Very unlucky day today , Lost my drone :(

[WV. Rootman]

The mountains here has caught me off guard. One day I went out to fly and it was not bad on the ground. I look up and the clouds looked like they were moving a 100 miles an hour about 400 feet up. Just went back into the house.

It is worse living on the top of the ridge. Yes, fly lower if you can. One time I also flew at a diagonal to the head wind and that helped with sport mode.

 

[Alan Russel]

If its too windy stay home and watch a movie, you will probably get more out of it lol.

 

[Bad Andy]

On a tangential but vaguely related note, I brought a GPS receiver on a 747-800 several years ago for a trip to Korea. It was in my carry-on. On the return trip back to the 'States I saw at one point on the in-flight display that we were going something ridiculous like almost 900 MPH ground speed. Incredulous, I turned on the GPS to double-check it. Took a while to get a lock from inside the top-side cabin but sure enough, we were really boogying. That meant a 300 MPH tail-wind!!!

 

[Martyg4567]

I don't know much about the Crystal Sky monitors. Have you been able to see your flight records before or was this your first time using it?

it was my first time using it and it didn't save the flight record and im not sure why, cause usually when I use my iPhone or tablet they save the flight record automatically .

 

[Martyg4567]

@Martyg4567, did you restart your CrystalSky since attempting to look for the flight log? If not, restart it and check again.

I did restart it , no luck .

 

[mickyparise]

The popular one is www.uavforecast.com which I check before each flight.

But my favorite is www.windy.com, which I also check before each flight, after checking uavforecast.com. It has a little bit more of a learning curve but it's a great site - suggested roughly a year ago by TJ. The advantage is you can check three different sources whereas uav only uses one source and is not as accurate.

It's especially important to be aware of winds aloft when you live in a hilly+ terrain. There will be many times when one may have almost no wind at the surface and significant winds at a few hundred feet up.

Thanks for these sites. Never seen these.

 

[sar104]

it was my first time using it and it didn't save the flight record and im not sure why, cause usually when I use my iPhone or tablet they save the flight record automatically .

Are you sure that you are following the correct instructions for accessing the logs on the CrystalSky? These are the txt log files that are not accessed from within the app. The instructions are the same as for Android devices in the following link:

DJI Flight Log Viewer

 

[Patandi]

So I recently purchased a crystal sky monitor so I can fly my drone in the winter because last january when I tried to fly with my iPhone or apple tablet it would die EXTEMLY fast . So today I went to fly my phantom 3 and get some nice winter shots and a video , lucky the crystal sky monitor lived up to my expectations however after flying for a few minutes I was flying the drone back towards my direction but the wind was so powerful it was blowing my drone away I tried my best to fly it back but I literally had no control !!! the more I was trying to make it come back it was flying further and further away so I pressed the rth and I was waiting a couple minutes but I got a single back but apparently it was really blurry but I was able to see a satellite and a couple of wires so i realized it had landed on someones roof . SO I went to my crystal sky monitor to check the flight records so I can get an idea where it probably landed but for some stupid reason it said NO FLIGHt records how is that possible ? So what Im trying to do now is hand some flyers out saying missing drone will give reward if found and I wrote my phone number if that doesn't work Ill just order a phantom 4 .

I know it's closing the stable door after the horse - or, in this case, the drone has bolted but, in future, attach a small note to the bird giving your mobile number and, perhaps, a hint that a reward may be forthcoming upon it's return. There are some good people out there and it will increase your chance of seeing your baby again.

 

[Mark Beam]

Kittyhawk app

 

[Phantom Flyer 3]

So I recently purchased a crystal sky monitor so I can fly my drone in the winter because last january when I tried to fly with my iPhone or apple tablet it would die EXTEMLY fast . So today I went to fly my phantom 3 and get some nice winter shots and a video , lucky the crystal sky monitor lived up to my expectations however after flying for a few minutes I was flying the drone back towards my direction but the wind was so powerful it was blowing my drone away I tried my best to fly it back but I literally had no control !!! the more I was trying to make it come back it was flying further and further away so I pressed the rth and I was waiting a couple minutes but I got a single back but apparently it was really blurry but I was able to see a satellite and a couple of wires so i realized it had landed on someones roof . SO I went to my crystal sky monitor to check the flight records so I can get an idea where it p robably landed but for some stupid reason it said NO FLIGHt records how is that possible ? So what Im trying to do now is hand some flyers out saying missing drone will give reward if found and I wrote my phone number if that doesn't work Ill just order a phantom 4 .

