DJI Air 3 suddenly started to drift with the wind and did not obey the controls

[jarimy]

Hello,
I was filming on February 23rd and the DJI Air 3 suddenly started to drift with the wind and not obey the controls. No joystick movements produced any results when I tried to take a panoramic photo at about 11 minutes. I was about to lose the entire device, but luckily it obeyed the RTH button and returned to the starting point.
I sent the flight log file to the phantomhelp page. Could someone help analyze what could have caused this problem? Now I'm hesitant to fly because I'm feeling uncertain about the condition of the drone
Log url:

DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

Thanks in advance!
The drone was purchased in April of last year.

Best regards, Jari

 

[samysys]

hi,

it seems that the day was a bit windy (wind from south).

When flying"out" (from around 7 min 30 sec to 9 min) you was using sport mode and the drone was at a speed of 10-14 meter per second. (~26-29mph)

After re-connection with the RC and when you head back the drone (from 9min 40 sec to around 11 min), the drone was at a faster speed of 18 meter per second (40mph).

Wind is the most likely cause to account for this. The pitch angle also indicate the same.

If this is accurate, then other phenomenon can be easily explained:
The drone tried hard to stabilize itself thus the gimbal tilted to its limit thus unable to take the pano photo.

I must say that you are luck that day. Should you fly towards north first, you may not have enough battery to fly back as the drone has to counter wind on the way back. You may wish to mind the wind direction next time. Usually, it is more windy up the sky than on the ground.

The drone should be fine but others may have further observations.

 

[jarimy]

Hello,
I was filming on February 23rd and the DJI Air 3 suddenly started to drift with the wind and not obey the controls. No joystick movements produced any results when I tried to take a panoramic photo at about 11 minutes. I was about to lose the entire device, but luckily it obeyed the RTH button and returned to the starting point.
I sent the flight log file to the phantomhelp page. Could someone help analyze what could have caused this problem? Now I'm hesitant to fly because I'm feeling uncertain about the condition of the drone
Log url:

DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

Thanks in advance!
The drone was purchased in April of last year.

Best regards, Jari

Hey, thanks for your reply! I suspected wind too, but when the drone didn't react to the controls at all, I suspected something more serious.

 

[samysys]

Hey, thanks for your reply! I suspected wind too, but when the drone didn't react to the controls at all, I suspected something more serious.

I have not flied with a Air 3 before, but may be after taking pano, the drone will stop responding a bit to process the photos.

May be you can try to do this again in a clam day where you can see the movement of the drone and ascertain if this was normal or not.

 

[Meta4]

the DJI Air 3 suddenly started to drift with the wind and not obey the controls. No joystick movements produced any results when I tried to take a panoramic photo at about 11 minutes.

Sorry, but I've gone through the recorded flight data and can't find anywhere that the drone didn't respond to your joystick inputs.
I also can't find any time where joystick input was recorded while the drone was in Pano Mode.
It's likely that Pano Mode locks out joystick input to prevent you ruining any panorama you were trying to shoot.

I was about to lose the entire device

??? What makes you say this?
I can't see anything that suggests you were anywhere near losing your drone.
It looks like you became disoriented and confused.

luckily it obeyed the RTH button and returned to the starting point.

Now I'm hesitant to fly because I'm feeling uncertain about the condition of the drone

There's nothing wrong with your drone.
It did everything it was supposed to.

 

[jarimy]

??? What makes you say this?
I can't see anything that suggests you were anywhere near losing your drone.
It looks like you became disoriented and confused.

Thanks for your comment! You may be right that the drone was in a different position than I assumed it to be after the failed panorama. When I tried to fly it back to me, the drone just seemed to move away and went behind the treetops and I couldn't see it anymore, so I panicked and pressed the RTH function. I'll try flying again when the weather is calmer.

 

[matt@tcdrones]

In pano mode the drone will not respond to inputs, this is correct. You can hit the pause button to regain control. On M3E, stick input does nothing, but when the photos are done being captured, it takes about 30 seconds for the pano to process. It can be manually flown while it is processing. Learn your drone. Experiment with pano mode and try the pause button, try all control inputs. I believe the remote will give you a caution warning not to operate while doing a pano. I imagine diferent models will have diferent results. Experiment and learn your drone. Just don’t do the emergency rotor stop on accident while your are flying!

 

[msinger]

it seems that the day was a bit windy

Yes, it was a bit windy at times during the flight.

 

[msinger]

the DJI Air 3 suddenly started to drift with the wind and not obey the controls. No joystick movements produced any results when I tried to take a panoramic photo at about 11 minutes. I was about to lose the entire device, but luckily it obeyed the RTH button and returned to the starting point.

Based on the stick movements versus speed, it appears that the drone responded correctly to all of your commands, as shown here:




You were flying BVLOS, so you were likely just disoriented, as mentioned above.

 

[samysys]

There was a brief disconnection of RC between 9 min 3 sec and 9 min 8 sec.
Pitch of the drone changed shortly before disconnect (from ~- 30 deg to +38 deg).

I wonder if two are related....

 

[jarimy]

Yes, it was a bit windy at times during the flight.

View attachment 181220

Yes, there was some wind. According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the wind gusts would have been around 21mph, on the ground, probably quite different up high. I trusted that the drone would survive that kind of wind.

