Bad Flight

[MtnXfreeride]

I just had one of those flights this morning.. I turn it on and the battery is already at 75% just from sitting for a week. I take off and within a minute the camera (Hero4 black) goes out. So I go to land it and while navigating back the solo app crashed on my Galaxy S tab. Got that back running and still didn't have video so I landed.. using auto land it touched ground, didnt cut the throttle then seemed to spin props uneven and flipped over and the controller said "uneven ground"...which it was not, then "crash detected". The gopro had frozen.. and needed the battery removed (an issue my Hero3 had frequently). No damage to the solo.. but man what a sloppy flight and not something likely to get any better with time now..

It really made me think about the benefits/reliability of an all in one package - not that the main competitors are all in one either, but the DJI and Karma are each one less piece to go wrong.

I wish there was an instant cut power button I could press the second the solo touches ground.. it has happened 2x now where it flipped on land because it didn't shut off quick enough (in this case short frozen grass).

 

[Marich]

If a DJI bird messes up - any part of it - your completely grounded until the entire thing is fixed or thrown away.

 

[MtnXfreeride]

If a DJI bird messes up - any part of it - your completely grounded until the entire thing is fixed or thrown away.

that is true.. I'm not here to say I should have bought another drone, but this was a great purchase at $380 with gimbal/extra batt/props a few months ago and it helps me know what I want to aim for next time I buy a drone. It probably will be a DJI since 3DR isnt an option anymore. Hopefully a new Mavic with a better camera is out by then.

 

[pyrate]

Your first mistake was taking off with a low battery. I have read horror stories about how badly that can turn out.

The other issues could have been wifi interference or weather related

Charge the batteries to full on everything and give it another go

 

[enem178]

I wish there was an instant cut power button

Im not sure about the stock app but you can add a kill switch in Tower and Solex I believe oh and my garbage Hero 4 blk does the same thing as far as freezing. Im so fed up with it that im considering using a different camera and giving up the gopro control from the app.

 

[MtnXfreeride]

Your first mistake was taking off with a low battery. I have read horror stories about how badly that can turn out.

The other issues could have been wifi interference or weather related

Charge the batteries to full on everything and give it another go

I wouldnt call 75% low, the battery was un-used its last charge a week prior. I never let them dip below 20-25% though and most of my flights are done at 30%.

 

[pyrate]

Solos batteries are smart
they discharge over time
there have been many reports of crashes caused by flying on batteries in the condition of yours
I am not challenging, you, just trying to help you
its best not to fly batteries that have been setting for a week

 

[MtnXfreeride]

Solos batteries are smart
they discharge over time
there have been many reports of crashes caused by flying on batteries in the condition of yours
I am not challenging, you, just trying to help you
its best not to fly batteries that have been setting for a week

I'll top them off before going out if they sit for a week again - this was the first time I noticed such a drop since its been raining for so long.

I still feel that 75% is 75% unless the battery isn't smart and is lying to me. There *shouldn't* be anything wrong with flying at 75%. That kind of fast discharging is still unexpected to me since none of my other lithium batteries do that - not on my e-bike, power tools, etc. which also have smart chips.

 

[twitchyzero]

sitting a week is nothing...3DR rep said 3 weeks is fine...any longer you want it at 50% for storage

Not everyone has decent conditions in the winter. Yes ideally one should charge again after a week but there's really no excuse for any quads to be flipping just because the battery was charged a week ago. That makes no sense that battery life affects flight characteristics.

 

[andrew.baker.142]

One thing to try. After landing (auto or manual), I always hold the left stick down and to the left. This is the disarm command for Pixhawk and still works on the Solo. I've never had any problems with the aircraft rolling over after landing with this technique.


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[pyrate]

I'll top them off before going out if they sit for a week again - this was the first time I noticed such a drop since its been raining for so long.

I still feel that 75% is 75% unless the battery isn't smart and is lying to me. There *shouldn't* be anything wrong with flying at 75%. That kind of fast discharging is still unexpected to me since none of my other lithium batteries do that - not on my e-bike, power tools, etc. which also have smart chips.

And now you have stumbled onto the issue
no one knows exactly why, but the % seems to get unreliable after they have sit for a while discharging
what makes it worse is that you could say 0 but not be 0 at all.
I have experienced it myself.

 

[death star]

I had my first landing flip yesterday as well. Defiinatley pilot error, I was coming in for a landing on rth and notice solo was aiming for a tree so I took over, Just as it was about to land the wind gusted up and flipped the bird.

Its pilot error because I know solo has a software/navigation issue around objects and also compounding the issues was gusting winds. At the moment of the flip all I thought was stupid idiot....motor, props, how much is this going to cost me.

On a high note finally purchased a gopro silver 4. What a amazing camera. I was initially disappointed after seeing some film shot during a setting sun environment. After taking it out yesterday....all I can say is wow. The solo hero package has potential that should bring out the Stanley Kubrick genius in budding undiscovered film/ electronics/ programmers students. I had bought a knock off camera ....no comparison, not in the same league. .

 

[Diether]

24.5 min flight at 47%!
Hey guys, if it hadn't started drizzling I'm sure I would have cracked the 30min flight time this morning. I took off at 99% charge and landed at 52% with 24min 30sec flying time - no payload (training to hone my manual flying skills).
BTW also nearly flipped when landing on uneven ground, but killed the motors by pushing "A" and "B" and "PAUSE" simultaneously. That saved the day.

 

[quickamg]

24.5 min flight at 47%!
Hey guys, if it hadn't started drizzling I'm sure I would have cracked the 30min flight time this morning. I took off at 99% charge and landed at 52% with 24min 30sec flying time - no payload (training to hone my manual flying skills).
BTW also nearly flipped when landing on uneven ground, but killed the motors by pushing "A" and "B" and "PAUSE" simultaneously. That saved the day.

Nice. I notice there is a big difference in battery life depending on the weather. When it's cold like 30 or below battery life is at least 30% less.


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