Mavic flyaway covered by warranty

m0j0 · Dec 10, 2016

Glad you got it back.. for educational purposes.. are you saying that you took it up in an attempt to lock on to more sats? Then you lost GPS entirely? You gave no stick input after you lost GPS? If you didn't, why not? I must be missing something.

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m0j0 · Dec 10, 2016

If you lost GPS, entering ATTI mode, wouldn't that mean you would be required to provide input to steer around the tree?

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niclariv · Dec 11, 2016

This sounds like the same issue many other people had, before DJI came out with new firmware that fixes it. Others reported an unexpected switch to ATTI mode even when GPS signal appeared good, followed by a significant drift.

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lumy · Dec 11, 2016

m0j0 said:
If you lost GPS, entering ATTI mode, wouldn't that mean you would be required to provide input to steer around the tree?

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I'm with you... sounds like people have zero experience flying without assistive technology. No wonder the FAA is so worried. People please take the time needed to learn before flying is banned for all of us.

Pie · Dec 11, 2016

That's awesome DJI covered your mavic. To me the real question is what would have happened without that tree? If it was a warranty covered malfunction but you never got your bird back to prove it **** would that have sucked.

Chris R · Dec 11, 2016

lumy said:
I'm with you... sounds like people have zero experience flying without assistive technology. No wonder the FAA is so worried. People please take the time needed to learn before flying is banned for all of us.

I have never flown before, but getting my Mavic on Tuesday. I have been reading everything I can get my hands on, but what I would like to know is how does one learn all this stuff when you start with a smart drone? Are there ways to learn how to deal with all the stuff that could happen?

HAs anyone come up with a cheat sheet?

Perhaps a dedicated sticky section to the issues that can arise.

deckdog · Dec 11, 2016

After reviewing the flight data video, there was a sudden loss of satellite positioning followed by an automatic switch to atti mode. Satellite indicator was still showing 16 satellites. If I had been on top of things perhaps I could have saved it. I don't know. This was totally unexpected and caught me off guard. It was a matter of seconds before it was banging through the tree branches. I'm not an expert pilot by any means but I do have about 20 hours of flight time and I practiced with a non gps drone for about 6 months before I bought my first DJI.

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m0j0 · Dec 11, 2016

Chris R said:
I have never flown before, but getting my Mavic on Tuesday. I have been reading everything I can get my hands on, but what I would like to know is how does one learn all this stuff when you start with a smart drone? Are there ways to learn how to deal with all the stuff that could happen?

HAs anyone come up with a cheat sheet?

Perhaps a dedicated sticky section to the issues that can arise.

The best advice I can give you is get a trainer first. $30 for a hubsan.. It has no GPS or altitude hold. Learn to fly figure 8s etc with the Hubsan. Buy a prop guard, extra props and batteries. Fly it crash it replace the props and continue to fly it. If you have good hand eye coordination you will probably be pretty good with it after a few weeks. When you have the Hubsan whizzing around with little effort start flying the Mavic. Go do an open field.. like a football field an fly the Mavic keep it close. Resist flying outside your ability. No distance flights and no show off sessions. Learn to fly figure 8s with the Mavic. Then practice all of the RTH scenarios. Learn how to fly and bring back your MP without the map and application. Practice all the conceivable failures you can.

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m0j0 · Dec 11, 2016

deckdog said:
After reviewing the flight data video, there was a sudden loss of satellite positioning followed by an automatic switch to atti mode. Satellite indicator was still showing 16 satellites. If I had been on top of things perhaps I could have saved it. I don't know. This was totally unexpected and caught me off guard. It was a matter of seconds before it was banging through the tree branches. I'm not an expert pilot by any means but I do have about 20 hours of flight time and I practiced with a non gps drone for about 6 months before I bought my first DJI.

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The same thing happened to me with my Phantom.. once.. it was the first time it happened to me and I will say it took me a second to understand what was happening. I was above tree level when it happened so i avoided an unplanned landing. The one thing I learned was to look at the map. That saved me as I was drifting backwards at about 15 mph. Based on he direction the Phantom was drifting I would have thought it was moving the way it was facing. I looked at the map and saw that I was drifting backwards. Gave full forward to stop the drift and brought it in.

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m0j0 · Dec 11, 2016

Basically, if you are new to these things the best advice I can give you is keep it close very close no more than a couple hundred feet. Fly higher than any potential obstacles. Practice practice practice. If things go bad up is usually the right decision.

