My main point is that at whatever level RTH is set it may be to high for the drone to fight the wind. Example is say drone top speed = 20 wind speed = 40 in oposing direction from home RTH = 30. Result drone drops to 30 and heads away from home at 20 = wrong result. Now let say that at height of 20 the wind speed is 10 and the drone is programmed to drop altitude ONLY UNTIL it is heading in the home direction. Then the drone may run into that tree of height 15 in front of you but at least it did not end up across the river down wind. The other option is to allow the operator to adjust hight manually and when you get to that tree abort RTH.
Breeze Fly Away
- Thread starter Norbert
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My main point is that at whatever level RTH is set it may be to high for the drone to fight the wind. Example is say drone top speed = 20 wind speed = 40 in oposing direction from home RTH = 30. Result drone drops to 30 and heads away from home at 20 = wrong result. Now let say that at height of 20 the wind speed is 10 and the drone is programmed to drop altitude ONLY UNTIL it is heading in the home direction. Then the drone may run into that tree of height 15 in front of you but at least it did not end up across the river down wind. The other option is to allow the operator to adjust hight manually and when you get to that tree abort RTH.
Determining that scenario is what being a pilot is all about and why there will be knowledge tests in the near future for hobbyist pilots as well as commercial pilots. That is a good thing as there are too many people that go buy a sUAS, take it out of the package, charge the batteries, and send it up without the slightest clue as to how it flies or what controls what. A quick start guide might be lightly glanced at, but only enough to charge the battery and get the thing airborne.
Data for wind direction and speed can be found in many apps. I like using UAV Forecast.
Most of the information for the operation of the Breeze and Breeze Cam is in the app itself. If you read the manual and the help screens in the flight modes, you will find that the RTH function can be interrupted by activating the RTH button again and the Breeze will hover at that position waiting for commands from the pilot.
I hate to repeat myself over and over, but RTFMF (Read The Full Manual First)!!!!!!!!
My fly away experience... on Jan 5 around 5pm MST I firmly snapped a fully charged yuneec battery into my breeze. After checking status icons I lifted off and then turned on camera and flew out over the frozen lake in my backyard. Temperature was around +5c (40f). After 2 mins flight time, low battery indicator came onscreen. I thought this was a little strange as battery usually lasts about 10mins. Breeze commenced a return to home. On return to home controller altitude suddenly stopped responding, (as expected) and camera gimbal was still working. The Breeze almost made it home then suddenly began to fly away almost directly upwards, gaining altitude far beyond the 32.8ft limit I had set for RTH. Based on video, breeze rose well over a hundred of feet in altitude, disappearing as was much too high to see. Around this time video stopped recording, and shortly after the engines stopped and breeze came crashing down. Logs do not reflect actual flight time, (I was up for minutes, it shows a few seconds) any errors, and show battery was charged. Considering the height of the fall, the breeze was fairly resilient. (Kudos to Yuneec for a well built product). The bottom cover and lenses/sensors were damaged, and the start button came off the circuit board. I am able to hold the start button against the circuit board and initiate startup, but it showed a gyroscope error and the breeze will not fly. I have contacted Yuneec and have to say they have a very robust support process and I’ve already sent them my flight logs and will be sending them my breeze for repair on Monday. Still waiting to know if repair will be warranted.
From your description I think it will be. If you were using the controller there will be no FlightLog data showing the Breeze in flight. Were you able to retrieve the video that was taken during that flight? It will prove the Breeze was airborne and not recording telemetry.
You can also post the zipped log files to the forum for a second opinion by using the Attach files button in a reply. We can at least verify the settings you had for RTH , speed, takeoff height, etc.
Sorry for your loss. We all dread the day we have a similar mishap.
You can also post the zipped log files to the forum for a second opinion by using the Attach files button in a reply. We can at least verify the settings you had for RTH , speed, takeoff height, etc.
Sorry for your loss. We all dread the day we have a similar mishap.
Hi, sorry to hear about that mishap.
I have a question to confirm a suspicion: when your Breeze began its uncommanded climb, was that when it had already reached the spot where it actually should have been descending to complete the landing part of the RTH?
And unrelated: were you flying with the Bluetooth controller?
Thanks and good luck with Yuneec support!
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Someone mentioned very hi speed flyaway. My first flyaway was faster than I had ever seen it. It was hovering 3" from me and just took off, looked to be twice as fast as normal.
Gradually descended about 200 ft. away and crashed into a lake.. Unrecoverable, but was replaced by Yuneec.
Gradually descended about 200 ft. away and crashed into a lake.. Unrecoverable, but was replaced by Yuneec.
Yes I was using the BT controller. Is it suspect? I had also recently performed a calibration but not certain I was facing north.
I must say the entire experience of losing control is rather unnerving. and when I heard the engines stop, I knew this was not going to be good!
