Hi All, maybe a silly question but can anyone confirm for sure that the P3 can be shut down in mid flight by pulling both sticks down & inwards ?

If so, what if without realising it I was just doing a flight manoeuvre without realising what I was doing & happened to pull both sticks down & in, do I take it the P3 would just stall & close down mid flight & drop to the ground ?

Many Thanks

I tried, before crash,  at small altitude 15ft/5m  laying just underneath. Props didn't stopped. Never tried at higher altitude sooo don't get it as gold

bactrimforte Posted at 2015-5-27 22:28
I tried, before crash,  at small altitude 15ft/5m  laying just underneath. Props didn't stopped. Nev ...

Thank You, I have read many different posts, some say it does, some say it doesn't !

mixthemix@hotma Posted at 2015-5-27 22:32
Thank You, I have read many different posts, some say it does, some say it doesn't !

As I told, I tried just on a small height just to be sure to catch it while falling. Luckily nothing happened. Can't assure for higher heights and, for sure, I'll never try it  
AFAIK it isn't possible to do while flying, I can recall an info about that but can't remember if on this forum or elsewhere. Sorry.
BTW, don't try it !

I've tried it in the Flight Simulator portion of the Pilot App by doing the Combination Stick Command - both sticks brought together at the bottom of their respective ranges of motion (the same you do to start the motors) - and it definitely stopped the motors and crashed. I think they've left this command in for emergencies when crashing is inevitable and you want to make sure your blades are not spinning into people below.

dmwierz Posted at 2015-5-27 23:18
I've tried it in the Flight Simulator portion of the Pilot App by doing the Combination Stick Comman ...

To be honest if this is the case, it's crazy, it should not be so easy to do this mid flight & especially if it's above ground level.

You are the pilot.  It's your responsibility - learn the craft.   IT IS NOT EASY TO DO THIS.  If it is easy for you to do things like this by mistake - then find something else to do.

mswall@mac.com Posted at 2015-5-28 01:18
You are the pilot.  It's your responsibility - learn the craft.   IT IS NOT EASY TO DO THIS.  If it  ...

I don't agree, the position of these sticks to shut down is included in the full flight control range whilst in flight. There should be no chance of shutting off whilst using flight contols. Maybe they should have implemented  an emergency switch on the controller for when the situation arises where the need to stop the motors in mid flight occurs.

No other type of flying machine in the world uses main flight controllers to shut off an engine !!!

mixthemix@hotma Posted at 2015-5-28 01:34
I don't agree, the position of these sticks to shut down is included in the full flight control ra ...

totally agree with you. If you accidentally counter-clockwise rotating and flying back right, you're f**ked

Ok mix....   You know, DJI was completely negligent also for not including in the manual of any of their craft to (read this slowly now):  NOT FLY THEIR NEW QUAD INTO A BRICK WALL.  Nowhere in the manual, can you believe it?  Astounding.  And it would take a much much less effort on your part to accomplish this - fly towards brick wall, hold right control forward.  The CSC action takes moving BOTH control sticks to a specific off-axis position and holding them there for 3 or more seconds.  I call that flying your quad into the earth - pretty much the same thing and, my-oh-my, harder to do.  So there.

I've not tried it and don't plan to, but all other DJI consumer products *definitely* shut down during flight if you try this, including all previous Phantoms and the Inspire. I think it's safe to assume the P3 will also shut off during flight if you perform the CSC maneuver with the sticks. Although there are differing opinions on this, in practice there is little reason to move the sticks into that position while flying so it does not pose a problem, even for inexperienced pilots. However, if accidentally you find your P3 endangering people or property and you need to shut it down immediately, it is good to have the ability to do so.

Nguyễn Thắng Posted at 2015-5-28 01:44
totally agree with you. If you accidentally counter-clockwise rotating and flying back right, you'r ...

That would actually be a descending clockwise yaw while translating rearward to the left.  But full-hard throttle.  Yeah, you get some really great video that way...

mswall@mac.com Posted at 2015-5-28 02:06
That would actually be a descending clockwise yaw while translating rearward to the left.  But ful ...

Yes, you're right. It makes so much sense to place automatic shut off right on the joysticks.

it falls uncontrollably because the motors are not performing (otherwise why would it fall?), not sure if shutting down motors in the  air when you accidentally fly onto mswall or motors stop not working would help save it from landing on someone's head. If anything, it would just fall faster.

Nguyễn Thắng Posted at 2015-5-28 02:19
Yes, you're right. It makes so much sense to place automatic shut off right on the joysticks.

