Hey guys, so I recieved my Inspire 1 a few days back. I had about 1 hour of flight time with it before this happened: One morning I wanted to fly it. I calibrated the compass (not over concrete as the manual stated) checked all the senors (IMU) and gernaly made sure everything was operating as it should, firmware was up to date; as I do in all my pre-flight checks. Here is what happened: I took off (I was hooked up to GPS) and at about 8 feet off the ground the Inspire starts going backward...I start getting nervous and try to descend the Inspire before it hits a tree...but it starts backing up even faster!!! I calibrated the controls properly and I even looked back at the flight log which shows that I tried to descend and not move backwards...AND it was NOT A WINDY DAY! So the Inspire 1 hit the tree and fell...DAMAGE REPORT: The Gimbal and camera are smashed. One propeller broke and the landing gear no longer transformed (Looks like it jammed) I hope to GOD this is covered under warranty because I am experienced with flying RC crafts and I know that this is not user error...If this is not covered under warranty how much will this cost me?!?!? I AM FREAKING OUT...I already sent the unit to be inspected...I'm just so nervous

Mountmotor, sorry for your loss.  When you play back the flight log did you notice if it fell out of GPS into ATTI mode?  If you have sent it in, they will be able to read the flight logs and determine exactly what happened.

Tahoe_Ed Posted at 2015-3-5 04:08
Mountmotor, sorry for your loss.  When you play back the flight log did you notice if it fell out of ...

Thank you for the fast reply...It stayed in GPS mode the whole time.

My inspire will start to migrate in a circle slowly at first then gradually larger sometimes right after take off (while the gears raising) it will drop out of GPS safe to fly into Atti.  All pre checks are done but I just control it manually till the GPS locks in. From beginning to end will last 4-8 seconds. With the wind in Atti you may have to correct it aggressively to keep it clear from structures so bee ready and get some experience.

sorry to hear about your crash mountmotor. I hope it is sorted soon. I remember checking a flight log a while ago and I could see stick movement. It may have been on ios but I am now on android. Can anyone tell me if I can see stick movements on android and if so how do I do it?  

Chato1974.gmail Posted at 2015-3-5 06:01
My inspire will start to migrate in a circle slowly at first then gradually larger sometimes right a ...

Thanks for your reply....My Inspire 1 did NOT DROP OUT OF GPS MODE!!! That is what worries me. It did not hover in place when it was in GPS mode. It wen backward instead...

I've never heard of the phenomenon.

Mountmotor, where are you located?  Did you send it to DJI or your dealer?

Tahoe_Ed Posted at 2015-3-5 11:42
Mountmotor, where are you located?  Did you send it to DJI or your dealer?

I am in Los Angeles...I sent it to the DJI Los Angeles Repair facility...I have yet to hear from them.

This exact behavior - with the same near immediate loss of control timing just after takeoff - has happened to me (and a bunch of other people in this forum see thread http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=6570 among others) on 4 of 4 test flights in my first week of ownership.  And yes, I calibrated the IMU, the compass, updated to the latest firmware, had no magnetic interference, etc.   When I slowly replayed each flight in the DJI iOS app, the OSD showed that right before loss of control, the mode dropped from 5 bars P-GPS mode to P-ATTI mode. then switched back again to GPS mode 8 sec later.  A call to DJI support proved fruitless, so I am returning this unit for a new one with B&H because I'm within the 30 day warranty.  You say you didn't drop GPS mode, so your situation may be different, but I would step frame by frame through the recorded flight just to double check...

mountmotor Posted at 2015-3-5 12:22
I am in Los Angeles...I sent it to the DJI Los Angeles Repair facility...I have yet to hear from th ...

What was the ZenDesk number that they gave you?

Tahoe_Ed Posted at 2015-3-5 13:22
What was the ZenDesk number that they gave you?

They gave me an RMA number... Here it is: 030215240103080
Thank you for your help!

mountmotor Posted at 2015-3-5 13:27
They gave me an RMA number... Here it is: 030215240103080
Thank you for your help!

Mine is out for repair as well. Have you gotten yours back yet? Mine was received yesterday.

It's interesting that you stated that when you tried to descend, it went back faster. That exact scenario would happen if you had the remote controller mode set such that it swapped the right and left sticks.  Just a thought. May be worth checking to see how your remote is configured.

