landed on side, squeal and smoke

I see this as yet another opportunity for DJI to improve their firmware. It can already detect when the motor is obstructed (stops spinning) and the error message even shows in the log. When that happens and the altitude has not changed for one second, why not cut power to the motors to prevent this?

Mike
 
This just happened to me today. Landed and the grass was a bit uneven. It tipped over. Initiated CSC and it stopped the two blades that were free but the two that were on the grass squealed like crazy. I flipped it up and had to pull the battery to make the squeal stop.

After that I restarted and the motors turned on and functioned normally.

This is brand new and not being able to turn the motors off quickly is bad news.
When you say it tipped over, was it mostly upside down? Or just on a slant?
 
I had just finished a flight and was landing. I pulled the throttle right down and then did a CSC but the a/c tipped and the motors did not stop. I then let go of the sticks and zeroed the throttle and the motors stopped after a second or so. No damage except for two props which have been binned.

I put that down to pilot error. In the heat of the moment I didn't know what I did.

Took off again and landed 5 times this time not bothering with a CSC but just throttle at zero. The engines cut after a short delay with no mishap.

So its throttle down and hold for me from now on.

As for hand catch - I don't know. Seems too dangerous for me somehow.
 
This just happened to me today. Landed and the grass was a bit uneven. It tipped over. Initiated CSC and it stopped the two blades that were free but the two that were on the grass squealed like crazy. I flipped it up and had to pull the battery to make the squeal stop.

After that I restarted and the motors turned on and functioned normally.

This is brand new and not being able to turn the motors off quickly is bad news.
Interesting. I was thinking that people were probably not giving CSC enough time to activate, it isn't instantaneous. I've always used left stick down after reading of the birds tipping over when CSC was used to shut off the motors when landing. But what happened in your instance kinda throws my theory out the window.
 
How did you try to stop it? Was it the CSC?
I'm asking because there seems to have been several people now who have reported that doing the CSC did not stop the motors on a flipped Phantom. At first I was very skeptical, but now I am starting to wonder about it.
When I first got my P3P I was able to land it slowly and safely without a problem. One time I pressed the Auto Landing button on the app and after landing slowly it fell over. It immediately started squealing though no smoke. I hit a CSC and it stopped. I don't understand why the CSC would not work.
 
Hand catching becomes easier after a while, yet landing it safely on a level surface is part of the enjoyment of flying. Im not in the autonomous takeoffs or landings, it's manual throughout unless of course there's an emergency of some sort. Part of my "pre flight" checklist is choosing a level area to land when bringing her back.
 
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always hand catch never will have a problem
 
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one of the blades got stuck in the ground and it started to squeal, I tried to stop it but that didn't work and it started smoking so I quickly pulled the battery.

**** - same thing happened to me this past week! Landing on a freshly cut lawn - did a CSC but then she tipped over on an angle with two props touching the ground (other two had stopped turning).

Loud squeal and smoke coming from one of the motors (tipped over side). I pulled back on the left stick only - didn't stop the squealing or smoking! Rushed over and killed the power at the battery - still smoking and squealing! I had to pull the battery to stop the noise.

This was all done in a matter of seconds - motor got so hot it was actually melting the plastic housing it sits on - I used a stick to straighten the motor up back into its position while the plastic was still flexible and hot till it became rigid.

I can see where the screws are seated below the motor the plastic around them has deformed somewhat. Motor winding insulation has all burned off and there is a noticeable restriction when turning the prop by hand (turns but won't spin when flicked by your finger). For the hell of it I fired it up and all motors started fine. I thought best not to try fly like that however.

All the hardware under the affected motor screwed out without any problem but there are obvious signs of deformity of the plastic where the screws are supposed to be seated when tightened.

Any ideas of why the power to that motor would not stop with a CSC when all 3 others did stop (until I pulled the battery)? Is this an ESC issue that caused this perhaps? Go App showed "motor obstruction" - CSC or down hard left stick only would not stop the power to that motor at all - battery removal was the only recourse.

I suppose I should be looking at replacing the motor, esc and possibly the shell - any comments would be appreciated. Is this something DJI is aware of (power still active at a motor despite all others shut down from CSC)? Or is it perhaps just my bad luck and an ESC issue?
 
This is just crazy. I think that I lucked out since I don't think I had smoke and definitely no melted plastic.
I looked through the vents and the wire insulation seems good to go. I will be keeping track of the temperature of the two motors to see if they get hotter than the other two. So far so good.
 
Always land on a hard surface. Also get polar pro landing gear addon. I use them and they help when landing on grass! When I flew rc Helis I put dowel rods with rubber balls glued on them and attached that mod to the landing skids. I think you could do the same with a Phantom. Practice manual landings as often as you can. I can land on a dime and give you change. Not Tuting my horn but practice makes perfect. Hope this helps!!! Hate to see tip overs on such a expensive investment. Best wishes for happy landings!!!



Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
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Okay you did the CSC. Thanks for clarifying. That aligns with what a few other people have noted in other similar threads asking about motors after a flip. Several posters have met with skepticism when they said that CSC didnt work, but now more and more people are saying the same thing.
I just had the same issue. Landed on grass, tipped a bit and I tried the CSC but it tipped further and one blade stuck in the grass with squeal and smoke. CSC did not work, trying to power off battery did not work so I had to pull the battery out.
 
Similar situation, motor looked fine but it had gotten hot enough to slightly warp the plastic. Flew fine for two weeks, then one morning, the dreaded escape error message. Had the motor and case replaced. I don't know if I was lucky to have caught the fault on the ground or if it would have just dropped from the sky at some future point.


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once again learn how to hand catch wont have this issue
 
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Interesting. I was thinking that people were probably not giving CSC enough time to activate, it isn't instantaneous. I've always used left stick down after reading of the birds tipping over when CSC was used to shut off the motors when landing. But what happened in your instance kinda throws my theory out the window.
That's exactly what I used to think - it isn't instantaneous and I posted same. But a respected member corrected me several months ago and informed me that CSC is instantaneous. So I had to accept that since I don't have a P3A. But on my P2V, CSC definitely takes a second or two. I figured DJI must have changed it...

But it doesn't really matter because either way I hate CSC.

Re the melt through thing, my AC went down in the thick woods about a quarter mile away in early August. After four hours, I found it and two motors had overheated, apparently trying to save itself after it hit the ground, and the motors and screws pulled right up and through the motor mounts completely. They were both outside of the AC and dangling by the wires. Four large melted holes where the screws used to be in two of the wings. Maybe I should have done down left stick instead of up left stick at the very end. Anyway, I was able to remount two new motors (and new ESCs) by leveling out the melted mounts with a dremel grinding tool and then using longer screws with flat washers. Darned thing flies perfectly. Broke my distance record the following week...

re hand catching - I love hand catching and have done it many many times, but it's not viable on my normal set up. I've got a table set up in the corner of my property under a big tree for shade, and the AC is launched about 60 ft away in the open. When I'm coming in after a run, it's faster to land it on the ground than in my hand because I'd have to walk out to the open during the fast angled descent between towering trees and outbuildings - which would be awkward to say the least. I just land it with down stick and the motors stop and the AC stays upright even when landing on tilted ground. I've done it this way 200x with no problems at all.

But if I could hand catch easily, I would. It's easy and safe if you know what you're doing.
 
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Using CSC after landing is like jumping out your car window then reaching bk in to shut off the key! You can bump shifter into gear, you can hit gas on way out, etc. DON'T DO EITHER!

Use the click down center left stick and stop destroying your ac.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
And usually, one learns from their first few CSC commands after landing to not do it ever again. And many shared their experiences with others to help prevent them from ruining their ac too. I blew thru ALL my props the FIRST DAY I received my P2V3! CSC'ed everyone. Had to wait until the replacements came in from ebay from China. Those have been on now for 2 years. They are starting to look a bit ragged with a few nicks here and there but have worked faithfully since I changed to method 2 (throttle down into detent). So moral is tell all your friends to reserve CSC for starting the ac and for EMERGENCY shut off in the sky. Operate this way and you have no need to hand catch.
 
And usually, one learns from their first few CSC commands after landing to not do it ever again. And many shared their experiences with others to help prevent them from ruining their ac too. I blew thru ALL my props the FIRST DAY I received my P2V3! CSC'ed everyone. [...] So moral is tell all your friends to reserve CSC for starting the ac and for EMERGENCY shut off in the sky. Operate this way and you have no need to hand catch.

Yes! We got P3P almost two years ago and after the very FIRST landing it flipped over on a perfectly smooth terrain with short grass after trying to shut down the motors via CSC as the manual recommended

...by sheer luck no harm was done, no motors burned etc then ... I learned only after several months what might have caused that flip... My son was at the sticks then and I have instructed him about the issue. Somehow I have always used throttle-down to shutdown the motors.

So we now usually hand-catch or carefully land on a smooth terrain and shut down via throttle-down.

We reserve CSC only as a last resort if the motors have to be stopped in emergency. ...and if THAT fails, we are prepared to remove the battery or do whatever it takes...
 
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Tipped on grass not long after getting my P3A, motors squealed etc, it was after doing a CSC to shut down the motors as some stupid youtube video recommended, since then I do hand catch only, its brilliant.. hundreds of catches later, no issues
 
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Hi,

I purchased a P3A last week after lurking on these forums for the past 2 weeks so just thought I'd add my brief experience.

Day 1 I was just practicing take-offs and landings and using CSC to turn off the motors. I then figured you could just hold the left stick down.
Anyway I gave my brother a go and explained to him how to land. He tried the CSC but the Phantom tipped over. Luckily i was able to grab the controller and hold the left stick down.

I've since avoided CSC but was wondering is the tipping over problem a result in moving the right stick momentarily before the left stick? Since most people are right handed I thought this might be the case and perhaps it be best to ensure you move the left stick slightly in advance.

P.S. What is CSC an acronym of?
 

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