My Solo vanished

[Cynthia Farr]

Gee that is impressive I am now too scared to fly it I have lost my confidence I am waiting for 3DR to get back to me on as I sent in the logs as well but I had to pay for a Arborist to retrieve it from a Eucalypt GUM TREE from he top of the tree it was hooked up in the branches and the battery fell out on impact he charged me $100 to get it back

 

[Jubalr]

That's really odd. its altitude was pretty high when I lost contact with the GoPro feed/Solo I searched that area for 3 hours yesterday, and 2 hours this morning with no luck. Is the green icon it's last position or the end of the black line?

The green quad icon is the last position. The height is in meters. The black line represents the direction it was travelling.

 

[fpvsteve]

So, I had my solo for around 3 weeks. I spent tons of time researching the product before and after purchasing it. I've read all the instructions and of course watched all the flight school videos. Today after work I took my Solo out for it's third flight. The area I was flying it in was a seminary surrounded by forest. A couple minutes into the flight my Solo lost connection and the Go Pro footage was frozen. The Solo was currently flying over the forested area at this point. I waited 3-4 minutes minutes for it to return home (78% battery at this point). The Solo doesn't return home, I run towards the forest and I don't see any sign of it in the air so I stop the recording and reference the last few seconds of video the Solo shot to help me find where it possibly might of landed. I spent close to 3 hours search for it with no luck

I contacted 3DR but I doubt they'll do anything for me. I'm devastated, I've been saving for a Solo for a very long time. Has anyone else ever experienced anything like this?

The photo attached is the last thing the Solo captured.

You said you stopped the recording - was Solo still flying when you stopped it?
The screenshot shows the same structures as around the Google earth pic in mission planner. So the last recorded position in the log is pretty close (within 10 meters or so) to the drone position displayed on the screenshot. GPS signal was very good, Solo did not go into RTH, EKF and Vib look healthy.
What annoys me is that the drone was moving at 1.5m/sec, heading south, in the direction of your home point, in proper FLY mode (Loiter). Altitude was at 45m, way above the trees (I suppose).
Nevertheless I would check all the trees around the recorded position- maybe it hangs somewhere up in the tree tops.

 

[Eddie Kennedy]

Anybody interested in a small, flash drive size, GPS tracker that you can fix to your Solo. Sends position updates every 60 secs or so and position is view-able on Google maps on your laptop or smart phone?

 

[Ian [P13]]

On radio loss the Solo would go to RTL, so if it didn't make it home the chances are it's in a tree near its last location. If you're flying beyond VLOS which I assume is the case given you didn't know where Solo was then eventually you're going to lose signal so you need to be at a suitable height and have a suitable RTL height set in app to make sure you're well above any trees or other obstacles.

Go to the location on the map posted above, check the trees and ask at that nearby building.

 

[Ian [P13]]

My solo went haywire I am in Australia and it landed in a tree I was lucky to get it back so you are saying that 3DR will replace if it goes missing in flight

Only if it's a software or hardware bug, if you lose the Solo simply because you're flying beyond line of sight and lose radio and Solo doesn't come back that's likely not going to be covered as the chances are you'll have hit something. Each case is judged on its merits.

 

[charbait]

Anybody interested in a small, flash drive size, GPS tracker that you can fix to your Solo. Sends position updates every 60 secs or so and position is view-able on Google maps on your laptop or smart phone?

Wish I had that on Saturday! I'm interested. How much?

 

[charbait]

On radio loss the Solo would go to RTL, so if it didn't make it home the chances are it's in a tree near its last location. If you're flying beyond VLOS which I assume is the case given you didn't know where Solo was then eventually you're going to lose signal so you need to be at a suitable height and have a suitable RTL height set in app to make sure you're well above any trees or other obstacles.

Go to the location on the map posted above, check the trees and ask at that nearby building.

Was definitely above the tree line and at a safe height for RTH. I spent hours looking in that exact area with no luck. There's no leaves on the trees this time of year and there's still tons of snow on the ground, so it shouldn't have been a hard find.

 

[Ian [P13]]

Was definitely above the tree line and at a safe height for RTH. I spent hours looking in that exact area with no luck. There's no leaves on the trees this time of year and there's still tons of snow on the ground, so it shouldn't have been a hard find.

