Who else gives themselves a heart attack while flying?

[ucsbgaucho00]

So I've only had the Solo about a month and a half, and gotten more and more comfortable flying. Not really pushing any limits yet, but every time I take it out I've got the feeling in the back of my mind of the Solo dropping out of the sky, or a tree suddenly appearing out of nowhere for the drone to crash into etc.

I took it today up toward one of the big ski areas here in Salt Lake City, out of the range of the local air force base and the municipal landing strip, and flew it from the road down into a valley where the melting snow is creating gushing rivers. Part of the time it was below the level where it took off from, and it swung around some sets of trees where I lost connection briefly. Lost sight of it too as the tiny spec was lost among the branches. Even with a good connection, solid battery, and clear view through the GoPro lens, I don't think I took a breath until the Solo was safely on the ground.

 

[Lon Denard]

Yea, I'm a nervous flyer myself and I've had one since September!

I feel as if I can overcome almost any problem now EXCEPT lost connection/ fly a ways. Whenever I lose connection, I wait with baited breath for it to return home. Whew.

 

[Chun]

Fun!! Exciting!!And a little nerve-racking!!!
But a few modes calmed me down alot.
MRO GPS swap and FPVLR antennas for controller. Probably do the wifi upgrade soon as well.

 

[BirdDog]

Same here. I've only got a couple of hours flying time under my belt but it seems like I'm experiencing something new every time I put it in the air. Lost connection, random RTH, buttons not responding, etc. I know that the more I fly it, the more confident I'll be in controlling it, which will lead to a more relaxing experience.

Time in the air. Just need more time in the air...

 

[NightStorm]

I've only been flying about 3 or 4 years. Based purely on counting the MP4 files my archive disk it appears I've made 254 flights (with a non-trainer multirotor) but consider myself a perpetual newbie. While I'm more comfortable flying some craft than others (looking at you X8+!) I'm not sure that the nervousness ever goes away. Maybe a good thing?

Early on I developed a couple of rules: never fly over people, and never fly over anything I'm not willing to pay for.

That helps but there is still an element of unpredictability with what can be a lot of money in the air.

 

[Lon Denard]

Yea I never fly over people or property of I can help it. It's kind of sad because most of the coolest stuff to film occurs over people or property. Festivals, races, outdoor concerts, weddings, etc. I just can't chance it!

Heck, I'm just getting comfortable flying over water. That's a new development mostly predicated on my purchase of insurance from State Farm. I'm no longer afraid of losing my drone or camera at least.

I've only flown consumer drones but that started when I bought an AR Drone 1.0 several years ago. I know it's not on the same level but on the positive side, it caused me to be a very attentive pilot and gave me a lot of practice with basically unassisted piloting.

Now my biggest fear is the unit just crashing down for no apparent reason and by no fault of my own. I wish I could hold on to the exhilaration of flying without the constant fear of hardware or software failures.

 

[Jeffer]

What's the funniest is that many of us are flying bargain basement Solos, technically worth less that the GoPro it's carrying (and certainly WAY less than they cost just a short time ago), yet I think many of us are nervous about crashing, loosing it, whatever. I even have a complete spare, and another gimbal sitting brand new in the closet (with an upgraded GPS to boot).
If I was flying $1,500+ worth of drone, like many long-term flyers have had, I'd probably be even worse. LOL

 

[Airpower]

Ive been flying all types of UAV's for over ten years. Mostly planes, the quad bug bit me in 2012. I still get nervous, something as large and complex as the Solo is very intimidating floating in the air. Much more nervous then my usual recreational stuff despite my planes not having any RTH or live video! It's always scary, but through the years including professional jobs(107 certified), just having a mental checklist knowing everything is right. With these quads a fly away is something you can only prevent, when it happens theres almost nothing that can be done. But you can do compass calibration not fly near power lines upgrading the gps gave me peace of mind.
This hobby never was and never will be for the lighthearted

 

[Lon Denard]

What's the funniest is that many of us are flying bargain basement Solos, technically worth less that the GoPro it's carrying (and certainly WAY less than they cost just a short time ago), yet I think many of us are nervous about crashing, loosing it, whatever. I even have a complete spare, and another gimbal sitting brand new in the closet (with an upgraded GPS to boot).
If I was flying $1,500+ worth of drone, like many long-term flyers have had, I'd probably be even worse. LOL

I know that's right brother! I'm honestly not sure I'd be able to do it at all.

 

[Lon Denard]

Ive been flying all types of UAV's for over ten years. Mostly planes, the quad bug bit me in 2012. I still get nervous, something as large and complex as the Solo is very intimidating floating in the air. Much more nervous then my usual recreational stuff despite my planes not having any RTH or live video! It's always scary, but through the years including professional jobs(107 certified), just having a mental checklist knowing everything is right. With these quads a fly away is something you can only prevent, when it happens theres almost nothing that can be done. But you can do compass calibration not fly near power lines upgrading the gps gave me peace of mind.
This hobby never was and never will be for the lighthearted

True. My other hobby-sport bikes isn't exactly without it's pit falls either. Losing the drone isn't my main concern, I have insurance for that, having it fly away, fall and harming someone is what I fear the most.

