New user on here, have a loaded S1000 on the way with A2 and Z15 BMPCC. Have seen a lot of fly away issues reported on the Blade 350QX as well. That is also a massive seller and has volumes of users over others. Simply could be that there are a lot of people flying Phantoms, probably by a significant amount. In the 350 cases, what we noticed on the other forum was that most of the "fly aways" were attributed to users that were newer, not used to orientation, and flying outside of their skill level. Pretty sure that wasn't the case in the issue above where someone had a serious problem (wow, 92 stitches, can't even comprehend how horrible that would be!). Will just be getting used to this system, but fly kk2 controller, CC3D, etc, and have been flying RC since the early 90's. This will be specifically a work platform with Lightbridge as one of the attachments.
Wookong M GPS Mode - Fair Warning
- Thread starter 222GR
- Start date
Scott Drysdale
Mixmaster
I assisted a friend in upgrading his SuperX with higher amp ESCs etc. I worked 100% in all our test flights..... Then he took it out to a job site, took it up to 300 feet and all motors shutdown! Now I am working the the remains trying to determine the root cause. There was not continuity or short circuit issues with the electrical system. He blames the FC but I have no reason to focus attention on that at this time. Meanwhile I have more than 300 flights on NAZA V2, WKM and a couple of test flights with my new A2...... so far no issues or concerns whatsoever......
I admit that the SuperX software config is dead simple as it resides inside the FC and there is not much to do with configuration.
I admit that the SuperX software config is dead simple as it resides inside the FC and there is not much to do with configuration.
No just 2 years as providing support for DJI products and flying other controllers for 2 years prior to that. Are you disputing that DJI probably sells more units than anyone else? On a percentage basis given the flying population of the Hobby products I am not surprised that there are reports of fly aways, crashes, etc. The majority of the time it is pilot error not the controller. I have had guys outright lie about what happened and then check the data logs that shows what really happened. Are there failures, of course, this is not military grade equipment.
@Ed: I agree with you that in most cases the Problem is on the - often inexperienced - RC-Operator. This is the Downside of the RTF Hobby Products. I have seen several Phantom Pilots, that can't fly w/o compass/GPS. Nevertheless there are also well documented FA Reports from long experienced Pilots, experienced with not just one UAVP Platform. So just stating that there are flyaways on other platforms too, is true, but negating a possible Problem. In my oppinion the best thing to regain trust, would be a Sourcecode Audit.
Av8Chuck
Member
That's a bummer about your friend. Curious, what ESC's, motors and props? Its rare that all the motors shut down, short (pun intended) of a bad solder joint, failed power distribution board or battery problem then the likelihood is that it was the FC. If there was a timing issue with one of the ESC's I'm not sure how it would effect the other motors, I doubt that it would. It would be good to get to the bottom of this.
Fortunately we are still free to vote with our checkbook, although it might land us a $10K fine and up to six years in prison or some such crap, but I think despite the numbers of DJI's sold there are too many people making excuses for all the uncontrolled flight issues reported about these controllers. In about a year and a half that I flew with DJI's I had a high percentage of flight where I was flying in a straight line for a ways and when I gave it a control input to stop the forward movement it didn't work or other times it would start to yaw uncontrollably, I'd land, reset and it then flew like nothing happened. These kinds of idiosyncrasies where almost a daily occurrence where I kept hoping the next firmware upgrade would solve the problem. This has to sound familiar to anyone who has flown these controllers for mare than a couple of weeks.
I have simply come to the conclusion that I don't trust DJI but that's just my opinion. People should think before making such a sizable investment in a S1000 flying $2K+ of camera equipment. Part of the problem might also be that a lot of people who want to hang out a shingle calling themselves a professional AP'er have never flown anything other than a DJI and with exuberance and overconfidence purchase an RTF S800 or S1000 and are instantly so far over their abilities that its inevitable that it will end badly. This will continue to happen if people who have differing experiences aren't willing or allowed to share those experiences. I have fond memories of my Gaui but there's no way that I'd ever fly it around people or with an expensive camera.
