so I program a ground station flight and have the drone set to fly about 800 meters away climbing to 300 feet.
Problem being I thought the drone would clear to trees well before they got there. Yeah, not so much. 100% operator error. And of course crash and gimbal/camera finished. So pissed at myself for such a stupid and expensive mistake.

Ouch....yes, I always set my first waypoint close to home point if I need to get altitude before continuing. Sorry to hear that.

Raybro Posted at 2015-4-15 22:06
Ouch....yes, I always set my first waypoint close to home point if I need to get altitude before con ...

What I did/will always do/what I have recommended to people.  First waypoint should be close and at altitude so quad 'takes off' as opposed to gradually gaining altitude.

Tom - sorry to hear about your crash.  I am sure it was a lesson learned.  Do not be discouraged though.  

and........there are no morons here...we all live and learn

Tom,

That's awful! Sorry to hear about it. Some of us around here have crashed before as well. Pick up the pieces and start rebuilding. We'll be here to support you.

Jerry

Tom,

That's awful! Sorry to hear about it. Some of us around here have crashed before as well. Pick up the pieces and start rebuilding. We'll be here to support you.

Jerry

Very much sucks, man.

My very first waypoint mission I almost did the exact same thing. It came within inches of trees. I thought for sure I was done.  I recall actually yelling at it to "Please don't hit the trees!" as it seemingly slow-motioned its way right towards them.  I obviously didn't know anything about regaining control in the middle of a mission at that time.  But luckily it JUST clear them.  Still, lesson definitely learned.  I always do what the others have suggested...  Waypoint 1 is almost always just a few feet in front of me with my goal altitude (or something close to it depending).

I haven't done waypoints yet but I was going to try it out soon. Can you have the drone up in the air at an appropriate altitude then tell it to fly to the waypoints? OR does it auto takeoff and auto land one it hits all points?

I really like doing waypoint missions. There is a "pucker factor" involved especially when the Phantom goes BVR. You can't see it or hear it, but it has always come back...knock on wood.

To answer Cayers,
Yes you can take-off and hover at altitude, then hit the "go" button, and I believe the last waypoint is always the home point, (although I could be wrong as never used the GS) and it will return to that point and hover, waiting for you to take control.  

cayers13@gmail. Posted at 2015-4-15 22:49
I haven't done waypoints yet but I was going to try it out soon. Can you have the drone up in the ai ...

Yes you can, a lot of flyers have the Phantom up in the air before they start the waypoint flying.  

Been there done that. Sorry for your loss Bro!

I found out that even if the motors are off as soon as you hit go, the motors will start. I did this inside but at least didn't have the props on.

Cayers,

When using GS, many times I will do the auto take-off. I just make sure that my first and last waypoints are about 20-30' in front of me and at about 50' in altitude. Gives it a little bit of an angle to get to the first waypoint but it's low enough to bring it back in if I need to. After the last waypoint, it's easy to take control and bring it right back in for the landing or to continue to fly the battery off. Obviously, your surroundings will dictate how you need to set things up.

Jerry

So sorry to hear.  My first mission was at a football field.  Figured I'd go low and slow.  I set an altitude of 15 ft...problem was that ground level was 17 feet!!!  DOH!  It brushed the lawn and I was able to gain control.  Lesson learned.  It happens.  Hang in there.

mjmccluskey Posted at 2015-4-16 00:00
So sorry to hear.  My first mission was at a football field.  Figured I'd go low and slow.  I set an ...

Question...When you set the altitude at 15ft and the ground level was at 17ft., how did you determine that the ground level was at 17ft? Through the display in the app? Was the altitude displayed in the app while the phantom was on the ground at 0ft? or 17 ft.? The reason I ask as because I have never gotten a steady altitude since day one with my P2V in the vision app. The numbers always seem to fluctuate by at least 10 feet and knowing my elevation above mean sea level at 65ft (after acquiring 7 or 8 satellites), with the app showing 15ft altitude while on the ground does not reassure me that my waypoint programmed altitudes will be accurate at all. I compensate for the numbers for now, which gives me a little confidence in the accuracy of the android vision app which is steadily waning in my opinion. Although I haven't crashed my Vision or hit any objects, I am beginning to second guess my purchase.

I just did this yesterday, crash.  Not on waypoint mission, just free flight and underestimated tree height.  Let me know if you think gimble/camera is salvagable and who you  are going to have repair it, as I am in same boat.  Sickening.  I am so pissed at myself. Looked at video, 2 more feet higher and I would have missed trees.

Sorry to hear about the crash...
No morons here! Well at least most are not and always willing to share the good the bad and the ugly..wish I could find my post about two near fatal mishaps when trying to fly in manual mode...and I was warned and offered advice to not do it..but we all learn and I really appreciate your feedback and I have learned some valuable tips here on GS so when ready hopefully my first GS mission will be far from my last...hope you are flying high again soon...

To those flying GS, could you not just set your first waypoint straight above your takeoff point?

GS doesn't even use basic intelligence (the barometer, etc.) to avoid accidents - I used it a couple time when reviewing the P2V+ last summer, but pretty much swore off it after that. Although this technology seems so simple, it's really not. There are quite a few technical chops needed to understand piloting in 3D space.

If we all used a checklist we'd probably have fewer accidents...but the Phantom fools us with it's ease of use in basic flying mode.

North - yes, if the first waypoint is set overhead as well as the last it definitely helps! It's easy enough to bring it down manually after a mission.

Here is one repair place that does a LOT of them
http://www.usdronerepair.com/