Low Level Solo Flyaway's/Crashes : now 7 times, anyone else?

[Chip Luck]

Unfortunately this is the GPS Glitch that 3DR has admitted to having over and over. I have crashed 3 solos after the GPS Glitch took over and locks out the controller. Nothing responds anymore and the solo starts hovering a few feet from the ground and then it crashes itself or Solo takes a huge turn around you and then crashes into something that wasn't even a worry when you took off.
I know exactly what you feel like when this thing becomes a head hunter and goes after yourself or structures. I have experienced all three failures and it's a scary experience when you are holding the controller and just lose all control. There is a method for calibrating the actual controller on a computer and it will also log that for 3DR which is how they determined I had a bad radio in the controller which they say is part of the GPS Glitch problem. The controller can be the issue but the major concern is your still flying the same Solo and haven't had them replace it yet. They will ship you a complete new setup and take the bad stuff back.
They have done upgrades or retrofits to every solo from the factory. I have had 6 boxes now come from the factory and all 6 had mixed serial numbers on the box that never matched what's inside. Best Buy thought I was trying to exchange one I didn't buy from them and I had to show them emails from 3DR saying never use the serial numbers on the boxes because they don't match. When they still were not sure if I was being truthful they opened a brand new solo and saw that nothing matched what the new box said and they finally realized I was telling the truth.
Just get a new solo and controller and hope it's been updated with whatever they changed out on all of these drones.

I haven't even flown both of my solos since the last replacement/crash. I have received 13 batteries and 2 gimbels and still haven't even done a test flight with the new gimbels because I'm worried about another crash from a glitch.

I'm hoping some major update comes through that cures these issues for us all. I'm waiting on my FAA Exemption and don't want to jeopardize my pilots license for flying a aircraft that's unsafe and more importantly jeopardize anyone's safety.

Maybe today will be a great day to fly if I can drive to the desert and fly over open uninhabited space. However most of us didn't buy Solo to fly where there's nothing to film. We bought solo thinking we could get great Ariel video near beaches and other areas just like 3DR posts for us all to view. I want to see Solo be successful for all of our missions and video needs. I hope 3DR figures out the issue and gets us all flying safer then we currently are. There's a whole new world about to emerge with Drones and UAV's we don't need early injuries and disasters to stop us from seeing this new world take shape.

As a development engineer and have spent years with software/hardware integration, production, et. all and, well I'm tired of trying to figure this out myself. After 7 crashes, 11 props later you think I would be a little smarter. Thank you sir for your post, you see I like to see how things work since I was a kid and have been on my own, and with help from this group. But now, with a product like this and what you just described - well I have been through it with my designs, it is a growing pain and obviously undergoing a pre-release issue and development cycle. In other words, marketing pushed delivery - I have been there more than once in my career and said to marketing "we are NOT ready yet", they did not care and got the "ship it anyway" motto. It always came back to haunt them and I wind up in the usual the meetings where they were wondering why we were having problems with 'quality', I physically cleared the meeting table with my hand one time, stood up and said "you did not listen" and cost us a lot of customer loyaty and not to mention money.

Try working with your fellow engineers, tech's, floor personnel, overseas vendors, parts suppliers, and even support and shipping - trying to orchestrate a product release. That was my job and it was all military/government contracts, talking about having your a** on the line.

I will stay with 3DR and help them if I can with any feedback I can provide... that is in my nature. I want to see them succeed. So, that leaves me with sending 3DR everything I have, logs, hand-written notes, pictures, videos you name it so they can solve the issues. Customers have to provide feedback to the MFG, otherwise shipping WILL ship what they have and engineering will go on like it has. I'm sure your understand that. Again, spent too many years in this type of work.

Thanks again for you post, it got my detailed mind going. No more playing with MP, no more test flights, well maybe I have not yet flown in manual mode yet, and GET the data to 3DR and hopefully help them get this thing ironed out, period.

