Warning to potential new solo pilots! (Pre-Purchase)

[Earldgrayjr]

J R,

Very good write up. To anyone considering a UAV who has no experience and is not a very qualified pilot with serious build skills do not buy this UAV. It is unstable as a technical platform and until they do with the Solo as they did with the Iris and create a Solo+ stay away. This UAV needs a total rework to the GPS/Wifi/Gimbal that will require new internal hardware and layout. Check back with 3DR in 2016.

Way... WAY... off base. I wonder if you have even flown one?

I have over 100 flights now. Mine are just fine thanks. Of all the quads I've loved before (sung to the Willie Nelson tune) This one has (quickly) become may favorite...

 

[Raybro]

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

Solo has lot's of sophisticated technology built into the simplicity. Does that make sense?

 

[Earldgrayjr]

You should run for Prez. brother!
Waiting for the day DroneFlyer steps on this forum....

Shhhh... Don't jinks us We don't say the "D" word here .... Lol

 

[tomnjfl]

Farout,

I use the Marco Polo system on my birds and love them. It's small and compact. You can track to devices with one receiver and there are no monthly or subscription fees. The only caveat is that you have to be within about two miles of the tracker to get a read on it. Once you've got a read it's simply a matter of following arrows. You can read about it here:

RC Model Tracking and Recovery - Pet Tracking Made Easy | Marco Polo The Pet Tracking System

Jerry

I have a "Tile" attached to the bottom of my Solo (| Tile - Never Lose Your Keys, Wallet Or Anything Again). Not really the use it was intended for but works perfectly, and has no distance limitations. If my Solo ever flies away (fingers crossed!), then I'll be able to at least recover it pretty quickly.

 

[J R]

I have a "Tile" attached to the bottom of my Solo

Tom,

I like that! Are there monthly or subscription fees? I went to the link but didn't see additional charges.

Jerry

 

[Jubalr]

I have a "Tile" attached to the bottom of my Solo (| Tile - Never Lose Your Keys, Wallet Or Anything Again). Not really the use it was intended for but works perfectly, and has no distance limitations. If my Solo ever flies away (fingers crossed!), then I'll be able to at least recover it pretty quickly.

Don't see that as working on a Solo very well. It is Bluetooth and has a range of about 100'! Great for keys/wallet etc.. but not for finding a lost item in the woods. From their website:
6. Distance & Bluetooth Range of Tile
Tile uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology to help you locate your items. While Bluetooth technology is a wireless technology, there are significant differences between Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GPS technology. Tile's Bluetooth range is up to 100 ft. Bluetooth is most effective at the 30 ft range, depending on the environment.

 

[J R]

Don't see that as working on a Solo very well. It is Bluetooth and has a range of about 100'!

Jubalr,

Thanks! Guess I'll keep my Marc Polo's!

Jerry

 

[J R]

Don't see that as working on a Solo very well. It is Bluetooth and has a range of about 100'!

I hate when those manufacturers do that! Hide everything in the fine print! It "looked" cool, all pretty and slick looking! I watched the video and they didn't say nothing about 100'! I almost bought 12 of them for 40% off at $180! What a steal, I could have put them on everything except my glasses! Would have looked a little too dorkey. Man, I gotta find something to do with this $900 I squirreled away before my wife finds out I have it!

Jerry

 

[SteveReno]

J R,

Very good write up. To anyone considering a UAV who has no experience and is not a very qualified pilot with serious build skills do not buy this UAV. It is unstable as a technical platform and until they do with the Solo as they did with the Iris and create a Solo+ stay away. This UAV needs a total rework to the GPS/Wifi/Gimbal that will require new internal hardware and layout. Check back with 3DR in 2016.

As I do agree with @jerrys statement, disagree with yours.
As to ease of operation,
I never operated anything rc, besides a rc car, I believe 3dr made the Solo almost as intuitive as any computer system.
There are many do's & don'ts with common computers, fire hazard, electrocution, porn, how to make dangerous items Ect... Put it in the wrong hands kinda thing.

Admittedly, Solo or any other high end UAV, there is a learning curve that needs to be learned not mastered, but again, common proceedurs, safely, where & how to operate your UAV with a common sense attitude, will get you flying & taking wonderful 4k video in a short time.

So anyone wanting a cutting edge computer controlled UAV with over 10k units in or soon to be in operation, the 3dr Solo is a good choice. Great services also.

All my opinion by my own experience with this product.

 

[Earldgrayjr]

I have a "Tile" attached to the bottom of my Solo (| Tile - Never Lose Your Keys, Wallet Or Anything Again). Not really the use it was intended for but works perfectly, and has no distance limitations. If my Solo ever flies away (fingers crossed!), then I'll be able to at least recover it pretty quickly.

Tom,
Careful. I have many Tiles and was part of the kickstarter.

Great product, but not the greatest for your application.

Tile uses low power blue tooth. The range is only about 100 feet. If someone else with the tile app gets near it, and you have reported it "lost" in the app, then it will relay back to you through the Internet, but only if they have the app and have opted in. By itself it isn't unlimited. In fact it is very limited in range.

Again, not dissing the product. I have it and love it. It just likely won't find your Solo unless you are very close to it.

 

[tesmithp]

You had me until:

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.

 

[tomnjfl]

. Man, I gotta find something to do with this $900 I squirreled away before my wife finds out I have it!

Jerry

Buy a spare Solo...

Bummer about the Tile...I didn't realize it had the 100' limitation. You're right, they don't really mention that in any of the videos or marketing.

 

[J R]

Buy a spare Solo...

