Solo crash, looking for feedback

mikwilly · Aug 3, 2016

Hello all.
I was flying my Solo this past weekend and had good GPS signals. During the flight my drone may have lost GPS signal unexpectedly for no reason, but it all happened so quickly, so I am not even sure at this point. How quickly do the controls switch over to manual when GPS connections are lost? Attempting to correct the flight path with zero response from the Solo, it accelerated and crashed into a rock wall a good distance away, then plummeted to her death in water below... Solo, GoPro and gimbal were all lost. I am a new pilot, but do have quite a bit of RC experience. I was not flying anywhere 'extreme' and have not had any issues with the drone so far. A little discouraged for sure... since I do not believe it was anything that I did flight wise to cause the crash.

ChrisBird · Aug 3, 2016

mikwilly said:
Hello all.
I was flying my Solo this past weekend and had good GPS signals. During the flight my drone may have lost GPS signal unexpectedly for no reason, but it all happened so quickly, so I am not even sure at this point. How quickly do the controls switch over to manual when GPS connections are lost? Attempting to correct the flight path with zero response from the Solo, it accelerated and crashed into a rock wall a good distance away, then plummeted to her death in water below... Solo, GoPro and gimbal were all lost. I am a new pilot, but do have quite a bit of RC experience. I was not flying anywhere 'extreme' and have not had any issues with the drone so far. A little discouraged for sure... since I do not believe it was anything that I did flight wise to cause the crash.

Have you logged a support ticket with 3DR? You can also post the logs from the controller but it sounds like you lost contact with Solo and the Solo lost GPS at the same time (or some other issue). Have you modified any parameters such as gcs failsafe action? The switch over to fly:manual is fairly quick.

Hopefully 3DR helps you out. They're pretty good.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

Acroduster · Aug 3, 2016

The switchover to Fly:manual is pretty quick - with total GPS loss. If it does not lose GPS, but is receiving errant signals, it can believe it is somewhere that it is not supposed to be. It will try and get to where it thinks it is supposed to be quickly, which is what this case sounds like. The key here would be to have pressed your A or B button (programmed to the Fly:manual or Stabilize mode) and regained control.

There have been a few occasions where my Solo has darted off in an unexpected direction in Fly mode or during a Smart Shot. Each time, I have pressed my A button and regained control.

Rory · Aug 30, 2016

Acroduster said:
The switchover to Fly:manual is pretty quick - with total GPS loss. If it does not lose GPS, but is receiving errant signals, it can believe it is somewhere that it is not supposed to be. It will try and get to where it thinks it is supposed to be quickly, which is what this case sounds like. The key here would be to have pressed your A or B button (programmed to the Fly:manual or Stabilize mode) and regained control.

There have been a few occasions where my Solo has darted off in an unexpected direction in Fly mode or during a Smart Shot. Each time, I have pressed my A button and regained control.

Do you know what kind of errant signals could cause this? I have seen many instances where the Solo told me it had "LOST GPS", then the flight logs reveal that the GPS did not lose any satellites and the HDOP did not change during these events.

I have been trying to troubleshoot this issue, with no success yet.

+1 for the advice about FLY: MANUAL being linked to a button BTW - I have heard many stories of crashes that could have been avoided by doing this. I really think this should always be available, such as a double press of FLY or pressing A and B together to switch to FLY: MANUAL.

Pedals2Paddles · Aug 30, 2016

Did this happen with firmware version 2.4? And prior to the firmware update that was released on Saturday morning? If it wasn't responding, had good GPS, and took off at high speed out of control, it sounds like the 2.4 timing bug. The logs will show it. Do not assume you lost GPS. If it was indeed the 2.4 timing bug, it is covered by warranty. 3DR will replace it all including the GoPro.

If you can download and post them logs, several of us would probably love to have a look for you.