Evo II took off out of control and crashed in water

[herein2021]

As a matter of fact, yes. I was on concrete and saw something about magnetic interference on the controller. Your idea of lifting off many feet before flying is a good one. I was thinking that if my drone had been higher up when it took off...we might not be having this discussion right now! Sadly, it was only a couple of feet from the water surface. I'm glad I'm learning about this. I have a second Evo II, and before I get the courage up to fly it, I want to know as much as possible about avoiding any more catastrophes.

I can almost guarantee you that is what it was. My full takeoff routine which has not failed me yet is as follows:

• Locate a grassy area as far away from parking garages and cement as possible
• Place the case on the grass and check for overhead obstructions, its ok if they are there but just memorize your flight path from the takeoff point to 100'; where you hover should not be over a road, people, etc.
• Place the drone on top of the case; if I have my cart I place my case on the cart and the drone on top of the case
• Set up the drone, controller and tablet, make sure they all connect successfully
• I set my WB, ISO, recording resolution and framerate (i.e. 4K30FPS)
• Check for gimbal, compass, and IMU errors, if any appear power the drone down and move at least 20' or 30' in a different direction then try again.
• Check for GPS failure; if the GPS doesn't get a lock try moving away from any nearby buildings or trees
• Memorize where the compass errors or GPS failure occur and make sure that location is not in your path from the ground to 100' AGL
• Takeoff and immediately follow your flight plan to reach 100'
• I point the drone towards the approximate direction that I plan to film in and there is where I set the aperture and shutter speed using the histogram as my guide (the EV readout by the way is useless, the histogram is way better and more accurate)
• I then head to the actual filming altitude and location and capture the footage I need
• For landing I pick a clear area and after arriving I land immediately, making sure that the landing area is not near the source of magnetic interference or GPS signal loss

BTW I live in FL and fly over the open ocean nearly daily, I have never heard of flying over water even salt water causing issues; I am typically between 5' and 30' over the water and no issues. My current EVO II has already flown at least 50 miles over the ocean usually only a few feet above the waves and to date it has not had a sensor issue. My DJI P4 has at least 500 miles over the ocean and no issues.

 

[davshev]

Practice practice practice in open areas

yup, i bought and abused a couple $200 ones 1st, took about 3 months, many crashes before I gained the knowledge I wanted to fly "with the big kids"

I'd been flying a Mavic Pro 2 for a couple of years. I flew it all over the US and Europe and I never had something like this happen. Live and learn....I guess.

 

[davshev]

I can almost guarantee you that is what it was. My full takeoff routine which has not failed me yet is as follows:

• Locate a grassy area as far away from parking garages and cement as possible
• Place the case on the grass and check for overhead obstructions, its ok if they are there but just memorize your flight path from the takeoff point to 100'; where you hover should not be over a road, people, etc.
• Place the drone on top of the case; if I have my cart I place my case on the cart and the drone on top of the case
• Set up the drone, controller and tablet, make sure they all connect successfully
• I set my WB, ISO, recording resolution and framerate (i.e. 4K30FPS)
• Check for gimbal, compass, and IMU errors, if any appear power the drone down and move at least 20' or 30' in a different direction then try again.
• Check for GPS failure; if the GPS doesn't get a lock try moving away from any nearby buildings or trees
• Memorize where the compass errors or GPS failure occur and make sure that location is not in your path from the ground to 100' AGL
• Takeoff and immediately follow your flight plan to reach 100'
• I point the drone towards the approximate direction that I plan to film in and there is where I set the aperture and shutter speed using the histogram as my guide (the EV readout by the way is useless, the histogram is way better and more accurate)
• I then head to the actual filming altitude and location and capture the footage I need
• For landing I pick a clear area and after arriving I land immediately, making sure that the landing area is not near the source of magnetic interference or GPS signal loss

BTW I live in FL and fly over the open ocean nearly daily, I have never heard of flying over water even salt water causing issues; I am typically between 5' and 30' over the water and no issues. My current EVO II has already flown at least 50 miles over the ocean usually only a few feet above the waves and to date it has not had a sensor issue. My DJI P4 has at least 500 miles over the ocean and no issues.

Thanks for the info. I too have flown the Evo over water. Only the day before this happened I was at the NC coast flying over the ocean....no problems. What happened with the crash was that it ascended a few feet after take off, then uncontrollably made a beeline for the water (of course it didn't go in the direction of the land! ?) ......but it was only a few feet up and eventually descended at an angle into the water.

