Third outing ever: I am NOT ready for manual flight!

richnat · Jan 17, 2017

I took my new Solo for its maiden voyage to make sure everything works. This is only my 3rd drone outing ever. I was flying in a park that has a few more obstructions than where I flew first but still pretty open. Baseball fields with fences and a few trees sprinkled about. I kept it pretty close being it was brand new and all. It flew flawlessly. It is noticeably slower than my first Solo. I know you can adjust the speed settings but both were factory right-out-of-the-box settings so I thought they'd be fairly identical. No matter, it flew well and the camera and gimbal worked just great.

Things were going well, I did a few touchdowns and take offs and all went well. Toward the end of the battery I decided to try to fly manual. The Solo was only about 15 feet off the ground and while there was no serious wind there was SOME. I wasn't quite ready for the wind drift and the momentum drift. Trees became a factor and I figured more altitude would only make it worse with stronger wind so I managed it as best I could and tried to turn off manual. I guess pressing the programmed A button again would do it but it didn't seem to so I decided to just land it and start over. I moved to a more clear spot and landed it without incident but the motors wouldn't shut down and it bounced back up so I landed again, held the left stick down for a longer period and after the motors still didn't quit I used the A+B+Pause combo to shut it down and it did. Whew!

Okay, no more manual mode until I get much more practice under my belt and switch back to a more open area.

This was my first outing using the 3DR backpack and I have to say it is absolutely brilliant in carrying things (I hiked in to my take off spot, about 300 yards), holding things and organizing things and is quite comfortable to carry. It is also a great platform for holding the drone in various positions for adding the leg extensions, LED lights and props and for removing the gimbal protector foam block. I'm REALLY glad I bought the backpack.

quickamg · Jan 17, 2017

Just hit pause next time

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Sid nguyen · Jan 17, 2017

I had it do that once. Looks like a bunny hop. Confusing but guessing it didn't know it was down or had gps interference.

Wasn't manual fault. When in doubt hit fly

. I had it tip over on a manual landing when I was practicing.

Pedals2Paddles · Jan 17, 2017

Hitting the A button is telling it to into Manual mode, which you are already in. If you wanted to go back to FLY mode, you need to hit the fly button. Or hit pause. But being around trees, expect to lose GPS and neither Fly nor pause will work.

Sid nguyen · Jan 18, 2017

I just realized that u can hold the fly button to get the solo to land exactly where you are hovering. Tried it a couple of times tonight and worked perfectly. I have to admit landing has been a little weird and the auto landing feature makes it easy.

Had the props not turn off again tonight. Drone popped up and I let it hover for a second the. Brought it back down again.

Acroduster · Jan 18, 2017

My advice is to learn how to fly in manual mode when near the ground (takeoffs and landings). You will never get a hop again. Tip: make sure the camera is facing away from you so that the directions are instinctual (left is left, etc.).

Also, in flight, especially with drones, altitude is your friend. You're less likely to hit something and have more time to come up with a solution to what's going on.

richnat · Jan 18, 2017

Yeah, i think I panicked a bit when it started to drift so strongly and most of my concentration was on reeling it back in manually. The Fly and Pause buttons didn't seem to return control but maybe it just appeared so because of the momentum it built up due to the wind. Once I got it back on the ground I reviewed (again) what the buttons turned on and turned off via pressing them and seeing what showed up on the controller screen. I'll know better next time how to react if I get in over my head. I want to try out some of the pre-programmed feature anyway so I'm moving back to my more open flying area.

Acroduster · Jan 18, 2017

The problem is that if the GPS gets wonky, the Fly and Pause buttons will not help you. At that point, only switching to manual AND knowing how to regain control will help you. Knowing how to regain control comes from practice, which is why I always advocate to take off and land in manual mode.

Texzin · Jan 18, 2017

The problem with a lot of the new people buy solos or any drone, is that most don't have any RC experience. Your gona have to get some stick time and not kind where the solo does the flying.

n8lbv · Jan 18, 2017

Here comes my opinion or experience again LOL.
Solo probably is not a good bird to *learn* manual mode on without an instructor.
I've very comfortable flying it manually but I"d never tried switching to manual mid flight.
I have kept my manual flying strictly manual from taking off to landing so far.
Also tried with performance all the way to the right.
Felt really strange compared to other quads that I fly manually.
Really 'floppy' maybe due to it's weight or possibly due to a little bit of control latency in the wifi link.
Hopefully not but I thought the controls felt a bit delayed compared to what I am used to.
I realize this bird is not engineered to be a really good manual acro flyer and also think that more from
what some people are saying here on the forum saying it's a smooth slow flyer and meant to be that way.
I had a hard time with the incredibly insanely slow yaw rate even with the performance slider all the way to the right (fast).
Thought the yaw was WAY too slow for any kind of manual flying that I would do with it.
I've since been referred to use tower to speed up the yaw rate if I want to do that.
If you want to learn manual flight I recommend a smaller lighter 'crash proof' quad like a Blade Inductrix or Blade 180 QX.
Those are awesome for learning how to fly manual modes and are very crash forgiving.
No damage at all in most crashes and specially when flying/crashing over grass.
They also feature being able to turn off auto leveling which you will love once you learn to fly manually.

There are also many cheaper toy grade quads that are pretty good for learning on too.
But they are generally self-leveling only which is a great start but not the whole world that you get with self leveling turned off

Also if you get seriously into it get a good realistic simulator!!

jimw1956 · Jan 23, 2017

Sid nguyen said:
I had it do that once. Looks like a bunny hop. Confusing but guessing it didn't know it was down or had gps interference.