I've been known to push around 180mph+ on public roads with hardly a second thought. However, that's with me having years of experience and being in complete control of my equipment. The problem here, for me, is the possibility or almost certainty that the Solo will randomly take me out of the equation and do whatever it wants. I guess the potential helplessness of the situation is what bothers me the most.

 

[jcar]

You should always fly your Solo with the same respect as a real aircraft.

 

[jcar]

Samsung Galaxy Tab A 7.0 (2016) Tablet Review

 

[my-spot]

I find the Solo so easy to fly that I have gotten less and less nervous. I make sure my takeoffs and landings are clear in the vertical direction just in case Solo goes into RTL. Also I let it gather some additional satellites (0.9 HDOP or better) before takeoff. So... I fly over water, trees, etc, with some confidence.

That said however, I have had a few minor glitches along the way that keep me humble. In my first 48 hours with Solo I had had 2 crashes (broken props) in which I learned not to fly in tight spaces. Now after ≈40 flights I have been crash free but I have had 3 or 4 minor issues. One mid air amperage spike, One glitch where I was commanding a spin in yaw when Solo was in a 20+mph crosswind while in RTL and it briefly freaked out (but recovered), and one time when I flew out of range, it went into RTL but would not reconnect until it landed (safely) and was rebooted. Oh and one flight where it experienced a limp gimbal.

These minor issues have been pretty evenly spaced and as a result have kept me from being too relaxed when flying. On the other side of the coin I have also made some of the popular mods such as MAS props, mRo GPS, and Alfa antennas that have somewhat decreased the sense of impending doom.

Also, and most important, I know I will do a water landing or crash it someday so I have already written off the cost in my mind...

 

[Lon Denard]

I find the Solo so easy to fly that I have gotten less and less nervous. I make sure my takeoffs and landings are clear in the vertical direction just in case Solo goes into RTL. Also I let it gather some additional satellites (0.9 HDOP or better) before takeoff. So... I fly over water, trees, etc, with some confidence.

That said however, I have had a few minor glitches along the way that keep me humble. In my first 48 hours with Solo I had had 2 crashes (broken props) in which I learned not to fly in tight spaces. Now after ≈40 flights I have been crash free but I have had 3 or 4 minor issues. One mid air amperage spike, One glitch where I was commanding a spin in yaw when Solo was in a 20+mph crosswind while in RTL and it briefly freaked out (but recovered), and one time when I flew out of range, it went into RTL but would not reconnect until it landed (safely) and was rebooted. Oh and one flight where it experienced a limp gimbal.

These minor issues have been pretty evenly spaced and as a result have kept me from being too relaxed when flying. On the other side of the coin I have also made some of the popular mods such as MAS props, mRo GPS, and Alfa antennas that have somewhat decreased the sense of impending doom.

Also, and most important, I know I will do a water landing or crash it someday so I have already written off the cost in my mind...

I'm getting better with every flight and it helped to buy insurance. The loss of the unit isn't my worst fear, it's having it fly away and drop from the sky causing injury or a car accident. I'm doing the GPS shield and I'll do other mods once my warranty is up.

 

[andrew.baker.142]

Buy a couple spare Solos. Will definitely calm your nerves!

 

[Mauiwind]

For the longest time, I was so damned nervous that my fingers were unsteady on the controller. Many times, because of the stress I allowed myself to have, I felt dog tired when the flight time(s) ended. After 3 in the ocean and three remaining, I've decided not to try to impress myself with amazing feats of daring.There's still a bit of an "awakening" when I fly, but I got pretty zen about the whole thing. Kinda like not fearing death because you're already dead. Now you can live.

 

[Nick F]

After my first Solo went crazy, I bought 2 more and in the one I fly, I installed a MARS parachute with the Mayday box...
I feel much much more relaxed....

 

[Cuzman]

After my first Solo went crazy, I bought 2 more and in the one I fly, I installed a MARS parachute with the Mayday box...
I feel much much more relaxed....

Can you send me a link to what you installed? Maybe pictures of what it looks like attached to your drone? Thanks!

 

[Lon Denard]

Can you send me a link to what you installed? Maybe pictures of what it looks like attached to your drone? Thanks!

+1

 

[SPP]

Me first heart attack was at under 1 hour of flight experience with Solo.
It RTL ( return to landing ) on its own, coz I did not get the actual warning of radio disconnect...until I see the log.
Since I was on SNAIL mode which is no faster than 5 meter per second, seeing it speeding at 10 meter per second was so scary, as I thought a fly-away situation occurred...like a Phantom DJI.

I suspect it was due to wifi interference from a GoPro I placed near landing/take-off spot, where the GoPro was on Wifi so that I can use a 2nd tablet to see its FOV recording Solo taking off. I lost contact for less than 5 seconds..approx at 80 meters away. So what I did was I moved in front of the GoPro, hoping by being closer to the Solo , the wifi interference from the GoPro will be reduced...it did. When Solo was like 20 meters away I regain control again and all went well

A 2nd heart attack is when my muscle memory was still Phantom 1 motor kill method, which is both stick moved to down + both inwards, I nearly flipped my Solo when I landed and kill the motor using that P1 method. Good thing it took off 30cm up and side way and my brain managed to remember this is a Solo and not a P1 and I throttled up...no accident.

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