 

[UasDriver]

and I never had something like this happen

LOL, my 2nd flight the drone did a TBE into a tree 80' up. chain saw, compass cals and back to flying
what I "learned" most was the "small" stuff, I could tell when I got near power lines, large metal, loss of comms, all by how the drone "interacted/responded" with the surroundings

 

[Brock Inspector]

davshev, you mentioned your firmware was up to date. Curious if you did this as prompted by the controller over-the-air, or whether you downloaded the .bin file and installed it via MicroSD

 

[davshev]

davshev, you mentioned your firmware was up to date. Curious if you did this as prompted by the controller over-the-air, or whether you downloaded the .bin file and installed it via MicroSD

I did it over-the-air.

 

[hugass]

Are you sure you didn't get 'shot down'? Almost any local, state or federal government agency can use RF scramblers to disrupt the link between your controller, and the drone. Even without you knowing it. If you were near ANY sensitive locations, it's possible. However unlikely.

 

[phantomrain.org]

I did it over-the-air.

Once that Compass gets hammered from Magnetic interference , the drone is completely compromised until you shut down and restart , Many times what happens is that the Warning Blip goes away so quick everyone thinks there ok but the Compass has been hit with a sledge hammer and its not, its going to mostly likely fail.

My DJI Phantoms were all prone to magnetic Interference unit the Mavic series and everything changed,
The Evo seems to be more prone like the old phantoms and playing catchup with DJI as I can take off from anywhere just about with little resolve for Magnetic interference .

That says a lot since half of our flights are from inside the car.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Drones in the Pouring Rain an land on Water.

 

[davshev]

Are you sure you didn't get 'shot down'? Almost any local, state or federal government agency can use RF scramblers to disrupt the link between your controller, and the drone. Even without you knowing it. If you were near ANY sensitive locations, it's possible. However unlikely.

I was near a lake at a boat ramp. I've flown in that area before without any problems. There's nothing "sensitive" around. More likely it was electromagnetic interference, as I was having some warnings on my controller and I've read other anecdotes about this problem.

 

[davshev]

Once that Compass gets hammered from Magnetic interference , the drone is completely compromised until you shut down and restart , Many times what happens is that the Warning Blip goes away so quick everyone thinks there ok but the Compass has been hit with a sledge hammer and its not, its going to mostly likely fail.

My DJI Phantoms were all prone to magnetic Interference unit the Mavic series and everything changed,
The Evo seems to be more prone like the old phantoms and playing catchup with DJI as I can take off from anywhere just about with little resolve for Magnetic interference .

That says a lot since half of our flights are from inside the car.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Drones in the Pouring Rain an land on Water.

I'm glad I posted about this. As you said, I wasn't paying much attention to the magnetic warning once it went away. I've learned a valuable lesson....albeit a very expensive one!

 

[AdamJ1555]

If you get a magnetic interference warning message - you should not spin up the motors. Move the aircraft to another location that doesn’t have magnetic interference before spinning up and launching. Sorry you lost your airplane... sad day.

 

[Seejake]

See this is why I hate these forums, Because I read this thread and now im scared to death to fly my Evo II. I have never heard of the "don't take off on sidewalks rule" Was that in the manual cause I don't remember reading it. I read in the manual about power lines, power stations and such causing magnetic interence but never heard of the rebar thing. Ive been flying my evo 2 since it first came out, I've checked my logs and I've put just under 100 hours on my drone so far. it has always "knock on wood" been pretty stable. I did have an issue after one of the firmware upgrades where it wouldn't compass calibrate for the life of me, I have to contact Autel they were super nice walked my though the fix, ended up having to download an Autel diagnosis app. anyway it was fixed, but other than that I've never had a problem. just about everytime I launch its some type of side walks or some type of concrete with rebar in it I'm sure and never had a problem. maybe I'm just lucky, but that worrries me, is there anything else that we should not be doing that is "common knowledge". I would love to know. I mean like the side walk thing I know about the fat drone rules, I m just wondering about Eve 2 quirks that I should be aware of. I've watched a ton of Autel videos learning about this drone and I learned that hover about 5 ft from the ground trick from them. check that it is responsive in all 4 directions and that it seams stable, then let it go. I feel like that is solid advice!!

