Drifting on land

[MtnXfreeride]

I only have one 5 minute fight with my 3rd solo so far, but the first time I landed it freaked me out. I was hovering about 20' up and 10' from the RTH location and pressed the button. It started shooting up to the RTH height (100') but only went up about 10 feet before it also hit the RTH location (it didnt shoot straight up as I expected) and started to land. When it was about 5' from the ground it started drifting sideways as it finished the land. It landed 15' from the RTH and I was afraid it was going to flip when it hit ground.

Is this common or preventable? Also, if it happens in the future, what do I do that quickly? There were tall trees surrounding my lawn about 30' away in each direction. Is there a way to force the props off quickly?

 

[Jim B]

I found I could take over manually even after having started a return to home. But I'm new to drones as well...

 

[MtnXfreeride]

Im seeing a lot of crash videos on youtube and a lot of times the motors stay running long after crash and probably do more damage. I am curious what to do if I crash to get it to shut off quickly.

 

[User Name]

Regarding not reaching the full RTL altitude before landing, the Solo uses a system where by the closer you are to the RTL location, the less it'll climb before moving laterally. This is to avoid unnecessarily climbing to the full RTL height only to move laterally a short distance and then having to descend the entire RTL altitude. This is totally normal, you just have to be prepared if you happen to fly behind an obstruction (tree, for example) and trigger an RTL to make sure it'll clear if it only climbs 10 feet or so.

On the drifting, the closer to the ground, the more likely it is that parts of the sky will be obstructed and you're GPS precision will decrease, which can cause drifting. You should be able to reposition Solo while it's landing, just use the right stick to move normally and it'll just continue to descend. Personally, if I use RTL, I usually put it back into Fly mode once it's 10 to 15 feet up and bring it in myself.

 

[Maddog]

Hi MtnX- welcome to the forum!

1) RTL is intended to be used when some distance from the take off point to get home as fast as possible. Page 34 of the users manual explains the "cone zone" better than I can and should help you understand what probably happened.

2) The drift could be a number of factors. The area you describe may prevent Solo from getting and maintaining a reliable GPS signal.
I would recommend landing in FLY:MANUAL to prevent an errant GPS signal from interfering at the last moment with landing.

3) Pressing and holding the "A", "B" and "=" (pause) buttons at the same time will immediately shut off all motors. If Solo is still in the air, it will drop like a rock.

 

[MtnXfreeride]

Hi MtnX- welcome to the forum!

1) RTL is intended to be used when some distance from the take off point to get home as fast as possible. Page 34 of the users manual explains the "cone zone" better than I can and should help you understand what probably happened.

2) The drift could be a number of factors. The area you describe may prevent Solo from getting and maintaining a reliable GPS signal.
I would recommend landing in FLY:MANUAL to prevent an errant GPS signal from interfering at the last moment with landing.

3) Pressing and holding the "A", "B" and "=" (pause) buttons at the same time will immediately shut off all motors. If Solo is still in the air, it will drop like a rock.

Thank you both for more info - I think I will need to travel to a larger area before enabling FLY:MANUAL mode - on my cheapie drone there is trim adjustment - I am afraid if I switch to manual mode it will somehow start drifting since I dont have that calibrated as far as I know. (That and wind will become a factor - one that affects my cheapie drone a lot but maybe not this heavy thing)

I learned a lot of goodies from the FAQ I need to look into as well. Didnt know about magnetic storms etc..

 

[SARDG]

If you want an instantaneous Kill switch, with no fumbling with 3 buttons, Solex allows the Pause button to be programmed to Kill - and it's fast. Of course, if you accidently hit Pause at 400' it could be a problem - though I hear-tell of some pilots who have restarted the motors and flown out of it.

 

[Maddog]

Thank you both for more info - I think I will need to travel to a larger area before enabling FLY:MANUAL mode - on my cheapie drone there is trim adjustment - I am afraid if I switch to manual mode it will somehow start drifting since I dont have that calibrated as far as I know. (That and wind will become a factor - one that affects my cheapie drone a lot but maybe not this heavy thing)

I learned a lot of goodies from the FAQ I need to look into as well. Didnt know about magnetic storms etc..

In FLY:MANUAL, Solo will not hold position as it is no longer using GPS. It will drift with the wind, so you will need to learn to fly it "manually" like your cheapie drone.

Learning to fly in manual is necessary in case the automation fails.

 

[User Name]

though I hear-tell of some pilots who have restarted the motors and flown out of it.

I was clowning around with a 250 quad and managed to disarm it at probably 75 to 100 feet up. Didn't manage to rearm it before impact. Surprisingly, I just busted a few props, but I would definitely not want to try that stunt with the Solo!

 

[Maddog]

I was clowning around with a 250 quad and managed to disarm it at probably 75 to 100 feet up. Didn't manage to rearm it before impact. Surprisingly, I just busted a few props, but I would definitely not want to try that stunt with the Solo!

Ouch! That'll leave a mark.

 

[Chuck]

Welcome to the forum, MtnX. I have also found that when my Solo drifts a lot, while closer to the ground, it helps to do a compass calibration. In fact, the last time I flew, my bird looked like it was a bit intoxicated. It was drifting about 4 to 5 feet just hovering 10 feet off the ground. I landed and did a compass calibration and it was rock steady after that. Maddog was right on about landing in Manual due to the gps signal being easier to be blocked. Learning to fly while in Manual will eventually be your best friend. Hope this helps, and fly safe.