Spectacular crash with my brand new Phantom 2 ...

[Frankygoes]

I have had a spectacular crash this weekend with my brand new Phantom 2.

Unfortunately I was so excited to start playing with it that I did not read all info we can find on the net, specifically the advices explaining how careful we have to be at the beginning ... I tried to find the solution to my problem on the net, but without success. So maybe guys, you can help me First the drone : phantom 2 as already said, with the H4-3D kit but not yet installed (fortunately !).

Now the crash (actually there were 2) :

The first 5 min when I used the drone were just amazing, it was pure happiness. Then I started to be (too much) confident, and what had to happen happened : a small crash at low speed against a fence. Nothing major apparently, just the edge of a blade broken (only 5 mm were missing). I had no spare blades with me, but I decided to continue with the drone asis. As soon as I have switched on the engines, the drone has taken off like a rocket (I could not control it with my RC), it went very very high in the sky and then it has just disappeared !!!

I have prayed for about 8 min and then the drone came back (thank you failsafe mode !). It was flying above me (at around 150 feet high) then drifted a little, above a forest, lost altitude, hit the top of a tree and crashed heavily to the ground.

What is the status now ? When I switch on the drone, I have the yellow lights flashing rapidly. When the RC is also switched on, I had first the steady red lights. After having removed/reinstalled the GPS module, the red lights are flashing when RC is on (same happen with my two new batteries)

I have checked the GPS module, and it look OK (ceramic not broken) however there were some signs of what I believe is overheat :

But more strangely, these wires were disconnected when I have opened the drone (I could also see two wires going out a little bit from the two main parts of the drone before I unscrewed it). Similar to this :

I have made a test by reconnecting them, but still no success. Here a picture of the "new" connection :

Lastly, when I connect it to the assistant, here is the status :

I have also the message following message when I connect the drone to the assistant: " Configuration error, this may cause by firmware upgrade from old version.or abnormal Tx calibration. Re-calibrate your transmitter,and power cycle your controller and check all of the parameters." I have redone the calibration, but it did not help.

So this is where I am .... I would like to identify which part is faulty, but I have now to rely on experts like you to find the solution !! Any idea what could went wrong ??



Thanks in advance for your help !

Note : I am a french guy living in Indianapolis, therefore please forgive me if my english is not perfect

 

[marcody2]

1st the cause of crash : Did you calibrate your compass before 1st flight?...If your battery was as low as it shows on the Assistant software, it could have attempted to land on its own in forest...Also, even a crack or small chip in a prop can cause erratic flight.

 

[RoyVa]

From what I see your IOC in the assistant is off and the indicators on the RC are all the way to the right which is consistent with the rapid flashing yellow LED which would say the transmitter signal is lost. That would also cause the copter to take of on its own in the Failsafe mode. Sounds like it went to RTH height and tried to hover to land but with a bad prop,it probably drifted. I would start by making sure all connections are tight. Re-bind the RC. And start with the IOC calibration, RC stick calibration and outside the compass cal. Then replace that prop before flying. These with low altitude short flights until your sure all is working well. Test satellite lock , home lock and the Failsafe before going in the wild blue yonder. Remember safety first and what goes up must come down somewhere!

 

[Frankygoes]

Thanks for your reply marcody.
Yes, I calibrated the compass before the first flight (and I did it even one more time after the crash).
The battery was fully charged during the flight. It is currently almost fully charged (I don't understand why you say it is low according to the assistant as it shows 90% for current capacity).
Thanks

 

[Frankygoes]

@RoyVa, the info from assistant were taken with the RC off. I will redo it with the RC on and provide the info.
I have already checked visually all connections and all looks OK. You seem to say that I have one prop which may be out of service. Is there an easy way to determine if a prop is working or not (considering I cannot swith any of the props with the RC) ?
Thanks a lot anyway for your support !

 

[kenjancef]

...even a crack or small chip in a prop can cause erratic flight.

This.

I wouldn't trust a prop with even a smaller piece broken off. I'd think that someday, even in mid-flight, that somehow the break would get bigger, and then we'd be reading another crash post from you...

 

[Frankygoes]

This is just to let you now that I succedeed to make it fly again, after several calibrations.
It is now drifting a little, and I will investigate how to fix this.
But thanks to all of you guys who tried to help me, this was appreciated !

 

[antares]

Hello, i can only emphasize on what kenjancef said: Even a little damage to a prop can bring your drone out of calibration. The gain of the controller is relying on an equal lift for each arm and easily will become unable to control the flight if one arm is giving less power.
However, congrats you are in the air again!

 

[Zok 27]

First post. I've been flying my P2 for almost a year now, and commercial helicopters for over 20 years. The same is true for both - any blade damage is bad news. If you ding a P2 blade, ditch it. The cost of a new one is a lots less than a new quad!

I hope you get up and running. Do lots of test flights to prove things are all working as they should. I work as a maintenance pilot these days, so test flights are the way to go!