Well said. I made my purchase based on a lot of facts, and I have been flying RC for over 20 years, and camera based products for about 4 now.
This will be my first DJI product, coming from Horizon based, and other controllers and multi rotors.
This is why I am trying to find out what I can do so that I don't have an issue.
I like DJI, and I have Naza, WKM, F550, S800 z15, F330 and more..
I recently upgraded my 2 WKM units with 5,26 and it was flawless. No problem at all.
Flying with my ground station and using iPad
But my first flight with my s800 this year was like THIS:
Yes it did flip around, and the sound when it touched the ground was horrifying :shame:
But NOPE this was not a WKM error, the reason this happen was my Dragon-link RX antenna come in contact with the positive connector on one of the s800 arm that is leading all the power to the ESC.
The radio RX burned up in 1 second causing my s800 to go crazy and flip around.
Lucky this happen at my house, on my first check flight.
I think the WKM is a trustable controller, but let this be a reminder that there is ALWAYS a change that bad thing can happen no matter how many flights you have done.
Be safe and never fly above traffic\people etc..
I have started to think if there is any possibilities to add safety gear on multis? like airbag, wire, or something that can prevent a serious danger to surrounding environment
edit: some pictures
There you can see the connector that transfer the power to ESC, this come in touch with my antenna connector
1200$ ++ in new parts.
I recently upgraded my 2 WKM units with 5,26 and it was flawless. No problem at all.
Flying with my ground station and using iPad
But my first flight with my s800 this year was like THIS:
Yes it did flip around, and the sound when it touched the ground was horrifying :shame:
But NOPE this was not a WKM error, the reason this happen was my Dragon-link RX antenna come in contact with the positive connector on one of the s800 arm that is leading all the power to the ESC.
The radio RX burned up in 1 second causing my s800 to go crazy and flip around.
Lucky this happen at my house, on my first check flight.
I think the WKM is a trustable controller, but let this be a reminder that there is ALWAYS a change that bad thing can happen no matter how many flights you have done.
Be safe and never fly above traffic\people etc..
I have started to think if there is any possibilities to add safety gear on multis? like airbag, wire, or something that can prevent a serious danger to surrounding environment
edit: some pictures
There you can see the connector that transfer the power to ESC, this come in touch with my antenna connector
1200$ ++ in new parts.
Last edited by a moderator:
Liteglow. I feel for you. I crashed my first S800 with a Zen for Nex5N. Totally destroyed the copter gimbal and camera. It was not the controllers fault but mine. In a rush to get out flying, I rotated the GPS 180 degrees. A WKM does not fly well in those conditions. It happens.
Burntpixel
Member
I am now on my third DJI product. That being an S800 EVO set up very much like the OP of this thread . On 5.26 etc. Knock on wood as everything so far is working well.
RobBurn
Member
Very disturbing thread. In addition to your description of what happened, im baffled that people are flying a quite dangerous craft in a neighborhood as you described it went down a block or so away... Im not trying to be a jerk as im trying to think this through. I read the similar comments about pilot experience and flying for years but im not sure many can say they have flown for years in say rc planes and not had a crash. The point im making i guess is that in the past id never dream of flying a gas powered plane over "houses" and now i have chosen to fly my f550 over some houses at high altitudes in a very rural area, houses are on acres in my area so its not dense but nonetheless i have risk. Im using a f550 but with no gimbals or cameras.
There is a risk when flying anything radio controlled, the risk rises with all the variables associated with flying these crafts. Flying in populated areas is a major risk of liability, in my opinion, the amount of risk is magnified with the $'s you are flying around.
i do think these "loss of control" events are interference of some kind. I also believe the flight controller firmware could have issues under certain circumstances based on the interferences. It reminds me of a game ive been working on and the code for its death and while its directed in a routine to die it takes it a bit depending on other subroutines to finish and the timing of the code allowing the code executions to finish.
