What the $@#(&$@@@%!* !!!!!
This is not the post I expected to writing today ... I've had a great experience with Solo - for the most part - and been onboard from day one. I made it through preorder, the gimbal debacle and now this!
OK ... so last month I did a shoot in about 10 knot winds. It was enough to make palm trees sway and it looked really cool - like rotor wash from a helicopter. Solo did great and I was very pleased.
After a month of sitting - waiting - I was asked to grab some aerial of a local store. I got up early to install the update which seemed to go without incident. I went to the location and it all went to hell!
I submitted a support ticket -- feel free to comment --- see email below:
Dear Support:
What happened?
I want to preface this email with I am an experienced RC pilot. I have flown fixed wing since I was a kid, and these days in addition to “drones” I fly collective pitch - 3D helicopters — I’m working inverted flight with my RC heli
Now first lets talk about my last flight/photoshoot last October - PERFECT - I was called down to Florida to shoot an interior of an estate and the owners asked for aerial shots of their home (complimentary). I brought Solo instead of renting a helicopter. The location was the last point on Gasparilla Island before the Gulf of Mexico. Wind was about 8 knots … clear waters, dolphins, sand, and palm trees … Solo performed flawlessly and without incident. I packed up, went home and have not flown Solo until today.
D-DAY — I preflighted this morning and of course performed the most recent 3DR update. Yah! Great news … checked the charge on all my batteries and headed to the location of my shoot — My friend’s New Cadillac dealership — WIDE OPEN - huge parking lot with zero trees except around the perimeter. This area is Population 5000 … a very rural - country area. Prior to taking off I checked my Hover APP … “3 mph” wind, immediate GPS lock and go flight. Everything looked ok...
Back to - What happened?
First flight: Clear, open area and clear line of sight — Upon taking off Solo felt like it was not dealing well with the wind which I found odd as the winds in Florida were rocking the palm trees and Solo was solid in a hover —
Durning my first flight today I performed a couple of smart shots and Solo had difficulty maintaining a position when hovering. I brought Solo in, checked it over, installed a new flight battery and went back up. Several times during flight I selected loiter - Pause - and Solo did not respond. The “Brake” message appeared on screen and then the English chick was talking about “ready to fly” a second later. Throughout the shots I was manually compensating for the wind during the setup for the shot.
Second Flight: Again immediate GPS lockup and conditions unchanged. Solo took off and went to work. I performed a couple of cable cam and orbit shots… The orbit shot seemed off. When it came time to land Solo decided to do its own thing. I had Solo flying directly in front of me about 40 feet AGL and 20 feet out - had a perfect visual and line of sight. Solo was oriented nose out and I was walking Solo backwards to me. My intent was to land directly in front of me - nose out - in an open field directly, on the roadside - directly in front of the dealership. Solo’s controls became unresponsive. I attempted correct with no response - I attempted to brake Solo and tapped the pause button several times with no response. My spotter at this point was screaming “What are you doing??” … At this point Solo was at an altitude suitable to hover and land — Solo rolled, accelerated and passed quickly over my head — I had no control … Solo kept on going, crashed into a pole and fell to the ground from about 30 feet.
Solo - Flight Battery - Gimbal - GoPro Hero4 … all damaged.
Guys… all things being equal, the simplest answer is the most correct. I have had ZERO problems with my Solo since day one — the only complaint Ive had is a slow GPS lock. Other than this. Solo has performed flawlessly .. the only recent change is the installation of this most recent update - installed today.
This is not the post I expected to writing today ... I've had a great experience with Solo - for the most part - and been onboard from day one. I made it through preorder, the gimbal debacle and now this!
OK ... so last month I did a shoot in about 10 knot winds. It was enough to make palm trees sway and it looked really cool - like rotor wash from a helicopter. Solo did great and I was very pleased.
After a month of sitting - waiting - I was asked to grab some aerial of a local store. I got up early to install the update which seemed to go without incident. I went to the location and it all went to hell!
I submitted a support ticket -- feel free to comment --- see email below:
Dear Support:
What happened?
I want to preface this email with I am an experienced RC pilot. I have flown fixed wing since I was a kid, and these days in addition to “drones” I fly collective pitch - 3D helicopters — I’m working inverted flight with my RC heli
Now first lets talk about my last flight/photoshoot last October - PERFECT - I was called down to Florida to shoot an interior of an estate and the owners asked for aerial shots of their home (complimentary). I brought Solo instead of renting a helicopter. The location was the last point on Gasparilla Island before the Gulf of Mexico. Wind was about 8 knots … clear waters, dolphins, sand, and palm trees … Solo performed flawlessly and without incident. I packed up, went home and have not flown Solo until today.
D-DAY — I preflighted this morning and of course performed the most recent 3DR update. Yah! Great news … checked the charge on all my batteries and headed to the location of my shoot — My friend’s New Cadillac dealership — WIDE OPEN - huge parking lot with zero trees except around the perimeter. This area is Population 5000 … a very rural - country area. Prior to taking off I checked my Hover APP … “3 mph” wind, immediate GPS lock and go flight. Everything looked ok...
Back to - What happened?
First flight: Clear, open area and clear line of sight — Upon taking off Solo felt like it was not dealing well with the wind which I found odd as the winds in Florida were rocking the palm trees and Solo was solid in a hover —
Durning my first flight today I performed a couple of smart shots and Solo had difficulty maintaining a position when hovering. I brought Solo in, checked it over, installed a new flight battery and went back up. Several times during flight I selected loiter - Pause - and Solo did not respond. The “Brake” message appeared on screen and then the English chick was talking about “ready to fly” a second later. Throughout the shots I was manually compensating for the wind during the setup for the shot.
Second Flight: Again immediate GPS lockup and conditions unchanged. Solo took off and went to work. I performed a couple of cable cam and orbit shots… The orbit shot seemed off. When it came time to land Solo decided to do its own thing. I had Solo flying directly in front of me about 40 feet AGL and 20 feet out - had a perfect visual and line of sight. Solo was oriented nose out and I was walking Solo backwards to me. My intent was to land directly in front of me - nose out - in an open field directly, on the roadside - directly in front of the dealership. Solo’s controls became unresponsive. I attempted correct with no response - I attempted to brake Solo and tapped the pause button several times with no response. My spotter at this point was screaming “What are you doing??” … At this point Solo was at an altitude suitable to hover and land — Solo rolled, accelerated and passed quickly over my head — I had no control … Solo kept on going, crashed into a pole and fell to the ground from about 30 feet.
Solo - Flight Battery - Gimbal - GoPro Hero4 … all damaged.
Guys… all things being equal, the simplest answer is the most correct. I have had ZERO problems with my Solo since day one — the only complaint Ive had is a slow GPS lock. Other than this. Solo has performed flawlessly .. the only recent change is the installation of this most recent update - installed today.
