My P3P crashed, DJI not cooperating

Once DJI determines pilot error (which I believe is what they are saying), 20% is about as good as its gonna get.
 
Personally I think the prudent approach would be an audio warning indicating that RTH will activate in 30 seconds or something like that with a dialog box to cancel or accept. As I stated in my initial thread, having RTH engage without warning has the potential for disaster. Imagine if this scenario occurred in a populated area?

/Rant ON
Yep, imagine that scenario. Bottom line is a case of pilot error, where the pilot does not fully understand how their aircraft operates. Pilot is held responsible. Read the manual...a couple of times. Understand how these things function. Not only will it potentially save your bird, but perhaps save someone from injury.
/Rant OFF
 
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Personally I think the prudent approach would be an audio warning indicating that RTH will activate in 30 seconds or something like that with a dialog box to cancel or accept. As I stated in my initial thread, having RTH engage without warning has the potential for disaster. Imagine if this scenario occurred in a populated area?

Looking at the picture I posted of the area, I still don't see how that rock is 65' ? Not sure how those altitude calculations work

Can someone advise if the offer made by DJI is reasonable or should I fight for more? I have no point of reference dealing with their customer service offers...
There's nothing to fight. When RTH is activated at the battery level you set it to, there is a beeping I believe to warn you. Additionally, the app will tell you it's engaged. You can cancel the RTH by using the screen or the Tx. People always talk about disabling RTH when on boats. This would be that case.

I get that you wanted to have it land on land and not in the water. Which is probably why it hit the rock. I'd take the 20%.
 
Thank you all for your input. Yes, I do take full responsibility for not knowing the full details surrounding the RTH function but I can assure you, there were no warning beeps, the drone just took off without warning, hitting the rock seconds later. I'm still confused regarding the altitude calculations. I did read many posts detailing crashes during RTH due to low altitude. This is why I set mine at 30M. The drone hit a rock a few feet above water level, I don't understand how altitude was calculated to be 65'.
 
Thank you all for your input. Yes, I do take full responsibility for not knowing the full details surrounding the RTH function but I can assure you, there were no warning beeps, the drone just took off without warning, hitting the rock seconds later. I'm still confused regarding the altitude calculations. I did read many posts detailing crashes during RTH due to low altitude. This is why I set mine at 30M. The drone hit a rock a few feet above water level, I don't understand how altitude was calculated to be 65'.
Others have mentioned that the throttle stick was down from the flight logs.
 
Your final altitude was 10.5 feet and descending when your flight records stop. You were likely holding the throttle down the whole time not realizing it, trying to fight what you thought was a flyaway.


Thank you all for your input. Yes, I do take full responsibility for not knowing the full details surrounding the RTH function but I can assure you, there were no warning beeps, the drone just took off without warning, hitting the rock seconds later. I'm still confused regarding the altitude calculations. I did read many posts detailing crashes during RTH due to low altitude. This is why I set mine at 30M. The drone hit a rock a few feet above water level, I don't understand how altitude was calculated to be 65'.
 
Thank you all for your input. Yes, I do take full responsibility for not knowing the full details surrounding the RTH function but I can assure you, there were no warning beeps, the drone just took off without warning, hitting the rock seconds later. I'm still confused regarding the altitude calculations. I did read many posts detailing crashes during RTH due to low altitude. This is why I set mine at 30M. The drone hit a rock a few feet above water level, I don't understand how altitude was calculated to be 65'.
Was the volume on your phone/tablet turned down? I often find that the clamp happens to hit the volume button on my iPhone 6S Plus just right, and if I'm not careful it turns the volume all the way down. The warnings come from your tablet/phone, not the RC.
 
Altitude is calculated based on the internal barometer in the A/C. It is always reported relative to your recorded home take off point. It is not the most accurate thing in the world, and can be off several feet or more over the course of a battery worth of flight. You will find plenty of warnings in various posts about allowing extra margin of error with altitude because of this.
 