I experienced a similar situation involving a loss of signal while flying my inspire. If it's not covered under warranty (no way it couldn't be) then well I'm at a loss for words. My unit has been checked in as well, awaiting the verdict as well. Stay hopeful my friend.

Abe brings up a solid point, check everything including your stick mode. I too get odd behavior from my bird so I devised a set of simple rules for myself.
!. leave no menu unchecked.
2. Always calibrate compass despite now stupid I look.
3. do not do any of this near a fence building or a car.
4. fly only when the wind is manageable in ATTI
5. and this is a big one... give yourself plenty of room... no trees etc.
6. finally, do not fly this aircraft unless you are sure you can fly with NO GPS!
One last thing I left out but should be obvious... at take off it's best to have the aircraft facing nose away from pilot. The reason is that in an emergency the brain responds quicker to normal things, having forward be forward and left be left makes an emergency at take off way easier to handle.

''This exact behavior - with the same near immediate loss of control timing just after takeoff - has happened to me (and a bunch of other people in this forum see thread http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=6570 among others) on 4 of 4 test flights in my first week of ownership.  And yes, I calibrated the IMU, the compass, updated to the latest firmware, had no magnetic interference, etc.   When I slowly replayed each flight in the DJI iOS app, the OSD showed that right before loss of control, the mode dropped from 5 bars P-GPS mode to P-ATTI mode. then switched back again to GPS mode 8 sec later.  A call to DJI support proved fruitless, so I am returning this unit for a new one with B&H because I'm within the 30 day warranty.  You say you didn't drop GPS mode, so your situation may be different, but I would step frame by frame through the recorded flight just to double check...''

I am glad to see that I am not the only one with this issue... for example lets say I am trying to move the bird to the right...well it starts moving to the left them my brain tell me "more right stick" and it moves faster to the left... this issue only last a few seconds.. same thing has happened to me moving forward... I must clarify it only happens from a neutral  hover it seems it reverses the command momentarily.

Gents,

One more CRITICAL item to add to your preflight check list - always, ALWAYS, go to the Map screen and make certain that the Inspire 1 AND the RC are shown on the map as being in the same (correct) coordinates where they are currently physically located.  

"Close" is NOT good enough - zoom in ALL THE WAY in satellite view mode and if the location of the Inspire 1 is off by more than 10 feet, do NOT assume that the satellite map is in error.  This is particularly important if you have traveled far from your last flight location or if you are in an area where the Inspire 1 and/or the RC do not have unobstructed view of the sky and access to 7+ GPS satellites.  If the location of the Inspire on the satellite view is not correct, then you most likely do not have a good GPS lock on your "real position."  If this is the case and you take-off in P-GPS mode, you could have a fly-away situation.  

What I believe happens is this: the Inspire has an incorrect GPS position (it may only be off by, say, 15 feet; you take-off and rise up to hover 4-10 feet above ground; the Inspire GPS now gets a new (correct) GPS satellite fix; even though the Inspire has not physically moved, the flight control software thinks that the Inspire has suddenly moved from it's initial (incorrect) GPS location to it's real current (accurate) GPS position and it WILL IMMEDIATELY TRY TO RETURN TO IT'S INITIAL INCORRECT HOME POSITION.  The result can be a sudden move in the direction of the incorrect initial home position resulting in a crash or injury if a person, building or tree happens to be in that direction.  I don't know if this could happen, but if the initial GPS home point location error is huge (say, 1000 or more feet), this would look like a fly-away, when the flight control software is simply trying to return the UAV to it's (incorrect) initial home position.  The same precaution and potential issue can occur with a Phantom 2 Vision+ UAV.  I own both a P2v+ and an Inspire 1 and have experienced this issue (rarely) on both aircraft.

In 25 flights with my Phantom 2 Vision+ V3.0 (latest firmware), I have seen 15-25 feet errors in initial home position twice - both times when trying to launch from my back yard where clear view of the sky is restricted by surrounding homes and my garage.  The first time I dismissed the incorrect position of my craft on the satellite view (Phantom shown 25 feet west of actual position on neighbor's home) as "map error" since I had 7 GPS satellites.  When I tried to takeoff, the Phantom started bouncing sideways on the ground in the direction of the neighbor's house.  I realized what was happening, shut down, moved my Phantom to a different spot in the yard, got an accurate GPS fix (confirmed by the view on the satellite view on Ground Station map) and took off without problem - straight up - 10 minutes later.  The second time this happened, I did not even attempt to take-off.  I just moved the Phantom to another location and waited until I had an accurate home point location shown on the satellite view map.  NOTE: these errors occurred even though I showed 7 GPS satellites.  Personally, I don't like to fly unless I have 10+ GPS satellites, but that is not always possible unless you are in a completely open area.

