Near Fly Away!! Please help!

[andy_drew]

Hi, I had a really scary moment with my Spark just before Christmas.

I'd just re-calibrated my compass and IMU before flying as I’d upgraded to the latest firmware. About 8 mins into my flight and around 34ft from me I got a high wind velocity warning and then a compass error. Then my Spark decided to have a little bit of a quick wobble in the air before entering atti mode and deciding to fly off in its own direction with the slight wind. Compass warnings continued to come up. At one point an error came up saying the device has lost connection and screen went blank for some time. All the time I had 17-20 satellites but couldn’t take control of the drone....or at least I didn't think I could. I now now having researched that I did have control of the AC, it just felt as though I didn't as it got further away from me and out of sight. Eventually, at 1800ft away the drone regained GPS and I got a warning to say the spark had reached its max flight distance and just stayed there. I tried initiating RTH several times but nothing seemed to happen. Luckily when the battery got low it said it only had enough power to RTH and it automatically initiated RTH and make it back in one piece!

I have no idea what happened and am scared to death of taking her out again in case it happens again! Don’t want to spend my life in beginner mode!

Any thoughts on what might have happened or how I can stop it happening again?

Please check out my flight log and any comments / advice are welcome.

DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

Note: It looks like I'm flying over a building site but I'm not, I was just having a little fly about in my street.

 

[aviscomi]

I see these same types of issues more an more over on the DJI forum. This is why I hardly ever fly my Spark anymore.

 

[Lastrexking]

Don’t know if it’s the cause, but the IMU and VPS altitudes don’t match up. At 7:54 in, the IMU reads 254 feet, but the VPS shows 0.3 feet. If nothing else, that must confuse the systems?

Then at 7:45 there’s a Yaw Error warning message. There’s several thread on DJI forums about this. Some people think it’s a common fault.

I’d definitely get in touch with DJI, and not fly the Spark until they resolve the issue.

 

[les.warden]

Following: in hopes you’ll post your results. I have less than 15 total minutes on my Spark so REALLY interested here.

 

[Englishbloke]

I’ve never had an issue that serious (only got about 1hr 45m flight time), I do get compass errors in flight though. Others suggested it could be interference from power cables etc. Any nearby when you were flying?

 

[Sparkbart]

Hmmm, very interesting... I have no advice on how to ensure it won't happen. But if it was me, I'd take it to a wide open space with no objects it could collide into. Check everything including Kp Index, make sure I wasn't bringing anything that may interfere with the signal and try to fly again, slowly and close by. I'd also take my Gopro mount on my cap and record the flight from that perspective. IF it happens again, then I'd send call DJI, send the video showing the erratic behavior along with the logs...

 

[andy_drew]

Thanks Sparkbart, will run through a few batteries on Friday as you suggest and just keep it low and close by so should I have any issues I can land quickly and safely. I've also reset factory settings and reinstalled the firmware. Will calibrate compass and IMU in open field prior to flying and ensure phone is in flight mode and also apple watch is turned off. I'll let you know how I get on.

 

[andy_drew]

Ok so having spoken to DJI support about it they have requested I send my spark to them to investigate if this is a hardware fault or not. Guess in the next couple of weeks we’ll know for sure....watch this space!

 

[Andy Fleming]

Interested to see the results as i have had issues recently too and my Spark is currently on its way to DJI Netherlands for Diagnostic.

 

[LiamB]

I know not everyone reports there problems so we only see the faulty posts but it doesn’t look good when there appears to be no pilot error! Worried about losing my spark when it arrives!

 

[Magnetic]

Weren't a lot of these flyaway issues resolved with the mandatory September update? I feel like most of the flyaway posts / videos I see were prior to September. Maybe just me.

 

[andy_drew]

No mate, a lot are still happening stil the .800 and .900 updates.

 

[Lastrexking]

No mate, a lot are still happening stil the .800 and .900 updates.

I’m not a fan of the last update. Video feed is terrible, and I keep getting a 'calibrate compass' message - which I never had before. I’m going to role back a couple of versions.

 

[LiamB]

Frustrating to here all these reports. i'm still awaiting my spark but i'm getting nervous!

 

[powerm]

Hi, I had a really scary moment with my Spark just before Christmas.

I'd just re-calibrated my compass and IMU before flying as I’d upgraded to the latest firmware. About 8 mins into my flight and around 34ft from me I got a high wind velocity warning and then a compass error. Then my Spark decided to have a little bit of a quick wobble in the air before entering atti mode and deciding to fly off in its own direction with the slight wind. Compass warnings continued to come up. At one point an error came up saying the device has lost connection and screen went blank for some time. All the time I had 17-20 satellites but couldn’t take control of the drone....or at least I didn't think I could. I now now having researched that I did have control of the AC, it just felt as though I didn't as it got further away from me and out of sight. Eventually, at 1800ft away the drone regained GPS and I got a warning to say the spark had reached its max flight distance and just stayed there. I tried initiating RTH several times but nothing seemed to happen. Luckily when the battery got low it said it only had enough power to RTH and it automatically initiated RTH and make it back in one piece!

I have no idea what happened and am scared to death of taking her out again in case it happens again! Don’t want to spend my life in beginner mode!

Any thoughts on what might have happened or how I can stop it happening again?

Please check out my flight log and any comments / advice are welcome.

DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

Note: It looks like I'm flying over a building site but I'm not, I was just having a little fly about in my street.

I had the same thing happen to me, but I lost my drone. Sent the data to DJI and awaiting a response. Very routine flight for me then, bam - compass error and ATTI mode - now Gone with the Wind!