 

[jarimy]

There was a brief disconnection of RC between 9 min 3 sec and 9 min 8 sec.
Pitch of the drone changed shortly before disconnect (from ~- 30 deg to +38 deg).

I wonder if two are related....

The connection loss occurred when the drone was over a kilometer away from the starting point. I don't think it's related to that strange event, the wind and my own actions are the most likely causes of this event.

 

[jarimy]

Thanks for all your comments! I think this thread can be closed and it can be said that a misjudgment of the flight conditions and the pilot's panic were the cause of my strange experience with the drone's behavior.

 

[msinger]

According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the wind gusts would have been around 21mph, on the ground, probably quite different up high. I trusted that the drone would survive that kind of wind.

The Air 3 can withstand winds of up to approximately 26.8 MPH (12 m/s). And, yes, wind speeds increase at higher altitudes, so it's something important to take note of when you notice the wind is strong on the ground.

 

[Meta4]

The Air 3 can withstand winds of up to approximately 26.8 MPH (12 m/s).

This is DJI's "Maximum Wind Resistance".
It's a figure that DJI has never defined or explained and is meaningless.

The air 3 can fly at up to 21 metres/sec.
It can hover in winds of 21 m/s.
It can make headway flying against winds of well above 12/m/s.

 

[msinger]

The air 3 can fly at up to 21 metres/sec.

46 MPH? I don't know if I'd recommend anyone attempt that one with a drone they plan to keep.

 

[Mrktn]

46 MPH? I don't know if I'd recommend anyone attempt that one with a drone they plan to keep.

I have an Air 3s which must have similar wind resistance. Flew it the other day, 27 mph at GL with 41mph gusts. Handled it well but didn't fly higher than 40 metres. Only got strong wind warning once.

 

[msinger]

@Mrktn right, I don’t believe DJI's specs are stating that the Air 3 cannot fly when wind gusts exceed 12 m/s. Rather, they are likely advising against flying in sustained winds over 12 m/s.

Can the Air 3 technically fly in winds exceeding 12 m/s? Absolutely. However, will its flight characteristics remain the same under those conditions? I wouldn't count on it.

That said, my previous comments about wind were simply to highlight that I don't believe wind was a factor in the OP's flight.

 

[Mrktn]

@Mrktn right, I don’t believe DJI's specs are stating that the Air 3 cannot fly when wind gusts exceed 12 m/s. Rather, they are likely advising against flying in sustained winds over 12 m/s.

Can the Air 3 technically fly in winds exceeding 12 m/s? Absolutely. However, will its flight characteristics remain the same under those conditions? I wouldn't count on it.

That said, my previous comments about wind were simply to highlight that I don't believe wind was a factor in the OP's flight.

Not sure it would handle a hyperlapse at a slow shutter speed with those wind speeds but when hovering near ground level it moved from side to side a little but nothing significant. Video was buttery smooth though at 40 metres.

Sure, note your point about OPs post.

 

[slup]

...the DJI Air 3 suddenly started to drift with the wind and not obey the controls... when I tried to take a panoramic photo...it obeyed the RTH button and returned.

Could someone help analyze what could have caused this problem?

Yeah... your drone indeed drifted in the wind direction uncommanded.

The incident period was between that the last pano mode was ended & the last RTH initiation... between 771,6sec & 815,3sec into the flight, nowhere else. During this period the GPS lock (30-31) & GPS health (5) was fully sufficient for a position hold & the connection between the AC & RC were perfect.

This period can be divided into 3... a initial period without any horizontal commands from the pilot during drifting (771,6sec - 777,2sec), a second consisting of confused stick commands, probably with a low stick reaction for horizontal flight commands (777,2sec - 809,7sec)... & a last period before RTH is initiated which also shows a clear uncommanded drift (809,7sec - 815,3sec).

Period 1, in the sat pic yellow line, in the chart the left yellow frame
Period 2, in the sat pic orange line, in the chart the mid orange frame
Period 3, in the sat pic yellow line, in the chart the right yellow frame

(Click on the pic below to make it larger, the meaning of the graphs in the legend & values there from where the chart marker is placed at 777,2sec)


* During period 1 the drone slowly ramp up the speed to approx. 5mph uncommanded, here the drone tilts correctly into the wind with intention to hold position... but reaches only a tad above 4 degrees (of maximum 36 degrees) which isn't sufficient to prevent wind drift.

* During period 2 the pilot make all sorts of commands in a growing state of panic. It's few periods without stick commands that can be analyzed, but the period starts with 2 shorter instances where the sticks are released (stick chart value 1024=neutral)... the approx. average speed is here 8mph. Also note that despite full stick commands in either elevator or aileron, the tilt never reaches higher than approx. 10 degrees & this in Sport mode, this probably made the pilot believe that the stick commands never reached the drone.

* During the last & third period we mainly see the same as in the first... no stick commands but the drone drifts with approx. 5mph & utilizing only approx. 10 degrees of tilt.

The drone clearly drifted (or got blown away) in the wind direction... but the root cause wasn't a to strong wind. Instead it looks like the drone only could utilize a tilt angle below 10 degrees & not the usual 36 degree in Sport mode. My guess is that something went wrong when the software ended the pano mode which limited the max tilt angle... which in turn caused a blow away with a unresponsive stick feel. This glitch ended when the RTH was manually initiated.