Labroides Posted at 2017-4-8 19:47
The flight data shows no indication of going into RTH while you were still within range.
If you lost control signal shortly after you got the do-you-want-to-RTH message, your respknse would not have even got to the Phantom.
But whether it did or not is of no importance.

You can see the drones last flight path was back out to the lake it was not coming back to shore.

5186	721.4	12m 1.4s	42.86173	-79.3349	P-GPS	526.2	160.4	27.1	12.1	2,399.40	731.3	42.86026	-79.3437	13	46	14.534	0.054	3.602	3.656	3.64	3.636	-10.5	6.2	0.3	-21.3	14.6	159.4	1132	1684	1024	1024	1024
5187	721.7	12m 1.7s	42.8617	-79.3349	P-GPS	526.2	160.4	27.3	12.2	2,403.10	732.5	42.86026	-79.3437	13	46	14.534	0.054	3.602	3.656	3.64	3.636	-10.6	6.2	0	-21.5	15.4	159.1	1117	1684	1024	1024	1024
5188	721.9	12m 1.9s	42.86168	-79.3349	P-GPS	526.6	160.5	27.6	12.3	2,405.60	733.2	42.86026	-79.3437	13	46	14.534	0.054	3.602	3.656	3.64	3.636	-10.7	6.2	0	-22.6	16.3	158.7	1081	1684	1024	1024	1024
5189	722.1	12m 2.1s	42.86166	-79.3349	P-GPS	526.9	160.6	27.8	12.4	2,408.00	734	42.86026	-79.3437	13	46	14.534	0.054	3.602	3.656	3.64	3.636	-10.7	6.2	0.1	-22.6	15.7	158.9	1190	1684	1024	1024	1024
5190	722.5	12m 2.5s	42.86162	-79.3348	P-GPS	526.9	160.6	27.9	12.5	2,413.00	735.5	42.86026	-79.3437	13	46	14.534	0.054	3.602	3.656	3.64	3.636	-10.9	6.1	0.3	-21.5	14.9	158.9	1159	1684	1024	1024	1024
5191	722.6	12m 2.6s	42.86161	-79.3348	P-GPS	526.9	160.6	27.9	12.5	2,414.30	735.9	42.86026	-79.3437	13	46	14.534	0.054	3.602	3.656	3.64	3.636	-10.9	6.2	0.3	-21.5	14.7	159	1024	1684	1024	1024	1024
5192	722.8	12m 2.8s	42.86159	-79.3348	P-GPS	526.6	160.5	28.4	12.7	2,416.80	736.6	42.86026	-79.3437	13	46	14.534	0.054	3.602	3.656	3.64	3.636	-11	6.2	0.1	-21.7	13.8	159	1024	1684	1024	1024	1024
5193	723.1	12m 3.1s	42.86156	-79.3348	P-GPS	526.6	160.5	28.4	12.7	2,420.60	737.8	42.86026	-79.3437	13	45	14.374	0.06	3.558	3.618	3.599	3.599	-11	6.2	0.2	-22.5	13.9	158.8	1024	1684	1024	934	1024

zeekman Posted at 2017-4-8 19:05
Yes there was a warning pop up saying that video downlink has been lost and do I want to RTH. I said yes and the rest is a gone drone. I had no control of the AC after that.

It appears that the wind had control of your aircraft.  Wind forecasts in general are for surface winds.  But to a pilot, the winds aloft are what is important.  And the winds aloft speed and direction vary from altitude to altitude.  A general aviation pilot will check the winds aloft during his weather briefing to see what altitude, among other things,  would be best for him to fly to achieve the best performance of his aircraft.  We drone pilots can do the same thing.  If you want to know the winds aloft speed and direction at what ever altitude you want to fly, try this method.  Launch the drone and go up to the maximum altitude you expect to reach.  Then turn off the GPS feature. If there is any wind at all, the drone will instantly start to fly away. Watch the readout on your display.  Particularly the Horizontal speed.   The drone will think it is hovering in still air, which it is in regards to the air directly around it.  But the whole volume of air is moving downwind and taking the drone with it.  The readout on your display is ground speed, not airspeed.  See which way the drone is moving, and take note of the direction it is moving in.  That will tell you what the winds are like up there where the drone is, but not down below where you are.  And remember, weather forecasts to the general public are for surface winds, not winds aloft.

One other thing.  The RTH feature does not take into consideration wind speeds.  Never fly to your maximum published range downwind.

"One other thing.  The RTH feature does not take into consideration wind speeds.  Never fly to your maximum published range downwind."

Yup I always look for an alternative emergency landing spot along my flight path but that's not possible over water.

Labroides Posted at 2017-4-8 15:44
Losing a Phantom is an educational opportunity and if you gain an understanding of what happened and why it was lost, the lesson can be a good one.

First, I'll answer your later questions about the R/C signal:

You are confusing the OP with this sentence:  Someone's given you confusing incorrect information.
Your P3-4K only uses one frequency - 5.8GHz.

He's going to think his FPV/telemetry is 5.8 gHz.  

Just to correct a few here .... Forecast winds are NOT for ground level ... they actually are for a height above ground ... usually 10m above Sea Level except where topography prevents.
http://www.bom.gov.au/marine/about/about-forecast-wind.shtml

But it is correct that wind you feel at ground level is usually different to what is higher up.
Second do not confuse cloud and frontal movement with wind speed / direction ... they are separate. You can actually have wind moving opposite to the apparent cloud movement as cloud and fronts are weather 'systems' and wind is resulting from those systems.

