Have you had a flyaway? MP

[Former Member]

Just taking a poll to see who has had an uncontrollable flyaway with a Mavic Pro or Platinum. If you have had one, was it caused by operator error or equipment error? Please be honest.

You can also take part in this other poll about Mavics falling from the sky:

Poll: Has your Mavic fallen from the sky for unknown reasons?

 

[dewster]

No flyaways on any DJI that I bought. I skipped the Phantom 3 generation after seeing so many YouTube vids of flyaways.

 

[MiniPalourde]

Didn't experience a flyaway but it could have happened.

On my 10th flight, I was flying about 300 meters away and the app crashed. I wasn't able to reconnect the app so I decided to hit RTH. Some time later, I checked my telemetry only to find out that my quad was now 600 meters away. I cancelled the RTH, came back to the take-off point manually, and found out that the home point was set to some random place kilometers away.

I could have experienced some kind of flyaway if I didn't check my telemetry distance after hitting the RTH. It could have been avoided if I checked my home point at take-off, but I was still a noob and didn't knew much about RTH. So the incident was caused by a malfunction of the quad mixed with user error.

 

[UAVNV]

no flyaways, I have read the manual several times a long with always checking my flight environment. never flying close to metal structures

 

[colinfowler]

Lost control once very brefly.
My fault, I was doing a hanger 360 on a very sunny day and pointed RC and iPad mini Down to see the screen clearly, antennas facing the ground.

 

[borislip]

No flyaways, but had one nasty experience which wasn't my fault. I've been flying from the roof of a big parking lot on one of the Atlantic City hotels, out of VLOS. All of a sudden i've lost GPS reception, completely, with the app happily announcing "ATTI mode!!!". The Kp index wasn't high. It was cloudy, but nothing out of the ordinary. There were no (visible/recognizable) strong EMI sources around. It just happened, out of the blue. And the GPS reception didn't go back until the bird has been rebooted.

Sure, it wasn't hard to just fly it back FPV, but this is a kind of events that poisons my confidence in the machine, and i think this post kinda belongs here because of it.

PS: There was nothing in the logs either. Just a sudden GPS reception drop.

 

[dronerdave]

Took off from my driveway to film my roof. It was quite windy but I hit RTH and it took south to who knows where. I had it in site and canceled RTH then flew it back. All I could think of is the metal re-bar in the concrete messed with the compass. My mistake was not going through a check list because I was in a hurry.

Another time I had just did a FW update home then at the launch area the quad slipped into ATTI mode while in flight. This happened twice in one day. It was nerve racking trying to land it. Thankfully I had a full battery. Took it back home and a week later reinstalled the update and it has flown W/O any trouble since.

 

[Former Member]

Another time I had just did a FW update home then at the launch area the quad slipped into ATTI mode while in flight. This happened twice in one day. It was nerve racking trying to land it. Thankfully I had a full battery. Took it back home and a week later reinstalled the update and it has flown W/O any trouble since.

Just for your information, the new firmware update released today, specifically states that it might reset your RTH altitude, so if you update, best be sure to check it all out after.

"Once the firmware has been updated, it can not be downgraded to a previous version."

"Please not that firmware update may reset various Main controller setting such as RTH Altitude, and maximum flight distance to factory defaults."

I would recheck ALL my settings after the update.

Thank you @Keule for the information.

 

[Former Member]

So far, the poll shows that nobody has had a flyaway due to manufacturing defects. Would like to see more responses.

 

[borislip]

So far, the poll shows that nobody has had a flyaway due to manufacturing defects. Would like to see more responses.

The question is, would a person that had a flyaway remain active on the drones scene, or just going to abandon the hobby. And the forum.

 

[abadrs]

No fly away but I've had Mavic Pro lose connection with controller and start moving forward. Thankfully both times I grabbed it out of the air and killed power button.