Also, being on a boat with all the noises around, it probably was not easy to hear. I can not hear mine to well when I am at a park or talking. An ear bud would be ideal in these situations. I have a bluetooth earbud that is tiny, I might start using it.
Was the volume on your phone/tablet turned down? I often find that the clamp happens to hit the volume button on my iPhone 6S Plus just right, and if I'm not careful it turns the volume all the way down. The warnings come from your tablet/phone, not the RC.
 
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Very true, it was a noisy environment so very possible I didn't hear the warning. A very expensive lesson on RTH but I feel I have a true understanding of the functionality now and things to keep in mind when operating in these special environments ... Like turn RTH off all together ! Thanks again for the input and taking the time to analyze my logs.
 
Very true, it was a noisy environment so very possible I didn't hear the warning. A very expensive lesson on RTH but I feel I have a true understanding of the functionality now and things to keep in mind when operating in these special environments ... Like turn RTH off all together ! Thanks again for the input and taking the time to analyze my logs.
It's never the result we want, but that's why I try to gain as much knowledge from these forums as possible. I'd probably do the same thing out on the boat if I didn't hear others' experiences. You could change the RTH point during the flight, but still, it wouldn't stay with the boat because of it moving and most likely land in the water. Other people forget about the RTH point when just taking off on land and then move to another location wondering why it's flying somewhere else.

You should be able to get a P3P or P3A for a good deal these days, probably less than the 20% off pricepoint depending.
 
Ive been checking around and I haven't seen a P3P for less than the discounted price of $567.20 they are offering. This is the price without the charger or remote which I don't need anyway. If anyone knows of a better deal please let me know....
 
Very true, it was a noisy environment so very possible I didn't hear the warning. A very expensive lesson on RTH but I feel I have a true understanding of the functionality now and things to keep in mind when operating in these special environments ... Like turn RTH off all together ! Thanks again for the input and taking the time to analyze my logs.
If you don't mind, I have follow on questions for clarity and community knowledge.

1. You said initially that you set your RTH to 50m but we see it was set to 30m. What do you think happened there? Do you routinely check settings before each flight and after app updates?

2. You said that you reset the home point periodically, but we see that the home point was not updated from its initial location. What do you think happened there? Does your iPad Air 2 have GPS or is it wifi only? Were you attempting to change the home point to the AC location or to the RC location?
 
1. I recalled 50M but entirely possible it was 30M. I do check my settings periodically but not specifically after every update or flight so another learning point there.

2. Yes, I have previously read about updating RTH when moving and I did that several times to avoid this very issue. Again, I can't say for sure when I did the last RTH update but it appears it didn't update at all as the logs show my RTH location as my initial take-off location. My iPad is the cellular LTE version and I was connected to the Internet with full GPS on the tablet also.
 
It's a good deal take it.


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
Deleted this... I didn't read. Nothing to do with critical battery.

Might still be worthwhile sending for repair. They aren't bad with what they charge to fix a bird even if not under warranty... if you can find it that is.
 
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I'm not sure how you'd have bypassed the warning without noticing but if you were at the critical level, that would somewhat explain the behavior... especially if you panicked and cancelled the ascent and the craft began its trip home prematurely.
See my first comment above. The OP was not at the low or critical battery level.
 
My cousin bought a P3P and only had a handful of flights before taking his on vacation to bora bora.

He flew out over the water and the bird just - died. Screen went black. No RTH. Just - gone. Flight record shows everything OK until it just vanished.


After dealing with DJI they only offered him a 15% discount first offer. Then 25% off second offer (drone only. No battery, RC or props). Pretty lame.

He went out and just bought a new P3P because he didn't want to wait any longer and with those cost savings he'd still have to buy a battery and props so he just bought a whole new setup.
 
After dealing with DJI they only offered him a 15% discount first offer. Then 25% off second offer (drone only. No battery, RC or props). Pretty lame.
In this case, the deal doesn't seem lame at all. DJI was not at fault, so their offer is quite generous.
 

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