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deckdog · Dec 11, 2016

My Mavic was flying backwards also m0j0. Probably what saved the camera. But DJI did send me a new controller so there must have been some problem there as well.

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erkme73 · Dec 11, 2016

This sounds exactly like the noisy compass issue that has been discussed in several threads/forums. The rear compass gets wonky when the RPMs are high (high current) causing a disagreement between the GPS signal and the compass. The MP simply tosses the GPS readings (thus the warning of poor GPS signal) and continues to rely on the rear compass (even though the front compass is unaffected by the noise). The latest firmware forces the MP to switch to the front compass (and subsequently generates a new "magnetic interference" warning) thereby eliminating the switch to ATTI.

The real question is why are some MPs prone to the noise/interference on the rear compass in the first place? The software "fix" seems to be an effective band-aid that is treating the symptoms rather than the cause.

Reinheart Damanik · Dec 12, 2016

deckdog said:
Hey guys, thought you would be interested to know that DJI is covering the repairs to my Mavic Pro. Short version, launched at dusk. All systems were go, sent up about 50 feet to see if I could lock onto a few more satellites. Not touching the sticks, suddenly got message the satellite positioning was off. Within seconds, Mavic was heading off on its own. Luckily there was a big tree nearby and it went right through the branches, busting up the props and it came crashing down. If not for the tree, I might still be looking for it. DJI's response was "warranty per flight data analysis". Happy to be getting it fixed under warranty, but still hoping to get answers as to the reason for the flyaway.

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It also happent to me on the 2nd day I own my mavic and I almost loose it or make it crash, you may see on flight log screenshot.

I'm very proud and happy for having mavic, but the system seems have problem and it never make me free of worry...

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Pie · Dec 12, 2016

How do you access logs like this?

JohnC · Dec 12, 2016

m0j0 said:
The best advice I can give you is get a trainer first. $30 for a hubsan.. It has no GPS or altitude hold. Learn to fly figure 8s etc with the Hubsan. Buy a prop guard, extra props and batteries. Fly it crash it replace the props and continue to fly it. If you have good hand eye coordination you will probably be pretty good with it after a few weeks. When you have the Hubsan whizzing around with little effort start flying the Mavic. Go do an open field.. like a football field an fly the Mavic keep it close. Resist flying outside your ability. No distance flights and no show off sessions. Learn to fly figure 8s with the Mavic. Then practice all of the RTH scenarios. Learn how to fly and bring back your MP without the map and application. Practice all the conceivable failures you can.

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+1 and.... Stay in beginner mode until you are co-ordinated, an old trick from flying model RC planes, always face the way the drone is going, and look over your shoulder if its behind you. that way left is left and right is right!! Sounds daft but it makes the first flights simpler.

Reinheart Damanik · Dec 12, 2016

Pie said:
How do you access logs like this?

You may see in fly log on DJI GO app

m0j0 · Dec 12, 2016

deckdog said:
My Mavic was flying backwards also m0j0. Probably what saved the camera. But DJI did send me a new controller so there must have been some problem there as well.

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No there was no problem with my controller .. interference caused my Phantom to switch to ATTI. It moved backwards because it was drifting with the wind. Which is exactly what should happen. The burden was on me to counteract the wind with stick input. I did that. Again I was up high enough to to avoid contact with obstacles. If I would have been 20 feet agl I would have hit a tree before I realized what was happening. So I can see how the OP had a problem.

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m0j0 · Dec 12, 2016

Reinheart Damanik said:
It also happent to me on the 2nd day I own my mavic and I almost loose it or make it crash, you may see on flight log screenshot.

I'm very proud and happy for having mavic, but the system seems have problem and it never make me free of worry...

Sent from my iPhone using MavicPilots

That's really not something that should cause you to crash. That is flying without GPS. If you have problems flying in this mode you really need to work on your operating skills. I'm not knocking you I'm just saying you aren't ready to fly a Mavic if you can't fly without GPS lock. I flew my Phantom at least half the time in ATTI mode so that if I ever needed to switch over or if their was GPS loss I could still fly without worry.

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GlenT · Dec 12, 2016

I only fly my Tarot T810 hexa in GPS mode when I need to hover at altitude for panos etc. The rest of the time (95%) I fly in Atti. GPS positioning is too un reliable with multirotors. It's just another tool to use when necessary, not all the time. You really need to learn to fly without any GPS aid, then use it when you need to. Far less chance of getting an error and your bird flying off when in Atti mode.