Hi,

Today I lost my Spark.  I was flying it out of my garden with the Go4 app on an iPad Mini.

  

  

The first flight was short due to forgetting its SD card.  I reached a height of about 30m and hit RTH and it landed successfully at the take-off point.

  

  

I inserted the SD card and made sure it was recognised and checked all the other pre-flight data and settings.  

I took off again from the same point and went to an altitude of 37m and moved East about 20m.  I then focussed on a detail of my house roof and ran a "circle" flight.  It successfully returned to its start point but then I received a compass warning and according to the log it went into Alti mode.  It then moved away maintaining altitude on a set bearing reaching 375m before it lost communication and I lost sight of it.

  

  

Why, when it reported a compass error did it not maintain its position?

If is wasn't able to maintain its exact location, why did it move away so fast?

  

  

Why did I not get a warning on the Go 4 app that the RTH button would not work when it had stopped GPS mode and changed to Alti mode?

  

  

Flight log:

  

http://app.airdata.com/main?share=YwpsLE&page_id=GENERAL

Can you upload your log to link below, phantomhelp they are much more reliable than airdata. Just click on link and follow instructions.

You should also sync your flight in your app and start a case at support@dji.com.

http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/

time to drop some notes in letter boxes, somebody will find it and return it, people in Freo are good like that
Was it a metal roof ?

lannes Posted at 2017-9-10 05:33
time to drop some notes in letter boxes, somebody will find it and return it, people in Freo are good like that
Was it a metal roof ?

Good idea with the letter-drop

Yes, lots of metal roofs

MiniMoke Posted at 2017-9-10 06:00
Good idea with the letter-drop

Yes, lots of metal roofs

Probably got compass interference, did you put your details on the drone ?

lannes Posted at 2017-9-10 06:04
Probably got compass interference, did you put your details on the drone ?

Thinking a bit more about the circumstances that might have contributed to the compass fail.  My first launching position resulted in a compass error (it was over a metal beam).  I moved away to another location and all seemed to be OK; perhaps it was not.

Maybe DJI should consider a warning when one attempts to use the [RTH] button with an AC that has lost GPS and has reverted to Alti mode.

I hadn't fully understood what was happening and I continued to hit the [RTH] button instead of realising manual control was my only option.

Panic had set in and it was speeding away fast and had gone out of range before I knew it.

Hopefully DJI refresh will come to the party.

Sorry for your loss, have you contacted the DJI Support to start a case? If not, please sync the flight records on the APP, then provide your DJI account email and the date this occurred to the Support, they'll start a case for you, here is a link for your reference. http://www.dji.com/support

DJI Diana Posted at 2017-9-10 21:06
Sorry for your loss, have you contacted the DJI Support to start a case? If not, please sync the flight records on the APP, then provide your DJI account email and the date this occurred to the Support, they'll start a case for you, here is a link for your reference. http://www.dji.com/support

Thanks Diana,

Jenny (DJI Support) has already been in contact; I just need to upload my flight log and give her a few more details.

MiniMoke Posted at 2017-9-10 22:04
Thanks Diana,

Jenny (DJI Support) has already been in contact; I just need to upload my flight log and give her a few more details.

Ok, hope it can be sorted out shortly, should you have any further question about this case, please provide me with your case number, I'd like to check it for you.

It would be interesting to see your stick input in ATTI mode. If it changes from GPS it will not maintain its position and will drift away due to winds / alignment etc. if you panic and push the sticks that will even worsen the situation. I am used to fly some racequads / helicopters by line of sight and never had problems with my Spark in ATTI mode - its just how easy you can evaluate in flight orientation and get that baby home.

DJI should make that very clear that you loose all position and "intelligent" flight modes without GPS and that you should be able to fly the copter on its own.

A flight log with stick input would be great to see why the Spark moved away

You don't have to fully rely on GPS and AI. Train yourself with simple drones like Hubsan or even simpler cheap chinese helicopter toys. Of course copter will drift away by wind if there is no GPS. Even if you think there is no wind, at altitude 30-50meters can be strong wind.

sorry for your loss and hope the logs will help identify where it went.  Good luck finding it and hope you do.