Just crashed my brand-new Phantom 2

[Hanno]

First of all a friendly hello from sunny Cambodia.

I am (was) the owner of a Phantom 2. Been practicing for the last 3 days and thought I was getting the hang of it.

I went for another spin just now. Calibrated the compass, had a GPS lock, green flashing lights, S1 switch in GPS position.

All was going fine until I suddenly lost control. The P2 just wouldn't react to any RC inout anymore and drifted off. It eventually hit some trees 100 meters away and hit the ground hard (hard enough for the gimbal mount to break). Not sure if the thing will ever fly again, on rotor arm appears cracked.

My question: is this a frequent occurrence and are there any possible fixes?

Thank you very much in advance,

Hanno

 

[goldfishrock]

Really sorry to hear that At least it's not flown into the blue yonder never to be seen again.

If the body shell is cracked you can get a replacement shell from various online suppliers (certainly in the UK & USA) for relatively little. It's a bit of a fiddle to transfer all the stuff out of the old one but take your time and it's easy enough. I had to do this quite recently myself.

Were you flying in Phantom mode or had you changed to NAZAM mode in the Assistant software? What sort of area are you flying in,Urban, Rural? Any forms of radiation energy around such as Cell phone masts etc? Did you try just turning off the transmitter to see if it would go into RTH mode?

 

[Hanno]

Hi goldfishrock,

Thank you for answering my post.

Good news is that it still flies but of course I am a little worried about crashing into people or something.

I don't even know what Nazam mode is and certainly did not change to it. I was flying in an urban area but in a park. I am sure there are mobile phone masts not too far away but none really close. I did not even think of turning off the transmitter as I was in full panic mode......

Could the fact that I left the WiFi on on the GoPro 3 have something to do with it? I seem to remember reading somewhere that that could cause problems.

Best regards,

Hanno

 

[Shrimpfarmer]

Hi goldfishrock,

Thank you for answering my post.

Good news is that it still flies but of course I am a little worried about crashing into people or something.

I don't even know what Nazam mode is and certainly did not change to it. I was flying in an urban area but in a park. I am sure there are mobile phone masts not too far away but none really close. I did not even think of turning off the transmitter as I was in full panic mode......

Could the fact that I left the WiFi on on the GoPro 3 have something to do with it? I seem to remember reading somewhere that that could cause problems.

Best regards,
Hanno

Yes the Gopro caused the crash its well known.

 

[750r]

I'd go with WiFi on the GoPro being your problem . I would take off the gimbal and get use to flying and familiar with the bird naked then reinstall the gimbal and cam that's around $700 to replace both just my 2cents .
GL !

 

[atoms]

I'd go with WiFi on the GoPro being your problem . I would take off the gimbal and get use to flying and familiar with the bird naked then reinstall the gimbal and cam that's around $700 to replace both just my 2cents .
GL !

How about just having the GoPro wifi off?

 

[750r]

Yep he can do what he wants I only suggest that because of all the threads I have read broke gimbal and gopro not working after crash . Take your time and learn first then reinstall the gimbal and cam rather be safe than sorry that's just me

 

[ianwood]

Sounds like you crashed pretty hard. Don't fly it again until you've had a chance to look it over in detail. You may have caused damage that could cause it to flyaway on you later on. Check for body asymmetry and/or damage, motor e-clips, motor bearings, loose or cracked internals.

 

[Phantom_Alex]

Eeeeek! Better not fly the gopro with wireless now then!

Sent from my C6903 using Tapatalk

 

[jodaddy23]

sorry to hear , but the wifi thing is all over the place as a no no . and do the naza setup .

 

[atoms]

sorry to hear , but the wifi thing is all over the place as a no no . and do the naza setup .

So, GoPro with wifi off always... Check!

Explain the naza setup please!!!

 

[ianwood]

sorry to hear , but the wifi thing is all over the place as a no no . and do the naza setup .

So, GoPro with wifi off always... Check!

Explain the naza setup please!!!

