Please help this idiot pilot

[Vajaynus]

Hello folks,

Just joined the forum and it seems to be a really friendly, intelligent crowd. Please help fix my stupidity.

I just planted my third Phantom 3, totaling it, in the front yard. Clearly there is something I am doing wrong so I turn to the smart folks on this forum to help me figure out what I'm doing wrong so I can continue this fun hobby. My pocketbook can't take anymore...

Registered with the FAA and birds are marked, I fly by the rules, just getting that out of the way.

Here are the facts:

• three phantom 3s toast (only the most recent able to be recovered)
• all three were using DJI black composite blades
• two had "landing feet" installed
• All three died from the same mysterious issue after flying perfectly for many flights.
• When disaster strikes, I'm not doing anything out of the ordinary, I do a vertical climb to 100' or so, then maneuver. It could be 10 minutes into the flight or, like today, very early, when I move left, right, forward, whatever, then out of nowhere the Phantom does a death spiral into the ground.

This third crash is the first time I have been able to recover the craft so some kind of analysis can be done hopefully. I know you folks have tricks to download logs and maybe get to the bottom of this, any help would be much appreciated.

I'm clearly doing something very wrong but am at a complete loss as to what that may be. I do live in a very "interesting" area with SIGINT birds testing 24/7 so I am not ruling that out.. RJs, Compass Call, among others..

I may be employed by said testers so have the ability to ask about what signals they are putting out.

Also, if it helps, the casualty list

1. Phantom 3 Pro
2. Phantom 3 Adv
3. Phantom 3 Adv

 

[msinger]

then out of nowhere the Phantom does a death spiral into the ground

Were all of the props still attached when you found it?

If you upload your flight log here and post a link back here, we can take a look to see if it shows anything obvious. If a more in depth review is required, the DAT log might be needed too.

 

[Vajaynus]

Were all of the props still attached when you found it?

If you upload your flight log here and post a link back here, we can take a look to see if it shows anything obvious. If a more in depth review is required, the DAT log might be needed too.

Sorry, I think that video is of an older version of iTunes, I cannot find what he's showing but will keep at it. iTunes is a terrible application..

Nevermind, got it I think

 

[Vajaynus]

Were all of the props still attached when you found it?

If you upload your flight log here and post a link back here, we can take a look to see if it shows anything obvious. If a more in depth review is required, the DAT log might be needed too.

Here is the link. Both front props still attached and seem to be undamaged. The rear port prop is half gone, the rear starboard prop is gone.

HealthyDrones.com - Innovative flight data analysis that matters

 

[msinger]

Please upload your log to PhantomHelp.com via my link above.

 

[Oso]

Please upload your log to PhantomHelp.com via my link above.

Hey Mike - I've noticed several times that when you ask people to upload to your site they proceed to upload it to Healthy Drones instead. I think it's because the video linked on your upload page shows uploading to Healthy Drones. Perhaps linking to a different video or making your own video will help avoid that from happening so often.

 

[Vajaynus]

Hey Mike - I've noticed several times that when you ask people to upload to your site they proceed to upload it to Healthy Drones instead. I think it's because the video linked on your upload page shows uploading to Healthy Drones. Perhaps linking to a different video or making your own video will help avoid that from happening so often.

View attachment 51710

My fault, I did uplink to "healthy drones", I will correct it, thanks fellas.

I uploaded it to your site, very very cool BTW.

 

[Fplvert]

No home point set, trying to fly in ATTI mode?

Expensive lesson, hopefully you'll get satellite lock before you try again!

 

[MikeyOnline]

If one prop is gone entierly, maybe a prop fly-off? I've never understood how the screw on props could fly off though because they are threaded in the direction of rotation so that power from the motors should actually tighten them.

Mike

 

[Jtrjr]

If one prop is gone entierly, maybe a prop fly-off? I've never understood how the screw on props could fly off though because they are threaded in the direction of rotation so that power from the motors should actually tighten them.

Mike,

You're correct except when you brake, the motors stop abruptly or even reverse direction (I believe). I set my brakes between 70-80%.

Jerry

 

[msinger]

I think it's because the video linked on your upload page shows uploading to Healthy Drones.

Perhaps

 

[MikeyOnline]

Mike,

You're correct except when you brake, the motors stop abruptly or even reverse direction (I believe). I set my brakes between 70-80%.

Jerry

Good to know, thanks. I was assuming when you brake, it just cut the power (some). Didn't realize it'd physically brake (or reverse) the motors.

Mike

 

[Jtrjr]

Good to know, thanks. I was assuming when you brake, it just cut the power (some). Didn't realize it'd physically brake (or reverse) the motors.

Mike,

I'm not technically knowledgeable enough to say for certain that it does. Maybe someone with better credentials than I have will chime in and confirm or deny.

Jerry

 

[Air Ontario]

Appears to be plenty of sats recorded, around 9-14 during startup/ascent.

There are some strange compass headings listed with no apparent stick input from(elev, aileron, throttle, rudder) and some cell voltage increases.

Looks like it did well to about 250-257 ft altitude then things went bad.

 

[Vajaynus]

No home point set, trying to fly in ATTI mode?

Expensive lesson, hopefully you'll get satellite lock before you try again!

VERY expensive lesson since this is the third dead bird. If I'm not doing something correctly please educate me. I have 10+ sats on the display before every takeoff.

I see in that log app where it basically goes into "manual mode" for no reason at all. All three of these lost flights, everything is going fine then out of nowhere the craft spirals out of control into the ground.

 

[Oso]

Just a guess from my high level view of your HD flight. It seems unlikely that you lost props on three different Phantoms, so perhaps you have been continuously calibrating your compass in a magnetically influenced area. Then when you fly away from the magnetic influence, your Phantom switches to ATTI mode in part because it loses it's ability to maintain itself with what it sees now as bad compass readings. Have you been doing compass calibrations in the same spot for all three of your Phantoms? So that you don't make any expensive mistakes, do you practice ATTI mode flying?

I suggest that you re-calibrate your compass in a wide open area which is not magnetically influenced. This should reestablish a good baseline calibration. Then leave your compass alone from that point onward. In the future, if you get a compass error just move to another spot without re-calibrating.

 

[Vajaynus]

Mike,

You're correct except when you brake, the motors stop abruptly or even reverse direction (I believe). I set my brakes between 70-80%.

Jerry

This is a very good point for me to chew on. I want to say that right before each disaster I did a maneuver that could have engaged the reverse braking, caausing a prop to fly off. Like I said in my initial post, all crashes happened with DJI carbon fibre props.

 

[mrcrane2u]

Csc maybe?

 

[MedinaTaylor]

This is a very good point for me to chew on. I want to say that right before each disaster I did a maneuver that could have engaged the reverse braking, caausing a prop to fly off. Like I said in my initial post, all crashes happened with DJI carbon fibre props.

How tight did you attach your props?

 

[Multicoptertec]

Props need to be snugged tight. Have you just been putting them on loosely, expecting the motors to tighten them?