Dear potentionally new Solo Pilot,
As with many, more sophisticated and relatively expensive UAV's the Solo is a complex flying photography platform. It was developed using highly technical parts, systems, firmware and software. It is also a fairly new civilian technology in it's early stages of overall development for the mass-market. There are many variables that will effect the performance and stability of the craft. As with any sophisticated piece of electronic equipment it has many different components, systems and sub-systems that must communicate and perform a wide multitude of commands in harmony. There are many components that have the opportunity for failure. This is true with most any piece of electronic equipment.
Successfully flying a Solo requires a great deal of study and practice. At this stage it is not a device that you pull from the box, charge up and fly into the great blue yonder. You must familiarize yourself with the components that make up the craft and the various parameters that need to be met in order to successfully fly and maintain the system. You should do this prior to finalizing your decision to purchase this product. Due-diligence on your part will help you make a more informed decision and will help to negate a negative and possibly dangerous and costly mishap.
While the manufacturer has attempted to make this a unique and relatively easy system to deploy, you will ultimately be responsible to deploy it in a safe and informed manner. They have also built in various fail safe methods that can be implemented in the event of an emergency. Knowing those fail safe measures and being able to deploy them in a quick and very decisive manner without panic is essential. As with any sophisticated, mechanical, mobile vehicle, components will eventually fail and will require maintenance and repair by you, 3dr or an authorized service center.
If you clearly understand the things outlined here, you have some mechanical aptitude and you are willing to spend the time necessary to throughly understand the product and its capabilities, you understand that systems such as these are not toys and should not be treated as such and you know that components may eventual fail and require maintenance, then you may enjoy a new Solo. If anything I've written in this post, gives you pause, then please refrain from purchasing a Solo.
Many of us, including myself, have purchased very inexpensive drones. We have spent many hours learning how to fly them in a fully manual manner before moving into more sophisticated and expensive models such as the Solo.
The Solo is a fantastic machine under constant development and therefore should be viewed as an ever changing device. It becomes your responsibility to keep yourself informed of these changes. This forum and others like it provide a wealth of useful information about basic flying as well as sophisticated enhancements that users may be attempting to deploy. Participators in these forums range from layman, like me, to high-end aerodynamic engineers and everything in between. Pour through these pages and you will find countless ways to enhance and better your Solo experience.
Bottom line, know what you're getting into before you pull the trigger on a Solo. Be responsible for your own due-diligence. If you purchase a Solo and you do the things outlined here, you'll probably have a good experience. If you buy a Solo and do not do the things suggested here, you'll probably be coming here anyway for help with your mysterious fly-away or crash.
Just so you know beforehand, sometimes they do fly-away or crash at no fault of yours. It can happen to me the layman or the aerodynamic engineer.
You have been warned. Please enjoy your Solo experience.
Disclaimer: This is all just my humble opinion. I am not here in any authoritative capacity. I'm simply trying to help educate others, like me, by providing my experience.
Respectfully,
Jerry
As with many, more sophisticated and relatively expensive UAV's the Solo is a complex flying photography platform. It was developed using highly technical parts, systems, firmware and software. It is also a fairly new civilian technology in it's early stages of overall development for the mass-market. There are many variables that will effect the performance and stability of the craft. As with any sophisticated piece of electronic equipment it has many different components, systems and sub-systems that must communicate and perform a wide multitude of commands in harmony. There are many components that have the opportunity for failure. This is true with most any piece of electronic equipment.
Successfully flying a Solo requires a great deal of study and practice. At this stage it is not a device that you pull from the box, charge up and fly into the great blue yonder. You must familiarize yourself with the components that make up the craft and the various parameters that need to be met in order to successfully fly and maintain the system. You should do this prior to finalizing your decision to purchase this product. Due-diligence on your part will help you make a more informed decision and will help to negate a negative and possibly dangerous and costly mishap.
While the manufacturer has attempted to make this a unique and relatively easy system to deploy, you will ultimately be responsible to deploy it in a safe and informed manner. They have also built in various fail safe methods that can be implemented in the event of an emergency. Knowing those fail safe measures and being able to deploy them in a quick and very decisive manner without panic is essential. As with any sophisticated, mechanical, mobile vehicle, components will eventually fail and will require maintenance and repair by you, 3dr or an authorized service center.
If you clearly understand the things outlined here, you have some mechanical aptitude and you are willing to spend the time necessary to throughly understand the product and its capabilities, you understand that systems such as these are not toys and should not be treated as such and you know that components may eventual fail and require maintenance, then you may enjoy a new Solo. If anything I've written in this post, gives you pause, then please refrain from purchasing a Solo.
Many of us, including myself, have purchased very inexpensive drones. We have spent many hours learning how to fly them in a fully manual manner before moving into more sophisticated and expensive models such as the Solo.
The Solo is a fantastic machine under constant development and therefore should be viewed as an ever changing device. It becomes your responsibility to keep yourself informed of these changes. This forum and others like it provide a wealth of useful information about basic flying as well as sophisticated enhancements that users may be attempting to deploy. Participators in these forums range from layman, like me, to high-end aerodynamic engineers and everything in between. Pour through these pages and you will find countless ways to enhance and better your Solo experience.
Bottom line, know what you're getting into before you pull the trigger on a Solo. Be responsible for your own due-diligence. If you purchase a Solo and you do the things outlined here, you'll probably have a good experience. If you buy a Solo and do not do the things suggested here, you'll probably be coming here anyway for help with your mysterious fly-away or crash.
Just so you know beforehand, sometimes they do fly-away or crash at no fault of yours. It can happen to me the layman or the aerodynamic engineer.
You have been warned. Please enjoy your Solo experience.
Disclaimer: This is all just my humble opinion. I am not here in any authoritative capacity. I'm simply trying to help educate others, like me, by providing my experience.
Respectfully,
Jerry
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