Breeze was aloft for approximately 1:15 when batteries indicated they were low (after a very short flight with a fully charged battery). I was able to return within 15 feet of home at about 1:31. As it reached this spot, I re-positioned the camera gimbal down and attempted to descend. The Breeze instead began to ascend (I believe may have been performing the RTH). At 1:51 during this possible RTH, my Breeze turned away from home, which was concerning, so I pressed Y / RTH and then reattempted a manual descent with no response. My Breeze continued its uncontrolled ascent and elevated far beyond what I could see. (I believe it went much higher than video recorded). The engines then stopped and gravity did what gravity does. Breeze was not damaged as bad as I expected after fall from such an extreme height. I believe it landed on one of the giant boulders that line the lake. Although the prop guards were strewn about, and a couple legs missing covers, and the bottom cover was damaged, the battery was still in place and it was virtually all in one piece. https://photos.app.goo.gl/A7VtHCgADuwHkpLn9.
Here is video of the fly away showing I was flying for at least 2:23. https://photos.app.goo.gl/ssBidm9PiA8rUtw69.
For Some reason the logs (attached) seem to indicate I was only aloft for 17 secs? My concern is that the battery is possibly faulty. although the voltage seems to be fine. I just don't want to get my repaired or replaced breeze and have the same issue recur!
Breeze is now in the capable hands of our friends at Yuneec and I await a response.
I’ll look at your FlightLogs later, but any time the BT Controller is used the FlightLog stops as soon as you switch to the Controller Task mode. I have proven this on both iOS and Android versions of the Breeze Cam app. The Controller mode was the last to be built into the app and the programmers somehow failed to keep the telemetry recording once you switch to that mode.
The BT Controller is actually an easier way to fly the Breeze and does not cause flyaways in and of itself. I am suspecting a batch of bad flight control boards as I have seen several cases of flyaways or motors being turned off once the Breeze returns to the takeoff position.
Your Breeze will calibrate without facing Magnetic North, but it seems to be more stable in the yaw axis when done this way. When I first got my Breeze over a year ago I would calibrate every time I flew, yet it would do some wierd jerky yaw movements quite often. I then read about other Yuneec models doing calibration while facing north and tried it with the Breeze. I noticed a drastic improvement and it seemed to calibrate just a little easier.
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Hi, the issue with the BreezeCam app not recording logs when flying with the BT controller was the reason why l asked about the controller. Doom has already explained the problem with that.
Looking at your video, I wonder how cold it was? If the battery was much below room temp., that might explain part of its short stand time.
How many good flights have you had before that final one? Did you use RTH before?
Looking at your video, I wonder how cold it was? If the battery was much below room temp., that might explain part of its short stand time.
How many good flights have you had before that final one? Did you use RTH before?
Temperature was right around 0c/32f. I’ve flown this Breeze over the frozen lake in much cooler temps, as cold as -6c with no issues. (-6 is coldest we have had late last year so far this winter). In both colder and warmer temperatures the battery has lasted at least 8 minutes and typically over 10.5 minutes of use before indicating low battery signal. I do wonder if it was much colder at higher altitudes that the Breeze reached during fly away, which may have caused adverse affects on not only the battery, but could have caused shrinking contacts as well. However typically when we have weather like this, warmer air at higher elevation has trapped the cooler air and causes the fog. Thanks to both Robbie2 and Doom, your insights are greatly appreciated! Make sense controller use did not record logs. Your advice and expertise on this forum is both greatly appreciated and respected!
Happy ending time for my story, and I must give a huge shout out to the support team at Yuneec.
Although most communications from Yuneec to me appeared to be "canned", they handled my request very efficiently and professionally, always keeping in touch every step of the way and informing me what to expect as well as possible timelines.
It took just over 4 weeks total from my initial support repair request to completely close the service request.
The process included;
Yuneec emailing me a UPS label to return my Breeze at their expense.
Yuneec let me know I would have to pay for this shipping if I was found to be at fault for the fly away.
I then returned my Breeze via UPS.
I was required to agree that I would pay for any repair charges should I be found responsible for the fly away damages.
Yuneec then asked me to provide flight logs.
Yuneec let me know every step of the way what was going on including;
Breeze not yet received.
Breeze received by shipping.
Breeze being sent to repairs.
Breeze received by repairs.
And finally Breeze repaired, although it really wasn't as they determined they would be send me a new/replacement/refurbished Breeze at no charge.
I received the replacement package last Thursday. Although I expected a refurbished Breeze only with no accessories as per their email communication, I received a shipment that Included an entire new retail package including Breeze, controller, battery, spare props, charger, etc everything identical to the package I originally purchased.
Yuneec repairs team did not say what caused the fly away, possibly because they were not certain themselves, but just to be certain, I will not be reusing the old battery or controller just in case they were in any way faulty and caused the fly away.
