The top 15 ways to have a crash.....

[Ian in London]

The number of people I still hear of crashing indoors because they think it's the safest place to do a test flight is pretty surprising. And an over-reliance on collision avoidance sensors is catching people out too.

So I thought I'd have a bit of fun outlining the more common ways you can lose control of your Mavic. The first crash is actually a controlled crash! Some points are obvious but some less so. If you're starting out, have a watch and try and save your propellers....

I've listed the 15 easiest mistakes to make below:

Cheers,
Ian

1. Flying Indoors
2. Flying Towards You (disorientation of controls)
3. Flying Backwards
4. Trees
5. Powerlines
6. Flying Too Far Away
7. GPS Loss
8. Flying too Low
9. RTH Altitude too Low
10. Flying round Obstacles
11. Pushing Battery to its limits
12. Critical Battery Autoland
13. Flying under Bridges
14. Being Distracted
15. Flying in Forests

Extra mistakes raised:
"Showing off to your mates"
"Over confidence in your own skills"
"Changing the default RTH action setting to 'hover' or 'land' - especially bad when flying over water"
"Using Sports Mode and flying too fast without allowing for the much longer stopping distance!"
"Using Sports Mode and forgetting the fact your collision avoidance is now off"
"Using the video feed instead of VLOS and hitting an obstacle when your camera is pointing down"
"Take off before GPS Locked"
"Taking off near cars or metal leading to compass errors"
"Not looking up or around you before take off"

 

[crisp007]

Great video m8. I’m still waiting for mine to arrive so watching loads of videos before my 1st flight [emoji106]

 

[JetexJim]

Hi Ian,

Great video. I like the Gimbal Guard, too bad DJI didn't think of that! My only reservation would be regarding blocking incoming airflow to the fan, can you recommend one that doesn't or has minimal affect on airflow.

 

[Ian in London]

Hi Ian,

Great video. I like the Gimbal Guard, too bad DJI didn't think of that! My only reservation would be regarding blocking incoming airflow to the fan, can you recommend one that doesn't or has minimal affect on airflow.

Hi JIm
Most of the guards are fully open so I don't believe they impair the air lfow at all. Remember the DJI manual actually states you can fly with their transparent and fully enclosed guard in place, so I don't think it's an issue

Cheers

Ian

 

[Ian in London]

Great video m8. I’m still waiting for mine to arrive so watching loads of videos before my 1st flight [emoji106]

Cheers fella; just take my advice on indoor flying
Ian

 

[Ian in London]

It was pointed out that this post would be far more useful to have the actual mistakes people make listed out; that way anyone else that thinks of more can add.
I've edited the openign post to include them, and list them again here.

BIrds strike was another way someone pointed out - I got swooped by gulls last year...
Cheers,
Ian


1. Flying Indoors
2. Flying Towards You (disorientation of controls)
3. Flying Backwards
4. Trees
5. Powerlines
6. Flying Too Far Away
7. GPS Loss
8. Flying too Low
9. RTH Altitude too Low
10. Flying round Obstacles
11. Pushing Battery to its limits
12. Critical Battery Autoland
13. Flying under Bridges
14. Being Distracted
15. Flying in Forests

16 . Bird Strike!

 

[Montypaks]

Thanks!! Very insightful

 

[Ian in London]

I had a few extra points raised:
"Showing off to your mates"
"Over confidence in your own skills"
"Changing the default RTH action setting to 'hover' or 'land' - especially bad when flying over water"
"Using Sports Mode and flying too fast without allowing for the much longer stopping distance!"
"Using Sports Mode and forgetting the fact your collision avoidance is now off"
"Using the video feed instead of VLOS and hitting an obstacle when your camera is pointing down"

 

[dewster]

Those mistakes are spot on. I think the indoor test flights occur with the mindset of preventing a flyaway. Lol

 

[TrayBoz]

I think other common mistakes include taking-off BEFORE your mavic is in GPS mode (wait a few minutes before taking off after powering up, when you can see how many satellites are connected (at least 9 or 10) and it says GPS mode.

Also, IMU or compass errors: people who launch from a metal surface (or concrete with metal-rebar just below the surface) OR people who haven't performed a calibration correctly OR calibrated their compass while NEAR metal so their calibration is off. When launching from a new place, I usually check the DJI GO app to make sure both my compasses and IMUS are "in the green".... just in case there's something causing interference nearby that I'm unaware of, or in case the mavic took a hard knock in transit to throw off the IMU or the compass.

I know it sounds like a simple/dumb mistake, but I have almost crashed TWICE because I launched before looking straight UP.... I thought I was standing far enough away from the trees, but there were large/high branches that hung-out a lot farther than I thought, and some extended right over my take-off point. Always look UP before launching.

Under-estimating stopping distance when hauling-@ss in Sport mode is also an easy mistake to make.

 

[Youser]

What's the best setup for flying over water?

 

[Ian in London]

I think other common mistakes include taking-off BEFORE your mavic is in GPS mode (wait a few minutes before taking off after powering up, when you can see how many satellites are connected (at least 9 or 10) and it says GPS mode.

Also, IMU or compass errors: people who launch from a metal surface (or concrete with metal-rebar just below the surface) OR people who haven't performed a calibration correctly OR calibrated their compass while NEAR metal so their calibration is off. When launching from a new place, I usually check the DJI GO app to make sure both my compasses and IMUS are "in the green".... just in case there's something causing interference nearby that I'm unaware of, or in case the mavic took a hard knock in transit to throw off the IMU or the compass.

I know it sounds like a simple/dumb mistake, but I have almost crashed TWICE because I launched before looking straight UP.... I thought I was standing far enough away from the trees, but there were large/high branches that hung-out a lot farther than I thought, and some extended right over my take-off point. Always look UP before launching.

Under-estimating stopping distance when hauling-@ss in Sport mode is also an easy mistake to make.

You are bang on with all of that. Compass Errors are a real problem; I've seen people try and take off from the roof of their car and wonder why they then get errors... And I almost hit a tree in my garden when coming in on Sports Mode. Literally more than twice the stopping distance... And not waiting for GPS mode, as it lets you take off before GPS has locked; would be good to have that amendable and default to 'only take off with GPS lock'....
List is updated!

Ian

YouTube / Ian in London

 

[Ian in London]

What's the best setup for flying over water?

A smidge off topic, but in a nutshell, I would say: 1, make sure you're on full battery; 2, fly out into the wind so you're returning down wind, 3, don't push your battery, 4, make sure your RTH loss of signal setting is set to RTH, not hover or land, 5, don't clip any trees or bridges or you'll lose it, and 6, make sure you're nowhere near a NFZ that could initiate an autoland.

Cheers,
Ian

YouTube / Ian in London