She almost flew into my house, with no stick input!

sirebral · Feb 24, 2015

I've had the Inspire for about a week now and have flown her for about 3 hours total. Yesterday and today I've had some strange behavior, culminating in a near miss of my house today, she made it out OK due to some extreme throttle and manuevering, yet VERY close call.

Basically here's what I'm seeing. When she takes off in GPS hold mode (manual or auto) she roams around in a somewhat square pattern without any stick input. I'd say about a 1-2 sq. meter of roaming. Previously this behavior has settled down after a few minutes of being in the air, then she's rock solid, yet this time my bird decided (without input) to drift very quickly towards my house, which is about 20 meteres from where I took off. She was only at about 1-2 meters of elevation and was going really fast. I pulled up hard, narrowly missing my house and clipping some tree branches. I was able to regain control at this point, yet I'm not confident that I can fly again until I know what happened here.

Note, I calibrated the IMU and compass before this flight and didn't show any compass errors (although I did have my first reported compass error yesterday).

I've seen other reports of similar behavior on takeoff, where the bird roams around for a few minutes before it holds rock steady. Is this a known issue that will be fixed with firmware, or do I have a hardware issue? I can swap her out if need be, yet I'd rather not if this is something that can be fixed with firmware/would be present on a replacement as well.

Appreciate any input, I'll be calling DJI tomorrow to discuss, yet I'm not super confident that will do much good.

Heart is finally slowing down... phew.

laselvasurf · Feb 24, 2015

Was there any wind when you were flying? It sounds like the known bug of losing GPS lock due to compass problems... Anyone flying an Inspire should know how to handle it in ATTI mode as well as GPS mode. I'd recommend flying in ATTI a bit and getting comfortable with the craft in that mode as it could default to that at any time, even after they fix the bug.

sirebral · Feb 24, 2015

There was no indication of a compass error on this particular flight and almost no wind at the time. I've flown RC for several years and smaller quads for the past year or so, this is the first time I've had the luxury of a GPS assist, I have plenty of practice flying full manual with lots of drift and know how to compensate for it.

The drifting behavior has been present since my first flight, annoying, yet bearable. This was beyond what I had experienced in the past, almost like someone was slamming on the sticks. My only saving grace was the ability to get some altitude quickly enough to avoid total disaster. Hoping a new firmware release comes out in the next week or so that will address this issue or I'll be sending her back in fear of the day when my reflexes aren't quick enough to fight a similar malfunction.

Abe · Feb 25, 2015

I've had this happen numerous times..laselvasurf is correct -- it's important to be prepared for sudden changes in behavior as it does switch to ATTI mode often, especially after first taking off. The key is to expect it and remain calm. The Inspire will respond quickly and correctly to your input, but I think a lot of people have been so surprised by the sudden switch to ATTI after takeoff that they sometimes react poorly and make the situation worse.

turbodronepilot · Feb 25, 2015

sirebral said:
I've had the Inspire for about a week now and have flown her for about 3 hours total. Yesterday and today I've had some strange behavior, culminating in a near miss of my house today, she made it out OK due to some extreme throttle and manuevering, yet VERY close call.

Basically here's what I'm seeing. When she takes off in GPS hold mode (manual or auto) she roams around in a somewhat square pattern without any stick input. I'd say about a 1-2 sq. meter of roaming. Previously this behavior has settled down after a few minutes of being in the air, then she's rock solid, yet this time my bird decided (without input) to drift very quickly towards my house, which is about 20 meteres from where I took off. She was only at about 1-2 meters of elevation and was going really fast. I pulled up hard, narrowly missing my house and clipping some tree branches. I was able to regain control at this point, yet I'm not confident that I can fly again until I know what happened here.

Note, I calibrated the IMU and compass before this flight and didn't show any compass errors (although I did have my first reported compass error yesterday).

I've seen other reports of similar behavior on takeoff, where the bird roams around for a few minutes before it holds rock steady. Is this a known issue that will be fixed with firmware, or do I have a hardware issue? I can swap her out if need be, yet I'd rather not if this is something that can be fixed with firmware/would be present on a replacement as well.

Appreciate any input, I'll be calling DJI tomorrow to discuss, yet I'm not super confident that will do much good.

Heart is finally slowing down... phew.

