Know Your Equipment - PLEASE

[EMCSQUAR]

I've been seeing alot of crashes and mid air failures upclose & personal since offering repairs. I can't beleive how many folks neglect to read & understand the manuals.

One of the biggest mistakes I'm seeing is guys taking off once they see the string of green lights, thinking they've got GPS sat lock. C'mon guys - that's only telling you your home point is marked. These same guys complain of drifting and odd behavior... duh... With one green and multiple reds you're basically in atti mode. Wait until you have a green flash only before taking off. (At least until you have more experience under your belt)

Another biggee - VRS (Vortex Ring State) or more common as propwash. I've had a handfull of broken cameras, gimbals & landing gear destroyed come to me for repairs - blaming the equipment. If they only were aware of proper landing techniques - especially w/P2 props and heavier crafts loaded with gimbals & accessories.

It's frustrating to see guys/gals invest into the hobby only to crash and start blaming the equipment. PLEASE read & understand the manual(s). Take your time and get to know your aircraft and build confidence in your flying abilities. Practice the different modes and thoroughly understand what each one does & how it affects your flights. Find another pilot in your area for help. Doing so might help keep your craft & wallet in healthier shape.

End of rant...

MC

 

[cosmonaut]

I've been seeing alot of crashes and mid air failures upclose & personal since offering repairs. I can't beleive how many folks neglect to read & understand the manuals.

One of the biggest mistakes I'm seeing is guys taking off once they see the string of green lights, thinking they've got GPS sat lock. C'mon guys - that's only telling you your home point is marked. These same guys complain of drifting and odd behavior... duh... With one green and multiple reds you're basically in atti mode. Wait until you have a green flash only before taking off. (At least until you have more experience under your belt)

Another biggee - VRS (Vortex Ring State) or more common as propwash. I've had a handfull of broken cameras, gimbals & landing gear destroyed come to me for repairs - blaming the equipment. If they only were aware of proper landing techniques - especially w/P2 props and heavier crafts loaded with gimbals & accessories.

It's frustrating to see guys/gals invest into the hobby only to crash and start blaming the equipment. PLEASE read & understand the manual(s). Take your time and get to know your aircraft and build confidence in your flying abilities. Practice the different modes and thoroughly understand what each one does & how it affects your flights. Find another pilot in your area for help. Doing so might help keep your craft & wallet in healthier shape.

End of rant...

MC

Thanks for the pointers. One of my big mistakes is taking chances before I have enough fly time to actually fly the thing right. I need to just practice flying.

 

[EMCSQUAR]

I can't stress it enough to take your time and learn it inside and out. Once you get accustomed to it's flight tendancies, you'll be amazed at what it's capable of.

You don't have to "mod" the dickens out of them for great pics and videos (although some of us can't leave well enough alone) I've recently seen some aerial vids shot w/a Phantom 2 w/3d Zenmuse, that put Pro aerial and Photo pros to shame. It all comes with time & practice.

 

[gavinski]

I was going to post something very similar, but call it "RTFM". How many people fire up their new Phantom with nothing but a cursory glance at the manual? There is a lot more to this quad than many people realize.

I am also amazed at how many times the same questions get asked on this forum - "Why doesn't Course Lock work?" or "what does this light sequence mean?" The answer is in the manual.

Come on people, put in a little effort.

RTFM.

 

[Happyflyer]

Agreed!
But on the "other" side: If they did not break their machines, you would not have anything to fix.

 

[madsonp]

Well said, after ordering mine and before I received it, I read the manuals extensively as well as reading through these forums so I had a full understanding of the machine and accessories once I received it. If you know of anyone interested in getting one of these I highly suggest you tell them to do the same thing.

 

[darwin-t]

What is the safest way to bring a Phantom down from altitude? Movement in some direction along with lowering the throttle?

 

[Ozzyguy]

What is the safest way to bring a Phantom down from altitude? Movement in some direction along with lowering the throttle?

Exactly. Moving upwind is the best way to decend. Never straight down.

 

[Ozzyguy]

I completely agree. I slap my forhead everytime I see a 'where is the s1 switch' or how do I enable IOC question. Do some work and stop being so **** lazy. I did a full month of study while saving up for my phantom.

 

[andrewket2]

What is the safest way to bring a Phantom down from altitude? Movement in some direction along with lowering the throttle?

Exactly. Moving upwind is the best way to decend. Never straight down.

Ok, why? For beginners, I would think moving along one axis vs. two would be better.

 

[N017RW]

What is the safest way to bring a Phantom down from altitude? Movement in some direction along with lowering the throttle?

Exactly. Moving upwind is the best way to decend. Never straight down.

Ok, why? For beginners, I would think moving along one axis vs. two would be better.

VRS.

Google: 'vortex ring state'.

 

[EMCSQUAR]

Agreed!
But on the "other" side: If they did not break their machines, you would not have anything to fix.

True, but trust me, I'd rather be flying with these guys/gals then repairing their Phantoms & listening to heartbreaking tales. I'm not an official DJI repairman, a hobbyshop or anything of the sort. I just read of so many in need of honest repairs & to get back flying and enjoying their Phantoms.Hell, I'm an audio engineer by trade...

From where I'm sitting,I see DJI as struggling to keep up & address customers concerns. IMO they're (DJI) is releasing to many products, too fast without actually doing alot of feild testing & I've told them so. But instead of hammering DJI with complaints, I'm trying to work with Phantom Pilots and some of the more experienced veterans on this site to address some of these issues we read so much about. IE: the 3.0.4 drop out of the sky complaint of late. Personally I think they're newest software has a glitch in it's power routing to the ESCs. There's about a 30% rate of P2s with new software crashing. Whether it's the way it's being loaded into the Phantom or internally itself - it's not a hardware problem. I use P2 batteries in both of my 1.5s and have zero issues in all kinds of conditions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPAWfkEGqp0.

I'm glad this thread has gotten some positive attention and has remained civil and hopefully new pilots will heed the word to READ the manuals & understand them.

Just another note - I'm pushing DJI for a smart battery upgrade to a 4S style. In early tests I've gotten a fully loaded P2 Phantom to go over 30mins in flight time. Stay tuned....

 

[gunslinger]

What is the safest way to bring a Phantom down from altitude? Movement in some direction along with lowering the throttle?

Exactly. Moving upwind is the best way to decend. Never straight down.

Ok, why? For beginners, I would think moving along one axis vs. two would be better.

"Ring Vortex" syndrome... Getting caught in your own prop wash WILL make the Phantom unstable and could easily lead to the dreaded "Dropping Like A Rock" syndrome...

Moving horizontally, when coming down vertically, keeps you out of your own prop wash...

-slinger