Disaster! Feels like my life is over...

[Richlizard]

Sounds like a carbon copy of my crash last week. Your damage is almost identical to mine but at least I had the reassurance that there was no way I could damage anyone or anything other than my pride. I had almost 2 grand in the air but thankfully I didn';t have any cameras onboard at the time but I really, really do feel your pain mate.

DO NOT GIVE UP! Everything is fixable

Thanks Dek. Did yours go sideways, almost like it is impossible to perform unless in manual mode? Was it Naza?

[Richlizard]

If you need to talk, you know where to find me mate

Cheers
Phil

Thanks Phil

[Richlizard]

I hope there are some logs you can recover from the Naza that will shed some light on what caused it.

I have Naza M V2. Would you (or anyone) know if this keeps logs of flights? I thought it was only later DJI controllers.

[Biffa]

It';s always gutting when you stuff something. I feel bad putting £150 in the dirt, and I was never comfortable with my 550 Naza build floating around so you certainly have my sympathies.

On a side note, I have found it very easy to inadvertently turn on the WiFi on my GoPro just by holding it funny when I turn the damn thing on.

This may just be one of those occasions where one will never know what happened

[Richlizard]

Really sorry to hear this Richlizard, and also the recounts of other responders.

Like most both my multirotors use Naza flight controllers and everytime I hear of an unexplained flyaway I suffer that sickening feeling.

This has got me thinking about the feasibility of installing some sort of last resort kill switch which would be operated from a spare channel on the receiver.  The intention would be that on activation the main power to the ESC';s would be disconnected by having a fastblow fuse, between the main battery and the power distribution board, to blow.  Yes it would cause the craft to just drop out of the sky but at least the operator would have some sort of control in minimising the risk of damage to property and more importantly reducing the risk of injury to others if it were to be allowed to just fly out of sight.

Does this sound like a sensible exercise in damage limitation or have I over done it with my pain medication again?

Regards

Nidge

Sounds a plan... like a super hidden doom switch. The thing is, the whole episode lasted about 7 seconds and I think that is probably way too little time to make a reasoned decision whether you are going to get control back. And you would have to be a pretty darn good space invader expert to drop it in a safe spot should it happen. The problem is the speed in which it shoots off. If (I hope not when) it happens, you will know what I mean.

I actually have a switch on my transmitter which I put on immediately after take-off. It slows every movement down to approx. 30% of its original speed. I refuse to fly any faster, not just because of video smoothness but because these things really rocket. When it shot off, it clearly ignored all my demands. It gave it the lot and it is a very scary sight. When I contacted the police to inform them of the incident, they told me they had already had two calls from concerned people. And I don';t blame them one bit. It must have looked like a terrorist attack!

[Richlizard]

As to the general horror stories, I';m half of the opinion that user error is at root - especially not allowing GPS acquisition to occur, flying near cell towers, power lines, radio or radar ground stations etc.

I agree with this 100%. I guess whoever thought up the term ';flyaway'; is the only person who can say what one really is. But I always assumed it can only happen in GPS mode... so I totally avoid flying in GPS mode unless I have to. Now this. I think I will get a kite!

[Jimbodiddly]

Gutting...

One thing that could be a possibility is was it a esc faltering before failing causing the naza to over compensat and cause a flyaway due to rc not having stable motor outputs?

Just a thought.

[Richlizard]

Is a shame with so much investment, makes the decision to carry on or pack up harder, but at least it was the craft only and no property or persons damaged or injured.

But, i was under the impression that the Naza was recommended to only be used on multis upto 600 or 650 size ? Anything larger, should be the WKM ?

Sure that was stated somewhere on the DJI site.

There is no right or wrong decision on packing up or continuing, its whether to cut losses, or continue to spend, and the decision is not what you want to do, its whether its financially viable.

That said, even with my helis and planes, some crashes placed me in that same dilemma, for helis i gave up, crash costs were not viable, wheras planes crashes were not as expensive, so continued on with those.

Just do the pros and cons, and make the right decision for yourself, after all, its you that pay the repairs, not anyone else. If money is no object, the decision may be an easy one.

Personally though on that size of multi, i would run the WKM or A2, the naza is after all an entry level FC, aimed for smaller multis really.

