Newbie Question\Concern

CoolDad5 · Dec 21, 2016

I am one of those who purchased the Solo for $299 at BB. Now, I am having buyer's remorse. I have watched several videos with Solo flyaways (and other brands). I am new to flying drones and planned to take it slow. Go out of town and learn to fly in open areas, but after reading up and watching videos, I have become increasingly concerned that I would be rolling the dice every time I fly of having a flyaway. I am correct or are there signs that people are ignoring that are causing this. I just can't imagine BB selling something that has a risk of becoming a 4lb missile.

Marich · Dec 21, 2016

CoolDad5 said:
I am one of those who purchased the Solo for $299 at BB. Now, I am having buyer's remorse. I have watched several videos with Solo flyaways (and other brands). I am new to flying drones and planned to take it slow. Go out of town and learn to fly in open areas, but after reading up and watching videos, I have become increasingly concerned that I would be rolling the dice every time I fly of having a flyaway. I am correct or are there signs that people are ignoring that are causing this. I just can't imagine BB selling something that has a risk of becoming a 4lb missile.

Oh boy. We need to dedicate a must-read sticky to this question.
OK, here's the answer:
The 3DR Solo is the single least likely high-end drone to experience a so-called "flyaway".
Flyaways are nearly non-existent with Solo. When one supposedly occurs is almost always traces back to operator error. Of course they have happened, as with any drone, but are rare indeed.
DJI, Yuneec, and other brands have a tendency to fly away on a regular basis and indeed are the only ones I've ever experienced one with.
It's important to understand that this malfunction is rare in any case, but I've had exactly four legitimate cases of my own, none of which Solo was involved.
Stop worrying and go fly.

Raul Pared · Dec 21, 2016

dido

Marich said:
Oh boy. We need to dedicate a must-read sticky to this question.
OK, here's the answer:
The 3DR Solo is the single least likely high-end drone to experience a so-called "flyaway".
Flyaways are nearly non-existent with Solo. When one supposedly occurs is almost always traces back to operator error. Of course they have happened, as with any drone, but are rare indeed.
DJI, Yuneec, and other brands have a tendency to fly away on a regular basis and indeed are the only ones I've ever experienced one with.
It's important to understand that this malfunction is rare in any case, but I've had exactly four legitimate cases of my own, none of which Solo was involved.
Stop worrying and go fly.

dido

Don H. · Dec 21, 2016

Yes,
Stop reading the crap that Craigiri is posting. I felt the same as you did after reading all of the feedback. I returned my first one without even powering it on and bought it again 2 weeks later to give it a go. I'm very happy with mine. I did have a minor flyaway (a couple hundred feet) that resulted in a crash but 3DR replaced it under warranty. Haven't had a problem since. That's been since July.

Good luck and enjoy it.

FVidrine · Dec 21, 2016

I also bought the BB deal and been reading and watching videos as much as possible. When I first saw that some had issues it made me nervous, so I continued to research. I found this forum and have spent the last two days exploring and I became a lot more confident with the Solo. I received it today and my daughter and I went to the closest empty school parking lot we could find and we had an amazing first flight! This thing rocks! It was very solid and it really impressed me. Having never owned a drone I wanted to be sure I had all the info I could gather before I took it out. I even used the solo simulator while the batteries charged, making sure I understood the operation of the remote before live flight.

All I can say is, give it a try. Do your research and learn how it operates. Follow the directions and you will not be disappointed. I was lucky enough to get the B version GPS so it acquires the signal pretty quickly. I have already ordered the MRo GPS card and plan to upgrade it, I also ordered the new wifi card for the controller but I will use the drone and see what the distance is before I replace it.

I want to thank everyone on this forum for taking the time to educate us new pilots. Your efforts are greatly appreciated!!

WILLIAM MARTINEZ · Dec 21, 2016

Marich said:
Oh boy. We need to dedicate a must-read sticky to this question.
OK, here's the answer:
The 3DR Solo is the single least likely high-end drone to experience a so-called "flyaway".
Flyaways are nearly non-existent with Solo. When one supposedly occurs is almost always traces back to operator error. Of course they have happened, as with any drone, but are rare indeed.
DJI, Yuneec, and other brands have a tendency to fly away on a regular basis and indeed are the only ones I've ever experienced one with.
It's important to understand that this malfunction is rare in any case, but I've had exactly four legitimate cases of my own, none of which Solo was involved.
Stop worrying and go fly.

I agree I've had solo for a while and it has never happened to me. Just keep in mind from time to time calibrate ur drone it make a successful fly.