Wasn't manual fault. When in doubt hit fly . I had it tip over on a manual landing when I was practicing.

GPS shouldn't be a factor in Manual.

Sid nguyen · Jan 25, 2017

contacted 3dr and opened a case. they reviewed the log and saw the bunny hop. they said solo didn't know it was on the ground and decided to rise up and tilt over. in return they are sending me free propellers. even though i own 40 props, i'll take 3 more

richnat · Jan 25, 2017

I keep getting automated e-mail saying "we are still looking into it!" but I have yet to get a response back on a log I sent them concerning some odd behavior I observed.

Vegasrobbi · Jan 26, 2017

n8lbv said:
Also tried with performance all the way to the right.
Felt really strange compared to other quads that I fly manually.
Really 'floppy' maybe due to it's weight or possibly due to a little bit of control latency in the wifi link.
Hopefully not but I thought the controls felt a bit delayed compared to what I am used to.
I realize this bird is not engineered to be a really good manual acro flyer and also think that more from
what some people are saying here on the forum saying it's a smooth slow flyer and meant to be that way.
I had a hard time with the incredibly insanely slow yaw rate even with the performance slider all the way to the right (fast).
Thought the yaw was WAY too slow for any kind of manual flying that I would do with it.

Solo can be whatever you want it to be. It's not a good idea to learn on a Solo, Phantom or H IMO. First get a small Cheerson or Syma to practice on.

Next read the manual thoroughly it will answer many of your questions. Unlike some AP quads that are aerial balloons Solo is very responsive, fast and manuverable if set up properly.

As indicated pressing manual repeatedly will keep you in manual; press FLY to get back into GPS loiter

You must learn how to arm, disarm and land Solo. Disarming Solo is dependent on the mode you are in. Landing in manual has a better chance of disarming that FLY especially if Solo is moving or not level.

Like most APM's Solo will arm holding the left stick down and right. When landing assure Solo is level and hold the left stick down until it disarms. Not being level, any ground speed detected, any vertical movement detected on not holding the stick down for several seconds can cause Solo to bounce back up or slide and flip; this behavior has been documented many times.

Here's Solo in ACRO:

Solo going 50+ mph:

Landing Solo:

Solo is about the best handling quad I own with fixed wing like handling, excellent response and handles the wind well. If your Solo is sluggish or has latency something is wrong.

Landing Solo properly takes experience and reading the manual. Solo isn't the easiest quad to fly but isn't difficult either; in exchange Solo offers better performance than other quads like Phantoms.

As far as Smart moves nothing compares IMO.

Sid nguyen · Jan 26, 2017

i've always wondered but never had the skills or balls to make my solo flip. what are the sticks doing to cause solo to flip?

pyrate · Jan 26, 2017

the sticks will be doing what your thumbs tell them to do.
I doubt you could do a flip in fly mode
I am guessing you would need to move into acro to make that happen.
Acro has killed many solos
It can be done, but it takes talent I both lack and have no intention of learning
If you wanted to flip solo, I would figure out the stick moves on a small cheap quad.
When the muscle memory for that maneuver was baked in my brain, only then would I try swithcing solo to acro and trying it.
Get lots of altitidue on that first try

Jubalr · Jan 26, 2017

Sid nguyen said:
i've always wondered but never had the skills or balls to make my solo flip. what are the sticks doing to cause solo to flip?

Not hard to do (on purpose). Put Solo in Acro mode, then a push the right stick full in either of the 4 directions. Forward or back will cause Solo to flip forward or backward, right or left will cause it to roll right or left. Whether or not Solo meets earth, is totally on the pilot..

This was shortly after I got the Solo and before gimbals were shipping. Gopro on the fixed mount...

SPP · Jan 26, 2017

Sid nguyen said:
i've always wondered but never had the skills or balls to make my solo flip.

same here

Pedals2Paddles · Jan 26, 2017

Making it flip is easy. Leveling off after the flip without smashing into the ground is the skill. Which I also lack.

Solo Keith · Jan 26, 2017

Vegasrobbi said:
Solo can be whatever you want it to be. It's not a good idea to learn on a Solo, Phantom or H IMO. First get a small Cheerson or Syma to practice on.

Next read the manual thoroughly it will answer many of your questions. Unlike some AP quads that are aerial balloons Solo is very responsive, fast and manuverable if set up properly.

As indicated pressing manual repeatedly will keep you in manual; press FLY to get back into GPS loiter

You must learn how to arm, disarm and land Solo. Disarming Solo is dependent on the mode you are in. Landing in manual has a better chance of disarming that FLY especially if Solo is moving or not level.

Like most APM's Solo will arm holding the left stick down and right. When landing assure Solo is level and hold the left stick down until it disarms. Not being level, any ground speed detected, any vertical movement detected on not holding the stick down for several seconds can cause Solo to bounce back up or slide and flip; this behavior has been documented many times.

Here's Solo in ACRO:

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Solo going 50+ mph:

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Landing Solo:

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Solo is about the best handling quad I own with fixed wing like handling, excellent response and handles the wind well. If your Solo is sluggish or has latency something is wrong.

Landing Solo properly takes experience and reading the manual. Solo isn't the easiest quad to fly but isn't difficult either; in exchange Solo offers better performance than other quads like Phantoms.

As far as Smart moves nothing compares IMO.

I would have to agree w/everything you said. I also agree that the Solo's response & maneuverability is second to none when set up properly.