So I'm another unlucky P3P owner that has lost his drone due to winds that caused the drone to not have enough power to get back "home".

I attempted to have the drone fly higher / lower to get the speed of the headwind and see if I could find a slower headwind speed area. It was around 20mph at it's worst. Unfortunately, even after telling it to come "Home".. it was a lost cause. I slowly watched as it flew 2500 ft from me... and then I got another signal at 4200 ft or so.

I would have landed it about 300 ft from me when I figured out it wasn't coming back, but that would have been in a body of water. There was water between me and where it possibly could have landed.

Long story short, I'm stuck without a drone. Would the logs determine if this was a drone fault or just my dumb luck? Also, is it possible to just order the body of the P3P since I have 3 batteries and the controller?

Not dumb luck. You flew when the conditions were not right. That falls on you. These are the reasons for laws for registering and getting certified that you know how to fly, come from. The latter you obviously don't or you would never have let it go out in that much wind. Sorry for your loss, but this certainly sounds like it is all on you.

As for ordering just the P3P, BH Photo sells them.

FAS1 Posted at 2016-7-5 13:23
Not dumb luck. You flew when the conditions were not right. That falls on you. These are the reasons ...

I actually did know about the wind. However, it was very intermittent and only gusted every now and again. I flew for several hours that day and was doing just fine. Trust me, I'm annoyed at myself for taking it up with some extra wind. I "assumed" that the wind would not be an issue as these drones are pretty strong.

I'm sorry for your loss.
I would invest in a GPS tracker then you would have been able to find it.
Also, if you switch to ATTI mode you will be a little more speed.
And in really windy situations ALWAYS fly upwind, then coming home will be easy as your coming home in a tailwind.
DJI sells only the aircraft. If funds are tight you can always get an Advanced as well.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-7-5 13:32
I'm sorry for your loss.
I would invest in a GPS tracker then you would have been able to find it.
A ...

Thanks Ken. It's a learning experience albeit heartbreaking. You stated that the DJI sells only the aircraft? How much for just the aircraft? Do you have a link?

MSGNitro Posted at 2016-7-6 01:35
Thanks Ken. It's a learning experience albeit heartbreaking. You stated that the DJI sells only th ...

Here's a link. Again, sorry for your loss.
http://store.dji.com/product/pha ... ler-battery-charger
And give me a bit, I'm going to try and see if there's anything I can do to help out.

MSGNitro Posted at 2016-7-6 01:35
Thanks Ken. It's a learning experience albeit heartbreaking. You stated that the DJI sells only th ...

Ok, I was able to hook you up a little bit.
Call 818-235-0789 and start a ticket and say that Ken said you would get a discount an another aircraft.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-7-5 13:47
Ok, I was able to hook you up a little bit.
Call 818-235-0789 and start a ticket and say that Ken  ...

Thanks Ken. I appreciate it. I will have to convince the "boss" ... ie.. wife....

MSGNitro Posted at 2016-7-6 02:02
Thanks Ken. I appreciate it. I will have to convince the "boss" ... ie.. wife....

I'm sure you'll think of some good excuse

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-7-5 13:47
Ok, I was able to hook you up a little bit.
Call 818-235-0789 and start a ticket and say that Ken  ...

..........

Ditto Ken.....

imo....flying these without a GPS tracker (can be had for aroune $20) is insane anywhere there's even the chance of cellular service.

Cessna172 Posted at 2016-7-6 02:15
Ditto Ken.....

imo....flying these without a GPS tracker (can be had for aroune $20) is insane anyw ...

I agree 100%, but I'm guilty of not having one. I sold my P3P a month ago and sold the Trackimo with it.
I fly a M600, Inspire, P4, and P3S and I have been flying a lot and I can't believe I haven't gotten another Trackimo yet.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-7-5 14:20
I agree 100%, but I'm guilty of not having one. I sold my P3P a month ago and sold the Trackimo wit ...

Again... my fault.. I had the Trackimo mount on it and all, but was using the Trackimo for my Car Hauler that was sitting at my friends house. Didn't want someone stealing it. I forgot to get the tracker for the event I was filming.

I know... I'm a dumbass

But But....those awesome little TK102 trackers are soooooo cheap!   I use one and that sucker is accurate within about 4 feet and always works perfectly.
You can even get cellular service for them for as low as $10 for 3 months.

$19.95 Delivered !
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Real ... :g:5L0AAOSwlaxWOCSn

You REALLY don't need to spent $130 buckaroonies to get a great GPS tracker

MSGNitro Posted at 2016-7-6 02:26
Again... my fault.. I had the Trackimo mount on it and all, but was using the Trackimo for my Car  ...

