It finally happened.
Solo fell from the sky.
I was testing out the Solo after installing Open Solo 2.0 (stock cube). Putting it through her paces. Forward and reverse pitch pretty hard. Flew it full pitch across a lake, then it takes a complete end over end tumble from 160 ft down into the grass. Thankfully, it didn't land in the lake. I was watching it on the screen when the video flipped out, then looked up and saw it tumbling.
Walked over to the area where it fell. GPS cover flew off. Body had a large crack on the right side. Fixed mount detached, but the GoPro didn't break (thank God I didn't have the gimbal on this one). One prop broken.
I walked it back to my car. Wiped off most of the sandy silt. The battery was intact, and I was able to re-insert it. I started it up without the props. All motors spun except #4, which led to the downfall. Looks like I lost motor #4 in flight.
When I got home, I took it apart, and I saw this at motor #4:
Looks like the power feed detached during flight.
A bit of backstory here. This quad (Solo #1) 'bumped' into a tower crane last month. It kept flying, so I landed it. My guess is that the impact ended up afffecting that wire connection, making it loose. That,.and possibly the crop field crash and tumble back on July 4 weekend, probably damaged this wire connection. I checked everything after the crane bump, and everything looked intact. Although, I did not check the esc connections. A couple of test flights showed intermittent loss of video feed, however. After the crane bump, I put this quad to bed for a while and starting using my 'Ebay For Parts or Not Working' quad (Solo #2), which actually was a fully functioning quad once I installed the battery and paired it (I got it for $70 on Ebay). Yesterday, I wanted to test Solo #1 to see if it still worked and had a working video feed. The Green Cube is on the way, and I wanted to install the Green Cube in Solo #1 rather than Solo #2 because Solo #1 was my baby. The video feed issues were occurring again in Solo #1 during testing yesterday, so I was pushing it hard in all directions to see if I could diagnose what may be contributing to the loss of video feed. Right before it fell, video was looking pretty good. Then, it happened.
At least I learned how to completely disassemble the Solo all the way. Now, except for the shell and the tray (it is bent on one corner), I have a stockpile of parts for Solo #2 (which is now Solo #1).
I might even be able to re-use motor #4 if I learn soldering skills.
Solo fell from the sky.
I was testing out the Solo after installing Open Solo 2.0 (stock cube). Putting it through her paces. Forward and reverse pitch pretty hard. Flew it full pitch across a lake, then it takes a complete end over end tumble from 160 ft down into the grass. Thankfully, it didn't land in the lake. I was watching it on the screen when the video flipped out, then looked up and saw it tumbling.
Walked over to the area where it fell. GPS cover flew off. Body had a large crack on the right side. Fixed mount detached, but the GoPro didn't break (thank God I didn't have the gimbal on this one). One prop broken.
I walked it back to my car. Wiped off most of the sandy silt. The battery was intact, and I was able to re-insert it. I started it up without the props. All motors spun except #4, which led to the downfall. Looks like I lost motor #4 in flight.
When I got home, I took it apart, and I saw this at motor #4:
Looks like the power feed detached during flight.
A bit of backstory here. This quad (Solo #1) 'bumped' into a tower crane last month. It kept flying, so I landed it. My guess is that the impact ended up afffecting that wire connection, making it loose. That,.and possibly the crop field crash and tumble back on July 4 weekend, probably damaged this wire connection. I checked everything after the crane bump, and everything looked intact. Although, I did not check the esc connections. A couple of test flights showed intermittent loss of video feed, however. After the crane bump, I put this quad to bed for a while and starting using my 'Ebay For Parts or Not Working' quad (Solo #2), which actually was a fully functioning quad once I installed the battery and paired it (I got it for $70 on Ebay). Yesterday, I wanted to test Solo #1 to see if it still worked and had a working video feed. The Green Cube is on the way, and I wanted to install the Green Cube in Solo #1 rather than Solo #2 because Solo #1 was my baby. The video feed issues were occurring again in Solo #1 during testing yesterday, so I was pushing it hard in all directions to see if I could diagnose what may be contributing to the loss of video feed. Right before it fell, video was looking pretty good. Then, it happened.
At least I learned how to completely disassemble the Solo all the way. Now, except for the shell and the tray (it is bent on one corner), I have a stockpile of parts for Solo #2 (which is now Solo #1).
I might even be able to re-use motor #4 if I learn soldering skills.
I agree you can't have too many. 