A bit late to help you sadly but others may learn something. I got my pro3 up in high winds and as it climbed it got further away to the point where I lost visual. I (like you) hit the RTH and watched on the moitor my bird moving further away, at this time nearly 400 feet high. I rotated it to face a direction towards me and started to reduce the height at the same time accelerated it towards me. Gradually it made up some headway, I feel by using the help of gravity to come down as well as forward inertia, I just managed to get it back safely. Having already lost one just weeks before (not my fault) I was panicking for a while. Gladly it all turned out OK, I packed up and went home swearing never again would I fly in strong winds. Also what made it even more unpredictable ,was that I was on the top of a hill but quite sheltered at low levels, the higher and further I got the more serious the wind, gusting to over 45MPH. ! I got lucky and learned a lesson that day.

 

[Meta4]

Gradually it made up some headway, I feel by using the help of gravity to come down as well as forward inertia, I just managed to get it back safely.

Gravity had nothing to do with it.
The wind velocity being lower at lower altitude was what you observed.
When people are having trouble battling a headwind at high altitude, simply bringing the Phantom down lower will usually solve their problem.
Unfortunately many have no idea that winds up high are often quite a lot stronger than down on the ground.

If you want to check the gravity theory, try diving sometime in still conditions and see if your Phantom exceeds the normal max speed of 16 m/s.

 

[WV. Rootman]

Gravity had nothing to do with it.
The wind velocity being lower at lower altitude was what you observed.
When people are having trouble battling a headwind at high altitude, simply bringing the Phantom down lower will usually solve their problem.
Unfortunately many have no idea that winds up high are often quite a lot stronger than down on the ground.

If you want to check the gravity theory, try diving sometime in still conditions and see if your Phantom exceeds the normal max speed of 16 m/s.

I agree with you about lower elevations and lower wind. Surely the effect of the weight being pulled down has some positive affect on the efficiency of the motors be it small. You would have wind force - the trust of the motors = a + or - with gravity you would have wind - (motors + gravity) = + or - Which could make a difference.

 

[Meta4]

Surely the effect of the weight being pulled down has some positive affect on the efficiency of the motors be it small. You would have wind force - the trust of the motors = a + or - with gravity you would have wind - (motors + gravity) = + or - Which could make a difference.

Gravity may help to allow you to save a tiny bit of battery power but it makes no difference to speed..
Try the test I mentioned above and you'll see that the flight controller doesn't allow the Phantom to run away with gravity.
If the wind is still, your Phantom won't go faster than 16 metres/sec uphill or downhill.

 

[sar104]

I agree with you about lower elevations and lower wind. Surely the effect of the weight being pulled down has some positive affect on the efficiency of the motors be it small. You would have wind force - the trust of the motors = a + or - with gravity you would have wind - (motors + gravity) = + or - Which could make a difference.

I had to think about this for a couple of minutes too. But @Meta4 is correct because, while descending requires less lift and could, as a result, allow the aircraft to apply more forward pitch than otherwise, its pitch is actually limited to a value that does not require reduced lift to achieve. So it will use less energy while descending but it does not increase its forward airspeed.

 

[WV. Rootman]

I had to think about this for a couple of minutes too. But @Meta4 is correct because, while descending requires less lift and could, as a result, allow the aircraft to apply more forward pitch than otherwise, its pitch is actually limited to a value that does not require reduced lift to achieve. So it will use less energy while descending but it does not increase its forward airspeed.

Wow, I'll have to rack my head a little over that. Lol

 

[Mark The Droner]

Yes - any increase/decrease you see in speed during descent is due to head/tail wind speed change at lower altitude. Otherwise, speed is the same... and voltage increases a bit when descending which is nice because that's exactly what you need at the end of a long flight...

 

[solentlife]

On a tangential but vaguely related note, I brought a GPS receiver on a 747-800 several years ago for a trip to Korea. It was in my carry-on. On the return trip back to the 'States I saw at one point on the in-flight display that we were going something ridiculous like almost 900 MPH ground speed. Incredulous, I turned on the GPS to double-check it. Took a while to get a lock from inside the top-side cabin but sure enough, we were really boogying. That meant a 300 MPH tail-wind!!!

Jet streams occur between air system boundarys and have been great or a pain to airtravel - depends which way you are travelling !! They can attain very high velocities ....
Unfortunately they cannot be predicted 100% for location / speed as they bend / change continually.