Tom,

For the right price! Yeah, it looked too good. The Marco Polo works great for me anyway and the investment is already made!

Jerry

 

[tomnjfl]

Tom,

For the right price! Yeah, it looked too good. The Marco Polo works great for me anyway and the investment is already made!

Jerry

Luckily all my flights up to this point have been below an 85' ceiling, and within 50 yards or so from where I'm standing. I've been doing this mostly while I learn to fly a bit better and get some more confidence. I've been spending a lot of time trying to fly 20-30' radius steady circles about 30 feet off the ground, practicing maneuvers flying straight and while turning, and my take-offs and landings. Ultimately my goal is to take off, fly, and land in fly:manual mode so that I can limit my reliance on GPS. A couple times during my practicing I'd lose GPS, solo would default to fly:manual mode and I'd initially panic. But the more I use it, the more comfortable I'm getting with the basic controls and flight characteristics.

Once I'm a bit more comfortable I'll start to expand my range a little and start flying out beyond my little 50 yard radius. I really want to become skilled at flying before I venture out to far and start to get some awesome shots!

By the way, I should also mention, last week I installed the GPS isolation kit from IMP. I did not have high hopes at all, but I must say it actually works AWESOME! First couple times I went out I got GPS lock within a minute, whereas usually it would take AT LEAST 5-10 minutes.

Solo GPS Isolation Plate Mod Kit (Please Read All of the Description Carefully for Install Details)

 

[Jubalr]

Luckily all my flights up to this point have been below an 85' ceiling, and within 50 yards or so from where I'm standing. I've been doing this mostly while I learn to fly a bit better and get some more confidence. I've been spending a lot of time trying to fly 20-30' radius steady circles about 30 feet off the ground, practicing maneuvers flying straight and while turning, and my take-offs and landings. Ultimately my goal is to take off, fly, and land in fly:manual mode so that I can limit my reliance on GPS. A couple times during my practicing I'd lose GPS, solo would default to fly:manual mode and I'd initially panic. But the more I use it, the more comfortable I'm getting with the basic controls and flight characteristics.

Once I'm a bit more comfortable I'll start to expand my range a little and start flying out beyond my little 50 yard radius. I really want to become skilled at flying before I venture out to far and start to get some awesome shots!

By the way, I should also mention, last week I installed the GPS isolation kit from IMP. I did not have high hopes at all, but I must say it actually works AWESOME! First couple times I went out I got GPS lock within a minute, whereas usually it would take AT LEAST 5-10 minutes.

Solo GPS Isolation Plate Mod Kit (Please Read All of the Description Carefully for Install Details)

Great job Tom! I wish more new owners would take the approach you are. It would save them time, money and a few less news stories.

 

[emulsiondown]

23 years ago i started with a Pentax ME Super 35mm, today shoot with Canon 1Dx's and make a living with them.

I chose to start with what i thought was the best at what it does and will do in its class, i already have an idea of what i want to mount my 1Dx's on (Alta) but until i get to that level of confidence and skill I don't think I could ask for anything as cool and tight as the SOLO.

Recently, it's the best money i've spent with the exception of the GoPro 4 Blacks! We all have to start, learn and experience what ever's in the moment - the SOLO is built by a bunch of tech heads who genuinely want the SOLO to be best in class. Is it? no not yet, will it be, yup.

Next up, the GoPro Drone 2016. peace brothers

 

[tomnjfl]

Next up, the GoPro Drone 2016. peace brothers

This. ^^

It will be very interesting to see what GoPro comes out with. I have a feeling they're going to try to push the "beginner/consumer friendly" idea to the next level.

 

[Gabriel Espinosa]

so your experience is enough to tell all the owners out there not to buy the product
glad I didn't listen to you, mine is rocking it. go troll somewhere else

I am having no problems with my SOLO either. Everything works great. Bought myself a better antenna array for a hundred bucks and now I can go further without any problems. Gimbal works perfectly, no problems with gps. I'm happy with my SOLO.

 

[Planeoldjim]

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

Well worded Tony, I'm a private pilot with about 850 hours of flying experience - that didn't help me when solo lost GPS the wind shifted it right into my camper before I could catch it. I think any good drone owner should practice manual flying often, it certainly would've saved me! We get spoiled by all the fully automatic position holding and aren't prepaired to really fly when needed!

 

[richkphoto]

I agree with the OP. I've been flying RC and been in photography since the 70's. There have been many advances in both field, but one thing the manufacturers are all trying to do is make it easier to use so more people will buy it. Now with cameras there are "pro photographers" shooting weddings for $25.00 and DJI and others making drones so simple to buy and fly that everyone should have one. Now Solo making it look so simple to fly that monkeys can do it, They are making one BIG assumption, that people buying these are as smart as monkeys. 650 drones reported flying by commercial aircraft ,flying into people in a parade , or into a geyser at Yellow Stone. Who is smarter here , I think the monkeys win over these people. These are NOT nerf toys , they can hurt people. In the earlier days of multirotors I had a controller malfunction and start when it wasn't suppose to and in the blink of an eye my arm was cut open for 13 stiches and just missed the vein in my wrist.
If someone with no experience want to buy one of these , buy one of the small $39.00 ones and learn to fly it well in all directions before you touch one of these. Solo does fly well, I've had mine since they first came out. I fly it a lot in manual ,but when in any of the auto modes I am always ready to jump in and take over. There is a reason aircraft have redundancy , things can fail and when they do you better have a backup plan.
Sorry for the rant but in some ways these easy to fly drones are the worst think to happen to the drone industry for us that are in it for more than a hobby.
Rich