Another Mavic lost failed to RTH

[Randport]

Lost my Mavic on 3-1. I always fly in this area over the river. On this day I took the 1st battery for a mile run then switched to a fresh battery. After doing fly around I did a fly away shot while gaining altitude noticed she was drifting to my left. Took off with GPS and plenty satellite. When i decided to return she was 1/4mile over water and not responding. After precious battery life what seemed forever. I hit the rth button .RC was beeping but dont recall if it sad going home and from the looks of it the numbers wasn't getting closer. While she just hovered in one spot she didn't respond until it hit the critical battery warning. Seconds later she was LANDING. All I could do was go up and forward on the sticks making a Bline to shore doing so I stopped recording to save battery. From the tablet visual she landed right on the wet rocks about 10 blocks away I tracked it standing in the very same spot according to maps. But never found it The location is very secluded. Highly unlikely someone seen it crashed and picked it up before I got there. Im thinking it went in the water 5 feet from where i stood because camera make things seem closer than they really are.

This is a river where you have current BUT on this record breaking temp day with just a slight breeze and low/slack tide and muddy bottom .I drove home to return with waders and a rake. I called DJI file a claim sent them all the info. Now awaiting DJI decision. Heres a pic of my flight log.

#139
Update now 3-12 and still waiting on DJI decision whether pilot error or software.

WOW>.. good luck with the claim! My experience so far with DJI has been horrible! Too bad, such great products and HORRIBLE customer service. Please keep us posted on your progress and good luck. Maybe you can coach the next person on how to deal with them if you get good results.

 

[Hatman30]

Actually, your helicopter analogy could be used to argue the opposite... You don't expect the chopper to teach you how to fly, but you most definitely will need training in that particular type of helicopter. And just because you know how to fly one particular chopper well, does not automatically mean you can jump into the pilot seat of any chopper and be able to fly it proficiently. You will know all the basic principles, but you won't know the unique characteristics of that chopper. If you've only ever flown a two-seater piston engine chopper, I imagine flying a Chinook without any further training would be a bit of a challenge. There's a reason why pilots are required to train and be certified for different types of aircraft. Pilots aim to train to the point where every action and reaction should be second nature. We don't wait for a situation to come up and then try to learn as we go.

It's the same with flying quads in ATTI mode. I'm capable of flying a Phantom in ATTI mode, or even a tiny toy quad, and yet I really wish there were a way to manually fly the Mavic in ATTI mode. I've read many stories about the Mavic's erratic behavior in ATTI mode, so I somewhat dread the day that mine suddenly drops into ATTI mode, because I'm not really sure what to expect.

I think it's very reasonable to want to have the ability to practice our Mavics in ATTI mode in a control environment.

If u want to fly in Atti mode, get some prop guards and fly indoors in low light.
I can (luckily/ unluckily depending how u see it) fly in my flat as gps becomes unavailable and it the carpets don't have enough detail for opti to kick in.
I wouldn't recommend it without prop guards or in a cluttered room though as it does drift a bit.
Also don't forgot to change your loss of signal / low battery protocol to hover or else u may lose it to the ceiling!

 

[domination]

So - no uploaded text or data to determine an analysis of what happened here?? Ugh. This is a learning forum for me. If you want help - upload the data for the pros on here to look at - Period. If you can't figure out how to upload this data when it's been explained 6 different ways On this thread alone, then you may want to reconsider flying a Mavic with its capabilities in the first place.

 

[raymo]

The newest firmware and the Litchi app don't mix at the moment. The crash was caused from flying with Litchi app. The drone went out of control had a massive power surge and slammed into the driveway. Litchi has made an announcement about this a week later. The second instance I cannot recall entirely but after long analysis it was deemed to be a manufacturing defect and the drone needed to be fixed.

Cruising Off Duty in Ottawa lost his MP in a river due to a battery failure. DJI replaced the MP.

 

[MDSH]

Mask the GPS with metal tape. Just don't fly out of sight. P-mode recommended.

Thanks for the workaround.
I think I'll continue to lobby DJI for a proper fix though.
And, yes, I do know that is as rewarding as banging my head on the table.

 

[AlanTheBeast]

Thanks for the workaround.
I think I'll continue to lobby DJI for a proper fix though.
And, yes, I do know that is as rewarding as banging my head on the table.

Banging your head on the table is surely more rewarding.

I put into DJI near 2 weeks ago for a warranty repair on my MP. It took a day to reply. Another day to reply to them again with more evidence. Another day to get a shipping label. Then discover its UPS ground from Canada to the US. Per UPS it was supposed to get there yesterday - but did not - and no date on when it will get there... let's assume Monday. Probably won't see a tech for 2 weeks or more - then they'll say "it's fine" and I'll have to ask them to show me a high res photo from the same camera proving it is fine when it is not .... I expect it back in mid April at best.

So, in order to punish them I've ordered a Phantom 4 Pro. That'll teach them!

 

[MDSH]

in order to punish them I've ordered a Phantom 4 Pro. That'll teach them!

