Hello guys

I think it would be nice to hear from experienced pilots or DJI's people some advices of what are the first things to do (and how) in the following emergency situations :  

a) while you are flying you loose control (signal or whatever) with your drone. What are the first steps you have to do ?

b) while you are flying your drone start drifting (or not flying in a straight) line, but still you have some control of it

c) while you are flying you have a mechanical failure


thanks

Answers:
a) Phantom 4 automatically RTH (return to home) when communication between RC and Airplane is lost.
b) First thing I do is get some altitude. This gives you more time to think and hopefully recover.
c) If the failure is total (lost propeller or engine for example), bend over, put your head between your legs and kiss your keister goodbye. :-) In all seriousness, try to get to site airplane falls out of sky and recover airframe or as much as possible.

The best thing to do to avoid problems, educate yourself by reading and re-reading manual. Then update the firmware.

Before each flight, do a pre-flight check. I make sure propellers are on correctly. Next, I go through menus to ensure all settings are correct. Finally, start your flight slow and check all stick motions are working correctly. All of this takes me less than a minute.

Marty Markoe, Yorktown Heights, NY

mmarkoe Posted at 2016-6-20 00:25
Answers:
a) Phantom 4 automatically RTH (return to home) when communication between RC and Airplane  ...

Great advice, mmarkoe! Cheers.

@gspir1, don't forget to set your RTH value properly.

Have a safe flight everyone!

mmarkoe Posted at 2016-6-19 18:25
Answers:
a) Phantom 4 automatically RTH (return to home) when communication between RC and Airplane  ...

" bend over, put your head between your legs and kiss your keister goodbye. :-)"

See !, every day is a school day, I was going to put that for A,B & C

The quickest thing you can do to save (what YOU might think is a problem) is to take your hands off the RC if you are flying in "P" mode. Your A/C will hover where it is till you can assess the situation. If you are not flying in "P" mode switch to "P" mode quickly, then take your hands off the RC till you can assess the situation. TOO many pilots will over react while freaking out and cause the crash. The built in safe guards are to safe guard the A/C from the pilot making the wrong decision.....your bird wants to live...despite you!   

Nice guys..  usefull informations. Lets hear and other EXPRERIENCED pilots.  But here is an interesting question. The RTH feature is enabled automatically when lost control, right ? however as the phantom approaching the "home" point, is it wise to retake control in order to land it safe ?  (lets suppose your not in a flat airport, but in the balcony of your home), and also how (and when) to do it ?

RTH wont work if you use other apps, like Litchi.  If you use the DJI app, then you are safer, it will automatically initiate RTH.  Make sure RTH altitude is well above the highest hill, tree or building in the area.

If you use Litchi,
You need to put it in S mode to stop the Litchi mission, then just hover (remember when you hover it burns battery), to access the situation, then look at the distance as you move FWD.  If the distance increases. then reverse it and fly it back.  In my case, I can not see the screen most of the time, so I rely on the distance reading. And yes, I use a sun shield and the iphone sun screen!   

gspir1 Posted at 2016-6-19 14:14
Nice guys..  usefull informations. Lets hear and other EXPRERIENCED pilots.  But here is an interest ...

Well my advice and what I do is always (when possible) take off from a level clear spot with no buildings, powerlines or trees close by. At least a clear 50' diameter circle, also free of other people. Then when the return to home is off by 15-20 ft, it often is, you are fine.

If this is not possible understand that you are increasing your risk factor. And as all GA pilots learn it is all about risk management.

One thing I do after each flight is check the temperature of each motor. If one is hotter than the others you have a problem. Fix it before you fly again. I use an IR thermometer to do this, but just checking by hand tells a lot. The motors should all feel the same and not be so hot you can't hold onto them for an extended time. Usually 110-140 F.

gspir1 Posted at 2016-6-19 14:14
Nice guys..  usefull informations. Lets hear and other EXPRERIENCED pilots.  But here is an interest ...

Well my advice and what I do is always (when possible) take off from a level clear spot with no buildings, powerlines or trees close by. At least a clear 50' diameter circle, also free of other people. Then when the return to home is off by 15-20 ft, it often is, you are fine.

If this is not possible understand that you are increasing your risk factor. And as all GA pilots learn it is all about risk management.

One thing I do after each flight is check the temperature of each motor. If one is hotter than the others you have a problem. Fix it before you fly again. I use an IR thermometer to do this, but just checking by hand tells a lot. The motors should all feel the same and not be so hot you can't hold onto them for an extended time. Usually 110-140 F.

