After 20+ hours of flying and on my 177th flight I had my inspire drop from 400 feet narrowly missing a subject I was filming. There was no warning, it just dropped. I posted footage of the crash on a previous post and many readers speculated that I'd had a motor failure. When I called DJI USA to get an update on my crashed inspire I was informed that it wasn't covered by warranty because I had turned on the motors in mid-flight. The phone person was apologetic and recognized it doesn't make sense but said but if I read the entire manual I would discover there are two ways to kill the motors while it's flying. Sure enough on page 52 where the manual explains how to do turn the motors off when you land, there is a * that explains "Do not perform a CSC when aircraft is in midair, otherwise the motors will be stopped." Why, why, why would there be a way to kill the motors using the primary flight controls. I was aware that when you landed you can kill the motors but I never realized that it would do this at any height. I'm sure there are reason in an emergency why you would need to kill the motors mid-flight but should that not be a special button that you could never accidentally depress. I am still waiting for my inspire to be repaired but as I think about flying again soon I'm becoming a little paranoid that I'll make the same mistake again. God forbid I have my right control in a "southeast" position and I accidentally have the left control go into a "southwest" position while I'm bringing it down. Does anyone else think this motor kill switch on primary controls is dangerous?
I Killed my Inspire Motors at 400 Feet.
- Thread starter James Waugh
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That's why I send these out for free:
CSC Safety - Phantom Help
CSC Safety - Phantom Help
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It's been discussed here multiple times with equally multiple views on the subject and one in the last week or so. Do a search and by all means contribute to the debate. Don't be surprised if this post gets locked by the mods though.
Can you confirm that you performed the CSC while in-flight? That is -- did you pull the left stick back and to the right and the right stick back and to the left?
Brian
Brian
I think DJI should make is so you can't kill motors if your landing gear is not lowered...
That would be a good preventative measure so 100% chance it will never happen.
Brian
I bought one of these and installed it. With the motors running (no props) on the ground I did the CSC maneuver and the motors shut down. I guess when I moved the left stick down and in is what shut the motors off. I then lifted the inspire off the ground and did a CSC and the motors still shut down. When the aircraft is actually flying will it know not to shut down with just the left stick is pulled in and down?
If your altitude is variable, the motors will not shut down with the throttle stick alone.
First thing to ascertain is .. did you initiate CSC in flight?
Replay the flight log in the app and it will show joystick input so you will know if you did (or not).
Second thing: CSC isn't something you ever do accidentally in flight unless you fly like a crazy chimp.
Just think what your Inspire would be doing with the sticks in those positions but not quite at the extremes.
Third thing, for anyone wanting to say how stupid the CSC emergency stop is.
Just search for CSC and see what has already been said a thousand times.
Note that it's almost always by inexperienced new owners and that those with experience have a different perspective
There are three separate threads about exactly this. Here is one of the longest ones.
Stopping motors in the air | DJI Inspire Forum
I hate to be that guy but there is no real reason to use those full inputs. It would put the inspire in a very fast, non concentric, downward spiral. There are examples of this saving quite a few people. A year or two ago I saw an article about an S1000 that had some esc issues and took off in on direction towards a crowd (they were filming a very large public event). The operator killed the motors before the trajectory would have put it in among the people. He put it in the water instead. Everyone, including the pilot, was happy about the way it turned out.
Stopping motors in the air | DJI Inspire Forum
I hate to be that guy but there is no real reason to use those full inputs. It would put the inspire in a very fast, non concentric, downward spiral. There are examples of this saving quite a few people. A year or two ago I saw an article about an S1000 that had some esc issues and took off in on direction towards a crowd (they were filming a very large public event). The operator killed the motors before the trajectory would have put it in among the people. He put it in the water instead. Everyone, including the pilot, was happy about the way it turned out.
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Plus, realistically, if you have to ditch in flight, you want to do it fast. And you already have your hands on the sticks when your bird is in the air, so the CSC gesture we have right now is probably far better than trying to hunt for an emergency shutdown somewhere else on the remote.
Assuming what you've been told by DJI is in fact what had actually occurred, in that a CSC had been performed while in flight, and according to your statement, you would have been commanding the model to turn or (yaw) to the left or right using the left stick, depending upon which way the model was flying, while at the same time with the right stick commanding a bank or roll action to the left or right, again depending on the position of the model, this to perform a routine CSC with the control sticks. In either case I thought this flight pattern a bit unusual in the scheme of things, particularly with most of the standard flight maneuvers usually performed, thus creating an unusual or uncommon positioning of the flight controls sticks and ultimate CSC action. However, according to the manual, there are other various positons the control sticks may be in to accomplish a CSC as well, and not necessarily one of the better features offered on the model, but does accomplish bringing an abrupt ending of flight in an emergency situation. ( see Pg. 51 of the manual)
Personally, I haven't read this sort of incident occurring with any regularity amongst pilots, but I suspect it can and has happened to some in the past. Perhaps a further review of your flight pattern & such may shed some additional light on this crash. I'm sorry to hear you were a victim of such an incident, and wish you all the best sorting it out.
