DJI and Reps:


I've read most posts here, on the Facebook 'DJI Inspire Owner's Group', and in RC Groups forum -- but am still not clear on exacly what an Inspire owner should do before the firmware update is issued.

DJI has stated:

We have found out the cause of these cases.
Not a pilot error. It is a bug relative to the IMU.
We will release a safety guide on this.
In general, check the IMU data which the MOD of the accelerometer should be about 1.00 with 0.01 tolerance. Otherwise calibration needed.

New firmware is under testing and will be released soon to fix the bug.
Sorry for that.

It's fantastic DJI takes responsibility and publicly anounces this issue, however, until the FW update and Safety Guideline is issued, what is an owner to do to prevent a potential crash?

• Is the problem only in the IMU calibration?
• Is the IMU related crash only going to happen using Auto Takeoff?
• Do we need to perform an IMU calibration before each flight, or just once?
• Should we all just ground our Inspires until the FW update?
• Is there an "Out of The Box" checklist somewhere, telling us new owners what we need to do before flying?  (regarding updates, calibrations, and acceptable results ranges)
  

It seems the answer is in the above DJI statement, but there is much speculation and mis-information floating around, that I would hope DJI or a Rep. could kindly tell us owners exactly what to do to prevent a firmware related crash -- even if it's a recommendation to ground the Inspire until further notice.

I'm a moderately experienced pilot and am tech capable, but to expect a new owner of a very expensive and potentially dangerous product to look around the internet for information is a little unrealistic -- and haphazard.

Frankly, when there is justification to issue a Safety Guide, it should be issued immediately.

Thanks in advance.  I appreciate all of the great information being shared here.

First ,we need be clear, RC MODELS  like Inspire 1, aren't Toys, in consequence this UAV  need to handle following the rules  of common sense,  grounded is the best way to say safety first.


Como punto de partida, tenemos que ser claros, Los modelos a control remoto como el Inspire 1, NO SON JUGUETES, en consecuencia este tipo de vehiculos aereos , necesitan ser manejados seguiendo el principio y reglas del sentido comun, considero que dejandolos en tierra es la mejor manera de aplicar o decir la seguridad es primero,

I myself experienced some issue with my inspire 1 so I called support express my concern and decided to create a RMA to have my unit look at and diagnose for any problems. I realize this could take some time but I rather put safety first before flying any-day so its worth the wait in my opinion.

Looks like I'll be flying the HEXCOPTER yet again again out of a abundence of caution till the firmware is released.

I would not take any chances of flying the inspire before this issue is resolved.  Just watch the video of the guy hitting the garage door.  I felt sorry for him and I don't even know him.  Parts are hard to come buy and waiting a week or so for firmware is a lot easier then sending your new inspire in for repair.  Things like this happens with newly advanced equipment.  Bugs are sometimes hard to discover until the masses have the product.  I am excited to fly but will keep my bird like new till this is resolved

Yes ground it and be patient , I'll go fly my fa/18 ducted fan super hornet foamy for now...or my phantom 2s custom fpv units.

Peyton Posted at 2015-1-14 22:54
Looks like I'll be flying the HEXCOPTER yet again again out of a abundence of caution till the firmw ...

Same here.

Given Mark Parrott's fly-away crash yesterday (from manual takeoff and after calibrating), I'm electing to ground my bird. This is a hobby for me so I can live with the downtime. Hopefully DJI is quick with the patch.

Mine is coming in  tomorrow direct from dji I would like to wait for update but I am also concerned about 7 day exchange - refund warranty if their is major defect I would want the unit replaced under warranty how will I know without testing for vibration etc. I have not decided yet --- also I use android and am not sure if the simulator exist.

I am just as bummed out for the guys that have had an incident with their I1. But I have had mine now for two weeks and I do not see any signs of this. Sure a little drifting here and there with winds, but no sudden change in directions. I have had it sit 12" off the ground to see how stable it is, as well as 5-15 feet off the ground. All scenarios in both windy and calm conditions. I always calibrate the compass at a new site.
I will say this, I dont use "Auto Take Off" or RTH, so I wouldnt know about the issues relted to them. I know its an option on the I1, but I prefer to always have manual control.

Here is a low resolution video taken on an iPhone as we were discussing how rock solid it is, even in the 10-15 mph winds it was sitting in. This is just the landing gear being raised, it was siting there about a minute and a half before I even raised the landing gear.

I flew mine today in a gymnasium because it was -25C outside so the I1 still did not fly outdoors. Thought I had a problem with the camera portion of the positioning system because it was very tempted to drift. The worst moment was at take-off where it always tried to go forward but I am used of holding the reigns on other beasts, I was able to control it.

Lesson learned a while ago: always go in auto when you are sure the copter behaves well in manual for a while and when you switch in auto for the first times, be ready to go back to manual quickly.

I recalibrated the IMU (advanced mode) but I had to find it deep in the menu, DJI might have overlooked the case and could have to enforce the procedure, at least the basic one before take-off... We'll see if there is something else.

Thanks for the thoughts and info everyone.   I have easily decided to ground mine until the IMU bug is eliminated.

I was hoping DJI would officially weigh in with some sort of recommendation, but I suppose it's too much to ask.

mjdmike@email.c Posted at 2015-1-15 06:27
Thanks for the thoughts and info everyone.   I have easily decided to ground mine until the IMU bug  ...

Seems that support agrees with you and so do I

This is really dissapointing.....
Wouldn't it be nice for an official release note from DJI to confirm this issue with the IMU??? on this FORUM their own?
With all the rumours flying around its hard to establish whats official.

Mine will be here next Monday and it will be grounded for now.

Man the liability is huge here hope they get this fixed fast!!