Nothing with wi-fi in close proximity when flying. Proximity is everything. Having a WiFi TX/RX that close to your receiver is like walking around in a dark room with sunglasses on. It's not going to end well. Or imagine trying to have a conversation with someone 100ft away when you're standing next to a giant loudspeaker.

As for Naza, the Phantom 2 has two main modes: Phantom and Naza M. Naza M enables additional modes for ATTI and IOC flying. You should search this site for details on those before you enable Naza M. Naza M enables the two switches in the corners and they can dramatically alter flight characteristics so best know what is going on before doing it.

 

[Jax Quad]

First of all, sorry for your accident. But the more I read of these stories, the more it makes me realize these things are fairly complex and not really bind and fly as they are marketed and sold. I started with a junky AR Parrot, then spent a lot of time on a basic Phantom 1, then Vision then Phantom 2 with gimbal and now ready to move up to larger platforms. I have hundreds and hundreds of flights under my belt and I am still learning. What is the answer for people with absolutely no experience? I know the manufacturers and retailers aren't going to do anything as they love fly aways and crashes. But to be flying these things around hundreds of feet away at fairly high speeds and not even knowing the different flight modes, or any of the other basics, is just a problem (or tragedy) waiting to happen.

 

[rfernandez]

Post pictures of all the damage..! I know it sounds morbid but sometimes a picture tell a 1000 words

 

[Hanno]

Thank you everybody for your replies. WiFi off it is then and I will look into Naza set-up.

I'll post pictures later. Not much damage to the Phantom itself except a broken rotor and a tiny gap in one of the rotor arms. The Gimbal suspension is toast though thus I will be flying without it until a replacement is shipped in. GoPro luckily survived the fall unharmed

 

[neil64]

to be flying these things around hundreds of feet away at fairly high speeds and not even knowing the different flight modes, or any of the other basics, is just a problem (or tragedy) waiting to happen.

Yes, this is a problem. Too many people get a Phantom(2) and treat it like a toy. They get it, go read up a little bit until they feel like flying around, then just go do it without even fully reading the instructions. Then they come to places like these forums and ask silly questions like "Why is my Phantom blinking green?" or "What does ATTI mean?" or "I crashed my Phantom. Why did it do that?". I'm not referring to the OP's question with that, but even that should have been known before going out and flying at all. I'm not being hostile or anything, just letting you know that you should really know what you are doing before you go flying around.

To anyone getting a Phantom(2) - Learn everything about it before you hurt someone or lose your investment. Learn the LED blink codes, get some knowledge about radio frequencies, learn about aerodynamics and physics, figure out terminology like pitch, yaw, attitude, etc. Most important of all - Never forget that the Phantom(2) is not a toy and could potentially cause significant harm or death, and you (the pilot) are 100% responsible for your actions (or lack of) and your flying. It only takes one second for something bad to happen and if you aren't consciously and knowledgeably ready to correct a mistake or an error in half that time, you aren't ready to fly near anything hazardous. It should be common sense to anyone that they should figure all this out before flying, but I think most people are just too excited to go out and fly.

 

[JimM]

Hanno, its good news that it still flies. Watch this youtube video that gives good advice on avoiding flyaways.

As it has been crashed, perform an advanced IMU calibration in the NAZA assistant software, even if it says that calibration is not necessary. Good luck with your future flights.

 

[DesertFlyer53]

Hanno, its good news that it still flies. Watch this youtube video that gives good advice on avoiding flyaways.

As it has been crashed, perform an advanced IMU calibration in the NAZA assistant software, even if it says that calibration is not necessary. Good luck with your future flights.

What video? Did you forget to post the link?

 

[JimM]

Hanno, its good news that it still flies. Watch this youtube video that gives good advice on avoiding flyaways.

As it has been crashed, perform an advanced IMU calibration in the NAZA assistant software, even if it says that calibration is not necessary. Good luck with your future flights.

What video? Did you forget to post the link?

i did..........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bxjL7wF ... ata_player

 

[go fast]

I would say definatly the wi-fi signal from the go pro caused crossed signals and ultimately resulted in the crash , good luck with it. Spend a lot of time reading the forum , all the info you'll ever need.