Personally, I haven't read this sort of incident occurring with any regularity amongst pilots, but I suspect it can and has happened to some in the past. Perhaps a further review of your flight pattern & such may shed some additional light on this crash. I'm sorry to hear you were a victim of such an incident, and wish you all the best sorting it out.
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DJI clearly stated that CSC in the mid air is #1 mistake made by pilots. Period. Said that, sooner than later they'll come up with some smart solution for this problem. On the other hand, this is by all means the best way to perform quick emergency kill. Finally, chances to execute accidental CSC during fly increases dramatically if you're piloting in style "Look Ma what I can do!". Sarcasm aside, flying machines are more prone to accidents caused by piloting errors than by malfunctioning. This is risky business, my friend, no matter how sorry I am for your loss.
Unfortunately DJI put it at the top of their list - but it's not because it's the most common crash.
Their list was in no particular order and accidental CSC is very rare.
And it's not a problem so no solution is needed.
This has been discussed ad nauseum here and on Phantompilots.com.
Search for CSC to read what has been said over and over again.
The fact that this has been discussed ad nauseum here and elsewhere and that this has happened to actual members tells me this rare event is not a non-issue.
As I said before the idea of having the primary flight controls perform this trick is an accident waiting to happen and happen it does!
And again, as I said before, a dedicated kill button would do the job just about as quickly and not risk inadvertent CSC. Even more importantly from a safety standpoint, if it is necessary to kill the motors in flight in an emergency it would be useful to have the muscle memory of performing the kill action but doing that in the air for practice could get pretty expensive. Far better to use the dedicated kill button to power the motors off every time you land so you develop the muscle memory to do so and do so instinctively.
Brian
As I said before the idea of having the primary flight controls perform this trick is an accident waiting to happen and happen it does!
And again, as I said before, a dedicated kill button would do the job just about as quickly and not risk inadvertent CSC. Even more importantly from a safety standpoint, if it is necessary to kill the motors in flight in an emergency it would be useful to have the muscle memory of performing the kill action but doing that in the air for practice could get pretty expensive. Far better to use the dedicated kill button to power the motors off every time you land so you develop the muscle memory to do so and do so instinctively.
Brian
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Accidental CSC command in mid-air is on the top of DJI's list of Top 10 Common Pilot Errors, dear Metaphor. Beginner pilots, they say in addition. Personally I've no issue with CSC and also see no reason for any improvements.
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Can we please now kill this thread?
This is yet another CSC should/shouldn't be there argument. It serves no purpose whatsoever other than to bloat out the forum. As Mazz mentioned there are thread after thread discussing this. It is a situation that new or bad pilots cause, it is NOT a fault or shortcoming of the platform. It also happens to people who do not read the manual - no sympathy there.
I have been flying multirotors for years, probably longer than the majority on this forum and have NEVER performed a CSC in the Air - I am aware it is there.
As the OP mentioned after going back and reading the manual
he spotted the warning about performing CSC midflight. This could have been easily prevented by familiarisation with the aircraft and controls. Certainly after 100+ flights a user should be fully cognisant of all the aircraft's controls and handling characteristics.
This has been discussed within DJI.
This has been there since the introduction of flight controllers.
IT IS NOT BEING TAKEN AWAY!!
Can everyone please get their heads round this - its here to stay.
Nothing to see here guys..... Move along please.
This is yet another CSC should/shouldn't be there argument. It serves no purpose whatsoever other than to bloat out the forum. As Mazz mentioned there are thread after thread discussing this. It is a situation that new or bad pilots cause, it is NOT a fault or shortcoming of the platform. It also happens to people who do not read the manual - no sympathy there.
I have been flying multirotors for years, probably longer than the majority on this forum and have NEVER performed a CSC in the Air - I am aware it is there.
As the OP mentioned after going back and reading the manual
he spotted the warning about performing CSC midflight. This could have been easily prevented by familiarisation with the aircraft and controls. Certainly after 100+ flights a user should be fully cognisant of all the aircraft's controls and handling characteristics.This has been discussed within DJI.
This has been there since the introduction of flight controllers.
IT IS NOT BEING TAKEN AWAY!!
Can everyone please get their heads round this - its here to stay.
Nothing to see here guys..... Move along please.
Yes .. I know it is .. and I know how rare it is ... and I've seen a DJI explain that their top 10 list is not in any order of priority.
Accidental CSC in flight is not the most common cause of crashes - not by a very very long way.
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Let's see how long it takes before the next noob post his CSC frustration without reading tfM or searching this and other forums.
A week at most.
A week at most.