I will be doing everything in my power to ensure I never have to go through the anxiety of watching my Breeze fly away far beyond what I could see, then hearing the engines stop, and then awaiting that excruciating 10 seconds (although it sure felt much longer) for the sound of impact and of course, trying to stay out from under it! The Breeze did not hit me when falling, but it was within 15 ft, im thinking flying might be best done wearing protective gear such as a helmet in the future. ;-)
Although most communications from Yuneec to me appeared to be "canned", they handled my request very efficiently and professionally, always keeping in touch every step of the way and informing me what to expect as well as possible timelines.
It took just over 4 weeks total from my initial support repair request to completely close the service request.
The process included;
Yuneec emailing me a UPS label to return my Breeze at their expense.
Yuneec let me know I would have to pay for this shipping if I was found to be at fault for the fly away.
I then returned my Breeze via UPS.
I was required to agree that I would pay for any repair charges should I be found responsible for the fly away damages.
Yuneec then asked me to provide flight logs.
Yuneec let me know every step of the way what was going on including;
Breeze not yet received.
Breeze received by shipping.
Breeze being sent to repairs.
Breeze received by repairs.
And finally Breeze repaired, although it really wasn't as they determined they would be send me a new/replacement/refurbished Breeze at no charge.
I received the replacement package last Thursday. Although I expected a refurbished Breeze only with no accessories as per their email communication, I received a shipment that Included an entire new retail package including Breeze, controller, battery, spare props, charger, etc everything identical to the package I originally purchased.
Yuneec repairs team did not say what caused the fly away, possibly because they were not certain themselves, but just to be certain, I will not be reusing the old battery or controller just in case they were in any way faulty and caused the fly away.
I will be doing everything in my power to ensure I never have to go through the anxiety of watching my Breeze fly away far beyond what I could see, then hearing the engines stop, and then awaiting that excruciating 10 seconds (although it sure felt much longer) for the sound of impact and of course, trying to stay out from under it! The Breeze did not hit me when falling, but it was within 15 ft, im thinking flying might be best done wearing protective gear such as a helmet in the future. ;-)
Maybe not such a happy ending... yet!
I received my replacement Breeze, a brand new shrink wrapped Breeze direct from our friends at Yuneec repair centre, and the new Breeze does not show up on wifi on any of my 5G devices. iPhone 6s Plus, Ipad 2017, Galaxy S8, and Samsung Notebook.
When I turn the Breeze on, the:
I have tried holding the reset and Power buttons as suggested here and still no wifi;
Any other suggestions or is it time to contact Yuneec and send this Breeze back for a replacement?
I received my replacement Breeze, a brand new shrink wrapped Breeze direct from our friends at Yuneec repair centre, and the new Breeze does not show up on wifi on any of my 5G devices. iPhone 6s Plus, Ipad 2017, Galaxy S8, and Samsung Notebook.
When I turn the Breeze on, the:
- Breeze tri-tone sound is heard.
- POWER is briefly white, then flashes blue-green-red a few times, then flashes blue.
- LEG front left flashes white then eventually green
or - LEG front left is solid red then eventually flashes red
I have tried holding the reset and Power buttons as suggested here and still no wifi;
Any other suggestions or is it time to contact Yuneec and send this Breeze back for a replacement?
The Americas all use the same firmware, North, Central, and South.
The Status LED in the leg Should go from white to red to flashing green on startup. The SSID should be visible during the flashing green phase. You may need to try connecting to any unknown SSID and use the Breeze password 1234567890 until you connect. The Breeze can overheat if left on for an extended period without flying. When that happens you will not get the flashing green on the Status LED in the arm it will stay red. Turn the Breeze off and let it cool for 20 to 30 minutes and try again.
Was this a retail box or just the repaired Breeze that was returned?
Thanks for the "out of box" (pun intended) thinking DM - that did the trick.
Although it appeared to be a new Breeze, and arrived in a sealed retail box. it was a factory refurb.
Had to go through each of the 30+ SSIDs showing on my phone, and of course the very last one called TonyaJr was my Breeze. Entering the factory passcode allowed me to reconnect and I'm back in business.
Thanks again!
Although it appeared to be a new Breeze, and arrived in a sealed retail box. it was a factory refurb.
Had to go through each of the 30+ SSIDs showing on my phone, and of course the very last one called TonyaJr was my Breeze. Entering the factory passcode allowed me to reconnect and I'm back in business.
Thanks again!
Absolutely agreed and I had already done... didn’t like TonyaJr so I’ve renamed it to something much better... TonyaSr ; )
Canadian humor eh!
Kinda like my wife’s cousins in Kingsville, Ontario. Great fun and enjoyable family members.
Kinda like my wife’s cousins in Kingsville, Ontario. Great fun and enjoyable family members.
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