Did you have some maint schedule where you disassemble or able to view all the connections on the gear? After 100 flights did you have any hard landings etc that may have created an issue in connections? There are so many variables here that your right in that the world may never know.
Thanks for sharing your pain as it will allow others to think and make decisions based on your experiences
Rob
There is a risk when flying anything radio controlled, the risk rises with all the variables associated with flying these crafts. Flying in populated areas is a major risk of liability, in my opinion, the amount of risk is magnified with the $'s you are flying around.
i do think these "loss of control" events are interference of some kind. I also believe the flight controller firmware could have issues under certain circumstances based on the interferences. It reminds me of a game ive been working on and the code for its death and while its directed in a routine to die it takes it a bit depending on other subroutines to finish and the timing of the code allowing the code executions to finish.
Did you have some maint schedule where you disassemble or able to view all the connections on the gear? After 100 flights did you have any hard landings etc that may have created an issue in connections? There are so many variables here that your right in that the world may never know.
Thanks for sharing your pain as it will allow others to think and make decisions based on your experiences
Rob
Giovanni59
Member
I am sorry to hear about everyone's losses. It's been a while since the last post on this thread but I did a search because I just had an incident. I fly a Hexacrafter HC-800 with Tiger motors and Maytech escs. FC is WKM V2 (DJI stepped up and replaced my earlier WKM because it would not get out of ATT mode no matter what version firmware). That was about 5 months ago and I have been having flawless flights. I am using a Futaba radio and have a 3 axis gimbal, I use a cameraman to control the gimbal and I use this craft primarily for video.
Yesterday morning I completed one flight at around 6:45 am, just after sunrise. On the second flight the craft started to fly erratically.I have to admit that I am one of those that flies primarily in GPS mode. I switch to attitude occasionally but I have only been flying 1 1/2 years and I am only comfortable doing that when there is a lot of wiggle space. However, to get good and dramatic footage I need to fly near, around and over landmarks. I have had a lot of success using it in GPS mode When it started acting up I noticed the led green flashing, which indicates imu data loss but then it went back to gps mode. after the first green flashing and erratic behavior it quickly went back to normal but then a few seconds later is went back to the green and at that point I knew I had to get to a safe area (I don't rely on RTH for the many reasons others have stated). However before I could get to a safe altitude I lost control again and it plunged into a wall of water of the fountain I was flying around. Here is the full video, unfortunately the last 5 seconds is not recorded because the camera shuts down before it can get that buffered data. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSeDs5H4uEY Fortunately a water crash is not that bad. I will probably lose the Nex7 (it is in a baggy filled with rice) but everything else should be OK. The whole unit will dry out in a room with a dehumidifier.
However, I am in the same boat as everyone else. What causes this sort of thing? Unfortunately I only had the DJI IOSD Mini which does not record data. I think that will be my next investment but will it really mater? From what I heard from everyone that does not really tell the whole tale. I was told we had some strong solar activity yesterday. Could that be it? I , Like a lot of you I need to know what is happening and what to do about it. It has been mentioned these things can be very dangerous, I'd hate to have this thing fly off and hit someone. Also, if you will see a lot of my other videos on You Tube I have been flying in areas that if something went wrong my $8000 rig would be lost forever.
Is the solution trying another FC? I was seriously considering Super X but decided to stick with DJI. I am flying with the latest firmware. Should I go back to an older version? I don't know. I have to seriously consider what to do at this point. I am an architectural photographer who first started doing this for aerial still photos and soon moved on to video because of the opportunities offered by my clients in this industry. However it might be getting to a point where it is just not worth it.
Hopefully someone else has more to add to this serious problem.