Based on my experiences with my P2V+, I now carefully check my indicated GPS position in satellite view mode on both my Inspire 1 and my P2V+ BEFORE taking off in either aircraft.  In 15 flights with my Inspire, I have seen a bad GPS home point fix just one time - it was off by ~ 25 feet.  With aircraft and RC turned on, but props not turning, I picked up the Inspire, walked in a 20 foot circle, set it down and now had an accurate GPS fix (i.e., location of Inspire on satellite map view agreed within a few feet of actual position).  

Let me know your thoughts on the above and your personal experiences with inaccurate initial GPS home point fix.

sbrand Posted at 2015-3-5 12:44
This exact behavior - with the same near immediate loss of control timing just after takeoff - has h ...

Same thing happened to me,tried calling DJI Useless,,,,My unit flew itself right into tree branches.Thank god it was only 2m off ground but all was ok except burnt a motor out! Now the Bad part DJI says they won't supplying any motors aftermarket so my dealer Great HObbies here in Canada told me I have to ship it to LA for motor replacement at my cost not happy!!!!!! Only have had it 7 days.So as far as I can tell the only work  you will
be able to do on your Aspire is change blades and batteries the rest has to be done in LA,Wow DJI your shooting yourself in the foot.will keep you updated have another call with dealer today.meantime I will keep flying my Q500 a very impressive unit have had 30+ flights and responds very well.

david.p.mann@ea Posted at 2015-3-18 10:33
Gents,

One more CRITICAL item to add to your preflight check list - always, ALWAYS, go to the Map s ...

I wish I could see the number of received GPS satellites and their signal strength at the DJI-Pilot app but unfortunately it seems that only those reception bars are being displayed.

Abe Posted at 2015-3-18 04:34
It's interesting that you stated that when you tried to descend, it went back faster. That exact sce ...

Great thought, thanks for bringing that to the table.

I had a similar event happen with my Inspire about 30 seconds after take off the bird banked hard right and lost connection at the same time it drifted for 2 seconds before re-establishing connection. I had an observer shout up up up as it was drifting towards the house next door.  I was able to recover control and gain altitude avoiding a crash.  I have lost connection with my bird 3 times where you have no control of the Inspire for the what seems like a long time even though it's over in a matter of seconds. I often wonder what would happen if it does not reconnect to the TX, the bird would be a goner.  Yes, I do all the pre flight check list, calibrations and DJI dancing etc.

I usually get a compass error 1 min into the first flight of the day where she warbles and drifts then kicks back into GPS mode.   

MC

We have been flying all the DJI IMU & copters for years, never experience anything alike before!!!

Was prepare to land the Inspire 1, landing gear lower, hover in less than 1M above the ground, then thought of try out the auto landing feature. Once launch the auto landing feature, the copter rise to about 30M in speed and then cannot gain any control with the remote, when it reach about 30M all 4 motor cuts off by itself and have a FREE FALL straight & hit the ground!!!! Luckily it was a clear compound.

The right carbon, gimbal, 2 propeller and the top all break apart!!!

Same thing happened to me.  Dropped out of GPS and flew backward into a tree.  UPS confirms it has been at DJI-LA for 5 days and nothing yet from them.  Must be quite a few there ahead of me.

I think that DJI needs to address several issues with the software and other warranty problems such as propellers flying off (now corrected with the new retrofit kitt) but it takes to long to get any notice and information about the status of your inspire1 repair. My unit is at DJI now for 5 weeks and still no info about the status of the cost, warranty or return date? I think DJI needs more people in the service department.

sbrand Posted at 2015-3-5 12:44
This exact behavior - with the same near immediate loss of control timing just after takeoff - has h ...

I wish my dealer would have exchanged mine. I knew I should have bought from the states. So much for trying to shop local...

Question: You said as it started drifting back you tried to land it.

I have to assume you also tried to give it some forward pitch to neutralize the movement first, yes?