My First Near Miss

[Barry Poole]

Wanted to get some thoughts on my first near miss from this weekends flying. I put Solo in the air with GPS clearance of 6 satellites. I admit that I was flying under some shady circumstances, in a wooded area on a hillside, but decided to launch anyway.
I flew only for about 3 minutes to get a quick video. I brought Solo back in for landing, and at a 2-3 ft hover in front of me, it began to drift to the right and towards the stone structure I was shooting. I tried to steer back to the left but it continued right. I then pulled down on left stick and slid Solo to a hopping stop just inches from a tree next to the stone structure.
So, would someone know whether launching under these conditions and only having 6 satellites was the cause? Could something else have caused Solo to react this way?
Just fishing for some thoughts. Thanks!

 

[Jubalr]

Wanted to get some thoughts on my first near miss from this weekends flying. I put Solo in the air with GPS clearance of 6 satellites. I admit that I was flying under some shady circumstances, in a wooded area on a hillside, but decided to launch anyway.
I flew only for about 3 minutes to get a quick video. I brought Solo back in for landing, and at a 2-3 ft hover in front of me, it began to drift to the right and towards the stone structure I was shooting. I tried to steer back to the left but it continued right. I then pulled down on left stick and slid Solo to a hopping stop just inches from a tree next to the stone structure.
So, would someone know whether launching under these conditions and only having 6 satellites was the cause? Could something else have caused Solo to react this way?
Just fishing for some thoughts. Thanks!

It was probably on the verge of losing sat in those conditions. Your best course of action is anytime you feel Solo is not responding exactly as you direct it to, is to put it in manual mode and rule out GPS issues.

 

[Adimuzio513]

Yea I have agree with Jubalr I almost always use manual when I'm taking off and landing or just flying under 10 feet since having some similar gps issues. It drops without warning until it's too late to react or it did months ago at least. 6 is definitley low I'm surprised it gave you a lock, mine usually takes at least 7 or 8 to get near a 2 hdop and lock. After practice in manual I actually feel safer using it now when I'm not doing smart shots and everyone should at least get practice switching and flying with it for the dreaded oh $&it moments. Fly safe

 

[Adimuzio513]

Even being clear overhead at home my yard is surrounded by trees and the sides being blocked is what caused mine to glitch in the first few weeks after release. It's not a huge clearing, but plenty of space to have a view of the sky and I rarely get more than 7 or 8 sats until I get up in the air a bit in manual.

 

[Barry Poole]

I've only had Solo since December and this is my first quad. I still haven't switched it to manual and love how it handles with GPS. I do see how handy, NOW, it would be to fly manually. Thanks!

 

[Barry Poole]

Yea I have agree with Jubalr I almost always use manual when I'm taking off and landing or just flying under 10 feet since having some similar gps issues. It drops without warning until it's too late to react or it did months ago at least. 6 is definitley low I'm surprised it gave you a lock, mine usually takes at least 7 or 8 to get near a 2 hdop and lock. After practice in manual I actually feel safer using it now when I'm not doing smart shots and everyone should at least get practice switching and flying with it for the dreaded oh $&it moments. Fly safe

Yes, 6 is low! I was so surprised to hear the beeps and look down to see Hold Fly To Start Motors!

 

[Adimuzio513]

No problem I was nervous to switch to the other modes as well, actually the other poster in here above put out a great video showing and explaining the modes a while back. I'll see if I can find the link, it made it less intimidating since the names of some modes are a bit confusing when compared with what they change. Manual is definitley the best to learn though. It holds your altitude pretty well and you just need to control the drift from the wind. The others are a bit more involved, but going up above any trees or obstructions and practicing manual is a pretty safe bet, if it gets tricky just push fly and gps is there waiting.

 

[Adimuzio513]

Looking for that vid now it was either Jubalr or earlgray that posted it though.

 

[Adimuzio513]

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Pretty sure this should work if not Google 3dr solo flight modes Vimeo and it's at the top.

 

[Barry Poole]

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Pretty sure this should work if not Google 3dr solo flight modes Vimeo and it's at the top.

Thank you! I'll check it out.

 

[Adimuzio513]

No problem these guys took the time to teach me a ton, I'm happy to pass it on. That little video got me confident enough to start trying em and now I use manual as much or more than fly. Still waiting for decent weather to try some acrobatics otherwise I've got em down now. Had a p2 before solo, but I'm much more cautious with solo and so far I've kept it in the air without issue, beside one rough landing because a gps glitch like your describing.

 

[Chuck]

Just curious. You said it was at 2 - 3 ft. hover in front of you. Was it by chance facing you? If so, remember that the controls would be opposite when facing you. That would explain why your left stick input went right. Just guessing on my part.

 

[Barry Poole]

Just curious. You said it was at 2 - 3 ft. hover in front of you. Was it by chance facing you? If so, remember that the controls would be opposite when facing you. That would explain why your left stick input went right. Just guessing on my part.

Yes it was facing me. it was sliding to my right that I couldn't stop with roll right on right stick. It definitely looked and felt it was moving on its own!

 

[Maddog]

I've only had Solo since December and this is my first quad. I still haven't switched it to manual and love how it handles with GPS. I do see how handy, NOW, it would be to fly manually. Thanks!

Not just handy but necessary if Solo gets wonky and needs an intervention!

 

[Barry Poole]

Well, I took some time this evening to fly in manual. Went pretty good and I was impressed by how stable it seems to be. I just played around at close range and am looking forward to getting it out in the open real soon. I could imagine a stiff breeze in this mode could be disastrous so I'll keep this as a calm day activity! Thanks for all the help!

 

[Adimuzio513]

Glad to hear it went well now keep manual mapped to one of your a or b buttons and hit that if you have gps issues and you'll be fine. It's also great to get super smooth shots if you use the wind to your advantage after some practice. It's definitley saved my solo a couple times having manual and cable mapped and getting in the menu for other smart shots.

 

[Barry Poole]

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Pretty sure this should work if not Google 3dr solo flight modes Vimeo and it's at the top.

This video really help! Just being able to actually see how it reacts was definitely a boost of confidence. Thanks!

 

[Adimuzio513]

Believe it was earlgray that put it together thinking about it, he must have a different name for Vimeo now, him and Jubalr are great for any questions I've had as are a lot of other guys here. This sites one of the best I've come across not just for solo, but just multis in general.

 

[Barry Poole]

Glad to hear it went well now keep manual mapped to one of your a or b buttons and hit that if you have gps issues and you'll be fine. It's also great to get super smooth shots if you use the wind to your advantage after some practice. It's definitley saved my solo a couple times having manual and cable mapped and getting in the menu for other smart shots.

I did exactly that. Mapped to A and Orbit to B but that will change tonight. I'll remember the wind trick, nice.

 

[Barry Poole]

Believe it was earlgray that put it together thinking about it, he must have a different name for Vimeo now, him and Jubalr are great for any questions I've had as are a lot of other guys here. This sites one of the best I've come across not just for solo, but just multis in general.

I agree! I've been slowly making my way through a lot of threads on here and getting very useful info.