Mini 3 Pro Pitching Forward Instead of Liftng Off

[RogerDH]

The props don’t have to spin backwards for this effect to occur. If, somehow, the “takeoff” control movement (left stick forward) is being interpreted as a “accelerate forward” (right stick forward), I think the aircraft would pitch over like you describe. The way a drone accelerates is by pitching forward and letting some of the upward lift vector lean forward so that it has a horizontal component. How that mixup could be happening - if that is what’s hppening - is a mystery.

Well, Mode 1 reverses the sticks. Mattyd58, are you trying to take off using the throttle or the auto-takeoff button?

 

[Arnold LeVine]

Did you do a control stick calibration? Did you try to fly with the standard RC and phone, just to eliminate RC Pro as source of problem?

 

[Droning on and on...]

ESCs.

 

[Pstik]

I wonder if there are issues with the front motor(s) or ESC(s)? If the front motors were not spinning up to full speed and providing thrust but the back ones were then this would cause the drone to flip over forward. Does it go exactly straight fwd, or does it lean a little to the left/right?

I have a Tello drone that had one motor partially fail. All props would spin up to idle ok, but 1 wouldn't generate any real thrust. When I tried to take off it would flip diagonally over. The Tello has its centre of gravity almost exactly between the 4 motors. The mini3 has its COG a bit forward of this point so if even 1 of the front motors has issues then the drone will tend to pitch mostly forward, and maybe a little to 1 side.

Question on the tello did you ever get it working ? I have a tello and 1 of the motors does not spin. I bought some new motors but no difference.

 

[scro]

Question on the tello did you ever get it working ? I have a tello and 1 of the motors does not spin. I bought some new motors but no difference.

I bought a pack of 4 replacement motors (2x CW and 2x CCW). I stripped back the 2x wires running along the underside of the arm to the dud motor, and soldered in one if the motors with the appropriate rotation direction. Since then its been working perfectly (over 3 yrs). The wires are very fine and getting them soldered smoothly in to the existing ones without shorting things was a little challenge. I staggered the splices, as per photo, so that there was minimal risk of the joints touching. Patience and a steady hand is needed.

If your replacement motor doesn't spin you may have a damaged ESC rather than a damaged motor.

 

[mattyd58]

Howdy, thanks for comments & support. Update: Never established root cause of issue but yesterday received replacements (RC & Drone) from DJI. Mini lifts off but continues to glide slightly forward a bit when lifting off. Not a perfect horizontal lift Also, Fly app is crashing now. Uninstalled app on RC then had to rolled back from latest firmware update to get Fly reinstalled. Seems okay but haven’t flown yet. App stays stable in house. I’m hesitant to fly, have app crash and lose drone. Was able to control it when app crashed last night but all video & telemetry was gone, just black screen. Was only `15’ away. I’m considering the Pro RC, been looking for deals on eBay. Any feedback, is the Pro RC the way to go? Can the Fly app be downloaded & installed using method similar to mobile device? Couldn’t re-install Fly app on my RC needed to downgrade firmware and that installed Fly app. Was flying Mavic 3 when app 1st crashed, though did same with Mini as well.

 

[rcanboy27]

You best course of action is to send it to DIJ, they are really good. I crashed my air 2s because a prop came off and they sent me a new unit.

 

[Arnold LeVine]

I bought a pack of 4 replacement motors (2x CW and 2x CCW). I stripped back the 2x wires running along the underside of the arm to the dud motor, and soldered in one if the motors with the appropriate rotation direction. Since then its been working perfectly (over 3 yrs). The wires are very fine and getting them soldered smoothly in to the existing ones without shorting things was a little challenge. I staggered the splices, as per photo, so that there was minimal risk of the joints touching. Patience and a steady hand is needed.

If your replacement motor doesn't spin you may have a damaged ESC rather than a damaged motor.

That is some VERY fine soldering work you did in that photo.

 

[scro]

That is some VERY fine soldering work you did in that photo.

I have done even finer soldering than that, with 0.04mm dia wires. Literally the thickness of a hair. Just seeing the wire was hard enough, let alone getting the solder onto it!

 

[Droning on and on...]

I’m hesitant to fly, have app crash and lose drone.

Your fear is greatly exaggerated. Return To Home is a reliable, effective feature that can be counted upon to get your aircraft back to you safely. Rarely is there a failure, and when it does fail its usually because it wasn't set up right, or distance is pushed beyond the RTH battery warning.

Find a field big enough to test RTH over and over so you can get comfortable with it.

Next time the app crashes, use RTH to bring your drone back on its own. You can restart the app while it's flying back, and cancel RTH if you regain control before it lands. RTH can be initiated from the RC, so the app doesn't matter.