Solo crash, bent gimbal arm. Occurred on solo app to tower hand off.

[cameraguy]

Hi all, I have made one successful tower run several weeks ago. Tried again last week and as I tried to pass from solo app to tower at about 15' up solo immediately flipped and crashed.

Two broken props and a bent gimbal arm that I only noticed on the next flight when GP was misaligned. Strangely(?) all 4 legs were fine. Solo seemed to have a seizure in midair.

I promptly bought a new gimbal ;-/ and installed, fired up smoothly with no props, gimbal worked fine and I have now flown smoothly with no issues that I can detect.
3 questions:
Can I salvage the gimbal? ( unbend vs new arm)

How did it bend without other damage to solo?

most importantly...

What is the exact procedure for passing solo from FLY in the solo app to a standard tower mission in the appropriate location without auto take off and landing?

Thanks for any help or relevant links, I could not find answers on search or in the tower tutorial.
View attachment 2454

I'm not sure reading the thread that you tried tried to fix the gimbal, but give it every shot. The experience is completely worth the risk, and you already own a new Gimbal.

Best of luck!

 

[saiabl]

This happened to my Solo exact the same, no damage to legs but gimbal bent.

 

[Flying Squirrel]

Hi all, I have made one successful tower run several weeks ago. Tried again last week and as I tried to pass from solo app to tower at about 15' up solo immediately flipped and crashed.

Two broken props and a bent gimbal arm that I only noticed on the next flight when GP was misaligned. Strangely(?) all 4 legs were fine. Solo seemed to have a seizure in midair.

I promptly bought a new gimbal ;-/ and installed, fired up smoothly with no props, gimbal worked fine and I have now flown smoothly with no issues that I can detect.
3 questions:
Can I salvage the gimbal? ( unbend vs new arm)

How did it bend without other damage to solo?

most importantly...

What is the exact procedure for passing solo from FLY in the solo app to a standard tower mission in the appropriate location without auto take off and landing?

Thanks for any help or relevant links, I could not find answers on search or in the tower tutorial.
View attachment 2454

My experience and 2 cents ...

Preflight Checklist

Check Tablet Charge Level
Check Controller Charge Level
Check Fight Battery Charge Level
Check GoPro Battery Charge Level - GoPro Setting - Time Sync
Power ON Controller
Insert Flight Battery
Power ON Solo
Check GoPro has initiated
Confirm Handshake
Power ON tablet
Connect tablet to Solo wifi
Initiate 3DR services
Initiate Tower
Connect Tower to Solo
Confirm connection - verify location - video feed from Solo
Check GPS - HDOP
Check Flight Battery Charge Level - >95%
Upload Mission to Solo
Take Off -- Ascend vertically until clear of objects

I have taken off with GPS assist, and manually. No problems experienced with either mode, but I prefer to FLY MANUAL until activating the mission ... I allow Tower RTH, and have allowed an auto landing in wide-open areas. I prefer to land manually -- I will allow Solo to the RTH altitude, and once overhead I assume manual control.

Power Down Checklist

Disconnect Tower
Power Off - Solo
Remove Flight Battery
Power Off - Tablet -- I always power off, not sleep
Power off Controller

Never power down the controller with live Solo

I have run both the 3DR flight control program and Tower ... I have experienced a tablet freeze on two occasions when I first began using Tower. The procedure above has been reliable.

Regarding the gimbal ... Ok ... I've smacked an oak tree at full speed. No I will not share the video. Solo crashed through the branches on the way down and hit the ground. My Solo had a few scratches, broken props, and the gimbal arm was bent. I believe the arm was bent by hooking a branch ... that said, the metal is very soft ... soft enough to bend by hand. You can also use a pair of small adjustable wrenches - one to secure the straight portion of the gimbal arm, and the other to perform the bending. Use small pieces of cloth to cushion the surface of the metal. If the drive until is still intact I feel you can reshape the gimbal arm and at the very least have a valid backup unit.

Hope this helps.

 

[nvpowerdoc]

It would be really nice (3DR if you are listening) to add AUTO to one of the assignable buttons on the transmitter controller when using the Solo App. I fly AUTO flights far more often than Manual / Orbit / Cable cam, etc. The video interface on the Solo App is larger than that in Tower (especially if you're only using a Samsung Galaxy S5 phone). It's a real PITA to have to switch between Apps just to see better video.

I've been "disconnecting" when switching between Apps because a recent update was "locking-up" my video when switching between Apps. I've flown 100+ flights using Tower Auto, and so far, switching between Apps has not caused any unexpected flight situations (but it always crosses my mind when I do it).