The tempeture of each motor was something i haven't thniko about at all.  I did a test for a 5 min flight and i noticed by hand that the tempeture of the three motors are about the same, and one is more cooler (not so hot as the three others).I did the test again after some hours and i got the same results !!

gspir1 Posted at 2016-6-19 11:14
Lets hear and other EXPRERIENCED pilots.  

I was going to say something....
But I've also seen some bad advice from DJI people as you requested
The rest of us might not tell you anything worthwhile or learn from us
Good luck for the exact answer
Read the manual and learn from your own experience

vandruten Posted at 2016-6-19 13:30
Great advice, mmarkoe! Cheers.

@gspir1, don't forget to set your RTH value properly.

Needed my own advice this evening. Took off between power lines at my nephew's home, Duh!!! RTFM again. Actually no problem at first. Went to 100 meters and then flew out about 1/2 km over a golf course. My nephew as piloting and said there was the message Lost Signal. He handed RC to me. Surprisingly, I was still able to control aircraft but decided to push and hold RTH. This worked flawlessly.

In retrospect, my guess is there was no problem going straight up to 100m but when we sent P4 out horizontally all the utility lines on the street caused interference. Next time I visit I'll try again but this time try adjusting direction of the antenna.

Marty Markoe, Yorktown Heights, NY

mmarkoe Posted at 2016-6-20 09:06
Needed my own advice this evening. Took off between power lines at my nephew's home, Duh!!! RTFM a ...

Yes mmarkoe, this is why we should say again and again what to do in emergency situations. Especially for people like me who are new to this and may be in panic.

Tell me something. When you push RTH and the drone is coming back and it's close enough, is it wise to take again the control in order to land it safe ? I read in manual that when drone is returning home if your press just one time the RTH button you take the control of the drone. But is it wise ?

mmarkoe Posted at 2016-6-20 02:06
Needed my own advice this evening. Took off between power lines at my nephew's home, Duh!!! RTFM a ...

Looks like you lost the video signal. The video and control signals are two separate things. This explains why you could still control the aircraft. Had you lost the control signal for more than 3 seconds then the aircraft would have initiated a 'Failsafe' Return To Home. Had you then pushed the RTH button you would have cancelled this RTH and had manual control again.
However as you still had control and were able to initiate the RTH yourself, RTH of course will only work if the aircraft has good GPS reception. If you were flying between building or suchlike then you might lose GPS.
Best idea is to go to a wide open empty field and practice the various RTH routines as shown on page 13 of the manual (read it cover to cover a couple of times). For example if you push RTH (or lost signal) and the aircraft was horizontally within 20m of take off point then it would land straight down where it was (what's below , pond, power lines, trees ?).

gspir1 Posted at 2016-6-20 09:40
Yes mmarkoe, this is why we should say again and again what to do in emergency situations. Especia ...

" is it wise to take again the control in order to land it safe ?"

If you can see the aircraft then that is the best option, take control, let it hover until you have decided the best action (Don't panic, stop, think about what you want to do next). Unless your battery is critical then there is no rush.

I have only had one situation where I went into a panic, but 10 plus hours of experience saved the day.  Situation:  Was using POI and P4 was heading for a tree.  Did not have enough time to cancel POI, but experience said increase altitude quickly.  Saved the day.  Familiarity with the controls, functions and experience will always keep you safe.  Practice them all in an open area to learn their limits. Features like POI can be very aggressive and seemly take you out of control if you are in a tight flying environment.  1) Experience, 2) Experience and 3) Experience

Normally I like to stay within Line of Sight.  But I sometimes use Home Point Lock to get it to come straight back if I'm a bit farther out than usual.

If you're not familiar with using Home Point Lock I would read up on it.
(Assuming you've simply become a bit disoriented)

Aardvark Posted at 2016-6-20 05:17
Looks like you lost the video signal. The video and control signals are two separate things. This  ...

Excellent analysis. Video had gone to B&W so that explains it.
Thanks,
Marty

gspir1 Posted at 2016-6-20 04:40
Yes mmarkoe, this is why we should say again and again what to do in emergency situations. Especia ...

If in an open field I just let it land. Yesterday as there were power lines and a tree, I took control  and moved the Phantom 4 a few meters to center of small yard.
Marty

One time I was flying by my house and i usually fly in P-GPS mode, and when I was around 170-200 feet all of a sudden the drone went into Atti mode and because there was a slight breeze my drone drifted out of sight behind some trees so I had no idea where it was. I quickly pressed up on the left stick to gain more altitude and then initiated RTH. Once the drone was in visible line of sight and started descending, I cancelled RTH and landed it myself.