Hey, imagine how pissed you'd be if you decided to put it on the Phantom and the car hauler was stolen.
I guess that means may be 2 Trackimo's

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-7-5 14:31
Hey, imagine how pissed you'd be if you decided to put it on the Phantom and the car hauler was st ...

Yes. True. It was on my wishlist... now to just get back to having a drone. Maybe I can start a go-fund me page... lol

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-7-5 13:47
Ok, I was able to hook you up a little bit.
Call 818-235-0789 and start a ticket and say that Ken  ...

Went from Caller 50 in the que to caller 6 now.... let's hope I don't get disconnected.

Ticket# 317020 created. Now to get the data from my tablet at home. I hope to get that all done and synced up tonight.

MSGNitro Posted at 2016-7-6 03:02
Ticket# 317020 created. Now to get the data from my tablet at home. I hope to get that all done and  ...

Sounds good, I've noted your account.

Here is a site I use to track the wind before I go flying or for planning my next flight.

https://www.windyty.com/

Hmm...

I would have thought it should have been able to have been brought back in 20MPH winds (which equate to about 8.9 m/s, 1.1 m/s below the limits stated in the manual).

A couple of days ago a friend and I experienced position hold failure and drifting on two identical P3A's when flying in some wind. Position hold loss only seemed to occur after giving a yaw input, moving the right stick in the opposite direction of the drift stopped the craft and effectively put the 'brakes' back on.

I don't know, I think there's something a bit funny going on with the autopilot on the P3.

rreindl Posted at 2016-7-5 13:55
Here is a site I use to track the wind before I go flying or for planning my next flight.

https://w ...

Sorry about your loss. Thanks for the handy link!

I would think it was over 20 mph that day. I've been in 20 to 25 mph wind a few times and never had a issue with getting it to fly where I needed it to go, and with blade guards. But as others have stated, if your going in the complete wrong direction (with the wind) start to use the RTH (lower power) in a wind gust hitting 25+ mph. I could see it going backwards. Next time just remember, don't use RTH in an wind emergency.

Cessna172 Posted at 2016-7-5 14:31
But But....those awesome little TK102 trackers are soooooo cheap!   I use one and that sucker is acc ...

Has the TK102 been working for you when testing? It's price can't be beat. But reviews are all over the place on it. Do you need a normal cell number for it, as in post pay. Or will a per pay number work as well ? Also looking at the Rf-v16, works along the same lines.

wmcvey Posted at 2016-7-5 16:40
Has the TK102 been working for you when testing? It's price can't be beat. But reviews are all ove ...

Shot fireworks on the weekend & the wind just came outa nowhere, reading at 25 mph, but gusting to 35+, luckily my buddy with much more expeirence (flying 3Adv & A4 beside each other shooting) saw my 3 downwind & yelled, put her in ATT mode! just enough "juice" to get me back to shelter.
You guys have me thinking about some form of tracking device, You have to get cell service for most trackers tho, eh, Trackimo I;ve heard of that one,
Anyone got one that you've tested? I;m thinking you have to be able to "track", like what, a mile or so?  
TK102 was looking at this guy, but some reviews knock it,  thoughts?

wmcvey Posted at 2016-7-6 04:40
Has the TK102 been working for you when testing? It's price can't be beat. But reviews are all ove ...

I used to use the TK102 and it worked great for the price.
I just like the Trackimo better.

lablover Posted at 2016-7-6 05:37
AWESOME customer service here!!!

Good to hear.

You don't give enough  details for the  whole story to come out.
But whatever wind you fly in and how you fly in those conditions is up to you, tthe pilot.
If the wind was only 20 mph you shouldn't have lost your Phantom as it can fly at 35 mph (in still air).

In a strong wind situation there are a number of things you can do.
First  .. work out  how strong the wind is.
If you can't judge it yourself, try flying straight into it and see how much it affects your top speed.

Second, if the wind is strong NEVER fly away with the  wind.
Always fly away into the wind so you get an easy assisted trip home rather than the opposite.

Third .. Understand the RTH is a slow driver and only wants to come home at 10 m/sec.
If you fail on 1 & 2 and end up in a difficult situation, don't  leave RTH  to do the driving.
You can pilot your Phantom at 15 m/s .. (50% faster than RTH).
So take over rather than watching your Phantom get blown backwards.
Push the right lever forwards or cancel RTH and drive  yourself.