Make sure you have a tracker and use a screen recoding device. .I use Mobizen it works great. .
I heard of others having this problem and they are anticipating a new firmware update to correct this issue. .

sirebral · Feb 25, 2015

turbodronepilot said:
Make sure you have a tracker and use a screen recoding device. .I use Mobizen it works great. .
I heard of others having this problem and they are anticipating a new firmware update to correct this issue. .

Thanks for the screen recording idea, I'm not currently using one, yet it would be handy if I do end up having to coordinate evidence of a flight.

sirebral · Feb 25, 2015

Abe said:
I've had this happen numerous times..laselvasurf is correct -- it's important to be prepared for sudden changes in behavior as it does switch to ATTI mode often, especially after first taking off. The key is to expect it and remain calm. The Inspire will respond quickly and correctly to your input, but I think a lot of people have been so surprised by the sudden switch to ATTI after takeoff that they sometimes react poorly and make the situation worse.

When I had my "Compass Error" yesterday it was recorded in the logs. Does the automatic switching to ATTI mode also record an error? Perhaps this is what happened, yet no log entry today. At this point I'm going to restrict my flying to much more open areas until I'm more confident in the behavior of this machine.

Question for Phantom owners, is this drifting after takeoff something you experience regularly? I'm wondering if I should expect this to be fixed, or is this just the nature of the GPS hold on DJI products...? Again, this is my first bird with GPS, so I'm not sure if I'm expecting too much. I'm also confused as to why it says it has full GPS yet wanders like it's still acquiring a position after takeoff... and why does this problem seem to resolve itself after a bit of time in the air? (usually)?

turbodronepilot · Feb 25, 2015

sirebral said:
Thanks for the screen recording idea, I'm not currently using one, yet it would be handy if I do end up having to coordinate evidence of a flight.

It takes two seconds to install it and Im pretty sure you'll love it..
another thing I would suggest is to make sure you're doing your compass dance correctly. .
there's plenty of videos on you tube ..on the kitchen table with simon newton is a good source of information.
.I have a feeling you might not be getting a good compass calibration. .it must be smoth .. take your gun and keys out of your pocket and avoid metal structures or reinforced concrete. .
turbo. .

Abe · Feb 25, 2015

sirebral said:
When I had my "Compass Error" yesterday it was recorded in the logs. Does the automatic switching to ATTI mode also record an error? Perhaps this is what happened, yet no log entry today. At this point I'm going to restrict my flying to much more open areas until I'm more confident in the behavior of this machine.

Question for Phantom owners, is this drifting after takeoff something you experience regularly? I'm wondering if I should expect this to be fixed, or is this just the nature of the GPS hold on DJI products...? Again, this is my first bird with GPS, so I'm not sure if I'm expecting too much. I'm also confused as to why it says it has full GPS yet wanders like it's still acquiring a position after takeoff... and why does this problem seem to resolve itself after a bit of time in the air? (usually)?

I don't experience this issue with my Phantom 2V+. It's why I believe it can/will be dealt with in a new firmware release. On the new version of the Phantom they even made improvements to the compass, which came out prior to the Inspire. So DJI has solid experience with making it work. I'm hopeful it is resolvable.

InspiredOne · Feb 25, 2015

Abe said:
I've had this happen numerous times..laselvasurf is correct -- it's important to be prepared for sudden changes in behavior as it does switch to ATTI mode often, especially after first taking off. The key is to expect it and remain calm. The Inspire will respond quickly and correctly to your input, but I think a lot of people have been so surprised by the sudden switch to ATTI after takeoff that they sometimes react poorly and make the situation worse.

What would cause this behavior, Abe? I've not had this happen... yet.

Abe · Feb 25, 2015

The general consensus on its cause is a loss of GPS lock, which puts the Inspire in ATTI mode. When in ATTI mode the aircraft can drift, and in windy or gusty conditions can appear to have a mind of its own and seemingly accellerate unexpectedly. It generally regains GPS lock after a few seconds, during which time your adrenaline had reached maximum flow and your piloting skills have been fully tested

InspiredOne · Feb 25, 2015

Now that you mention it, I had something like this happen to me a couple of weeks ago. It was under a canopy of trees, lifted off, hovering for a second and it suddenly flew backwards. Came within a gnat's whisker of hitting an awning on a building (I was there at their invitation). Pushed the stick forward and diverted a disaster.

Scared the water outta me! Talk about adrenaline rush!!!

Now I'm always expecting the worse.

Figbar · Feb 26, 2015

Does anyone know if the number of satellites will return on the APP? With the phantom, we were told not to fly unless we had 6 or 7 indicated? Could this be helpful in assuming we have GPS lock?

