Hello, new to the forumand just recently purchased my first Phantom 2 Vision+. I am fairly tech savvyand was able to set up the Phantom without much hassle. However, I went to trymy first flight in a large indoor area (it's MN and I hate the cold) and unfortunatelyit will not take flight. The motors start up and spin just fine, but there is acontinual yellow blinking. I throttle up and I can hear the motors pushingharder, but still it will not take off. I am connected via wifi but GPS is notactive and has not picked up any satellites (I would assume this is because Iam indoors). Has anyone had this problem previously or offer any suggestions. Ihave already re-calibrated and re-binded everything.

Any error message when connected with the APP?
is it blinking yellow fast / slow and did you compare that to the LED chart that came with your Phantom?

The most obvious question first, is the battery fully charged ?

It almost sounds like you are near an airport and flight restrictions are keeping you grounded.  I'm not sure that it's possible but if you had the props reversed then it would also keep you from lifting off as it would push down rather than up.

You mention you have GPS; does that mean you are also seeing green LED flashes?

I don't have the LED chart with me so I'm not sure what the occasional yellow means (I'm not really sure I fully understand your description).

Thank you everyone for responding. I did not expect this many replies so quick!

1. No error messages. I am able to connect to the Phantom wifi without any problems.
2. It is a slow yellow which according to the chart means I am ready to fly w/out GPS
3. Yes the battery is fully charged
4. I am not near an airport, but I am indoors. The props are on correctly.
5. GPS is not active and I do not know why.

Basically if I am understanding everything correctly, I am ready to fly w/out GPS - hence the slow yellow blinking - (most likely because I am inside and cannot grab any satellites) however, when I try to take off the props spin and the motors fire up but I cannot take off.

Well the other question is what Mode you have the Transmitter in, Mode 1 (throttle on the right) or Mode 2 (throttle on the left) ?
To get airborne you need to give it a burst of full power, but only once you are sure which stick is the throttle....

johnwarr.live Posted at 2015-2-6 04:06
Well the other question is what Mode you have the Transmitter in, Mode 1 (throttle on the right) or  ...

Yeah thinking the same thing,  not the first time that the controller mode is changed.

Wouldn't it just tip forward if the mode was incorrect?  Not going to TRY it, but it seems to me that's what it would do.

It is in mode 2, throttle on the left. Being that I am inside, I have not pushed the throttle all the way up. Do I need too?

Well I have only flown outside, but to take-off smoothly I give it full throttle, and let go of the stick once its 5ft in the air.
It takes time to build up speed and lift-off, it will not shoot up like a rocket, but if I was you and just to be safe I would wait until you can try it outside.

jschultz.stahlc Posted at 2015-2-6 04:36
It is in mode 2, throttle on the left. Being that I am inside, I have not pushed the throttle all th ...

Keep going up on the throttle.  If you reach full throttle and it still won't go, then we do more troubleshooting.

You won't have any wind to worry about tipping it.  Just throttle up, and once airborne, go back to center throttle and it will hover.

Thank you Johnwarr.

It does take a bit of throttle to get it off the ground, I have heard others (experienced guys) say, (this is also how I take off) "give it a good bit of power until it clears the ground several feet then even it out."  This is to keep it from "skipping around" on the ground and tipping over.  You just kinda "hop" it up into the air and then stabilize your flight.  I'm sure that someone will come to say you should probably not do your maiden flight indoors even if it's fairly large.  And I would agree with them.

I know you're indoors but are you getting a lot of air movement from the drone when you're pushing the throttle?

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and feedback. I wanted to update the post and let everyone know that I was able to get it working. Thank you again!

jschultz@stahlc Posted at 2015-2-16 22:05
Thank you everyone for your thoughts and feedback. I wanted to update the post and let everyone know ...

Could you inform us as to what you did to correct your take off problem.  That would contribute to the collective information base for others to see.

Well initially when I was inside trying to take off using "non-gps" mode just to test lifting off and landing, I only pressed the throttle 3/4 of the way up. I did not realize, nor is stated anywhere, that to lift off completely you actually need to really push the throttle completely to the top before it will lift off. I'm sure to most of you this sounds ridiculous, but we had no idea.

jschultz@stahlc Posted at 2015-2-16 22:23
Well initially when I was inside trying to take off using "non-gps" mode just to test lifting off an ...

A lot more people than you realize will try to gradually throttle up to take off and then tip over and dig the props in the dirt.  Jump it full throttle for a couple of seconds until it is 4 or 5 feet off the ground and is stable.  It is unstable when first lifting off.
Glad you got it in the air.
Happy Flying!

Gerry1124 Posted at 2015-2-16 22:28
A lot more people than you realize will try to gradually throttle up to take off and then tip over ...

The instruction book says the complete opposite (or at least implies it). It says "Push the throttle up slowly to take-off"

Perhaps what they mean is don't slam the stick to full throttle in an instant (extra wear/strain on motors), but a nice smooth motion over the course of 1 to 1.5 seconds.......Or the manual is just plain wrong

I am so used to flying these things that I haven't really observed what I do.....but I know I don't go full throttle by slamming the stick...I think I do something inbetween....