I'd say anytime you lose sight of the drone, something feels off, etc, just initiate RTH. Bring it close enough to you and then land yourself if you're in a tight space and don't have room for error.

If things start to head south, they usually head south pretty quickly.  I just close my eyes, drop to the ground and assume the fetal position and begin to cry like a little girl... then I pray to my god to protect my drone... This usually works pretty well. I will say though, with my eyes closed and the sound of the struggling drone filling my ears, I will wonder if on this day, RTH means Return to Home, or Rise to Heaven.   

HOWEVER... if the ground is wet or muddy, I will change my tactic since I don't want to get my clothes dirty.  So If drop and pray isn't an option, I will do one of a few things....

1) Let go of the RC.  Let the bird hover... get my head on straight, and maneuver out of trouble.

2) If the drone is too close to something (like a tree) and is not totally stable (because of wind, etc), I will usually do a quick look to make sure the air above is clear and shoot that thing up into the air.  This one move has saved me SO many times when I had foolishly gotten myself to get into a sticky situation.

3) Another thing I do regularly is whenever possible, I keep my bird oriented so I am directly behind it and so my controls are always Right=Right, L=L, etc.  My brain isn't great at making snap emergency decisions when the drone is 90 degrees or even 180 degrees rotation compared to my location.  So whenever possible I re-orient the drone (or myself) so I am behind it.  If I have no choice but to change the orientation of the drone (so I am in front or to the side of it), I might take a few seconds and practice (moving the sticks to teach my fingers what the drone needs to go the correct direction should I run into an emergency) before I try to get my shot.

4) As mentioned previously... prevention is the best way to avoid problems.  I have almost learned the hard way SO MANY TIMES by not giving enough thought to what I am preparing to do, and instead just getting in the air and flying... I'm surprised I haven't destroyed my drone.  Although I have never put anyone in peril, just my drone, each near miss has been a startling learning experience... a one second mistake can destroy a $1,400 craft.  So be sure to take a few extra seconds and set your home point and your RTH altitude... review the airspace around you (looking for obstacles or potential issues)... lift off and do a few maneuvers from 3-4 feet and make sure your bird is flying healthy... keep your LOS whenever possible... stay oriented behind the drone as much as possible if you are doing a tricky maneuver, but if the bird is flying toward you, tell yourself (in your head or out loud like I do) "right is left" (I do this almost as a mantra when the drone flies toward me).

5) If you are doing programmed moves... learn to love the pause button...there is a dedicated pause button under your index finger for a reason... saved my bacon a few times.

shayanza@usc.ed Posted at 2016-6-20 10:45
One time I was flying by my house and i usually fly in P-GPS mode, and when I was around 170-200 fee ...

Hi,

I had a crash recently after drifting into a tree. The bird crashed into the ground from about 35 feet AGL. About a half inch of one propeller broke off.

Then ... It took off again, out of control!  I had no choice but to do a CSC and shut it down.  Luckily, it became suspended in another tree when it lost power and I was able to recover and repair it.

I think that the advice for RTH, as well as adding altitude in ATTI mode are certainly good tips to be followed.  In an *out of control* (meaning the phantom is flying out of control, especially after hitting the ground), the best thing to do is to kill power immediately (CSC).

Lastly, DON'T PANIC! if the craft has flown out of control range, an RTH should bring it back, make sure that the altitude is set appropriately. In my case when my phantom crashed and *then took off again* with no way to control where it was going, an emergency E-STOP (CSC) was necessary.

A CSC is always the last resort!
Rob

A lot of advice out there so here is more of the same. When signal is lost don't panic! Like others have mentioned, make sure your RTH height is set appropriate for your area, otherwise you could be crashing into a tree or building. Check these settings before you fly....everytime. Only take a few seconds to walk through the menu. After doing it a few times you will recognize any bogus settings and can enter the values you want before taking off.
I think it is good also to take control after it gets close to you. I totally understand if you don't know where it is at, but wait for it to come back into range, and it will. My video and RC signal has always returned at some point while the drone is flying back to it's home-point. Like someone said, take control and let it hover there as long as battery is not an issue...you can re-group and gather your thoughts about how to proceed.
Another feature I haven't heard a lot about but one that I have used is "Home Lock". If you totally lose video but still have radio control, or just don't know where the drone is located, switch to "F" mode and choose this function. I always go "UP" in altitude to make sure I clear all obstacles, and then all you have to do is pull back on the right stick and your aircraft will come straight back home. You can watch the read-out on your app to see the distance reduce as it return to you, taking control when you hear it  or see it close by. Kind of like the RTH only it will not come back and auto-land the aircraft for you.

