DJI M200 Series Grounded

slim.slamma · Oct 30, 2018

Police drones grounded over power bug

Heads up

Alancctv · Nov 1, 2018

They have a new ruling now, which also affects the Inspire 2.....they are saying its the batteries at fault, so if you fly the m200 series or Inspire 2 your more or less grounded
Heres the new link from the CAA

https://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/33/SafetyNotice2018009.pdf

J.T. · Nov 1, 2018

Alancctv said:
They have a new ruling now, which also affects the Inspire 2.....they are saying its the batteries at fault, so if you fly the m200 series or Inspire 2 your more or less grounded
Heres the new link from the CAA

https://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/33/SafetyNotice2018009.pdf

Shoot, just got the email from the CAA. Anyone know if this will be a firmware fix or our battery hardware at fault?

Flightline911 · Nov 1, 2018

This thread is a false statement. DJI has NOT grounded the M200 or the Inspire 2. DJI has specifically stated that pilots should do their due dillgence in pre-flight and monitor the batteries during flight. And that a firmware update for the batteries is forthcoming.

DJI Advises Customers To Fly With Caution When Using TB50 And TB55 Batteries In Drones

The Editor · Nov 1, 2018

Correct. This is a classic case of over reaction and people not reading the bulletins/advisory notice.

Nothing has been grounded officially.
The UK CAA has issued an advisory notice cautioning people of an issue with some batteries. There is no mandatory grounding or otherwise.
It states that due diligence should be used whether to make flight(s) or not.
It also temporarily removes any OSC permissions over and above standard stand off distances.

Some police departments have self elected to ground their aircraft until the issue is sorted but this is their decision and doesn't come from any regulative body.

Interestingly (for me), DJI are advising not to fly by percentage but by voltage and to monitor cell voltage during flight - something I have advocated and tried to hammer home to people for a number of years!

samtheparrot · Nov 1, 2018

I do like how DJI states operators should: “ Delay non-essential missions” That pretty much sums it up without using the term “grounding”.. How does one define “essential” essential to what?

slim.slamma · Nov 1, 2018

My bad for spreading negative news guys

Deep down I knew this had to be pilot error

The Editor · Nov 1, 2018

slim.slamma said:
My bad for spreading negative news guys

Deep down I knew this had to be pilot error

It's not pilot error buddy.
There is a firmware problem with TB50's causing sudden drop/shut down in certain circumstances.

CAA has simply advised caution and rescinded any permissions for overhead flight or closer than 50m at present pending resolution of the issue. (Which will be quick).

slim.slamma · Nov 1, 2018

The Editor said:
It's not pilot error buddy.
There is a firmware problem with TB50's causing sudden drop/shut down in certain circumstances.

Excuses shouldn’t be tolerated Under the circumstances Sir

I guarantee this accident would’ve never happen if you were the PIC and you ain’t perfect.

Prior preparation prevents piss poor performance
Therefore it’s pilot error

The packs were probably sitting in a storage room for days

dougcjohn · Nov 3, 2018

The Editor said:
Correct. This is a classic case of over reaction and people not reading the bulletins/advisory notice.

Nothing has been grounded officially.
The UK CAA has issued an advisory notice cautioning people of an issue with some batteries. There is no mandatory grounding or otherwise.
It states that due diligence should be used whether to make flight(s) or not.
It also temporarily removes any OSC permissions over and above standard stand off distances.

Some police departments have self elected to ground their aircraft until the issue is sorted but this is their decision and doesn't come from any regulative body.

Interestingly (for me), DJI are advising not to fly by percentage but by voltage and to monitor cell voltage during flight - something I have advocated and tried to hammer home to people for a number of years!

The updated 31 October notice has increased the limitations and the advisement to limit flights, Sec 2.1 adds to previous advisement or limitations. Small Unmanned Aircraft DJI Battery TB50 and TB55 In-Flight Power Failures - sUAS News - The Business of Drones. If a damage incident was to occur with this notice issued, it'd be a legal beating for the sUAV company.

slim.slamma · Nov 3, 2018

Heads up

DJI packs are Smart but they ain’t idiot proof

Store packs @50% and fully charge shortly before flight. Charging packs the lazy way like days In advance could become problematic. False percentage readings.

slim.slamma · Nov 3, 2018

Dji dual battery systemsss is just that at best

Extended flight time yes, redundancy No.
They missed the point

I got more faith in the Forums i1 Batt Mod
Dji added a pack instead of a spare 3v cell for emergencies

dougcjohn · Nov 3, 2018

slim.slamma said:
Dji dual battery systemsss is just that at best

Extended flight time yes, redundancy No.
They missed the point

I got more faith in the Forums i1 Batt Mod
Dji added a pack instead of a spare 3v cell for emergencies

Appears there's FW to work out... or restore back to an original design operation. True, can't take off with 1, but in flight it was configured system could loose a battery.. 1 on I2 & M210 and I believe 2 on M600Pro.

The forums I1 bat mod(s) are an interesting pair of projects that under certain conditions have benefit, but not sure that's an ideal config for various aerodynamics and weight on payload. The I1 voltage all feeds to one terminal, the I2 & M210 feeds to 2 terminals & circuits designed for two... and hopeful with FW corrections will function correct... again.

I personally find it interesting that this issue has drawn this level of attention based a very limited incident ratio "compared" to the I2 motor adhesive, motor turning or falling off causing multiple recorded incidents. That barely hit the chatter meters and it was enough to stimulate 3rd party to develope various braces... and to my knowledge hasn't been addressed/corrected. The level of incident higher, the ability to identify, and the span of time for 3rd party development. Still no issue of notice.