Also dude I'm totally sorry about the loss of your drone, I would be devastated if that happened to me, cause I'm always out flying it. it feels like and extension of me, I'm always out with it. I kind of psych myself up for the the time when it does crash cause I know it will break my heart, but no amt of preparation can prepare you for something like you went through. Just having no control over it alone is enough to set off panic, If you are thinking about replacing it with another Autel, I would talk with them and get a supervisor explain to him what happened. They probably won't give you a free drone, that would shock me, but many times in these situations. they will give you a huge discount on a new one, something similar happened to one of my friends , only instead of in the water it crashed on rocks. he explained what happened and Autel said it was not the fault of their drone, He went up the chain and explained told them the situation and how much he spent and so on and so forth, he ended up getting a new drone from Autel for 50% off, Which I thought was a good deal. like is said I know if you plan on buying a new one, but I thought I would throw that out there as well. good luck!!!

 

[Seejake]

I can almost guarantee you that is what it was. My full takeoff routine which has not failed me yet is as follows:

• Locate a grassy area as far away from parking garages and cement as possible
• Place the case on the grass and check for overhead obstructions, its ok if they are there but just memorize your flight path from the takeoff point to 100'; where you hover should not be over a road, people, etc.
• Place the drone on top of the case; if I have my cart I place my case on the cart and the drone on top of the case
• Set up the drone, controller and tablet, make sure they all connect successfully
• I set my WB, ISO, recording resolution and framerate (i.e. 4K30FPS)
• Check for gimbal, compass, and IMU errors, if any appear power the drone down and move at least 20' or 30' in a different direction then try again.
• Check for GPS failure; if the GPS doesn't get a lock try moving away from any nearby buildings or trees
• Memorize where the compass errors or GPS failure occur and make sure that location is not in your path from the ground to 100' AGL
• Takeoff and immediately follow your flight plan to reach 100'
• I point the drone towards the approximate direction that I plan to film in and there is where I set the aperture and shutter speed using the histogram as my guide (the EV readout by the way is useless, the histogram is way better and more accurate)
• I then head to the actual filming altitude and location and capture the footage I need
• For landing I pick a clear area and after arriving I land immediately, making sure that the landing area is not near the source of magnetic interference or GPS signal loss

BTW I live in FL and fly over the open ocean nearly daily, I have never heard of flying over water even salt water causing issues; I am typically between 5' and 30' over the water and no issues. My current EVO II has already flown at least 50 miles over the ocean usually only a few feet above the waves and to date it has not had a sensor issue. My DJI P4 has at least 500 miles over the ocean and no issues.

see I'm just the opposite of you, Ive never heard of this rebar rule and have almost 100 miles on my evo 2 and every single take off has been from concrete or something with I'm sure rebar running though it, I've never once had a problem, I'm going to get the old manual out again, cause I read it cover to cover and I don't remember them saying anything about that. I do though remember them saying be careful over water, it does say that in the manual . if it is sunny and clear out, which is most of the time, we are flying the drones, it says use caution, because the water gives off a glass like reflection and it can throw off the sensors. If you fly close to waves, I would be careful, its says to try to avoid flying to close to the water , I think your 5 feet is plenty of room though, I also live in Florida, and like you most of my flights are over water that is why this is concerning for me!! but knock on wood so far it's been a great drone and hasn't given me fits at all. I will now start looking for places away from concrete, is there any other "common knowledge". things I should be avoiding as well, cause ive never heard the rebar thing. please let me know I'm always open to good advice!!!

 

[rsbmg]

Recently I was flying my Evo II at a nearby lake. I'd been flying around for 30 minutes without issues. All firmware up to date. After the first flight , I brought it back to switch out the battery. I started it up and began to fly it out when all of a sudden the thing went haywire. The drone started flying out a few feet above the water and out of my control. I tried to control it, but it would not respond. It landed in the water and sank. I had no way of getting it and assumed it would be fried from the water damage. I called Autel and sent them the flight data....haven't heard back yet. I don't know if they can tell me anything since that very last flight did not appear in the data....only the next to last flight. It all happened so fast, but I think there was an error message about compass interference seconds before it flew off. Also, I had been using a tracking device on the drone in case it ever went down. Any thoughts?

There have been plenty of reported instances of the same thing. Autel doesnt want to aknowledge it and will just tell you that the flight log shows someone in control. I think its a sensor issue they cant seem to figure out. Good luck.