 

[Former Member]

The question is, would a person that had a flyaway remain active on the drones scene, or just going to abandon the hobby. And the forum.

Many people who crash or lose their Mavics go out and buy another one.

 

[Salla50]

The question is, would a person that had a flyaway remain active on the drones scene, or just going to abandon the hobby. And the forum.

Or the opposite, this post will attract more fly away victims and that would bias the results

Either way... it's not exactly neutral ground we're treading.

 

[Ace-diver]

I had a flyaway yesterday, Mavic Pro, lost connection on way back home, 635 mitres away, app said no aircraft and controller was saying connecting, was only in flight for 4 min, no wind and blue Skye’s, 24 Degrees, this happens after updating firmware to new 400 version.

 

[Lil' DronePilot]

Many people who crash or lose their Mavics go out and buy another one.

Yup, I can attest to this! I had a flyaway using Litchi and being new at the time. I lost connection when text messages were coming in and panicked. I tried rebooting app and the drone really never returned home after loosing connection. I went out and bought another MP and 4 months later, my fly-away drone was found in a roof top and yes it still works. So +1 for the fly-away and +1 for buying another.

 

[MiniPalourde]

Yup, I can attest to this! I had a flyaway using Litchi and being new at the time. I lost connection when text messages were coming in and panicked. I tried rebooting app and the drone really never returned home after loosing connection. I went out and bought another MP and 4 months later, my fly-away drone was found in a roof top and yes it still works. So +1 for the fly-away and +1 for buying another.

4 months of rain and burning heat, and your Mavic still works? That's impressive. The Mavic would be one heck of a tough machine if it wasn't for that da*n gimbal...

 

[Lil' DronePilot]

4 months of rain and burning heat, and your Mavic still works? That's impressive. The Mavic would be one heck of a tough machine if it wasn't for that da*n gimbal...

All I did when I got it back was inspect everything I was able, change battery, new props and tested 3 to 4 batteries on it and it has flown like new as the first day I received it. Until recently I got that forward sensor calibration message; but no fear, Thunder Drones to the rescue! Lol. I know I can do it my self...I tried and having issues which I do not have the time nor patience to deal with it.

 

[SpitFire]

Just taking a poll to see who has had an uncontrollable flyaway with a Mavic Pro or Platinum. If you have had one, was it caused by operator error or equipment error? Please be honest.

You can also take part in this other poll about Mavics falling from the sky:

Poll: Has your Mavic fallen from the sky for unknown reasons?

No Fly away, but the ultrasound sensors make the bird act funny when flying to low over
water. Or flying in tripod mode flying over difficult to read ground texture like grass or water. But this only happens when in tripod mode, no fly away just starts to drift.

 

[borislip]

Ultrasonic sensor is actually quite useful while flying low over water. Just turn off the landing protection, and use the readout (its on the RC) to know how high you are above the water, its quite precise.

 

[Jonathan Barton]

The question is, would a person that had a flyaway remain active on the drones scene, or just going to abandon the hobby. And the forum.

I had a flyaway with a phantom 2 about 4 years ago when the controller battery died and the return to home did not work. DJI blamed me for not setting the home point correctly. I live in Australia so could not take legal action against DJI, but did seek a claim in the local small claims court against the retailer. It took 8 months but I did win the case and obtained a full refund, not only on the drone but also on the GoPro gold camera. I have not considered buying another drone until recently, at our local shopping mall the local camera shop held an expo and assured me that this would not be a problem with today's improvements. I am now research the validity of that claim, with a view to purchasing a mavic 2 pro. I would question the validity of your poll as most people who have had a flyaway and then did as I did, (abandoned the hope of a safe drone), would be on your forum. I am a keen photographer, and as I am now retired, I can pursue my hobby more vigorously. I travel around Australia in a Winnebago and find plenty of opportunity's where a drone would be very useful, so this forum has the ability to be of help in my research. Hope this helps with your poll. Jonathan Barton