NOT automatic.  Pilot initiated thrust element shut-down.  n-o-t    a-u-t-o-m-a-t-i-c.  Unless you mean automatic like....  driving down the road in your car, opening the door and....  jumping out.  Oh, right.  Automatic car crash mode.  I see.

Hi! Sometime ago I saw on www a video of guy who had to shut down the engines because the device up faster due to a strong current thermal and lateral wind in high altitude. The only way to regain control of drone was shut down engine and re-ignite when it was 200 meters high. Maybe he should not fly that day and maybe he should not do so high (1000m aprox I think...). I practiced paraglide for years and these things can happen, another thing is if this is the intention of DJI or not.
Maybe DJI could change the combination .... C1 + C2 for 3 seconds or other
Sorry me for my poor English, I hope I explained

mswall@mac.com Posted at 2015-5-28 02:42
NOT automatic.  Pilot initiated thrust element shut-down.  n-o-t    a-u-t-o-m-a-t-i-c.  Unless you ...

That's a very good example. No offense but like when your parents did it, your mother expected your father to pull out or pointing a loaded pistol to your head and expect not to pull the trigger.

Raul Posted at 2015-5-28 03:00
Hi! Sometime ago I saw on www a video of guy who had to shut down the engines because the device up  ...

This is a good example. This is what I was thinking, too. Something off the joysticks would be reasonable.

Nguyễn Thắng Posted at 2015-5-28 03:05
That's a very good example. No offense but like when your parents did it, your mother expected you ...

thang:   "That's a very good example. No offense but like when your parents did it, your mother expected your father to pull out or pointing a loaded pistol to your head and expect not to pull the trigger."


You got me there.  I think I fully understand now what happened to you.

Raul Posted at 2015-5-28 03:00
Hi! Sometime ago I saw on www a video of guy who had to shut down the engines because the device up  ...

I just wanted to step in this discussion.  Yes this is a safety feature.  Many countries require that there be an emergency way to shut the motors off.  This is DJI's way of doing it.  It is the only way of doing it.  It is extremely unlikely that a pilot would do this unintentionally.  That has already been commented on and I fully agree.  I hope this explains the why behind the CSC shut down.  Most users are not exposed the reasoning and think that it was done in error.  It was not.

What about holding the accelerator (or is it called yaw) straight down? I know you can perform a CSC that way too. When I've been descending from a large height I've been concerned that the engines will cut if I descend for to long of a period of time. Is that possible?

venturedrone Posted at 2015-5-28 03:44
What about holding the accelerator (or is it called yaw) straight down? I know you can perform a CSC ...

No - a left throttle down will only stop the motors when the Main Flight Controller has determined that the quad is no longer descending.  If you pull full back on the throttle (left stick) while in flight, the P3 will descend at its programmed max descent rate but will not power off the props.  Also know that the max descent rate is too fast to land.  If you watch closely during a simulated (flight simulator) RTH, the P3 will descend at 2.0 mph until it is within 6 feet of home elevation and then drop to less than 1 mph and slower during the final feet to ground.  
The max descent rate is well above 2.0 mph, but not nearly as fast as just killing the motors using both sticks in the well documented action named:  CSC.  If you are flying, do not perform a CSC unless for some reason you must.

mswall@mac.com Posted at 2015-5-28 03:58
No - a left throttle down will only stop the motors when the Main Flight Controller has determined  ...

Very smart but not enough. You can perform a CSC at any time.

Nguyễn Thắng Posted at 2015-5-28 05:17
Very smart but not enough. You can perform a CSC at any time.

It's plain silly for this to be possible for a movement of the sticks while flying. If it's a safety feature, there should be a separate (unlockable) function for it, as I said in another thread. As you can see, these things that "should never happen" in fact do.

Not silly at all. Unless the pilot is. Then the whole enterprise becomes silly.

Everybody should utilize the flight simulator - especially since some of the actions taken during RTH are NOT THE SAME as for previous Phantoms.  One thing I've learned is that you can actually practice doing the dreaded double stick CSC move and determine at what altitude you can recover from (if you have some affliction that makes you actually perform this with your P3 "in real life").  I can kill the motors at around 250 feet, then quickly start them back, then push the throttle full forward to get the P3 to right itself (which it does) and reverse the heart-stopping hurtle towards terra-firma, virtually.  I usually smack the ground a bit when I try the 250 foot kill/resuscitate/gas-it move.  So......  for those who fear their fingers and what they might inadvertently do at any moment - always fly at 300 feet or more and be totally on your toes ready to restart those props and throttle up like luke skywalker when you notice your P3 is acting like a high-flying duck that swallowed a june bug.  Practice makes perfect, I always say.

mswall@mac.com Posted at 2015-5-28 08:47
Not silly at all. Unless the pilot is. Then the whole enterprise becomes silly.

