After careful review of my actions during preflight preparation or the lack thereof,,it appears to me this fly-away was the cause of pilot error and lack of attention to detail in preparation for flight including disregard for weather conditions ,,
1. I moved the aircraft after initialization then just prior to compass calibration, that's a no-no & I know its a no-no and I did it anyway.. ???? I just remebered I had powered up on my tailgate, then moved it 4 feet away onto the ground then calibrated the compass there,,,,,,not the way to do it....
2. I may have hit the GPS mode into Failsafe by accident while wearing gloves while flying it back home. this can easlily happen if not paying attention to your fingers....
3. every one of my props were un-balanced. never checked them, assumed they are pre-balanced,,,nope....they are not....
4. it was overcast,,,winds were 17- mph somewhat sustained....stay under 11-12 mph if possible...clear weather helps alot...
I have read several threads about vibration affecting the performance of the NAZA..receiving corrupt IMU data potetially causiing the loss of control or fly aways. these systems being so technically advanced and reliable, have limitations when overloaded or corrupted... I noticed in the video just prior to the fly away,, there was alot of vibration and jello effect that I have not seen on prior flights under much less wind,, it was windy,,,
My lessons are hard learned,,,
1.pay close attention to detail,,
2.balance props,
3.fly in suitable weather. clouds can affect sattellite reception...wind will increase vibration.. vibration is a killer,,,,,
4.pre-flight correctly. combine with step 1 of this list...
5.land, abort flight if initial take off looks shaky,,,re-check everything power cycle and re-calibrate.
6.becareful with the transmitter buttons know what you are touching,,
7.refer to 1. and 4.
Even though I have several years of RC airplane experience, this system requires very careful preparation and a full understanding of the system and its potential llimitations, proper flight training in a safe open area to get completley familiar with is a must. this requires 100% attention to detail and concentration when flying.
This was my 21st flight with the Vision 2 and i was quickly getting overconfident with it, its systems and the pre-flight preparations. I was rushing thru pre-flight steps..... this will bite you hard, forgeting essential steps and procedures will be disasterous,emphasis on "will"...it will bite you,,,, take an extra minute to re-check everything before takeoff, safety of the flight should be number one, lucky for me I get another shot at this, had it went in the ocean or far worse.... into someone or something, it would have been a nightmare, it can happen, it will happen if we are not careful and 100% attentive..its back to flight school for me...