Out of control Drones?

[Steve K]

So I bought my Drone about a month ago (Mavic Pro 2), iPad 2018, DJI go 4 app, (thinking about using Litchi if I can find it on App store) and I have flown it about 4 times, I have registered it and try in vain most of the time to contact ATC in Oxnard California although they never answer the phone or return phone calls, (Frustrating) Anyway, Have been watching a lot of Youtube videos of out of control Drones and drones that fly right into the side of buildings and crashes. Hoping to glean some information on what not to do or what to avoid ya know. A lot of these videos show mid flight loss of controls, fly aways, crashes or just going berserk, or even right from the take off. Is this the drones fault or is it pilot error? (Tend to be the phantoms not so much the Mavics) I see these drones getting great shots of a huge buildings and the next thing ya see is the drone smashing into the side of it? why? is the pilot not paying attention or is it something else? Im not judging anyone but just a little nervous about the stability of keeping control of my drone and not hurting anyone or anything else just because I want to fly this thing. Thanks in advance everyone.

 

[lalojamesliz]

I've flown my mavic 2 pro for about 4.5 hours according to the dji app with no issues. after you turn the control and m2p on, give it a minute or two so it can get a good GPS signal and you should be fine

 

[Point Zero]

Hey Steve, I would say that a few of the videos you might have seen are trolling and not real events. Some are though, but that aside if you fly it sensibly and start out with smaller safer flights and then as you gain confidence with your particular AC then start flying higher and further away. It really can be that simple.

Most problems that I have seen arise from AC not being calibrated or having a lot of magnetic interference etc. As long as you have a good start up procedure, like letting the AC connect to enough satellites for good GPS and making sure the battery is fully charged and safely slotted into place then you should be good to go.

 

[old man mavic]

So I bought my Drone about a month ago (Mavic Pro 2), iPad 2018, DJI go 4 app, (thinking about using Litchi if I can find it on App store) and I have flown it about 4 times, I have registered it and try in vain most of the time to contact ATC in Oxnard California although they never answer the phone or return phone calls, (Frustrating) Anyway, Have been watching a lot of Youtube videos of out of control Drones and drones that fly right into the side of buildings and crashes. Hoping to glean some information on what not to do or what to avoid ya know. A lot of these videos show mid flight loss of controls, fly aways, crashes or just going berserk, or even right from the take off. Is this the drones fault or is it pilot error? (Tend to be the phantoms not so much the Mavics) I see these drones getting great shots of a huge buildings and the next thing ya see is the drone smashing into the side of it? why? is the pilot not paying attention or is it something else? Im not judging anyone but just a little nervous about the stability of keeping control of my drone and not hurting anyone or anything else just because I want to fly this thing. Thanks in advance everyone.

i have been flying UAVs for over two years now and not wishing to brag have not had any crashes or fly aways and my first ones were not even DJI UAVs i expect you have been watching drone crash videos on your computer and while they can be entertaining most of them happen because of operator error such as flying in high winds out of VLOS or just doing stupid things with their drones the ones where you see them fly into buildings are mostly caused by loss of spacial awareness because the drone is to far away that is one of the hardest parts of flying something when you are not in the aircraft its also called visual perspective this is why first time flyers have problems with judging distance and direction when they start to fly also you have to remember there is always going to be a slight lag between stick input and actual movement of the drone and this is more so when going fast the drone tends to carry on moving in the direction it was in before it responds to the input from the controller and people also rely on the obstacle avoidance to much sometimes it is not perfect for every scenario that it encounters the thing is that if you learn to fly correctly you should not have any problems its a learning process that takes time but is a great feeling when you have mastered it good luck and happy flying. finally i would just like to add that no matter how careful you are or follow the rules or not there is always the unforeseen problem that can down your drone but it is a rare occurrence

 

[Steve K]

I got a message saying I posted my question in the wrong forum? Im sorry. I went to Mavic pro 2 drones discussion, what forum should I have posted too?

 

[Ken K]

I got a message saying I posted my question in the wrong forum? Im sorry. I went to Mavic pro 2 drones discussion, what forum should I have posted too?

The one you're in now (General Forums › General Discussion). A moderator must have moved the thread.
Have fun & fly safely.

