a few feet away before taking off eliminates the error I would think that it *should* always correct itself once airborne and away from the interference.

And if the software is smart enough to detect and REPORT a compass area - shouldn't it also be smart enough to ignore the incorrect data (eliminating fly aways)...

There's a lot that doesn't make sense about all of the compass errors and fly aways that are reported here. I wish there was some detailed information from DJI about the compass and how it is *supposed* to work.
 
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Was it the car, or the wind? I too found out the hard way that, at the beach, you gotta take off hard and into the wind with force. Watch the first 20 seconds of this vid .. I did the same, but on the rocky jetty.

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Nice video, was it because it was so windy that the propellers were showing in your video most of the time?

Sent from my LG-H810 using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
Others have already stated the obvious biggest mistake made.

You had to have had a compass error! Unless your launching off a carbon fibre/fibre glass hood. And if you didn't get the compass error something is wrong with your compass calibration.
 
Ha! A car? I tried taking off while standing atop a corn harvester. That has to be the benchmark of stupidity.
Talk about a chunk of steel.
Aircraft came right at me, took a slice of my elbow and tumbled into the hopper.
After replacing the whole shell and a set of props, I'm back in business.
Never again from large metal objects.
On the upside....thousands of acres of flat corn, orchards, a river, etc., is awesome for flying.
 
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Was it the car, or the wind? I too found out the hard way that, at the beach, you gotta take off hard and into the wind with force. Watch the first 20 seconds of this vid .. I did the same, but on the rocky jetty.

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My mom lives in Florence also :)
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I wish they had put this in their instruction manual. I read the entire thing before I flew it. Launched it off my car last night. Just like the author said it started drifting. No control at all. It went into the bushes and all 4 rotors are damaged now. Thank goodness no damage to the drone. I went home and reread the instruction manual again. Sure enough no mention of launching off of ferric surfaces. I hope DJI will do the right thing by 1. Updating their manual. 2. Sending me a new set of rotors.
 
I wish they had put this in their instruction manual. I read the entire thing before I flew it. Launched it off my car last night. Just like the author said it started drifting. No control at all. It went into the bushes and all 4 rotors are damaged now. Thank goodness no damage to the drone. I went home and reread the instruction manual again. Sure enough no mention of launching off of ferric surfaces. I hope DJI will do the right thing by 1. Updating their manual. 2. Sending me a new set of rotors.

Welcome to the forum!

I'm thinking you may not have much of a case with DJI:
6bd7e033758a7796f2f792a5b9ed78ff.jpg

Page 41. Your car MAY count as a large metallic object! [emoji6]

We've all done something we can slap our own heads about... I thought landing on the fibreglass lid of my truck was a good idea too. It wasn't.

Have fun, fly safe, props are cheap!!


Jeff
Stock P3S
 
jwmcgrath - I'm not ready to slap my head yet. My safety and warranty manual is the one that has the most pages in it and it's only 24 pages long. I don't see any such warning listed anywhere in it.
I'd also point out that the instructions you are listing are only referring to calibration. I wasn't calibrating the compass. I was taking off.
 
jwmcgrath - So What I see online is there is a User Guide that wasn't even included in the box. According to the In the Box Manual it doesn't come in the box. You only get it if you download it.
Although. On page 12 of the Disclaimer and safety guide lines doc (Included in the box) there is a similar text to the one you posted. I still argue that the text in question deals with calibration of the compass. It says nothing about taking off or flight. I still maintain DJI needs to update their manuals.
 
I hear you... but it is part of every pre-flight check to calibrate the compass.

And I don't disagree about "manual info"... it's long been my contention that there should never have been a "quick-start" guide included with these things. There is way too much to be aware of to take it out of the box and do a quick flight!

And yes, that quote I included is from the full operator's manual.

There are beginner tutorials as well, that are part of the DJI Go app. They are a great source of info. The four, 3-minute videos are a great start.


Jeff
Stock P3S
 
Most peoples head-slapping moments come when we finally read the manual cover to cover, and realize that we didn't even know what we didn't know! [emoji1]


Jeff
Stock P3S
 
Yes but I read the quick start guide as well. Where there is no information on this. The head slapping should be for DJI. They can't expect me to read a manual that isn't even in the box.
If it's not in the quick start or the warnings guide I think they should be responsible for it.
 
Yes but I read the quick start guide as well. Where there is no information on this. The head slapping should be for DJI. They can't expect me to read a manual that isn't even in the box.
If it's not in the quick start or the warnings guide I think they should be responsible for it.

You can always try… The worst they can do is say no, right?


Jeff
Stock P3S
 
Agreed. I just got off chat support and he said DJI would replace them. He says to wait for an e-mail that will be sent later today.
 
Was it the car, or the wind? I too found out the hard way that, at the beach, you gotta take off hard and into the wind with force. Watch the first 20 seconds of this vid .. I did the same, but on the rocky jetty.

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It was the wind accelerating over the roof of the car.
 
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