Flyaways....

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Hi,

Sorry for the daft questions, i've read about flyaways, are these solely down to flyers not setting up the compass, not getting a good GPS lock and therefore setting the home lock incorrectly and the WIFI from the GOPRO interfer with the P2? Or is there something else to consider, thanks again for any help.

Cheers Mark
 
So, with an iOSD, the distance to "home" is displayed. Shouldn't a simple glance at that be sufficient after takeoff to double check that home is where you think it should be?
 
Yep! Good habit.
 
It's a very legitimate question.

I cannot view that video where I am now but I can read the synopsis and I agree with the person who posted the video when he says it's opinion.

I have no doubt some or maybe even most flyaways are user error of one kind or another. Other folks say they have experience and swear that they did everything right, but the Phantom still flew away anyway. No single theory (or video) will ever explain every event.

I just try to calibrate the compass when I travel long distances between flying fields and wait until I have sufficient satellites and a properly registered "home" before taking off. I also try not to jerk the bird around in the air. Lastly, I have a Futaba receiver in there (instead of stock). Some folks have said this also reduces risk but I have no way of knowing for sure.

Another tip I recently learned, although not related to flyaways, is not to allow anything between you and the Phantom that might interfere with it's return trip should it go into failsafe. For instance, don't fly around the side of a hill so that it might crash into said hill if control is lost.


q8f1 said:
Hi,

Sorry for the daft questions, i've read about flyaways, are these solely down to flyers not setting up the compass, not getting a good GPS lock and therefore setting the home lock incorrectly and the WIFI from the GOPRO interfer with the P2? Or is there something else to consider, thanks again for any help.

Cheers Mark
 
Here is my post and video in the help section, I don't use the wifi for the gopro,
I cal the compass before flight and get gps lock before take off..

I do the same thing every time I go to a new location, cal, gps, warm up.
gps lock and warm up if at same location.
So I don't think I had pilot error prior to take off.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=19015
 
Try to fly in Atti mode vs always in GPS mode. It is not that different to fly in atti mode, yes the phantom might drift a little when you release the sticks but you can flick it in GPS mode to hover in place if you need to. And failsafe still works in atti mode in case you lose connection with your transmitter. Most fly-always I have read about happened almost always with someone flying in full GPS mode all the time....my 2 cents.
 
That video is totally and utterly wrong. People have been misinformed 11,000 times by that video! Yikes! I am copying here the comment I made of the video:

I said:
11,000+ views and this couldn't be any more wrong. Your home location is recorded with 7 or more satellites acquired. With 7 satellites, your PDOP will be below 4 and at most a 5-10 meter positioning error on a bad day. More typical is around 2-3m. And what makes this video even worse is that a GPS error tends to stay consistent over short periods of time due to the gradual change of atmospheric conditions. GPS jumps do happen but typically only when in areas where significant portions of the sky are obscured or when sudden geomagnetic impulses (K index >5) are experienced. Sometimes, it's a satellite low on the horizon but the jumps are small unless you have less than 7 SVs locked in.

You'll find that the majority of fly aways are actually mechanical failures or related to a bad compass calibration, taking off on or near magnetic materials, moving the Phantom during IMU initialization, creating or being exposed to strong RF interference.
 

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