One thing that doesn't seem to have been mentioned is what to do when the aircraft switches to ATTI mode, for example, if there's a compass error.  Pressing RTH won't help you because the aircraft can't fly itself without the compass, hence it switches to ATTI mode.  You therefore need to be able to fly in ATTI mode so that you can still fly the aircraft home, which means you need to practice until it becomes second nature.

Another advantage of becoming proficient in ATTI mode is it gives you a lot more confidence when flying normally, meaning you're less likely to panic & make mistakes.

You also have a better chance of fighting the wind, because firstly, you have more speed available, & secondly, you cen easily tell how strong the wind is & in which direction it's blowing.  Knowing the wind direction means you can fly against it in a zig-zag pattern towards you, which means you can make progress even if the wind is faster than your aircraft can fly.
If you get into strong wind & just leave it in P-GPS, there's a good chance your aircraft will drift away & disappear.

I didn't read all the posts but I'll give my input and it's probably the same and many of them.

a) don't panic, make sure your antenna orientation is correct (Best Antenna Practices video on YouTube)
Don't fly out of line of sight until you are 100% comfortable/confident with your aircraft and yourself.
You can use the map view and fly the aircraft home by following the line and you or high enough (unless P4) As long as you have the RTH set to your flying environment, hit RTH and you'll regain signal in bit.

b) If you have done all the calibrations properly then there will be no drifting in GPS mode and only if there is GPS interference will it go into ATTI mode and drift with the wind. Plus stay away from metal that will effect the compass.
Go to a very large field and practice a lot in ATTI mode and preferably in high winds. So when the day comes that you lose GPS, you'll be totally confident and and have no problem at all flying in ATTI mode.

c) Hopefully you will never have a mechanical failure and if you do everything properly it should never ever happen. if it ever did, try to maintain control and if you cannot and it's headed towards people you can always preform a CSC and shut off the motors providing there's no one that may be hit by it.\

There's tons more but just be familiar with your aircraft's features and limitations and also your own limitations. Study the manual and all the tutorial videos, they are all in the Academy section of the app (top right icon from the home page).

To get familiar with the craft I flew a mile out over fields and turned the controller off simulating a break in contact

The quad returned to home flawlessly

At first it was rather unnerving as I couldn't see the craft at that distance but it worked just as the manual explains and built my confidence greatly the only thing that I do is set the rth altitude rather high so I know it has no chance of coming into contact with anything unless something really unusual happens

Liam

Mabou2 Posted at 2016-6-20 11:49
If things start to head south, they usually head south pretty quickly.  I just close my eyes, drop t ...

Thanks Mabou2  -  I ignorantly thought the pause button was for video ! ! !  You are right, it would be a life saver, it pauses the flight !  

Also always know the location of your craft at all times by eye! My drone crashed a few weeks ago into tall grass, etc in a large field about 118 feet from me after I had no control whatsoever (I still don't know why I lost control and DJI said they would contact me after analysis). Even knowing the location by eye it took me a few minutes to find it and I think I even walked by it a few times.

robesmithjr Posted at 2016-6-20 08:51
Hi,

I had a crash recently after drifting into a tree. The bird crashed into the ground from abou ...

Great advice- and yeah that's something I always do before flying, which is checking the height of the objects around me (if there are any).

For instance, I know there are trees adjacent to my yard that are about 50-60 feet tall, so before I start flying around I make sure that my altitude is higher than that. Good luck and happy flying!

Does anyone know what is the best optimal speed to fly the P4?
Optimal meaning the fastest speed to maintain longest battery life.

If I am out there and I want t bring the p4 back, using the minimum power consumption, do I go to the S mode and maintain 30 MPH?

I am thinking, if I have a tail wind, then ATTI makes sense, since the wind will help a lot.

Speaking of wind, is it safe to put the P4 in S mode when the wind starts gusting?  In my area, I can start a 10 minute session starting with 0-5 MPH wind, but then there could be 25 MPH gusts in just a few minutes.

I never used the Home Lock, and it sounds like a great feature because most of the time I can not see my screen due to sun glare.
I will test it out soon.

Someone ask me a question which is sound to me interesting :

What you can do if you loose control due to compass failure (strong magnetic field etc) ? In this case does the RTH funtion works ?

if you have optical contact with the drone is it wise to turn to ATTI mode or to enable RTH ?  

what you should to do in a situation of compass error while flying ?

gspir1 Posted at 2016-6-21 02:04
Someone ask me a question which is sound to me interesting :

What you can do if you loose control  ...

If the compass fails, it'll automatically switch to ATTI mode.  You have no choice.  RTH will not work without a good compass.