Cheers

 

[Jubalr]

As a development engineer and have spent years with software/hardware integration, production, et. all and, well I'm tired of trying to figure this out myself. After 7 crashes, 11 props later you think I would be a little smarter. Thank you sir for your post, you see I like to see how things work since I was a kid and have been on my own, and with help from this group. But now, with a product like this and what you just described - well I have been through it with my designs, it is a growing pain and obviously undergoing a pre-release issue and development cycle. In other words, marketing pushed delivery - I have been there more than once in my career and said to marketing "we are NOT ready yet", they did not care and got the "ship it anyway" motto. It always came back to haunt them and I wind up in the usual the meetings where they were wondering why we were having problems with 'quality', I physically cleared the meeting table with my hand one time, stood up and said "you did not listen" and cost us a lot of customer loyaty and not to mention money.

Try working with your fellow engineers, tech's, floor personnel, overseas vendors, parts suppliers, and even support and shipping - trying to orchestrate a product release. That was my job and it was all military/government contracts, talking about having your a** on the line.

I will stay with 3DR and help them if I can with any feedback I can provide... that is in my nature. I want to see them succeed. So, that leaves me with sending 3DR everything I have, logs, hand-written notes, pictures, videos you name it so they can solve the issues. Customers have to provide feedback to the MFG, otherwise shipping WILL ship what they have and engineering will go on like it has. I'm sure your understand that. Again, spent too many years in this type of work.

Thanks again for you post, it got my detailed mind going. No more playing with MP, no more test flights, well maybe I have not yet flown in manual mode yet, and GET the data to 3DR and hopefully help them get this thing ironed out, period.

Cheers

Nice post Chip & well thought out. You will be a welcome addition to this forum. I have had my Solo since first shipment and have yet to have a problem, and still on the first set of props. One thing regarding the GPS issue I have found by testing and purposely flying in a poor GPS condition area: I was flying in a forest like area under tree cover. I was in Fly (GPS) and was letting it go in and out of manual as it would loose lock and regain, over and over. Sometime it was slower than others to switch to manual (a couple of seconds) and during this time it would obviously try to fly in a particular direction. I was always able to correct with stick input BUT with the performance levels more to the turtle mode, it took almost full stick to correct but would respond. To many new pilots, I believe that this much or more stick correction (based on the performance sliders) is going to certainly feel like they don't have control, and may not have if the sliders were all the way to turtle mode.

Just my opinion and personal testing. Your mileage may vary.

 

[Chip Luck]

Nice post Chip & well thought out. You will be a welcome addition to this forum. I have had my Solo since first shipment and have yet to have a problem, and still on the first set of props. One thing regarding the GPS issue I have found by testing and purposely flying in a poor GPS condition area: I was flying in a forest like area under tree cover. I was in Fly (GPS) and was letting it go in and out of manual as it would loose lock and regain, over and over. Sometime it was slower than others to switch to manual (a couple of seconds) and during this time it would obviously try to fly in a particular direction. I was always able to correct with stick input BUT with the performance levels more to the turtle mode, it took almost full stick to correct but would respond. To many new pilots, I believe that this much or more stick correction (based on the performance sliders) is going to certainly feel like they don't have control, and may not have if the sliders were all the way to turtle mode.

Just my opinion and personal testing. Your mileage may vary.

Thank you very much. I've been out of development for a few years - got really burned out last contract and quit, they sure did not listen this time. Well, a 20+million dollar military flight simulator just about burned to the ground because of I/O system and A/C power systems grounding/bonding issues I had warned them about, power distribution and grounding is an acquired skill. I warned the managers it will happen with the current design; so... co-worker that was still working there called and said they dug though my desk and PC looking for the answers, I had already had meetings and memo's sent. Enough about myself...

Will definitely try manual today in an open field. Have been out of turtle mode for a while, about 3/4% sliders up, camera pan on low.