 

[davshev]

See this is why I hate these forums, Because I read this thread and now im scared to death to fly my Evo II. I have never heard of the "don't take off on sidewalks rule" Was that in the manual cause I don't remember reading it. I read in the manual about power lines, power stations and such causing magnetic interence but never heard of the rebar thing. Ive been flying my evo 2 since it first came out, I've checked my logs and I've put just under 100 hours on my drone so far. it has always "knock on wood" been pretty stable. I did have an issue after one of the firmware upgrades where it wouldn't compass calibrate for the life of me, I have to contact Autel they were super nice walked my though the fix, ended up having to download an Autel diagnosis app. anyway it was fixed, but other than that I've never had a problem. just about everytime I launch its some type of side walks or some type of concrete with rebar in it I'm sure and never had a problem. maybe I'm just lucky, but that worrries me, is there anything else that we should not be doing that is "common knowledge". I would love to know. I mean like the side walk thing I know about the fat drone rules, I m just wondering about Eve 2 quirks that I should be aware of. I've watched a ton of Autel videos learning about this drone and I learned that hover about 5 ft from the ground trick from them. check that it is responsive in all 4 directions and that it seams stable, then let it go. I feel like that is solid advice!!

Also dude I'm totally sorry about the loss of your drone, I would be devastated if that happened to me, cause I'm always out flying it. it feels like and extension of me, I'm always out with it. I kind of psych myself up for the the time when it does crash cause I know it will break my heart, but no amt of preparation can prepare you for something like you went through. Just having no control over it alone is enough to set off panic, If you are thinking about replacing it with another Autel, I would talk with them and get a supervisor explain to him what happened. They probably won't give you a free drone, that would shock me, but many times in these situations. they will give you a huge discount on a new one, something similar happened to one of my friends , only instead of in the water it crashed on rocks. he explained what happened and Autel said it was not the fault of their drone, He went up the chain and explained told them the situation and how much he spent and so on and so forth, he ended up getting a new drone from Autel for 50% off, Which I thought was a good deal. like is said I know if you plan on buying a new one, but I thought I would throw that out there as well. good luck!!!

I do have a second Evo II, but I haven't flown it much lately. I'm a bit nervous. In the past I'd flown the Evo several times near concrete, but I never had that happen. Maybe it was a fluke. I'm glad I know and I'm certainly going to pay more attention if I see a compass warning in the future.

BTW, if you don't already know, State Farm will insure the loss of a drone. I had it for other drones and it cost about $60 per year. The downside is that once they pay a claim, they'll cancel you. I know because this wasn't my first drone-related mishap. They paid two claims before they cancelled me. Still, the fact that they paid for two lost drones made it worthwhile.

 

[gschulzuio]

see I'm just the opposite of you, Ive never heard of this rebar rule and have almost 100 miles on my evo 2 and every single take off has been from concrete or something with I'm sure rebar running though it, I've never once had a problem, I'm going to get the old manual out again, cause I read it cover to cover and I don't remember them saying anything about that. I do though remember them saying be careful over water, it does say that in the manual . if it is sunny and clear out, which is most of the time, we are flying the drones, it says use caution, because the water gives off a glass like reflection and it can throw off the sensors. If you fly close to waves, I would be careful, its says to try to avoid flying to close to the water , I think your 5 feet is plenty of room though, I also live in Florida, and like you most of my flights are over water that is why this is concerning for me!! but knock on wood so far it's been a great drone and hasn't given me fits at all. I will now start looking for places away from concrete, is there any other "common knowledge". things I should be avoiding as well, cause ive never heard the rebar thing. please let me know I'm always open to good advice!!!

Concur. Have experienced DJI Mavics and Phantoms being more sensitive to concrete/rebar and metal than the E2P has been. However having said that, I would not powerup, take off from a steel plate, or, takeoff with a compass/IMU error, or lack of GPS lock, or aircraft not having completed self check.

 

[davshev]

There have been plenty of reported instances of the same thing. Autel doesnt want to aknowledge it and will just tell you that the flight log shows someone in control. I think its a sensor issue they cant seem to figure out. Good luck.

Yeah, I called them, but I certainly didn't get the impression that they in any way think it's drone related. They told me to send them the flight data. That was a week ago...I haven't heard back from them. I'm not holding my breath.

 

[davshev]

Concur. Have experienced DJI Mavics and Phantoms being more sensitive to concrete/rebar and metal than the E2P has been. However having said that, I would not powerup, take off from a steel plate, or, takeoff with a compass/IMU error, or lack of GPS lock, or aircraft not having completed self check.

