First crash

[jaymst]

Had my first crash on the 4th. Flew from back yard past thick trees & lost contact ... it started return to home ... it got connection when it got close ... I started flying & lowered to about 10-12 ft from where it took off .. I was getting ready to hold fly button to land & it suddenly took off across yard toward woods ... held fly to try to land it kept going until hitting vines & small trees ... luckily no damage. Probably my fault .. maybe should have hit pause. I downloaded logs ... if anyone can help ... let me know which files & how to upload for you to view ... Thanks

 

[jimloss]

Had my first crash on the 4th. Flew from back yard past thick trees & lost contact ... it started return to home ... it got connection when it got close ... I started flying & lowered to about 10-12 ft from where it took off .. I was getting ready to hold fly button to land & it suddenly took off across yard toward woods ... held fly to try to land it kept going until hitting vines & small trees ... luckily no damage. Probably my fault .. maybe should have hit pause. I downloaded logs ... if anyone can help ... let me know which files & how to upload for you to view ... Thanks

I'm not sure that log files are needed. Based on your thorough description it sounds like everything worked properly.

Loss of connection while past thick tress: this would initiate a RTH. Keep Solo in line of site. If going behind branches, not trees, there are Wi-Fi and antenna mods that can help.

Once you took control when Solo got close to home, the fact that Solo "took off" indicates poor view of GPS satelites. Either bad positioning data due to too few satelites or a complete loss off GPS and your Solo switched to Fly:Manual.

Program your Controllers A button to Fly:Manual. Learn to Fly:Manual in large open spaces. Until comfortable flying in Fly:Manual, stay far away from trees and buildings. Once you are comfortable with Fly:Manual you can easily take control if your Solo races off by pressing the A button. If GPS is ever lost, your Solo will automatically switch to Fly:Manual. If you fly under or near trees and buildings, always use Fly:Manual.

If you want logs reviewed, the tlogs would be the first to look at for this incident. Search YouTube for "3dr solo logs" for instructions on accessing these logs.

 

[Acroduster]

jimloss, thanks for picking up the A/B Fly:manual mode torch and running with it!

 

[jimloss]

jimloss, thanks for picking up the A/B Fly:manual mode torch and running with it!

The controller should have been preprogrammed this way.

I use Fly:Manual for most of my flying now. It's how I learned to fly before I got my first drone with GPS. Letting your Solo drift in the wind can create great videos.

 

[jaymst]

After reading for hour or two ... looks like jimloss you are right ... I took off from tight spot (very slow to connect gps) & it must have lost gps as I was lowering & making minor adjustments ... minor turned into major ... I'm learning .... the hard way

 

[jimloss]

Crashes happen - I try not to crash my Solo

 

[just_bruce]

After reading for hour or two ... looks like jimloss you are right ... I took off from tight spot (very slow to connect gps) & it must have lost gps as I was lowering & making minor adjustments ... minor turned into major ... I'm learning .... the hard way

After having my first near-miss I've switched to always landing in manual mode. Get it close, but still above trees/buildings/canyon edges, hit A, land under manual control. Also, it's given me a feel for "soft" takeoffs, which are sometimes nice to add to a shot.

 

[Acroduster]

I've owned mine since almost the very beginning (coming up on two years) without a crash. Have I had a "flyaway" event? Yes - several. Each time I've hit A, regained control, and landed safely.

 

[KDan]

After reading for hour or two ... looks like jimloss you are right ... I took off from tight spot (very slow to connect gps) & it must have lost gps as I was lowering & making minor adjustments ... minor turned into major ... I'm learning .... the hard way

jaymst - Just so you know, the pause button won't help if you don't have a good GPS lock. That button is quite useless in my opinion. It is really no different that just letting go of all the sticks when in Fly mode.
If you've lost a good GPS lock, you must disengage the GPS and fly it manually.

 

[pyrate]

good post, sounds like a classic gps glitch
If you launch mission planner some time and watch the fix on the map sitting anywhere that gps signals might be bouncing and watch the location fix you can see the position jump all over the place.