Trouble is, if that's correct it would have landed back at home. In the absolutely worse case scenario a loss of GPS at the same time would have caused the Solo to land, if there's any very serious problem and no radio signal then Solo lands.

 

[charbait]

Trouble is, if that's correct it would have landed back at home. In the absolutely worse case scenario a loss of GPS at the same time would have caused the Solo to land, if there's any very serious problem and no radio signal then Solo lands. The HDOP was 1.5 looking at the screen shot, so the GPS signal was very good, so that can be ruled out as a cause.

Yeah, even though it had a strong GPS signal I had no connection to the Solo on my controller or tablet. I've come to terms with the fact 3DR probably won't be refunding me with a new solo. I guess i'll have to be more careful next time..

 

[Ian [P13]]

GPS was good as you said with HDOP of 1.5, so that can be ruled out. 3DR will be able to look at the logs in more detail then we can so may see something we're all overlooking.

 

[timzee]

There's no leaves on the trees this time of year and there's still tons of snow on the ground, so it shouldn't have been a hard find.

Probably not that helpful but... I've found when trying to spot something that might be in treetops that using a pair of 10x or greater binoculars allows you scan a much larger area from any given position and makes it easier to spot something like a black UAV tangled in all the branches.

Now that I think about it, perhaps someone will come out with some kind of high visibility DayGlo type paint specially designed for UAVs to make that fly away easier to find in cases like this! Anyone willing to paint their Solo??

 

[Maddog]

Probably not that helpful but... I've found when trying to spot something that might be in treetops that using a pair of 10x or greater binoculars allows you scan a much larger area from any given position and makes it easier to spot something like a black UAV tangled in all the branches.

Now that I think about it, perhaps someone will come out with some kind of high visibility DayGlo type paint specially designed for UAVs to make that fly away easier to find in cases like this! Anyone willing to paint their Solo??

Any kind of spray paint will work- even PlastiDip. Many people have painted their Solo- even saw one covered in hi-vis electrical tape!
I did a Google search once and found lots of info on best paint schemes for RC aircraft visibility.

 

[Maddog]

Yeah, even though it had a strong GPS signal I had no connection to the Solo on my controller or tablet. I've come to terms with the fact 3DR probably won't be refunding me with a new solo. I guess i'll have to be more careful next time..

Don't don't give up until you hear from 3DR! Even if they say no, be persistent about replacing it- ya got nutin' to lose.

 

[Maddog]

Was definitely above the tree line and at a safe height for RTH. I spent hours looking in that exact area with no luck. There's no leaves on the trees this time of year and there's still tons of snow on the ground, so it shouldn't have been a hard find.

You might be surprised how hard it might be to see- might not be in one piece or could be covered by something. You might need to be close enough to touch it before you see it.

 

[Maddog]

The green quad icon is the last position. The height is in meters. The black line represents the direction it was travelling.

Are you sure the readout is in meters? I always thought my logs were in feet.

 

[BlackHawk]

Any kind of spray paint will work- even PlastiDip. Many people have painted their Solo- even saw one covered in hi-vis electrical tape!
I did a Google search once and found lots of info on best paint schemes for RC aircraft visibility.

I use this stuff on my black road bike: Amazon.com: 3M Scotchcal Reflective Striping Tape, Black, .5-Inch by 50-Foot: Home Improvement
It would make it incredibly easy to find once the sun goes down. Just scan the area with a quality flashlight and you'll find it. Not a bad idea to slap a couple strips on the Solo.

 

[franknitty69]

if google earth is accurate you are definitely above the treeline so i have no idea where your solo went. the logs stopped recording or you would have seen an rth, but it was in loiter the whole time.

 

[charbait]

if google earth is accurate you are definitely above the treeline so i have no idea where your solo went. the logs stopped recording or you would have seen an rth, but it was in loiter the whole time.

View attachment 2737

Thanks Frank! This definitely helps. I'm going to go back today and search the area again this afternoon.

 

[Daryl Sargent]

Thanks Frank! This definitely helps. I'm going to go back today and search the area again this afternoon.

What was you RTH height, and how high is that tower? Looks like you lost radio contact behind it, the solo would have tracked back to your start position at RTH height. If the tower is higher, could be on the roof...