Okay, So I found a vacant feild I used a couple times.
I have a message saying I" cannot connect to network" when tring to sign into the app.
I was in airplane mode and had a connection to the phantom. so I exited from that to get a connection but it didnt work at first. started re-starting everything.
I guess i should sign in first then go into airplane mode.



Today I decided to try  to fly higher and get a better look around.

I had it in coasre lock and tested it before climbing higher.
Decided to test failsafe.
It started coming back , but it seemed to continue beyond me. I think I was still in coarse lock...now that I thing about it, that would be normal, right?
it was really hard looking staright up at it , gets a little disorienting.

but I started to panick. moved s1 switch to gps< i think, in an effort to regain control, or was it atti?
glanced down at the phone and saw connection lost. I found it was very difficult to watch the drone and the phone.
Especially the data light altitude, so small even with my reading glasses.
moved back to failsafe
anyway I got it in front of me and starting to land.
closer to ground I tried to regain control to land on my platform. started to drop fast, I was able to hit the throttle and keep it from a hard landing.

decided to try a lower lever flight. But either I got confused having the switches in the wrong postion or somethig else is wrong but the dronne seemed to drift away into some thick bushes. I just cut off the throttle when I heard the bushed being chewed up. retived the drone w/o damage or incident.

did a final flight 3 feet off the ground in a square.


So I guess i bit off more than I could chew today. got pretty scary.
Hoping I dont have bigger problems. But I will not be so adverturous for a while.
need to go back to square one for a while and build up some confidence again.


any advice or input

Hi,  as a newbie myself I have gained lots of ideas and help from these guys on this forum, and the best bits of advice I have gained is.... 1) Read as much as you can in the manuals.  2) If you feel you're losing it,  and if you have space, try hands off the controls and take stock of the situation.  3) And lastly, remember there is no thing as a stupid question because we all learn by practice.  
So good luck and just take a deep breath and enjoy the flying and seeing the results.  Ian (UK)

Ice,

Always select airplane mode first as it will shut off the wifi when you turn it on. Then go to wifi, turn it on and turn off "Ask to join networks". Do that before anything else, every time you go to fly. I don't know if you're in Naza or Phantom mode, so I can't tell you too much more. If you're in Naza, get very familiar with exactly what switch 1 and 2 do. (Always start your boot up and flight with both switches in the top position.) Label them if necessary. Mine are labeled even though I don't need the labels. If I ever panicked I'd want to be able to recover quickly, the labels should help with that. Switching the s1 switch between the uppermost position (GPS), the middle position (ATTI) and the lower position (Failsafe or RTH) will get you out of most jams. I use GPS and ATTI very often, I've never needed to use Failsafe but have done it a time or two to test it. I use the s2 switch a great deal. The uppermost position on s2 is normal flying mode. The middle position is Course Lock and the lower position is Home Lock. Become very familiar with those and you'll use them frequently. I use HL very frequently and I fly great distances. If I'm way out (within control of the craft) but I'm disoriented or lost sight of my bird, I'll run my bird up to a high clear altitude, even though I may not be able to see it, say 150-200', place s2 in the lower s2 position and all I have to do is pull straight back on the right control stick and the bird will start heading right back to my home point in it's most direct route. Always make sure you're at a higher altitude when using this function otherwise you'll run into anything (trees, power lines, etc.) that is in the most direct path on your way back. This is critically important, particularly if you're not sure where you bird is. If you or the bird has initiated an RTH, and you see the bird coming home, at any point you can flip the s1 from the uppermost position (GPS) to the middle position (ATTI), just leave it there for a second or so and then flip it back to GPS. You now have complete control of your bird again. You have cancelled the RTH command are flying in GPS mode again with all control back in your hands.

Jerry  

JtrJr-UAV Pilot Posted at 2015-6-22 00:00
Ice,

Always select airplane mode first as it will shut off the wifi when you turn it on. Then go to ...

then maybe i should sign into the app before entering airplane mode. then conncet the wifi.
I think airplane mode is  what kept me from signing into the app.

icemanfred Posted at 2015-6-22 03:55
then maybe i should sign into the app before entering airplane mode. then conncet the wifi.
I thin ...

Ice,

I'm not sure what you mean by "signing in to the app"? You should not need to sign in to the app each time you fly. You'll have to let us know what sign-in you're talking about.

Jerry

Okay I think I needed to sign into the because I  reset my phone a couple times recently. Damn samsung s5 has been overheating and draining the battery .  Factory reset of the s5 helps for about a week.

Hmm, okay l'm guessing you're in NAZA mode since (l think) you used the S1 switch to trigger Failsafe. lt can be hard to tell by eye in the sun sometimes what position those S switches are in, l go by feel.
Have you gone to the IOC assistant page in NAZA and changed the down position of S1 to Failsafe? lf not it's Atti by default (if l'm remembering correctly, somebody correct me if l'm wrong). This could have made it drift back and past you depending on wind direction.

lt's hard to figure out what's happening without a video so l'll give the app part a shot too.
lf you're going into airplane mode, do it first then go to wifi and toggle it back on because airplane mode shuts it off. Then open the app. Stand about 20 feet back (mine won't connect close) and point the flat of the range extender at the phantom. lf it's not showing up, keep toggling the wifi slider off and on again till it shows up, it can be slow.

You kind of lost me. If your getting ready to fly and you were connected to the Phantom then whayndidnyoumneed to connect to a network. You don't need Internet or any other network to fly as long as you are connect to the Phantom wifi. Could you clarify what you were doing. Which mode are you set up to fly in Phantom or the Naza mode? The main question I have  is wanting to be sure you have gone through the proper calibration prior to flying. IMU, RC sticks and the compass calibration. Also the only advice is to under stand the functions of Course lock,  home lock . Atti and Failsafe and what each do. When you were head to the buses drifting sounds like you were in atti mode and that's why she was drifting and you were getting into a panic. Alway be ready to flip back to GPS mode and that way in a panic you release the stick and your craft will hover where she is.  Go to you tube and do a search on Phantom home lock and watch theat video the do course lock and then Failsafe. But fires find out what mode you are flying in. Check the manual and the pilot trading manual too. All are good aid for keeping you from pilot error and crashing costing. Big $$$$. A few extra hours learning is always a god thing. Learn your limitations. I know mine I cannot do FPV flying very well as the distance of the camera and the craft do match so I have a tendency to riun into things. So for me it's visual or autonomous flying only.