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Newbies with Phantoms: WTF

Discussion in 'Announcements' started by Steve Maller, May 12, 2013.

  1. Steve Maller

    Steve Maller UAV Grief Counselor

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    This guy takes of within sight of some giant electrical transmission lines, and then proceeds to fly directly over them, and wonders why his toy copter bites the dust. Sigh.

     
  2. Andy Johnson-Laird

    Andy Johnson-Laird Administrator
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    I'm surprised it didn't crash sooner -- it seems like it was a combination of possible RF interference from the lines and increasing distance from the transmitter....

    Andy
     
  3. Kristian C

    Kristian C Member

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    Good thing he wasn't flying over crowded or urban areas.
     
  4. Shaun Stanton

    Shaun Stanton Active Member

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    Yeah, well hopefully he does not think he is qualified to give flight instruction in multi-rotor;);)

    My assessment is that it did not loose link. Instead I think the pilot took it out of GPS ATTI a DJI mode equivalent in MK parlance as easy mode setup 3 "Manual Position Hold". You can toggle off GPS ATTI go into "Manual," which in DJI parlance is having ACRO turned on in Kopter tools mode 1, it lets you pitch or roll 360 degrees.. It ignores the Acc and lets you do aerobatics with it so it wont self level. The loss of orientation procedure for the Phantom is to purposely shut your controller off:eek: Its not supposed to roll or pitch beyond 45 degrees with GPS ATTI selected, so that is where I base my assessment.

    Either way, another example on why this DJI Phantom phenomenon is dangerous. Because people get an unqualified belief that all multis are easy to fly. In some cases so easy one phantom pilot believes is a qualified IP. Instead of sigh, its a facepalm for me:confused:
     
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  5. Zach Beggs

    Zach Beggs Member

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    And he wonders why it crashed o_O haha
     
  6. Shaun Stanton

    Shaun Stanton Active Member

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  7. Zach Beggs

    Zach Beggs Member

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    These phantom pilots are going to get us banned...
     
  8. Andy Johnson-Laird

    Andy Johnson-Laird Administrator
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    I suspect a Phantom pilot can be found flying any copter -- in other words (sadly) it's not the copter that will ultimately matter, just the pilot and their state of mind. We'll all get a bad name because of the actions of a few pilots, regardless of what they're flying.

    Andy.
     
  9. Zach Beggs

    Zach Beggs Member

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    Here's another guy, looks like he didn't know how to fly manually (change in orientation).

     
  10. Steve Maller

    Steve Maller UAV Grief Counselor

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    In my experience, it's true in any field. The only thing you can do is maintain the very highest standards of professionalism with preparation, integrity, and sound business practices. In my life as a photographer, I have had many people cop an attitude about any number of things and try to lump me in with the "Uncle Bobs" of the world (well-meaning but boneheaded amateurs), but my results and my approach are what separate me from them.

    The 'P' in PARCAP (http://parcap.org) is there for a reason.
    [​IMG]
     
  11. Harvey Mann

    Harvey Mann New Member

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  12. Gary Haynes

    Gary Haynes Administrator
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  13. Shaun Stanton

    Shaun Stanton Active Member

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    I guess he did not get "the memo," that he could have shut off his controller and it would have come back to him, since that is the advertised preferred method to bring the copter back. :rolleyes:

    That's impressive, its motors are still running in the water. Assuming 2.4Ghz can go in the water(I know it can't at least very well) and the FC is not destroyed. I wonder if could power up and fly out if he pushed the throttle forward:D

    But on a serious note, my concern with the phantom is how easy it is to fly right out of the box with very little setup involved. Also they are producing many of them in droves. That is where I believe the state of mind comes in. People buy them see how easy it is, and then assume they can jump into bigger things. Granted there are other RTF birds out there, those at least require a little more knowledge, as well as they haven't proliferated the market as much as these have in such a short amount of time.
     
  14. Zach Beggs

    Zach Beggs Member

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    And you know DJI's sales pitch, that their phantoms are "GPS enabled" only makes buyers think their drones are completely fool-proof and indestructible.