Thanks
Yesterday morning I completed one flight at around 6:45 am, just after sunrise. On the second flight the craft started to fly erratically.I have to admit that I am one of those that flies primarily in GPS mode. I switch to attitude occasionally but I have only been flying 1 1/2 years and I am only comfortable doing that when there is a lot of wiggle space. However, to get good and dramatic footage I need to fly near, around and over landmarks. I have had a lot of success using it in GPS mode When it started acting up I noticed the led green flashing, which indicates imu data loss but then it went back to gps mode. after the first green flashing and erratic behavior it quickly went back to normal but then a few seconds later is went back to the green and at that point I knew I had to get to a safe area (I don't rely on RTH for the many reasons others have stated). However before I could get to a safe altitude I lost control again and it plunged into a wall of water of the fountain I was flying around. Here is the full video, unfortunately the last 5 seconds is not recorded because the camera shuts down before it can get that buffered data. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSeDs5H4uEY Fortunately a water crash is not that bad. I will probably lose the Nex7 (it is in a baggy filled with rice) but everything else should be OK. The whole unit will dry out in a room with a dehumidifier.
However, I am in the same boat as everyone else. What causes this sort of thing? Unfortunately I only had the DJI IOSD Mini which does not record data. I think that will be my next investment but will it really mater? From what I heard from everyone that does not really tell the whole tale. I was told we had some strong solar activity yesterday. Could that be it? I , Like a lot of you I need to know what is happening and what to do about it. It has been mentioned these things can be very dangerous, I'd hate to have this thing fly off and hit someone. Also, if you will see a lot of my other videos on You Tube I have been flying in areas that if something went wrong my $8000 rig would be lost forever.
Is the solution trying another FC? I was seriously considering Super X but decided to stick with DJI. I am flying with the latest firmware. Should I go back to an older version? I don't know. I have to seriously consider what to do at this point. I am an architectural photographer who first started doing this for aerial still photos and soon moved on to video because of the opportunities offered by my clients in this industry. However it might be getting to a point where it is just not worth it.
Hopefully someone else has more to add to this serious problem.
Thanks
Benjamin Kenobi
Easy? You call that easy?
Hi mate,
Sorry for your loss.
We have similar stories. I have also been flying my rig for 1.5 years. I had a similar incident to you, it didn't result in a crash though. I was flying in a very congested area near large metallic structures and I noticed the rig went into ATTI mode at the end of the 10th flight. It then had a small TBE in flight which also affected the video footage horizon, which kept changing. When I landed I also got the green flashes. I redid the compass calibration and the problem resolved itself.
I believe my incident was caused by all the magnetic interference in the area, there was also a very busy train line around 200m away.
I noticed on your video it seemed as if it had a TBE (toilet bowl effect) at the very end. You have to fight it when this happens but you should still have control.
I would still stick with the WKM. Accidents do happen and you'll find yourself much more safety conscious afterwards. For me, having a second landing area at least 10m away from the home point is a must.
I would highly recommend a full iOSD, really great being able to look back over flights if you have concerns over something.
Sorry for your loss.
We have similar stories. I have also been flying my rig for 1.5 years. I had a similar incident to you, it didn't result in a crash though. I was flying in a very congested area near large metallic structures and I noticed the rig went into ATTI mode at the end of the 10th flight. It then had a small TBE in flight which also affected the video footage horizon, which kept changing. When I landed I also got the green flashes. I redid the compass calibration and the problem resolved itself.
I believe my incident was caused by all the magnetic interference in the area, there was also a very busy train line around 200m away.
I noticed on your video it seemed as if it had a TBE (toilet bowl effect) at the very end. You have to fight it when this happens but you should still have control.
I would still stick with the WKM. Accidents do happen and you'll find yourself much more safety conscious afterwards. For me, having a second landing area at least 10m away from the home point is a must.
I would highly recommend a full iOSD, really great being able to look back over flights if you have concerns over something.
Dave_EP
Member
Wow. Scary thread just at the point where I'm trying to figure out what machine to buy/build next.