Fourth .. If you are high up, you will probably find lower winds at lower levels.
Come down to get out  of the strongest winds.

Fifth .. learn from the experience and don't  get into that situation again.

labroides@yahoo Posted at 2016-7-6 07:14
You don't give enough  details for the  whole story to come out.
But whatever wind you fly in and ho ...

Thanks for your input. I know I didn't put a whole lot of information as I've flown a little and know the basics. I did try to fly under my own will to your third point. For your 4th point.... I also changed my elevation many times to get better H/S winds. I was hoping to get better control.

MSGNitro Posted at 2016-7-6 11:03
Thanks for your input. I know I didn't put a whole lot of information as I've flown a little and k ...

If the wind is strong enough to cause concern, the second point is the critical  one that can mean the difference between coming home with a Phantom or not.

labroides@yahoo Posted at 2016-7-6 09:11
If the wind is strong enough to cause concern, the second point is the critical  one that can mean ...

I'm aware. It was a hard learning experience. The river that was between me and the drone done me in. I would have crash landed or made a harder landing if the river wasn't there. Then I would have been able to at least get to it.

helidan Posted at 2016-7-6 04:00
Hmm...

I would have thought it should have been able to have been brought back in 20MPH winds (whi ...

It will come back but a whole lot slower than it went out. If there is a direct or near direct headwind greater than 10 mph, I will only fly into the headwind or up to a 45 degree angle crosswind.  If it grater than 15 mph then headwind or 20 degree crosswind only.

Wind gusts should be a warning signal as gusting can increase from 50 per cent more to double. Check your outward bound speed. If you are not getting 15mps or about 30 miles an hour at full throttle, something is wrong up there and you should turn around.

MSGNitro Posted at 2016-7-6 11:14
I'm aware. It was a hard learning experience. The river that was between me and the drone done me  ...

Like almost all flyaway reports, this is another one that didn't.
The owner flew it away in conditions that made it difficult or impossible for the Phantom to return.

So did it crash into the water or were you able to get it over land?  If I were unsuccessfully flying into the wind, I probably would have flown with the wind in the other direction and crashed it into land on the other side.  At least there would have been some chance of recovery.  If it is just "lost", did you consider uploading a flight record here and try investigating where it may have come down, so you can try to recover it?

endotherm Posted at 2016-7-6 05:25
So did it crash into the water or were you able to get it over land?  If I were unsuccessfully flyin ...

I considered all of the above. There was no way for me to get to it if I landed it where It was over land. I continued flying as I hoped the wind would die down as it had been doing most of the day. It just never happened and then went out of site without GPS tracking. Yes. I uploaded the file. I may have a chance to go searching for it with the HealthyDrones upload. I'm not counting on it though.

labroides@yahoo Posted at 2016-7-5 23:16
Like almost all flyaway reports, this is another one that didn't.
The owner flew it away in conditi ...

Nobody asked for criticism. I'm quite aware of the conditions and potentials. It was unfortunate, but the "bashing" is uncalled for. Take your comments elsewhere.

skipilot1 Posted at 2016-7-5 21:34
It will come back but a whole lot slower than it went out. If there is a direct or near direct hea ...

Thanks. A lot of after thought, but something I will remember for the future.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-7-5 15:12
Sounds good, I've noted your account.

Uploaded the flight log and file as requested in the ticket. Thanks for your help!

MSGNitro Posted at 2016-7-6 21:59
Nobody asked for criticism. I'm quite aware of the conditions and potentials. It was unfortunate,  ...

That wasn't criticism or bashing.
It was a simple observation that your thread title still says P3 flew away - and it didn't at all.
Like so many other incidents that initially are labelled as flyaways.

Now  I'll be a little less subtle ...
You say ... "So I'm another unlucky P3P owner that has lost his drone due to winds that caused the drone to not have enough power to get back home".

No .. you are 100% responsible, not the wind, not DJI, not bad luck.
You flew downwind in a strong wind without thinking how that might end up.
And when you do that, you learn an expensive lesson

Act responsibly now and change the thread title to something more appropriate because your Phantom didn't fly away - you flew it away.

labroides@yahoo Posted at 2016-7-6 09:01
That wasn't criticism or bashing.
It was a simple observation that your thread title still says P3  ...

Returning control to the drone and telling it to Go Home is why I state it "Flew Away". Just because I was inexperienced in this type of situation and didn't know to switch to ATTI and do all sorts of other maneuvers does not constitute a name change to the title. The Go Home did not bring it home because it was fighting wind. Hence Flew away. Again, take your nasty comments elsewhere.