LOL!
I honestly wonder what percentage of fly aways result in more revenue to DJI.

 

[raymo]

With no flight logs to look at, there's a lot of doubt in your story about the drone being at fault. If you're looking to vent about your lost drone, you are free to. Everyone will understand and feel for you that you lost your drone, but if you're looking for positive vibes when you're saying your drone stopped responding, and then don't upload a flight log for us to verify this claim, then you're looking in the wrong place. You're on a forum with a lot of drone experts willing to help, but do so by basing their help on flight data, not given stories, since in most cases the story omits a very important fact that caused the problem in the first place. You've been given a link with instructions for how to upload the flight logs. In case you missed it, go to https://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/ and read the instructions there.

Trying to find a .txt file on an iPad is almost impossible. Connecting to MacBook Pro does nothing to connect. Apple products like laptops and iPhones and iPads are a pain to connect. I can see my flight records and play the files but getting access to the actual files is almost impossible.

 

[msinger]

Trying to find a .txt file on an iPad is almost impossible.

You must use iTunes to access the TXT flight logs. Follow the steps in the following video:

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[raymo]

That's completely false. The Mavic has plenty of problems, but they're all camera and gimbal related, not flight issues.

Actually, loading Litchi missions is a problem period. Often, rebooting the Mavic is the only way to get the thing to respond. Even after loading, and starting the mission, video feed stutters and such. This may be a Litchi software problem more than a MP problem.

 

[AlanTheBeast]

Trying to find a .txt file on an iPad is almost impossible. Connecting to MacBook Pro does nothing to connect. Apple products like laptops and iPhones and iPads are a pain to connect. I can see my flight records and play the files but getting access to the actual files is almost impossible.

Connect phone to computer
iTunes (Windblows, Mac).
Find the phone in iTunes
Then the GO App - way down ... the 2nd one
Data from the app (flight data and video cache) into a temp folder (I use a Ramdisk which is easy to set up on a Mac temporarily and a nightmare on Windblows)
Select the recent files and copy to the HD or external drive folders.

A bit convoluted - but it works fine in the walled-ish garden of iOS.

 

[Malcolm]

Did you take a look at your TXT flight log to see if it shows where your Mavic landed? If not, you can upload and view your TXT flight log here.

I too crashed my Mavic after loosing 15 sat's, going to Atti mode and no control from the RC. She passed HP overhead, continued on till it crashed into a tall cottonwood tree. No response from RC, specially hover.

 

[AlanTheBeast]

I too crashed my Mavic after loosing 15 sat's, going to Atti mode and no control from the RC. She passed HP overhead, continued on till it crashed into a tall cottonwood tree. No response from RC, specially hover.

Have you posted the log (.TXT or .DAT) here for the wizards?

 

[raymo]

You must use iTunes to access the TXT flight logs. Follow the steps in the following video:

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One of Apple's more brilliant genius moves. Make files on your iPad accessible through iTunes. You have got to be kidding. The first thing I did because this was a dedicated iPad for the Mavic, was to get rid of iTunes. Now if you go to App Store and search for iTunes to download, you get iTunes Connect, iTunes U and iTunes Store, none of which are actual iTunes.

 

[Atomicbear]

How should I practice flying in ATTI mode on a MavicPro?

Indoors. You likely won't have GPS inside your house, garage, school gym, etc.

 

[AlanTheBeast]

One of Apple's more brilliant genius moves. Make files on your iPad accessible through iTunes. You have got to be kidding. The first thing I did because this was a dedicated iPad for the Mavic, was to get rid of iTunes. Now if you go to App Store and search for iTunes to download, you get iTunes Connect, iTunes U and iTunes Store, none of which are actual iTunes.

Hang on. To be clear, you need a PC (Windblows or Mac) version of iTunes to get the data off of the iPad or iPhone. You don't need iTunes in the iPad or iPhone. There's no need to remove apps like iTunes from your iPad. Just ignore them.

Yes, it takes a certain level of masochism to be an Apple user. But in exchange you get to spend more money.

 

[Oingo Boingo]

You should be scared and personally I would return it before you even open it up. This, a small you've probably seen isn't an isolated issue, the Mavics got some real problems and there is a common thread and it's not pilot error.

I beg to differ. 90 % of the problems are due to not reading the manual. Add being a complete noob in RC flying to it and youre set for disaster

 

[Malcolm]

I too crashed my Mavic after loosing 15 sat's, going to Atti mode and no control from the RC. She passed HP overhead, continued on till it crashed into a tall cottonwood tree. No response from RC, specially hover.

Uploaded wrong flight record.

 

[Malcolm]

I

Have you posted the log (.TXT or .DAT) here for the wizards?

posted wrong file..

 

[JLane]

Mask the GPS with metal tape. Just don't fly out of sight. P-mode recommended.

I've tried a couple of times, unsuccessfully, with a few layers of aluminium foil. I do plan to try again, but have yet had the chance to do so.