Hi everyone.  I was wondering if there have been any reports of flyaways with the V3 Phantom 2 Vision+.  I am wondering if the updates help in fixing that issue from happening as often as it was before... at least from what I saw on youtube and on this forum.

Markos

Short answer yes.  And from the description of events that accompany some of them it sounds like "pilot error" can account for a few.

Precisely what "updates" are you referring to -- firmware, hardware, unofficial modification?  From my own subjective experience owning both versions I will say I prefer the v3 but I still fly both.

gil@wk.net Posted at 2014-12-27 01:37
Short answer yes.  And from the description of events that accompany some of them it sounds like "pi ...

Thanks for the replay gil.  The updates I am referring to are the small hardware updates to the remote, motors, propellers, and compass.  Do those updates help result in fewer unexplained flyaways.  I totally understand the pilot error, which is why I follow a checklist to ensure that I don't fly away.  Unfortunately, my stinginess makes for finding good days to fly very little. Just finding a day with little wind and 3 or less geomagnetic interruption makes the time I get to fly very small.  

markosb1@gmail. Posted at 2014-12-27 01:47
Thanks for the replay gil.  The updates I am referring to are the small hardware updates to the re ...

My v3 flew away today, I am about to open a new post to show what happened

I decided to return the drone, before I lose it.  Maybe when DJI or the product line matures or a better company comes around with a drone that doesn't have these types of issues.

markosb1@gmail. Posted at 2014-12-27 08:25
I decided to return the drone, before I lose it.  Maybe when DJI or the product line matures or a be ...

From everything I have read so far the amount of fly offs verse the amount of user  faults I would have to say there is no reason to return the unit unles you can not spend the needed time to learn this thing 100%

jeepinocala Posted at 2014-12-27 08:42
From everything I have read so far the amount of fly offs verse the amount of user  faults I would ...

I totally agree.  If you are concerned about your drone flying away then fly RC helicopters since any automated flying machine has the chance to do something unexpected.  Given the number of Phantom's flying vs he number of reported fly-aways I suspect you are more likely to be struck by lightning than have a fly away.

<sarcasm>
You may also want to reconsider driving; I hear cars run break down all the time and strand their drivers.
</sarcasm>

jeepinocala Posted at 2014-12-27 08:42
From everything I have read so far the amount of fly offs verse the amount of user  faults I would ...

That's great, but no one can tell anyone what causes these issues, it's easy to say user error.  When someone has experience and these things happen there is a hardware issue.  When I read put tape over the GPS to maybe fix the issue with the GPS dying out.

People have lost their crafts hovering 10-20 ft, you can't say user error to that, or I was 200 m above power lines, I will just blame the power lines.   Perhaps I don't have the time right now, but when I can't fly it cause I am watching the geomagnetic storms that may or may not cause an issue with flight.  I could fly in perfect conditions, no wind, a one for geomagnetic storms, no civilization around for 25 miles and I could still have a fly away... even though I did everything right.

Good luck with your endeavors, but I will sit out this round without a Phantom 2.  

The most "famous" flyaway on youtube is a Canadian dude who took off in a Parking lot next to his high rise apartments (GPS is bad in such places) and flew next to large powerlines on the road - two sets of them, and then complained that his unit "flew away".

When confronted about the power lines, large roads, etc. and other stuff - he claimed....really....that those weren't power lines - they only held cable and telephone. He is 100% lying as the tele and cable lines are evident (as always) lower on the poles and the large electrical wires are held on top with big insulators and also power street lamps on the same poles!

Not to say everyone does stuff like that, but this guy was one of the big examples people still point to.

You easily can say pilot error can cause flyaways from 10-20 feet, since there are many things which could cause that!

But you definitely have one thing right. This is not a hobby for folks who think quads are going to be like tablet computers or smart phones. They are not and likely won't be for many many decades. It's not a matter of sitting out the Phantom round since it's probably the more reliable craft out there in a % fashion.....but, yeah, I have detailed the three most important rules of quads in this article:
http://www.droneflyers.com/2014/12/reasons-buy-fly-drone/

Sounds like you've already made your decision Mark.  I would add just one thing for you to chew on.  This forum has a heavy bias that is disproportionate to the negative.  I mean really, how many positive comments have you read?  The majority are people having problems and the rest are the people who have already suffered through those problems and are silly enough to try and help them.  (By Neptune's trident -- I need to get a life!)  Yup, this is NOT the easiest hobby to get into and it sure ain't the cheapest.  I'll leave you with my simple pithy philosophy:  "It's only a bad experience if you didn't learn anything".  

droneflyers -- good comments and nice article (need more training camps... and adult supervision!)

gil@wk.net Posted at 2014-12-27 15:21
Sounds like you've already made your decision Mark.  I would add just one thing for you to chew on.  ...

M decision for now.  My issue is even if you do everything right in a perfect environment it can still go off into the sunset with no way to get it back.  I do understand that most of what I read was  negative, but many have had a series of positives before that one negative, which is a loss of control.

I know one day, most likely in the next one or two years, I will get another one.  Hopefully the product has matured enough to include fail-safes to prevent complete loss of the craft, which is what I want to avoid.

markosb1@gmail. Posted at 2014-12-27 17:37
M decision for now.  My issue is even if you do everything right in a perfect environment it can s ...

It's a good decision. Radio control modeling is just not a suitable hobby for some people.

MacCool Posted at 2014-12-27 20:07
It's a good decision. Radio control modeling is just not a suitable hobby for some people.

Well, I have never experienced a flyaway (aircraft flying in one direction by ignoring the operator input) in hundreds of flights with my RC airplanes, t-Rex or other cheap drones - Symantec and Hubsan.
It's not hard to flip a switch to fly ATTI, but there are some high expectations for all Phantom flight modes.
My suggestion to Marko is not to give up on flying, but maybe try a different kind of quad if he hasn't done so already. And my advice to everybody is to avoid starting in this hobby with a Phantom.

ciprianboboc@gm Posted at 2014-12-28 00:44
Well, I have never experienced a flyaway (aircraft flying in one direction by ignoring the operato ...

I haven't given up on flying, it's as close as I will get to flying a plane, I will wait for something else from DJI or another company.  The few times I was up was a pure thrill.