 

[Meta4]

Have been watching a lot of Youtube videos of out of control Drones and drones that fly right into the side of buildings and crashes.
A lot of these videos show mid flight loss of controls, fly aways, crashes or just going berserk, or even right from the take off. Is this the drones fault or is it pilot error?

Most of those videos sound like cases of out of control pilots.

Since 2015 DJI drones have had flight data recording which helps us to analyse flight incidents and find out what really happened in most cases.
Analysis of hundreds of flight incidents has shown that the overwhelming causes of crashes, lost drones etc are operator issues.
Almost all incidents can be prevented or avoided by an experienced flyer.

Hoping to glean some information on what not to do or what to avoid ya know.

Learn how your drone works, what can go wrong and how to make sure they don't happen to you.
Read about flight incidents on the forum and what caused them.
Develop a strong fear of obstacles and keep well clear of trees, buildings, wires etc.
When there's nothing to hit, it's hard to get into trouble.

The most important information not contained in the manual is:
Never launch from steel or reinforced concrete surfaces.

 

[Steve K]

The one you're in now (General Forums › General Discussion). A moderator must have moved the thread.
Have fun & fly safely.

Yeah I didnt mean to post in wrong forum but I guess that makes sense since my post was about drones in general not just the mavic.. sorry moderator

 

[DanMan32]

I'm glad you stated what model you had though. Too often an OP doesn't specify and posted in general forum.

 

[Sarcastic1]

So I bought my Drone about a month ago (Mavic Pro 2), iPad 2018, DJI go 4 app, (thinking about using Litchi if I can find it on App store) and I have flown it about 4 times, I have registered it and try in vain most of the time to contact ATC in Oxnard California although they never answer the phone or return phone calls, (Frustrating) Anyway, Have been watching a lot of Youtube videos of out of control Drones and drones that fly right into the side of buildings and crashes. Hoping to glean some information on what not to do or what to avoid ya know. A lot of these videos show mid flight loss of controls, fly aways, crashes or just going berserk, or even right from the take off. Is this the drones fault or is it pilot error? (Tend to be the phantoms not so much the Mavics) I see these drones getting great shots of a huge buildings and the next thing ya see is the drone smashing into the side of it? why? is the pilot not paying attention or is it something else? Im not judging anyone but just a little nervous about the stability of keeping control of my drone and not hurting anyone or anything else just because I want to fly this thing. Thanks in advance everyone.

You sound like me, I've had my Mavic 2 Zoom for about a month now. I was initially more concerned with those crash videos as well and I've been SUPER cautious and conservative with how I'm flying so far, especially in the city. But I've noticed a few things in common with most of those videos.

Flying into buildings- From what I've seen of the videos most of them happen when camera is facing away from the building and drone augers in, or the drone suddenly accelerates (I assume to do a flyby) and the operator misjudges the distance. OR...they seem to be controlled at a pretty far distance and while orbiting around a building I think they lose signal. I think people forget that the transmission is more easily blocked by big objects like buildings that are full of electricity, concrete and steel.​

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Flying into water- Usually this is from getting to close to obstructions like trees, or is the result of 'skimming' the water. I think especially with how smooth the gimbals make the video and operator sees that people forget how the drone will often lose some altitude and 'waggle' when you suddenly stop or change directions at high speed. So if you're only an inch off the water and changing directions makes you lose 3 inches of altitude...splash! Oh, and don't fool around getting close to trees, ESPECIALLY around water as well! The only other kind I've seen is people running out of battery over water. So better planning and just luck as well if a really strong wind just happens to spring up.​

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Out of control drone- This usually seems to be one of two things. Either a flight too far away or before the machine is calibrated and has GPS connection, or a flat out mechanical/electrical failure. With electronics, if somethings going to go, it's going to go. USUALLY something will fail within 90 days of use. Usually. But not always. Mechanically, taking good care of your props and making sure all is right with the drone BEFORE flying it is a good idea.​

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That's what I've gotten from the videos so far anyway. I'm not fooling with close ups of trees or flybys thru trees and other obstacles, at least not until I have a LOT more experience behind the controls...probably never. But I think if you're careful and smart, unless you have a physical defect or an electronic defect that's hidden at the moment, we should be just fine with our drones.