Did you have a chance to review any of the .tlog files I posted here? Need to look up EKF warning displayed on MP HUD, you can see right before the crashes according to MP it appears there is no GPS signal loss, just roll/pitch/yaw parameters all the sudden go off the chart and there goes Solo into the bushes. Interesting...

Cheers

 

[Mr GruntHunter]

I have had 7 total low level flyaway's as of the last flight a few days ago. First, let me state I have had NO 'high' altitude flyaway's, ever. Seems to occur a a low altitude around 10 feet or so, and always around the home position. Flight mode is in default GPS mode, no smart shot modes, etc. All flights, Solo started up, GPS fix, etc. all completed before flight. Solo always appeared to be stable after pressing FLY button and would hover within a 1-3 foot pattern. Then I would do the usual flying around, capturing video and everything would be fine.

Now, EVERY TIME this has occurred has been near the HOME position and ALWAYS in a stationary or hover mode, then Solo will just bank, or dive (I have never noticed it turning) and head right into the woods, bushes, trees, etc.

I had no control over Solo with the Controller, it happens really quick. Solo just acted like "I need to be over there, not here" and just took off. Thank God nobody has been hurt, there was one close call while hovering in front of a sound booth, Solo almost entered the sound booth window, and that would have been REAL BAD. Instead, it veered forward (again NO control input from myself was in hover), hit the side of the elevate booth, hit my friends van, then a SUV and landed on the ground. That time = open sky, no trees to interfere with GPS.

I will no longer fly Solo near people again until I can find out what is going here. No, I have not yet sent log files to 3DR, but will today.

Anyway, here is a link to flyaway number 7 on YouTube, the actual flyaway is around the 4:11 mark:

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I will have a complete compilation of all 7 flyaway's/crashes up soon on YouTube.

Any one else having this problem?

You weren't flying over at the Titusville Gun Club range were you?

 

[Greg Parker]

You weren't flying over at the Titusville Gun Club range were you?

You do realize this is a 9 month old topic?

 

[Mr GruntHunter]

YES

 

[Heff421]

I have had 7 total low level flyaway's as of the last flight a few days ago. First, let me state I have had NO 'high' altitude flyaway's, ever. Seems to occur a a low altitude around 10 feet or so, and always around the home position. Flight mode is in default GPS mode, no smart shot modes, etc. All flights, Solo started up, GPS fix, etc. all completed before flight. Solo always appeared to be stable after pressing FLY button and would hover within a 1-3 foot pattern. Then I would do the usual flying around, capturing video and everything would be fine.

Now, EVERY TIME this has occurred has been near the HOME position and ALWAYS in a stationary or hover mode, then Solo will just bank, or dive (I have never noticed it turning) and head right into the woods, bushes, trees, etc.

I had no control over Solo with the Controller, it happens really quick. Solo just acted like "I need to be over there, not here" and just took off. Thank God nobody has been hurt, there was one close call while hovering in front of a sound booth, Solo almost entered the sound booth window, and that would have been REAL BAD. Instead, it veered forward (again NO control input from myself was in hover), hit the side of the elevate booth, hit my friends van, then a SUV and landed on the ground. That time = open sky, no trees to interfere with GPS.

I will no longer fly Solo near people again until I can find out what is going here. No, I have not yet sent log files to 3DR, but will today.

Anyway, here is a link to flyaway number 7 on YouTube, the actual flyaway is around the 4:11 mark:

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Accept third party cookies

I will have a complete compilation of all 7 flyaway's/crashes up soon on YouTube.

Any one else having this problem?

Yes I had the same thing happened to me usually upon start up it goes up about 6 to 10 feet and sits there until I make a move on my controller but this time it went up about 6 feet and came right at me which has never happened in the past I had to swat it like a bug then it hit the ground and the props were destroyed but unbelievably The 3DR was in one piece very strong body I am still waiting on props to see how it flies but I am very leery like you said of flying around people Will let you know when I fly it again every now and then you should calibrate before you fly