First Flight .. Impressed..

D

DodgeP

Guest
I initially ordered from DroneFly and was on the dreaded Pre-Order list. This week I managed to land myself in both NYC and Boston. I didn't even think about trying to visit B&H to see if they had any in stock even though I was almost right around the corner, nor did l search for a BB. That was on Monday and Tuesday! On Wednesday morning I was in Boston and got bored so what did I do??? Looked for a BB (found one in Cambridge) and checked inventory for the Solo.. Bingo, they had one and... of course I bought it! Picked up that night, charged the batteries, updated the software and then had my mailroom ship it back to my office. I arrived back in Philly and went to my office and there it was, on my desk.

This morning; overcast in Philly! A great morning to fly, a great morning for line of site since the bird is black it stood out like a sore thumb against the grey sky. I was able to fly two batteries (that was all I had) but I did run into two small problems. 1) I was unable to get a live feed. 2) Controller lost signal, once and RTH kicked in.

I was able to solve the live feed issue and the signal loss only happened once but I think it was due to antenna misalignment because that signal loss happened early in the first battery and didn't happen again for the rest of the flight(s).

I was able to get about 41 minutes of fun from the two batteries. The first battery I only ran to about 20%, the second battery I ran down to 8%. I was in a wide open field and had clear line of site and once the battery got to about 10% I flew within 20ft of me and low just in case anything happened. I wanted to push the battery to capacity and 8% was my comfort level.

First impressions: The Solo is very very very smooth. It seems to float on the air (at least it did for me). I kept it on it's slow setting out of the box so that I could get a feel for it. It did everything I asked of it. When you take your hands off the controls, this things literally comes to a complete stop with very minimal drifting. RTH works like a charm, pause works like a charm and I only did one pre programed shot (selfie) and it worked like a charm.

After running both batteries, Solo wasn't hot. I expected the craft to be warm but it was much cooler than I expected and that was surprising as I had read complaints about it being really hot after flying.

My iPad mini seemed to be drifting on the mount, maybe I didn't have it tightened down (via the knob in the back) enough but I felt like if I tightened it too much that it might break. That's the only part that I'm really not comfortable with.

I went out and bought 2 more batteries and they're charging now so later today I'll take Solo back out and fly 4 batteries in it and see how it performs. My next purchase has to be a backpack or travel case. I actually ordered something this morning so I'll keep you (all those who may be interested) posted on the backpack I ordered works out.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I just got back in.. Flew 4 batteries this time.. I'm BEAT!!!! for the last battery I up'd the setting to the fastest and it was like I had an entirely different machine! Do not set this thing to the fast setting if you're not ready, it is not for the faint of heart. That's all I have to say about that, lol..

The slow setting should serve photographers and videographers well as the bird is smooth as silk. ( I can't wait to get my gimble! ). The fast setting, well; it's fun but may not be for me but we'll see. I did notice on the 4th battery with the fastest setting the battery was quite warmer than the previous 3 batteries. I'm not sure if it's because I failed to check the temp (with my hand) of the other batteries when I took them off or just because they weren't at all hot like my first experience this morning.

None the less, the battery was the only thing that was hot, the body and the motors were cool as a fan..
 
Now comes the 3 flight. This is where my problems started. The computer in the solo stopped working. Hopefully you don't experience this. Would love to hear more on the next flight. I was on the phone for an hour trying to establish connection between solo and controller. No startup on solo. App works and controller. It's headed back to 3dr for new one.
 
Now comes the 3 flight. This is where my problems started. The computer in the solo stopped working. Hopefully you don't experience this. Would love to hear more on the next flight. I was on the phone for an hour trying to establish connection between solo and controller. No startup on solo. App works and controller. It's headed back to 3dr for new one.

I flew 6 batteries today in total. I need another battery charger, trying to charge 4 batts with 1 charger is a headache. I might fly again tomorrow, weather permitting. I hope that I don't run into the problem that you experienced with yours. How many batteries did you fly? Just the two or more (after a recharge of the batts you had)?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Microsprint
Two flights today, after the rain, for a total of twelve. No issues, yet. The furthest out I've flown is about a thousand feet, and never a loss of signal. Solo is SMOOTH ... even on the "Very Fast" setting. It's as if the sticks have more gradients than Phantoms, of which we own two, and the Solo is more responsive as a result. Too, the Solo is--I think--heavier and wider than the Phantom, and more stable in wind. I would have been wary of sending our Phantom up today, but the Solo was a trooper, and held its own. There was none of that, "Bzzz, Bzzz, Bzzz, it's all I can do to stay aloft!" that the Phantom screams in high winds.

I'm sorry others are having problems, but I think the Solo is a keeper.
 
had my first flight today.
only problem was it took almost 6 minutes to get the gps to work.
once that kicked in it was great flying no problems.
only had one battery with me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Raybro
Glad to hear about all the good experiences. Hopefully mine will arrive this week and I will be posting the same.
 
I initially ordered from DroneFly and was on the dreaded Pre-Order list. This week I managed to land myself in both NYC and Boston. I didn't even think about trying to visit B&H to see if they had any in stock even though I was almost right around the corner, nor did l search for a BB. That was on Monday and Tuesday! On Wednesday morning I was in Boston and got bored so what did I do??? Looked for a BB (found one in Cambridge) and checked inventory for the Solo.. Bingo, they had one and... of course I bought it! Picked up that night, charged the batteries, updated the software and then had my mailroom ship it back to my office. I arrived back in Philly and went to my office and there it was, on my desk.

This morning; overcast in Philly! A great morning to fly, a great morning for line of site since the bird is black it stood out like a sore thumb against the grey sky. I was able to fly two batteries (that was all I had) but I did run into two small problems. 1) I was unable to get a live feed. 2) Controller lost signal, once and RTH kicked in.

I was able to solve the live feed issue and the signal loss only happened once but I think it was due to antenna misalignment because that signal loss happened early in the first battery and didn't happen again for the rest of the flight(s).

I was able to get about 41 minutes of fun from the two batteries. The first battery I only ran to about 20%, the second battery I ran down to 8%. I was in a wide open field and had clear line of site and
once the battery got to about 10% I flew within 20ft of me and low just in case anything happened. I wanted to push the battery to capacity and 8% was my comfort level.

First impressions: The Solo is very very very smooth. It seems to float on the air (at least it did for me). I kept it on it's slow setting out of the box so that I could get a feel for it. It did everything I asked of it. When you take your hands off the controls, this things literally comes to a complete stop with very minimal drifting. RTH works like a charm, pause works like a charm and I only did one pre programed shot (selfie) and it worked like a charm.

After running both batteries, Solo wasn't hot. I expected the craft to be warm but it was much cooler than I expected and that was surprising as I had read complaints about it being really hot after flying.

My iPad mini seemed to be drifting on the mount, maybe I didn't have it tightened down (via the knob in the back) enough but I felt like if I tightened it too much that it might break. That's the only part that I'm really not comfortable with.

I went out and bought 2 more batteries and they're charging now so later today I'll take Solo back out and fly 4 batteries in it and see how it performs. My next purchase has to be a backpack or travel case. I actually ordered something this morning so I'll keep you (all those who may be interested) posted on the backpack I ordered works out.
nice write up thx
 

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
13,097
Messages
147,755
Members
16,071
Latest member
danny5150