The Editor · Feb 26, 2015

Figbar said:
Does anyone know if the number of satellites will return on the APP? With the phantom, we were told not to fly unless we had 6 or 7 indicated? Could this be helpful in assuming we have GPS lock?

I do not know if this 'magic number' will be much use to people since the Inspire uses both Navstar AND Glonass so a simple 'number' would be meaningless to the end user. You could have an indicated 7 sats but 4 Glonass and 3 Navstar !

sirebral · Feb 26, 2015

Abe said:
I don't experience this issue with my Phantom 2V+. It's why I believe it can/will be dealt with in a new firmware release. On the new version of the Phantom they even made improvements to the compass, which came out prior to the Inspire. So DJI has solid experience with making it work. I'm hopeful it is resolvable.

Hopeful as well, otherwise I'm grounded.

sirebral · Feb 26, 2015

Called DJI, absolutely no assistance, yet they did say they service them in the States, which is good news if it's true as, I was under the impression that everything went back to China. I opted to wait until the next firmware release before I have them check it out.

I went to a big field and flew a bit today, definitely not flying the same it did the first few days I had it. For example, I took it out in a straight line in GPS hold mode, then according to the GPS readout I brought it back on the same line that I took it out. It came back, yet it flew like it was in IOC, totally facing sideways as it flew back. Also had the gimbal twitch that everyone mentions when they discuss the current round of issues. I'm travelling for the next few weeks, hoping that when I get back home that the major bugs are worked out.

Also noticed today that I have some pretty serious vibrations going on all of the sudden, perhaps something has come loose...? Oh well, worst case my retailer has promised me an exchange or refund if it's not working by the end of March, so at least for now I'm reassured that I haven't lost my investment.

John Williams · Feb 28, 2015

sirebral said:
I've had the Inspire for about a week now and have flown her for about 3 hours total. Yesterday and today I've had some strange behavior, culminating in a near miss of my house today, she made it out OK due to some extreme throttle and manuevering, yet VERY close call.

Basically here's what I'm seeing. When she takes off in GPS hold mode (manual or auto) she roams around in a somewhat square pattern without any stick input. I'd say about a 1-2 sq. meter of roaming. Previously this behavior has settled down after a few minutes of being in the air, then she's rock solid, yet this time my bird decided (without input) to drift very quickly towards my house, which is about 20 meteres from where I took off. She was only at about 1-2 meters of elevation and was going really fast. I pulled up hard, narrowly missing my house and clipping some tree branches. I was able to regain control at this point, yet I'm not confident that I can fly again until I know what happened here.

Note, I calibrated the IMU and compass before this flight and didn't show any compass errors (although I did have my first reported compass error yesterday).

I've seen other reports of similar behavior on takeoff, where the bird roams around for a few minutes before it holds rock steady. Is this a known issue that will be fixed with firmware, or do I have a hardware issue? I can swap her out if need be, yet I'd rather not if this is something that can be fixed with firmware/would be present on a replacement as well.

Appreciate any input, I'll be calling DJI tomorrow to discuss, yet I'm not super confident that will do much good.

Heart is finally slowing down... phew.

Ive had an inspire for 3 weeks the first 2 weeks were amazing but last week I had 2 flights that frightened the life out of me!
I did a manual take of raised the legs all was fine I climbed to 5 m then suddenly she was off I managed to up stick to avoid a tree and bring it back a bit but stick inputs made little difference it then shot off to my left my only option was to bring it down. I damaged 2 props and made it muddy.
The second one was strange it flew well across a large open common I left it hovering with no issue I was taking a few shots when suddenly it pitched hard right and flew away at speed again I had to bring it down this time into a bush by the time a got to her the motors were smoking badly.
Its now been sent back to Dji Germany and I've been promised a new one fingers crossed the next won't have the same issue.

I do the same thing each time I Fly take the phone out of my pocket calibrate there compass and wait to get the safe to fly notification.

InspiredOne · Feb 28, 2015

I learned yesterday that not all satellites are in the same place in the sky throughout the day every day. So some days/times may have more/less than others, depending on their orbit and our (the earth's) rotation.

sirebral · Feb 28, 2015

InspiredOne said:
I learned yesterday that not all satellites are in the same place in the sky throughout the day every day. So some days/times may have more/less than others, depending on their orbit and our (the earth's) rotation.

This is true, it'd be really nice to have # of satellites acquired displayed in the app!