Nigel

 

[solentlife]

A bit late to help you sadly but others may learn something. I got my pro3 up in high winds and as it climbed it got further away to the point where I lost visual. I (like you) hit the RTH and watched on the moitor my bird moving further away, at this time nearly 400 feet high. I rotated it to face a direction towards me and started to reduce the height at the same time accelerated it towards me. Gradually it made up some headway, I feel by using the help of gravity to come down as well as forward inertia, I just managed to get it back safely. Having already lost one just weeks before (not my fault) I was panicking for a while. Gladly it all turned out OK, I packed up and went home swearing never again would I fly in strong winds. Also what made it even more unpredictable ,was that I was on the top of a hill but quite sheltered at low levels, the higher and further I got the more serious the wind, gusting to over 45MPH. ! I got lucky and learned a lesson that day.

THAT is one way to get as much assistance as possible. The other way of course is to land out and use the last position to home in on ... but just for good order : BEFORE leaving or doing anything to go fetch ... RESET home point to where it landed !!

OK .. back to glide slope and getting back ... theoretically the Flight Controller will alter power to the motors to control speed but as the wind is strong - it will be applying maximum power. Therefore adding in a sloped glide path (gravity) will add to the motors to try and gain ground speed .. and because ground speed is still less than programmed - FC will still apply max power to try and get to that max speed.
Another way to maximise power vs wind is to vector the flight path. That is zig-zag so AC is crossing the wind .. trouble is this is difficult to maintain and keep optimum courses .. so not really practical.
What is not so good is descend vertically to try and get to lesser wind ... the strong wind will blow you further away more than if you do not descend ... BUT if you have possibility and know that weak wind is available - then go for it ... but be prepared for that increased horizontal displacement.
In most cases a sloped descent towards home is best.
The ultimate saviour of course is land out and RESET home point to that location.... if possible.

OK an extreme solution ... may sound crazy - but it works ...

If you definitely cannot get it home ... then you can use the critical battery auto land. Just keep that stick held to home direction and let battery charge go down ... eventually the AC will automatically initiate landing due to critical battery ... keep trying to keep it up so battery has no power to do anything after if lands ...

Go fetch it !!

The simple solution to all though ...... is don't fly in strong winds !!

Nigel

 

[Sagebrush]

but the wind was so powerful it was blowing my drone away

It's my belief that this is probably the #1 cause of lost Phantoms. Flying downwind, turning around and not having enough "fuel" to return

SB

 

[Erised]

THAT is one way to get as much assistance as possible. The other way of course is to land out and use the last position to home in on ... but just for good order : BEFORE leaving or doing anything to go fetch ... RESET home point to where it landed !!

OK .. back to glide slope and getting back ... theoretically the Flight Controller will alter power to the motors to control speed but as the wind is strong - it will be applying maximum power. Therefore adding in a sloped glide path (gravity) will add to the motors to try and gain ground speed .. and because ground speed is still less than programmed - FC will still apply max power to try and get to that max speed.
Another way to maximise power vs wind is to vector the flight path. That is zig-zag so AC is crossing the wind .. trouble is this is difficult to maintain and keep optimum courses .. so not really practical.
What is not so good is descend vertically to try and get to lesser wind ... the strong wind will blow you further away more than if you do not descend ... BUT if you have possibility and know that weak wind is available - then go for it ... but be prepared for that increased horizontal displacement.
In most cases a sloped descent towards home is best.
The ultimate saviour of course is land out and RESET home point to that location.... if possible.

OK an extreme solution ... may sound crazy - but it works ...

If you definitely cannot get it home ... then you can use the critical battery auto land. Just keep that stick held to home direction and let battery charge go down ... eventually the AC will automatically initiate landing due to critical battery ... keep trying to keep it up so battery has no power to do anything after if lands ...

Go fetch it !!

The simple solution to all though ...... is don't fly in strong winds !!

Nigel

I agree with glide slope helping in gaining ground as I have proven this with my Syma x5 many times. I live out in the country and I learned to fly with a syma, it dosn't take mutch wind to blow it back. I would go have fun in the wind beccause if the wind would blow it away as soon as it got about 100 meters it would lose connection and fall in the field, go get it and try again. When the wind was strong enough to blow the craft away (not too fast) I would cut lift almost to nil and full forward thrust and make my way back home, when I was running out of atlitude I would even purpously gain altitude and fall back only to gain more ground coming back on a glide slope. It has it's limits but it doe's work.