Good luck with your decision making, i hope you sort thing out :)

Thanks Friskle. I will certainly look into the FC thing. I was already looking at Wookong prices and after picking myself off the floor (£700!!) I chose not to go down that route. I am pretty sure I was advised that for this size, make sure it is V2 not V1. But perhaps that was for the F550 which I then upgraded to 650. But I will ask around or watch this thread.

[Richlizard]

Gutting...

One thing that could be a possibility is was it a esc faltering before failing causing the naza to over compensat and cause a flyaway due to rc not having stable motor outputs?

Just a thought.

Every chance yes. I will be checking them all like I did when it happened before. The frustrating thing there though is that I could not regain control. Although I like to think I did what I did last time (apparently homelock is the only way to bring home a craft in this way), I suppose there is also a chance I didn';t. Either way, ESC failure is just as frightening as a flyaway!

[Richlizard]

This is one of the few images captured when my machine decided to go nuts.

Although you wouldn';t expect the gimbal to function at this angle, the others were not as steep and the gimbal was not working. You get an idea of the angle it was at when it shot across the sky. It is a shocking sight to see and not just aesthetically!

[Jumpy07]

I have Naza M V2. Would you (or anyone) know if this keeps logs of flights? I thought it was only later DJI controllers.

You need the iOSD Mk2 to log on the DJi kit.. (mini iOSD does not do logs)

[Cloudbuster]

hi richard ....soz to here of your disaster !!! i have studied your picture and it dont look so bad to me !!! is you zenmuse in one piece ??? the rest looks like run of the mill stuff that should not amount to a great deal !!! it can look far worse than it is, i had a very big coming together with the ground a few months ago and it looked wrecked but only cost a mere £27 to put right in the end (just broken carbon bits and a prop or two) dont be too down mate, you need to sit and take a good look at what needs replacing then take a view on it !!!

all the best rob 

[Richlizard]

hi richard ....soz to here of your disaster !!! i have studied your picture and it dont look so bad to me !!! is you zenmuse in one piece ??? the rest looks like run of the mill stuff that should not amount to a great deal !!! it can look far worse than it is, i had a very big coming together with the ground a few months ago and it looked wrecked but only cost a mere £27 to put right in the end (just broken carbon bits and a prop or two) dont be too down mate, you need to sit and take a good look at what needs replacing then take a view on it !!!

all the best rob 

Hi Rob, thanks for your kind words.

The gimbal is smashed to bits, as is the camera. I am waiting for the insurance people to get back to me to see what chance I have with them.

Whatever the outcome, my biggest concern is just why it happened and what I can do to stop it happening again. Imagine that happening where there is a larger gathering of people!! I just shudder at the thought.

[Hands0n]

I think that the basic truth is that we really and truly cannot prevent accidents happening. 

All that we can reasonably do is to take all measures possible to minimise the likelihood of them. But even with the best operating regime in the world, flying things will fall out of the sky.  Part of flying these machines is a tacit acceptance of that fact (by no means an inevitability though, I don';t mean that at all).   

I hope that doesn';t sound at all cynical, it is not meant to be. My thoughts are that with that in mind, we can come up with various ideas to limit accident through negligence, design flaw, assembly error, on-going maintenance.  And I believe that is what is tested by way of the BNUC.  So they were satisfied that you were a perfectly competent individual, and so awarded you the hard-earned licence.

So I';d say to take confidence in your own [independently tested] competence and capability, trust what you know.  Use your knowledge and your skills to as much as reasonably possible perform forensic analysis on the event. But don';t let it block you.  Pick up the pieces [literally], rebuild and move on. 

As a motorcyclist, with a few "get offs" under my belt over the past 44 years , and who still rides daily to this day, I hope the above helps.  If you enjoy it then keep at it fella

[Dek]

Thanks Dek. Did yours go sideways, almost like it is impossible to perform unless in manual mode? Was it Naza?

EXACTLY as you describe but I am using APM 2.5. Where we are the same is distrust of ESC';s. I had just changed from 30a SimonK ESC';s to 45a SimonK ESC FET';s to drive the larger motors (600k with 13" props). This was the reason I was recalibrating and doing an auto tune, it was the first flight on the new ESC';s.

I then read that Some SimonK ESC';s have problems keeping in sync with large pancake motors and "cogging" can occur. Definitely, I had no control and neither did the poor APM although it put up a fight. I think a manual mode would just have brought a speedier end 

Next time, I burn in the new ESC';s on the ground to see if any are dodgy.