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Joey · Dec 21, 2016

If you loose your GPS signal and you loose your WiFi at the same time. Yes you will have your fly away. Suggestion, learn to fly in manual. Also have your manual key preset. This is a great drone. Great deal at 300.00.

Marich · Dec 21, 2016

WILLIAM MARTINEZ said:
I agree I've had solo for a while and it has never happened to me. Just keep in mind from time to time calibrate ur drone it make a successful fly.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes, good and valid point. Kinda goes hand in hand with the competence and confidence thing too!!

Don H. · Dec 21, 2016

Joey said:
If you loose your GPS signal and you loose your WiFi at the same time. Yes you will have your fly away. Suggestion, learn to fly in manual. Also have your manual key preset. This is a great drone. Great deal at 300.00.

Ummm...if you lose wifi too, manual won't do you any good.

Jubalr · Dec 22, 2016

Joey said:
If you loose your GPS signal and you loose your WiFi at the same time. Yes you will have your fly away. Suggestion, learn to fly in manual. Also have your manual key preset. This is a great drone. Great deal at 300.00.

Not true. Loss of GPS and controller will cause the Solo to land where it is, not fly away.

CoolDad5 · Dec 22, 2016

Thanks for all the replies. I am going to keep the bird and start flying it. I have a just a couple questions..

1. How do I tell what GPS board I got? Can I tell by the box or serial number? If I have rev.A, should I take it back and try to get a rev.B? Is this a big deal or should I replace the gps board anyways?

2. Is there any mods that I should take care of before I start flying it? Shield?

Thanks again

bcapp · Dec 22, 2016

I just received my solo yesterday. I received one with the Rev. A board. You have to take drone apart and it's listed on the board under the copper shield. Since I had it apart I went ahead and did the cardboard shield mod for the heck of it. Never flew a drone before until yesterday. Turned everything on, and within about 1 minute had 9 sats locked. Then 12. I don't have any other drone experience, but this Solo is super easy to fly. I set my return home altitude to 105 feet, just to he sure I clear any tall trees.

I'm ready to buy another just for backup.

CoolDad5 · Dec 22, 2016

I removed the battery tray and I have a green GPS board (rev.A??). Any advice? Still okay to fly, should I modify with cardboard or buy a shield or do I need to buy third party GPS? I know I am over thinking this!

pyrate · Dec 22, 2016

fly it
there are far far more people flying with no issues
they just don't post
typically people post problems not success
you got a very nice kit for 300 bucks, enjoy it

CoolDad5 · Dec 22, 2016

Okay, I will go fly it and stop bugging you guys. I am sure that once I start flying it, I will be able to evaluate how everything is working better. The GPS thing makes me nervous, but that is just from not having any experience with drones. Thanks again for the help.

Jeffer · Dec 22, 2016

Keep it in line of sight.
Wasn't said here, but that is very important.
Enjoy more, worry less.

Scott McCloud · Dec 22, 2016

Echo "Enjoy more, worry less."

WILLIAM MARTINEZ · Dec 23, 2016

I agree just enjoy ur fly!
By the way anyone lives near Hollywood CA?

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Chuck · Dec 23, 2016

CoolDad5 said:
Okay, I will go fly it and stop bugging you guys. I am sure that once I start flying it, I will be able to evaluate how everything is working better. The GPS thing makes me nervous, but that is just from not having any experience with drones. Thanks again for the help.

Welcome, CoolDad5. Just take it slow in an open area. Solo is so easy to fly it is common to let your confidence override your common sense. I have only had 1 problem with a flyaway. I was flying in my own neighborhood where I had flown many times, and I lost both gps and controller signal. I watched my Solo disappear over my house and after searching for hours, thought I had lost it. I placed an ad on Craigslist offering a reward, and got a call the next morning from the Church right behind my house. With loss of both signals, Solo had auto landed right on their lawn in their quad area. Come to find out I lost signal due to an underground electrical transformer at the end of my own driveway, and the high wifi traffic in my neighborhood. I was lucky. I haven't flown from my front yard since. Just like Marich said, most problems occur because of pilot error, which includes where you choose to fly in the first place. So, become familiar with the owners manual, learn to fly in manual, and use common sense. You will be fine, and soon will be enjoying Solo more than worrying about Solo. We have all been there. Good luck to you, and fly safe.

Duncan Johnston · Dec 24, 2016

I've been flying my Solo and it's predecessor the Iris for a few years now. NEVER experienced a fly-away. I did a max range test with my solo out in the desert here in Vegas a few months ago, far from any WiFi interference. Solo flew out well beyond a mile (lost visual on it long before that along along with GoPro feed) but it kept going, I only had it come back because I worried about it not having enough battery to return if I flew any further. After a few minutes it re-appeared in the sky above me and landed.