Took the Phantom 2 up to about 400 feet. Hovering nicely, then all of the sudden it started drifting. Tried to bring it back but found I had zero control. Decided to shut down the remote, as I've had it return nicely to home 3 times before. All of the sudden it takes a dive at about a 45 degree angle and is now somewhere in a large area full of trees. Anyone have any idea what might have happened? Also, is there anywhere where I can buy just the Phantom 2 craft, without having to buy the remote and battery charger? Thinking I might buy a different product if I'm going to trust it to carry a $500.00 gimbal and a $500.00 gopro.
Fly away - Crash
- Thread starter Steely
- Start date
Did the GoPro have the wireless turned on ? Most flyaways I've read about, usually point towards the GoPro wireless "talking over" the controller frequency of the Phantom.
ianwood
Taco Wrangler
Sorry to hear it. Have you recovered it? That should be your first priority. Especially if it is in a forested area. Less likely to be found by someone else and the branches will break its fall to some extent. Set up a grid of the area it is likely to be in, start from the center and walk the grid. Use a GPS tracker on your phone to map it out. In the meantime, you need to give us more details if you want us to help figure out what happened. The video from the GoPro should also help with the diagnosis.
Any issues prior to this? What is the exact setup you have? Anything at all that may have caused interference? GoPro Wifi, FPV antenna next to RX antenna, etc. How long did the dive last? Until it hit the trees or until you could no longer hear it?
The P2 has been almost completely free of unexplained fly-aways so if you are reporting it, we should try to figure out what happened.
Any issues prior to this? What is the exact setup you have? Anything at all that may have caused interference? GoPro Wifi, FPV antenna next to RX antenna, etc. How long did the dive last? Until it hit the trees or until you could no longer hear it?
The P2 has been almost completely free of unexplained fly-aways so if you are reporting it, we should try to figure out what happened.
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Steely...that sucks. Please help us. Your crash report could prevent future losses.
What mode were you flying in?
If GPS mode, did your bird flash green (slow flash) after finding satellites BEFORE takeoff?
Did you have your wireless enabled on the GoPro?
Did you fly for a bit close to the ground before gaining altitude? Any odd flight characteristics?
Were there any high power lines, substations, cell towers nearby? How far away from you?
When was the last time you calibrated the compass?
When you transport, do you have it near any metallic or magnetic objects? (speakers, sheet metal,ect.)
Any odd flight characteristics on take off or ascent?
What was the wind speed at ground level? 400ft?
What mode were you flying in?
If GPS mode, did your bird flash green (slow flash) after finding satellites BEFORE takeoff?
Did you have your wireless enabled on the GoPro?
Did you fly for a bit close to the ground before gaining altitude? Any odd flight characteristics?
Were there any high power lines, substations, cell towers nearby? How far away from you?
When was the last time you calibrated the compass?
When you transport, do you have it near any metallic or magnetic objects? (speakers, sheet metal,ect.)
Any odd flight characteristics on take off or ascent?
What was the wind speed at ground level? 400ft?
I might not have worded it correctly, but I had no Gopro on the Phantom. I did have my cell phone but had wifi shut off. I had the GPS turned on and an app that would allow me to see what height I reached when accessed after landing.
I should mention that I did a repair on one of the tips of the propellers, taped a replacement end on the blade, so it's possible that this came loose, or possible that being unbalanced might have eventually screwed up the motor. This is why I'm not asking Dji for any compensation, yet, as I've yet to find it in the mass of trees. I spent 3 hours today walking through knee high snow and did, like advised, use a gps tracker so I could make sure I covered the entire area. It was quit far away when it went down, so I'm not positive where it ended up. I was able to call the phone (separate number) so the crash could not have been that severe. Unfortunately the Find My Phone app didn't work, so I've got quite the area to cover. Will try again tomorrow.
I had been flying it for hours with the repair, so maybe, like I mentioned, the motor finally broke down, which would be 100% my fault. Strange that it would take a dive like that right after I shut off the remote.
ianwood: the dive started from 400 feet and it kept diving right till it went into the trees.
What mode were you flying in? GPS
If GPS mode, did your bird flash green (slow flash) after finding satellites BEFORE takeoff? Yes
Did you have your wireless enabled on the GoPro? No
Did you fly for a bit close to the ground before gaining altitude? Any odd flight characteristics? No
Were there any high power lines, substations, cell towers nearby? How far away from you? No, out in the wilderness.
When was the last time you calibrated the compass? A couple days ago, from this area.
When you transport, do you have it near any metallic or magnetic objects? (speakers, sheet metal,ect.) No
Any odd flight characteristics on take off or ascent? No, it's been flying good, even with my repair.
What was the wind speed at ground level? 400ft? 10 kph
I should mention that I did a repair on one of the tips of the propellers, taped a replacement end on the blade, so it's possible that this came loose, or possible that being unbalanced might have eventually screwed up the motor. This is why I'm not asking Dji for any compensation, yet, as I've yet to find it in the mass of trees. I spent 3 hours today walking through knee high snow and did, like advised, use a gps tracker so I could make sure I covered the entire area. It was quit far away when it went down, so I'm not positive where it ended up. I was able to call the phone (separate number) so the crash could not have been that severe. Unfortunately the Find My Phone app didn't work, so I've got quite the area to cover. Will try again tomorrow.
I had been flying it for hours with the repair, so maybe, like I mentioned, the motor finally broke down, which would be 100% my fault. Strange that it would take a dive like that right after I shut off the remote.
ianwood: the dive started from 400 feet and it kept diving right till it went into the trees.
What mode were you flying in? GPS
If GPS mode, did your bird flash green (slow flash) after finding satellites BEFORE takeoff? Yes
Did you have your wireless enabled on the GoPro? No
Did you fly for a bit close to the ground before gaining altitude? Any odd flight characteristics? No
Were there any high power lines, substations, cell towers nearby? How far away from you? No, out in the wilderness.
When was the last time you calibrated the compass? A couple days ago, from this area.
When you transport, do you have it near any metallic or magnetic objects? (speakers, sheet metal,ect.) No
Any odd flight characteristics on take off or ascent? No, it's been flying good, even with my repair.
What was the wind speed at ground level? 400ft? 10 kph
ianwood
Taco Wrangler
Steely said:
Unless you had it in airplane mode which I am assuming you didn't, that was a BAD idea!
Steely said:
This was an even worse idea! I think we have the root cause of your "fly away" already figured out.
I hope you find it and if you do, you cannot have your phone strapped to it! And you can't have broken blades on it as well!
I've flown it for hours with the phone attached. Yes, the repair on the blade was a bad idea, and if it screwed up the motor, then it's 100% my fault. That's why I'm curious if anyone else has had a motor quit, and what the Phantom does when that happens.
ianwood
Taco Wrangler
Steely said:
Doesn't matter how long you got away with it. You are bringing yourself one step closer to calamity by doing it. When the conditions line up, your phone will make it like you're blasting a stereo right next to a microphone and expecting it won't cause a problem for the microphone to pick up your voice from the ground.
Steely said:
Doesn't have to be the motor. The "repair" probably let go. Or the imbalance put enough stress on the rest of the blade that it fractured in flight. A very imbalanced blade will put a lot of stress on the motor bearing but if the motor fully seized, your P2 would simply somersault down to the ground.
Yes, I guess I was asking for it! lol Nice to know what the Phantom does when a motor dies. Thanks.
Any idea who might sell a Phantom alone, without the controller etc?
I contacted Dji, but haven't gotten a response yet.
Any idea who might sell a Phantom alone, without the controller etc?
I contacted Dji, but haven't gotten a response yet.
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