Yes, I agree. Going forward, I am going to be more vigilant.

 

[herein2021]

see I'm just the opposite of you, Ive never heard of this rebar rule and have almost 100 miles on my evo 2 and every single take off has been from concrete or something with I'm sure rebar running though it, I've never once had a problem, I'm going to get the old manual out again, cause I read it cover to cover and I don't remember them saying anything about that. I do though remember them saying be careful over water, it does say that in the manual . if it is sunny and clear out, which is most of the time, we are flying the drones, it says use caution, because the water gives off a glass like reflection and it can throw off the sensors. If you fly close to waves, I would be careful, its says to try to avoid flying to close to the water , I think your 5 feet is plenty of room though, I also live in Florida, and like you most of my flights are over water that is why this is concerning for me!! but knock on wood so far it's been a great drone and hasn't given me fits at all. I will now start looking for places away from concrete, is there any other "common knowledge". things I should be avoiding as well, cause ive never heard the rebar thing. please let me know I'm always open to good advice!!!

I have less than 40 miles on mine and I've already encountered it multiple times; the most severe was from the top of a parking garage, I was not able to clear the error until I launched from the top of the case and it was placed on the roof of my car.

I also encountered it when launching from a parking lot when I was too close to a cement power pole. I had to move about 30' away from the pole to clear the errors. Every drone I have ever flown has the issue to some extent, safest way to avoid it is to simply not launch from concrete. Maybe the EVO's detection method is not as good as DJI's or maybe it allows for a wider margin of error prior to showing the alert on the screen; if the EVO does in fact alert less than the DJI drones I wouldn't take that to mean it is any less susceptible to the problem. DJI had a lot of flyaways with their earlier models and it wouldn't surprise me if they were due to compass errors that weren't detected. Everything about the EVO to me feels like it's 2yrs behind DJI....this might be another area where their detection method just isn't as good.

I am going to continue to follow the simple rule of thumb "Don't take off from cement surfaces" and if I have to then at least use the rugged case to give myself a little more distance.

As far as flying over water....sure certain waves have caused the OA to slow the drone but to me that's no big deal; the only things that I see as potential drone loss events are battery problems, compass errors, and IMU errors not counting the obvious collision possibility. Since concrete causes compass errors I consider that a much bigger concern especially since I have never seen a vendor document it anywhere.

 

[Quad808]

herein2021 is spot on about taking off near any metal, especially buried metal such as rebar in sidewalks. Remember that the compass is very, VERY sensitive. Remember also how these drones operate....the IMU tells the "brain" what is level and the compass tells the "brain" which direction is which, along with GPS coordinates, but GPS coordinates are worthless if the drone doesn't know which direction is which. Let me explain.
Lets say you take off with a compass error, but all else is working correctly...IMU, GPS, downward sensor is also working, provided there is enough light for the drone to "see" the ground and hold steady in a hover. The drone, because the compass is messed up, doesn't have the correct "directions" on what is N,S, E and W in order to fly correctly. You tell it to go north, but the compass tells the "brain" it is going south...well...guess what happens? The drone will try to go what it "thinks" is north, (by the info being sent from the compass) and because of the compass error, it actually goes south. It reads the GPS coordinates, "knows" that it must go north, so it accelerates in the direction it thinks is north, but it is actually south. Then seeing the GPS coordinates changing, it doubles down and goes faster to correct itself in the direction it "thinks" it is going to get to the correct cooridinates and viola! you get a fly away. Lets add one more factor...GPS reception. GPS tells the drone where it is in 3D space, based on the corridinates received by MULTIPLE satellites. All good right? Not if the compass is messed up. If the directions that the compass is telling the drone it is traveling in is wrong, the drone will double and triple down in trying to correct itself to go in the direction, N,S,E,W it believes it is going in, in order to match the GPS info. ALL has to work together in order for the drone to be smart enough to be able to be "smart" and move about correctly.
Lets add one more factor, again, getting back to GPS and home point. Lets say you just had a great flight, nothing wrong at all...came back home, maybe switched out batteries right away, or waited a bit and immediately took off and started flying. Lets also say that you didn't wait for the correct amount of satellites to be "seen", being that your drone always "just works" and you wanted to get in another flight. You take off and everything seems ok, but let go of the sticks and the drone just starts flying all by itself, going faster and faster in the WRONG direction? You may or may not be able to "steer" it, but the controls seem all wonky....you are probably flying without GPS...so the drone doesn't "know" where it is in 3D space and can't hold a hover. Lets also say you panic (understandable) and hit RTH...well...without correct GPS the drone will just fly off in the direction it "thinks" is correct. Another flyaway.
Lets add one more scenario. Same as above, but the last time you flew was at your favorite spot and this time you take off from anywhere else not near that spot and don't wait for home point to be updated and because you have never, ever had any such thing as a flyaway...(that only happens to people who don't know what they are doing, dontcha know!) you start your flight, but the drone doesn't respond like normal and you hit RTH. Well...if home point was not updated....the drone will fly to the last confirmed home point it has....that being the last place you flew and home point was updated. Another fly away.
Lets talk about one more thing...the IMU. Lets say the IMU is not calibrated correctly for whatever reason. When you take off and to your eyes the drone is perfectly level, lets say the not correct IMU tells the brain that the drone is "tilted" in whatever direction, and off level by 20%. Guess what happens? The IMU tells the "brain" that it needs to correct itself by tilting 20% in the opposite direction to be level. Uh oh...another flyaway.