Glad you';ve decided to try again, I just ordered all my new parts and I';ll soon be making another offering to the multicopter Gods 

[virginprops]

It may be coincidence but We lost one of ours on saturday night, It didnt respond to controls and RTL obviously failed aswell.  We still havent found out where it went.

[Richlizard]

It may be coincidence but We lost one of ours on saturday night, It didnt respond to controls and RTL obviously failed aswell.  We still havent found out where it went.

You are not the first to say to me "It may be coincidence but... ". Strange weekend, I really hope you find it. What was it?

I will be inspecting mine very closely for bullet holes!

[Richlizard]

Just bought a replacement Gopro for £180 so I guess I am now committed to the rebuild. 

[Dek]

I just got a TeensyDuino and flashed it for Mavlink > FrSky S.Port telemetry so I';m DEFINITELY committed to a rebuild. Next time I bury it, I want to see the evidence on my shiny shiny Taranis!  ::)

[Trev2971]

Just bought a replacement Gopro for £180 so I guess I am now committed to the rebuild. 

Good Man 

[Richlizard]

I just got a TeensyDuino and flashed it for Mavlink > FrSky S.Port telemetry so I';m DEFINITELY committed to a rebuild. Next time I bury it, I want to see the evidence on my shiny shiny Taranis!  ::)

I already have a Taranis, but for one reason or another never got round to sorting it out. What does the Mavlink give you? Or the TeensyDuino for that matter!?

[Dek]

Mavlink is the telemetry data sent from an APM. The Teensy is a tiny programmable board capable of some amazing things for its size. One of these projects uses one to convert telemetry data from an APM to FrSky compatible telemetry data and then feed it directly into the  Smart Port on your X8R Rx which then sends it to the Taranis OpenTX telemetry screens.

http://diydrones.com/forum/topics/amp-to-frsky-x8r-sport-converter?id=705844%3ATopic%3A1539556&page=1#comments explains it much better than I ever could 

Basically, it enables you to use the sensors already on your FC saving buying duplicate FrSky sensors and also saving weight, win-win 

[Richlizard]

I see, sort of.

I have a FHSS or something sensor for the Taranis which I will be fitting, guess that';s a similar thing?

I had assumed you meant you would have info for a post mortem if you ';die'; again.

[Hands0n]

I had assumed you meant you would have info for a post mortem if you ';die'; again.

If you have APM or Pixhawk, as long as you get at least the FC back you should be able to pull forensic logs from the FC itself.

I';ve not get my head completely around the benefits of taking the telemetry in to the APM as opposed to a separate 433mHz telemetry radio into either a laptop running Mission Planner or an Android smartphone running DroidPlanner. I use both interchangeably, as the mood takes me 

[Richlizard]

If you have APM or Pixhawk, as long as you get at least the FC back you should be able to pull forensic logs from the FC itself.

Only got Naza 

[Richlizard]

Just bought a replacement Gopro for £180 so I guess I am now committed to the rebuild. 

It never rains... 

Seems the seller on Gumtree was a conman. After taking my money, he then attempted to sell the item to my mate and to my girlfriend who called. I then called anonymously and he told me yes, it was still for sale. I asked why as I had already transferred the money to him which he had confirmed receipt of. His response... "Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz"

Kick a man while he is down!

[Hands0n]

Oh FFS!    How did you pay him?  This warrants a call to the Police if you can';t get your money back.

What a complete bu99er!

[Richlizard]

Oh FFS!    How did you pay him?  This warrants a call to the Police if you can';t get your money back.

What a complete bu99er!

Bank transfer. Made sure I spoke with him first and have an email trail. Have only spoken with Gumtree so far who are investigating with their own fraud team. If they don';t come up trumps then it will have to be police. Just don';t see them doing much.

[Hands0n]

If you get on to your bank immediately they may be able to pull the money back into your bank account.  There is a period within which they can - but it is not long at all. 24 or 48 hours IIRC. 

Get your money back and he can do one

[Richlizard]

If you get on to your bank immediately they may be able to pull the money back into your bank account.  There is a period within which they can - but it is not long at all. 24 or 48 hours IIRC. 

Get your money back and he can do one

I don';t think there is a period Danny. Either way, it was a few days ago now. By the sound of him when I called the next day... he had already drunk it!