Just remarking ... and yes OP made fundamental error it appears ...

Nigel

solentlife Posted at 2017-4-9 05:13
Just to correct a few here .... Forecast winds are NOT for ground level ... they actually are for a height above ground ... usually 10m above Sea Level except where topography prevents.
http://www.bom.gov.au/marine/about/about-forecast-wind.shtml

Yes, you are technically correct. But 10 meters is only 32 feet.  I was speaking from a licensed pilot's point of view.  Thanks for the clarification.

Hi "djordan2"

Not trying to be rude ... but often I see this comment ... as a 'pilot' ....

I grew up under the 'wing' of my Father - Chief of Flight Operations Inspectorate Civil Aviation Authority and DTI UK. Directly reporting to Director of CAA and Minister himself.

Oversaw the set-up and operational guidelines for Concorde, flew the first British trans Polar flight (I have his grid navigation computers he used for it still) ... he navigated one of the B17's from USA via Canada etc. to UK for Steve McQueens movie "The Warlover" and then I went on it as a very young child before he flew it back ... (the book of the flight of 3 B17's is more fiction that fact !)

The B17 ... refueling on-route ... apologise for distorted picture -its a frame out of the 8mm cine film he made of the trip..



Here he is navigating it ..



And just to round this off ... my Mother as a WAAF Flight Sergeant in charge of R&I for Lancasters in WW2 ...



and her 'crew' wishing her all the best ...



Not trying to belittle or offend ... but I grew up with aircraft ... probably reason why I chose ships as a career !!

Nigel

Not trying to be rude ... but often I see this comment ... as a 'pilot' ....

Don't quite see the point you're trying to make here................. he is a pilot and what's wrong with him saying so!!?          I really don't see any relevance to what your father supposedly did in his life to this discussion or, not trying to be rude,  is it just another excuse for you to drop names/places etc to try and impress people?  

Nigel,
"Not trying to be rude ... but often I see this comment ... as a 'pilot' ...."
Not sure why you would think you were being rude.  That is a fascinating story.  My father was also Army Air Corps during World War II in China.  He is gone now, but I have written a book about his war time aviation adventures.  I started flying lessons myself  at the age of 15 in 1960.  Yes...I'm an old dude!  I do believe airplane pilots look at drone flying from a different perspective.  For example, me personally, I don't like to fly over  water.   To see some of these drone videos where they are flying far out to sea just makes me nervous.   And again, just my opinion here, I think a pilot has a unique  understanding of what winds aloft have on an aircraft in flight, be it an airplane or a drone.  GPS makes the Phantoms so stable.  But turn it off in a wind, and you've got you hands full unless you have practiced flying manually.  I relate it to landing a small airplane in a strong cross wind.  You really have to be on your toes and work it to be safe.  Both takes practice.

Labroides Posted at 2017-4-7 15:34
Quoting the recorded hourly average wind speed at some location who knows how far away from where you were flying doesn't tell us what winds your Phantom was dealing with.
Winds can vary considerably dues to distance away, local topography, altitude and gusts.
We have your word that the wind was light - (down on the ground where you launched).

Really well written post, this explains the wind issue well.

perryb Posted at 2017-4-7 20:19
Sometimes this board is all about attack and not help .We all screw up and I do not know if he did but he lost 2 drones .That is not good for anyone .I have posted looking for advice and been attacked .I had to defend myself and still people would not believe what I was posting .We are flying quirky machines and new technology. We need to be more constructive and help not deflate .Some of you have way too much time on your hands and visit all the DJI boards offering direction on drones you have not flown .Just my input . I am sorry he lost 2 drones it would make me very upset . I have never flown a 3 so can not help him .

Determining the truth is not attacking, it's the most vital part of helping people.

Yesterday I lost my P3S to...
LOG:
http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/BFM088UM7QGQ7XFDSN34/

Yaw error?  I've never seen that before.  Could your compass have failed?  

I am not sure what has happened but it appears that when that Yaw Error first appeared it did a RTH and was right above you. Why did you not land it then?

Mark The Droner, Cabansail - He was coming home (RTH). And then (I think) the compass failed. My attempts to drop it down to the surface, I did not get any results. The camera did not respond to the ascent. Dron just walked away from me. Transfer of video ended ~ 2,970.7ft
He did not come home. I did not find in all points. I went 8km in his search ...
He was right over me when he stopped obeying me.

I noticed that after the new firmware, it started to lose the connection with the remote control within 50 meters ...

Pindoc Posted at 2017-4-11 13:30
Yesterday I lost my P3S to...
LOG:
http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/BFM088UM7QGQ7XFDSN34/

I have seen this  yaw error and it costed me $300.
It is faulty compass. I have my crass on video and it's like the drone don't know if it
going front or back left or right.

G_Sig Posted at 2017-4-11 17:04
I have seen this  yaw error and it costed me $300.
It is faulty compass. I have my crass on video and it's like the drone don't know if it
going front or back left or right.

And me too ...

Oficial reaply:
Feel sorry to hear the fly-away news.
Have you checked the Fly record in the DJI Go APP, you can search the drone according to that.
From the fly controller SN, it is found that the Drone SN is: *** and it was activated on 2016-01-04. Now the drone have beyond warranty. According to the policy, that data analysis service will not be provided after warranty expiration: http://www.dji.com/service/policy.

But we can still provide tech support, if you have any question during or after flying, you can describe the problems, I will do my best to answer the question.

Now advise to search the drone according to last GPS coordinates in the Fly record interface. Hope that you can find the drone.