I'm definitely put off the A2, but with so many people saying there's major issues with WKM, no good combo of FC/Esc/Motors that can be relied upon etc I'm trying to figure out where to go now!
I guess I'll take a look at SuperX as well now. What others should I be looking at?
I'm definitely put off the A2, but with so many people saying there's major issues with WKM, no good combo of FC/Esc/Motors that can be relied upon etc I'm trying to figure out where to go now!
I guess I'll take a look at SuperX as well now. What others should I be looking at?
Benjamin Kenobi
Easy? You call that easy?
What do you mean 'major issues with the WKM?' It is a very reliable and popular system. I personally wouldn't use anything else. A large proportion of commercial operators in the UK use WKM without incident.
I highly recommend firmware 5.26. Has all the added failsafes and algorithms in.
Which firmware were you using Giovanni? (I forgot to ask)
Dave_EP
Member
Perhaps you can understand the confusion when you are recommending 5.26 and others here say don't trust anything above 5.20
There doesn't seem to be any consistency. I guess that's the internet for you
Benjamin Kenobi
Easy? You call that easy?
Before that everyone was saying stick with 5.16, but that doesn't have the motor out algorithm. There are so few reports of WKM going crazy and you have to consider pilot error. I think many people think it should fly forever without any problems. There will be problems along the way, that's the way it is. Different environments and setups all have their effects on the systems. I've stuck with stock DJI setups so at least I can rule out compatability problems.
SleepyC
www.AirHeadMedia.com
I own 6 brands of Highend FC's. SuperX, A2, WKM, ZeroUAV Gemini (redundant), Naza V2, Hoverfly Pro and flown others.
AS of now I have had no issues with any FC that has not been found to be hardware related or stupidity.
I had an HC-800 Hex that I thought My superX flipped out on and I got mad at my SuperX. I slapped an A2 on the rig and low and behold the same problem surfaced. Ended up being a problem with motor #5. It shows no signs of a problem but after watching a video of my rig starting up you can see motor 5 is lame.
My Theory....
I believe a lot of problems come from people not setting up their radios for fail safe. I think if radio signal is lost the FC has it's fail safe protocol, and the TX/RX has it's protocol. So if you do not properly set up your radios failsafe to put the rec into neutral sticks, RTH on, other switches set to Atti, POI and IOC and all of that off, then I think that is causing the issue.
If your radios failsafe is not set right I think you are sending all kinds of confusing signals to the FC. I have seen guys with their Radio FS set to full throttle, fill right rudder etc, because they never checked it.
Futaba Super8's have the ability to set the TX failsafe. DOUBLE CHECK THAT.
AS of now I have had no issues with any FC that has not been found to be hardware related or stupidity.
I had an HC-800 Hex that I thought My superX flipped out on and I got mad at my SuperX. I slapped an A2 on the rig and low and behold the same problem surfaced. Ended up being a problem with motor #5. It shows no signs of a problem but after watching a video of my rig starting up you can see motor 5 is lame.
My Theory....
I believe a lot of problems come from people not setting up their radios for fail safe. I think if radio signal is lost the FC has it's fail safe protocol, and the TX/RX has it's protocol. So if you do not properly set up your radios failsafe to put the rec into neutral sticks, RTH on, other switches set to Atti, POI and IOC and all of that off, then I think that is causing the issue.
If your radios failsafe is not set right I think you are sending all kinds of confusing signals to the FC. I have seen guys with their Radio FS set to full throttle, fill right rudder etc, because they never checked it.
Futaba Super8's have the ability to set the TX failsafe. DOUBLE CHECK THAT.
Cheshirecat
Member
+1 i think this is a massively important point.
photobobga
Member
I'm switching all my flight controllers that I'm using on medium to large hex systems to SuperX. The DJI issue is troublesome. My flights are smother and less "WTF is it doing now" Installing and setup of the SuperX was easy... but I also read the manual and watched their video setup several times.
Best,
Bob
Best,
Bob