Hi all! I'm a new P3A user, been reading a lot about Flyaways of late and it's been freaking me out! Any advice? Also, in addition to that I'd like to ask about Flytrex Live 3G .. is it worth adding on to the P3A? Will it benefit?
New Dji P3A user, afraid of the dreaded "Flyaway"
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alokbhargava
Premium Pilot
Do compass calibration correctly at flying site. This will reduce chances of flying away. If you fly out of line of site regularly, you may want to go for a tracking device else your choice.
msinger
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Adding an external GPS receiver will give you the best chance of finding your Phantom if it really does fly away. The chances of it flying away are pretty slim if you do everything by the book, but it's better to be safe than sorry. The cost of the average GPS tracker is far less than the cost of a new P3A.
Flytrex is not the only game in town. If you want to see what else is available, you can find a complete list of commonly used GPS trackers here.
If you have thoroughly read & understand the operating instructions & controls then I believe your fear is misplaced as very few Phantoms just fly away. Start out cautiously until you build confidence & install a GPS tracker for added security & peace of mind.
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I haven't really read of any true fly aways here with any P3's. I understand it was a real problem for many with the P2's. The P3 for sure has had other issues but typically none involving it flying away on its own. I really wouldn't be too concerned about it as long as you know how to operate the craft so there are no "perceived" fly aways on your part.
Flyaways are not a common thing. Just about every instance of someone losing/crashing their P3 has been them flying it too low and crashing, or someone flying it behind far-away buildings or large metal structures, losing signal, and Return to Home not enabled or not set high enough.
Research Return to Home, how to enable it and be sure to set it PLENTY high. Take off and land from areas with plenty of open space.
Don't fly without GPS (P-GPS) unless you're skilled. Don't fly if there are any warnings on the DJI GO startup status screen.
Learn how to check your calibration values and make sure the compass calibration value is between 1400 and 1600.
Research Return to Home, how to enable it and be sure to set it PLENTY high. Take off and land from areas with plenty of open space.
Don't fly without GPS (P-GPS) unless you're skilled. Don't fly if there are any warnings on the DJI GO startup status screen.
Learn how to check your calibration values and make sure the compass calibration value is between 1400 and 1600.
Meta4
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Most things described as flyaways are a case of operator misunderstanding and losing their Phantom because they didn't know how to operate it.
With the Phantom 3 even cases like that are much less common than with earlier versions.
Read this to put the fear of flyaway in perspective: Fear of Flying 2016 - The Last Word on Drone Flyaways! - Drone Flyers
If you want to be scared of something that is much more likely to cause Phantom loss, develop a strong fear of flying close to buildings and trees.
A hundred times more crashes with obstacles happen than flyaways (even the ones that didn't really fly away)
Enjoy your bird man, get out there and fly. The odds of a flyaway are so minimal, but the odds of you enjoying good flights are nearly 100%. The Phantom is a great machine. I have dialed back, but I have pushed mine to the edge, lost connection so many times, had cable from controller to Ipad go bad while I was in flight. After a minute or so I hear her flying back to me followed by a soft landing. Unless I'm far away from my last location where I calibrated I generally don't calibrate, thinking I have a good calibration with 17 satellites, why risk a bad calibration in a area that I'm not familiar with.
I've had all the pantoms... P1, P2,P2V+,P3S and actually a P3A, and I never had problems that were not caused by my.... just relax, enjoy and concentrate in do the right things, if in any moment you feel like your loosing control or the craft its not responding as you expected just take the time to calm down and review all process and movements, i have more trust in the operation of my aircraft than in my abilities as a pilot
i've seen that one on thingiverse so you can 3d print it.
i have a 3d printer that i can use at work so i'll probably try printing it one of these days.