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[Jackcutrone]

I feel like a broken record. You should be getting a daily email from the forum entitled Yesterday’s New Posts. Read it religiously. You’ll see lots of posts on crashes and fly-always. Pay particular attention to these. They will teach you what not to do. Crashes and fly-always are 99,99% pilot error.

It’s kind of like sitting in an emergency room. All you see are when things go wrong. You don’t see the vast majority of flights simply because nothing went wrong. Ditto for the YouTube videos. Mistakes are more likely to be posted / more exciting.

 

[jeplane]

Steve: pls read this. It will make you safer....

Prevent a Crash or Flyaway with Your DJI Drone (The Complete Guide) | Phantom Help

 

[Spectre18]

So I bought my Drone about a month ago (Mavic Pro 2), iPad 2018, DJI go 4 app, (thinking about using Litchi if I can find it on App store) and I have flown it about 4 times, I have registered it and try in vain most of the time to contact ATC in Oxnard California although they never answer the phone or return phone calls, (Frustrating) Anyway, Have been watching a lot of Youtube videos of out of control Drones and drones that fly right into the side of buildings and crashes. Hoping to glean some information on what not to do or what to avoid ya know. A lot of these videos show mid flight loss of controls, fly aways, crashes or just going berserk, or even right from the take off. Is this the drones fault or is it pilot error? (Tend to be the phantoms not so much the Mavics) I see these drones getting great shots of a huge buildings and the next thing ya see is the drone smashing into the side of it? why? is the pilot not paying attention or is it something else? Im not judging anyone but just a little nervous about the stability of keeping control of my drone and not hurting anyone or anything else just because I want to fly this thing. Thanks in advance everyone.

Keep it “Line of sight and below 400’, I’m also a helicopter pilot, above that you’re in my real estate.

 

[Drgnfli]

So I bought my Drone about a month ago (Mavic Pro 2), iPad 2018, DJI go 4 app, (thinking about using Litchi if I can find it on App store) and I have flown it about 4 times, I have registered it and try in vain most of the time to contact ATC in Oxnard California although they never answer the phone or return phone calls, (Frustrating) Anyway, Have been watching a lot of Youtube videos of out of control Drones and drones that fly right into the side of buildings and crashes. Hoping to glean some information on what not to do or what to avoid ya know. A lot of these videos show mid flight loss of controls, fly aways, crashes or just going berserk, or even right from the take off. Is this the drones fault or is it pilot error? (Tend to be the phantoms not so much the Mavics) I see these drones getting great shots of a huge buildings and the next thing ya see is the drone smashing into the side of it? why? is the pilot not paying attention or is it something else? Im not judging anyone but just a little nervous about the stability of keeping control of my drone and not hurting anyone or anything else just because I want to fly this thing. Thanks in advance everyone. [/QUOT

Simple! Get a good GPS signal! Be sure Return To Home (RTH) is announced on your remote control - RTH will work when you panic & do not know WTF is happening to your drone - USE IT! Then find the highest OBSTRUCTION in your flying area & fly to about 20 ft above that height. Then smile because you are having a ball...

 

[Steve K]

Simple! Get a good GPS signal! Be sure Return To Home (RTH) is announced on your remote control - RTH will work when you panic & do not know WTF is happening to your drone - USE IT! Then find the highest OBSTRUCTION in your flying area & fly to about 20 ft above that height. Then smile because you are having a ball...

Thank you very much

 

[DanMan32]

Do what the lady says: "Home point has been updated, please check it on the map"

 

[Simmo]

Do what the lady says: "Home point has been updated, please check it on the map"

Mines a bloke... sorta like Steve Irwin....

'Crikey, it looks like the back 'ere bit has been changed!!! Lets go check it out on the map!!'

 

[JDawg]

Steve,
Compass errors before takeoff are why drone fly erratically most of the time. The following is from sar104, one of the brains here.

Yes - it's the issue that get's discussed over and over again. If the compass is wrong at power up then the IMU is initialized incorrectly. When the aircraft takes off and the magnetic interference goes away, the compass changes to reading correctly but the IMU doesn't - causing yaw errors. The simplest test is to check that the aircraft orientation arrow in the app is pointing in the same direction as the aircraft on the ground, relative to north. If it's not - move the aircraft, reboot, and check again. Do not calibrate at that point unless the app still requests it after the arrow is pointing correctly.
Too many crashes