So, Quad, mister smarty pants, why then can we fly indoors without any GPS signals, huh? Well...you have the downward sensor that reads the ground and can override everything to hold steady in a hover, provided there is enough light and contrast on the ground for the sensor to "see" the difference, allowing the drone to hold steady in a hover, despite the IMU maybe being off, or compass etc.

Hopefully you can now appreciate how critical it is to having a correct compass calibration. GPS positioning is worthless to a drone if the compass is messed up. Pay close attention to the # of satellites and pay even more close attention to any "magnetic interference" messages. No matter how "smart" these drones are, we, as pilots, need to do our due diligence to ensure everything is working and we have a safe flight. Never be in such a rush to get in a flight that you don't go through your mental check list and give the drone the time it needs after it is turned on to acquire enough satellites and stay away from launching around metal, including sidewalks. I have also had compass errors when taking off from sidewalks, so using herein2021's method of using the case to get distance away from metal is a good one.

One more that I just thought of. Lets say you take off without updating home point....meaning the drone didn't get enough satellite info to get home point coordinates. You fly out and then the drone gets enough satellite info and bam! updates home point at that spot. Guess where the drone is going to fly to when you hit RTH? Yep, wherever it last updated home point. Yet another thing to be aware of.

Wait...one more. Last one, I promise.
Why when we fly in our favorite spot where we have flown may times before, does it sometimes take 5-10 even 20 minutes for enough satellites to be acquired in order to update home point? Satellite position info (where they are in the sky) is sent to the drone via a file from the sats themselves, called a catalogue. This catalogue gets updated and can expire on the drone...(I don't know how long it keeps) If the catalogue is not current, it will need updating if you haven't flown in a while. So that means the drone will need to sit, before taking off, with good satellite reception (clear view of the sky overhead, no trees etc) in order for the latest catalogue info to be received by the drone, from the satellites. This can take some time, depending on how many satellites the drone can obtain reception from. Always, ALWAYS wait until you have enough satellites before taking off. 2 huge reasons for fly aways...bad compass and not enough satellite reception.

Hope this info helps anyone. My startup order? I start the drone first. Set it on a level, or as close to level ground, table etc as possible and don't touch it as it starts up. Then I back away, and turn on the RC. Let it connect to the drone. Not in a hurry. Then once connected, I connect the RC to my phone/tablet etc. Never in a rush. This gives the drone the needed time to acquire satellites. Once all connected, I check the app and look for any error messages, check the camera settings etc and make sure all is to my liking. No errors? Enough satellites? Then I take off and go up about 10 feet/3 meters and let it hover. All good? Home point updated? I then take off vertical and let it hover again. Check controls. All good? Then I do my flight. If the controls are not responsive in anyway at all, drone is drifting etc, I bring it down safely and turn everything off, and restart the whole procedure over again. Knock on wood. I have never, ever had a fly away with a GPS drone. OH yes, I have crashed drones before (home builds...mostly early on in my flying experience), but taking the time, knowing how complex these are in order to do automated things we take for granted, means I am never in a rush to get back in the air too quickly. Even after doing all of this, you can still have a hardware or software error and get a flyway or crash.

*as a disclaimer, any and all info above can be corrected if I am wrong, and I won't be offended in any way. Feel free.*