    Actually... maybe they are indestructible after all... He mentions in the comments the phantom still works "as new" after his underwater excursion...Wonder if my Cinestar can do the same. I should try it!

    "It goes underwater. It lands on political statues hundreds of feet in the air. It flies over electromagnetic fields, and telephone wires! Notice the propellers, not a scratch! Strap your car keys to it! Set it on fire! It won't burn! The new DJI - PHANTOM! So safe, your 10 month old child could fly it!"
     
  15. Shaun Stanton

    Shaun Stanton Active Member

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    Overheard comments of people looking at my CS during a private event at NAB, "saying that all you have to do is shut the controller off and it will return." I promptly interrupted the conversation replied my bird will fall out the sky if it is not set properly.

    You will have the best cinematic shot ever to go from an aerial straight a submerged shot. Great for a James Bond movie. You are 200 feet above a fancy yaught, descend down to bridge of the boat while 007 is preparing to dive. He dives and you follow him in the water. Sounds like academy award wiring material to me:D

    During product demonstrations the DJI sales rep can turn the Phantom on dunk it into water, take it out and go fly it, Ha Ha.
     
  16. Colin Snow

    Colin Snow Active Member

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    My fiancé loved the crotch shot at 6:18; says we need more of those in our videos.
     
  17. Josh Lambeth

    Josh Lambeth Well-Known Member

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    900ft high Phantom flight? UGH!



    Also curious how he knew it went that high?

    And i like the comment saying just fly it till it looses radio. The GPS will fly it back for you.

    Josh
     
  18. Chris Fox

    Chris Fox Active Member

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    I've just in the process of building up experience before my cinestar 8 arrives, and would be interested to know if people thought a phantom flown in manual mode would make a reasonable stepping stone, I'm currently practicing each day on Aerosim, and have just started to fly a phantom in the interim. I understand they are completely different beasts, but a lot of recommendations have been - simulator, something small and work your way up .....

    Cheers
    Chris
     
  19. Shaun Stanton

    Shaun Stanton Active Member

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    No you will want to fly it in ATTI. Manual is something you have to release through software. It allows for aerobatics. Good for maybe some monkey skills but its not the type of flying that you will do with a Cinestar, at least I hope not. In my opinion the best stepping stones in addition to the sim are to get a DJI F550 Flamewheel. I find that its flight characteristics are very similar to to the CS8 If you get one with 8 inch props. I built a clone out of HobbyKing parts Using Ardupilot this requires some technical background. If you are not tech savy you can get a DIY kit with the NAZA for around the same price as a Phantom. The 550 will be less forgiving and will give you an appreciation on how to fly the CS. I use it to do stuff that I wont try on the CS8 Until I feel I meet my own proficiency requirements for comfort. This will bind the same controller that you will use for the CS so that way you get used to the same controller. These things may seem mundane, but they can be important. If you can handle the 550 well then the CS wont be that much of a jump. Aerosim is good for learning the orientation maneuvering but it does not the flight characteristics of the CS. On the sim you can do things with the Octo XL that will result in a crash with the CS8. When you do fly the CS understand it does not fly anything near to what the phantom does. I have flown those Phantoms, and they are too forgiving in my opinion.

    Shaun
     
  20. Andy Johnson-Laird

    Andy Johnson-Laird Administrator
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    Chris: In AeroSIMRC can you fly up and down the runway center line with Boom #1 in any arbitrary angle?
    Or fly nice neat, flat, figure eights with the boom #1 at any arbitrary angle?
    Or fly a circle around the windsock (or the lighthouse) keeping Boom #1 facing the windsock or the lighthouse?
    Or fly down the long shed landing on each table?
    Or (with the LEDs turned off) fly so far away that the "ghost model" appears, close your eyes and yaw the OctoXL to some unknown orientation, then open your eyes and figure out the orientation and bring it home?

    Those are my practice routines.

    Shaun: Have you experimented with the model editing in Aerosim? You can, for example, tweak the flight dynamics of the Okto XL to approximate the CS, e.g. reducing the yaw rate etc.

    Out of curiosity (and I don't disagree with you), what maneuvers on the Octo XL do you think will most likely induce a crash in a CS8?

    Andy.
     
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