Sorry, but I disagree. It's just a plain bad design decision to have a potential crossover between flight control and a motor kill. No aircraft anywhere does this, and for a fundamental, sound reason.

Maybe one day Google will build a quad for you.

mswall@mac.com Posted at 2015-5-28 13:53
Maybe one day Google will build a quad for you.

The Phantom is a good product, especially in concept, but I suspect there has been some rush in getting P3's out and some things that should have been ironed out have not been, or some things that may have seemed a good idea on paper, may turn out to be not such a good idea in the sky. You are entitled to your opinion of course.

But...  the CSC action has been there since P1.  So I guess they rushed to not change that aspect.

mswall@mac.com Posted at 2015-5-28 21:40
But...  the CSC action has been there since P1.  So I guess they rushed to not change that aspect.

That's neither here nor there. It still isn't a good design choice. If they'd had more time to think about it, or to do more testing, the problem represented by this thread probably wouldn't exist  ;)

mswall@mac.com Posted at 2015-5-28 21:40
But...  the CSC action has been there since P1.  So I guess they rushed to not change that aspect.

I guess you had never owned a P1

Never crashed one.

So if your Phantom becomes uncontrollable for whatever reason and is heading directly to the scene of the crash, you might just be glad of that accessible, muscle memory action of using CSC, instead of fumbling around for some switch that you've never used before and can't remember where it is. I think the CSC is a very good idea, and keeps the option of ditching the Phantom in an Emergency at your fingers, which is where it should be! At the end of the day, the Phantom is an aircraft and responsibility for operating it safely lies with the pilot. DJI provide the information on what does what and why, if you chose to fly it in a way that creates the opportunity of mistakenly selecting the CSC mid-flight, that's not something that can be legislated for.

I fly an Airbus for a day job and if I move the thrust levers back, the engines will spool back. I know this, so I don't do it mid-flight, but if I need it, I'm glad it's close to hand.

col.lloyd@mac.c Posted at 2015-5-29 03:43
So if your Phantom becomes uncontrollable for whatever reason and is heading directly to the scene o ...

The problem is that newbie pilots don't necessarily have a whole bunch of 'muscle memory.' It should not be possible for a new pilot to crash and wreck their aircraft simply by moving the sticks in the wrong way. That's a non-necessary mistake for us to be able to make. Maybe most people wouldn't do it *most* of the time, or when the situation is calm, but in a panic, heading for a tree or a rock, or in some other sudden, flustered situation, a new or even relatively new pilot might do just about *ANY-thing* on the sticks.

It's not the idea of being able to kill the engines in flight that bothers me (though its actual utility seems foggy to me); it's the cross fertilization with normal flying controls.

Which comes back to the fact that these things are aircraft. You need to build your skill set with them slowly. I'm by no means experienced on the Phantom, far from it, I am very much a newbie myself, but I'm aware of this and take it slowly. To use your example, if might be beneficial at that point for the engines to cut, if you are heading for a rock, or worse another person so I don't see that as a negative. If you're in the position of doing anything on the sticks in an attempt to regain some sort of control, then maybe stick with the simulator for a bit longer. Just my opinion, there are many ways to skin a cat etc.

col.lloyd@mac.c Posted at 2015-5-29 04:31
Which comes back to the fact that these things are aircraft. You need to build your skill set with t ...

I sort of see what you're saying, but I do find the scenario hard to envision. In other words, 'heading towards a person' but unable to take *any* evasive action, almost all of which, even if clumsily executed, is likely to be less unpredictable (and faster) than shutting down the motors, thereby turning the thing into a dead-weight missile. I don't think I'd have trouble with an "emergency button" clearly labelled. Imo, I am much more likely to forget in the heat of the moment, that a particular stick combination (which I might usually use in an entirely different context, on the ground) will stop the motors.

No my point was more that I think it's adviseable to learn to operate the Phantom gradually, increasing your skill set with it and not to fly in a location that can endanger your aircraft or anyone else, if you're unable to control it, without randomly hitting the CSC.

col.lloyd@mac.c Posted at 2015-5-29 06:40
No my point was more that I think it's adviseable to learn to operate the Phantom gradually, increas ...

Well, I can agree with that  

Sigh.  Finally.