Drone Went Rogue. Crashed Twice. Don't know what to do.

[AndyP]

The only mode I have flown in, is Smart mode. All the switches in the default middle position, speed dial on turtle. I never even got to try follow mode or watch mode. Never tried return to home mode.

First time flying it was middle of the afternoon, when it crashed into a bush. Second time it was around 7pm when it flew across the field and hit a tree.

I am going to submit a ticket with Yuneec and hope for some resolution. (edit: I guess I'll have to do it tonight, since it requires a serial number in order to submit a ticket and I'm at work)

 

[biltno]

Again watch videos on utube especially regarding flying in smart mode. Unless you fully understand smart mode, you will get into trouble quick.
I recommend angle mode

 

[FlushVision]

Hello, I don't know what to do.

I got a Typhoon-H for my 37th birthday this past Sunday. I'm not new to flying drones. Have piloted several over the years without any issues. But my problems with the Typhoon-H started with the first day of flight.

First thing I did was spend the entire first night reading the enclosed user manual cover to cover and all included literature, to ensure I was familiar with the controls, startup, take-off/landing, etc.. I wasn't even worried about dealing with taking photo or video yet. Didn't even insert the sd card. Spent time examining the controller. Powered it on to familiarize myself with the interface. But never tried flying the drone. Too dark in the evening.

The next day (yesterday), I took it out into my cul-de-sac, where I've flown several drones. Plenty of clearance above and around the street to do basic navigation tests. No breeze. Clear conditions.
First thing I always do when taking off is let it hover and settle. Then press up on the right thumbstick to ensure that up is forward and there isn't some weird orientation issue. Then I check backwards for the same. Just a couple feet to make sure I'm oriented correctly before trying to pilot it. Always do that.

I kept the flight control on simple mode, speed down on turtle, all settings on default. Only wanted to take off, hover a little off the ground and get a feel for it. No problems. Flew to about 10', standard box pattern around the street, controls were perfect and fluid, had total control of the drone. Even a perfectly soft landing, right where it took off. Total flight was about 3 minutes. Landed, powered down the propellers. My son was out with me. I also got the recommended SkyView FPV Goggles along side it, so I connected it to the controller and let me son look through it as I took off and flew to a little above the tree line. Straight up and hovered so he could see and be amazed. Came straight back down and landed again no problems. Maybe 5 minutes flight time. Turned off props. Disconnected headset.
Took off and flew straight up again to about 10'. Let it hover. Press up on the thumbstick to check orientation. Drone moved towards me, instead of away from me, so I let go of the thumbstick to let it settle. Tried press down to see if it was just backwards, but it came towards me again. Let off the thumbstick and tried to descend to land. As soon as I hit down on the left thumbstick, the drone dipped towards me and started flying directly towards me and climbed to about 20' and started veering left. I tried to adjust altitude up and down, but it would not respond to any controls. right thumbstick had no bearing on the direction at all. So I let go of both to let it settle itself. But it never even tried. It was at a constant 45 degree angle and going too fast to stop and landed in the top of a bush across the cul-de-sac. No damage done. But I had no control. It was like it went rogue.

Freaked me out because I had zero control over it. Felt I needed a larger area to try again. So, I got the controller and the drone battery fully charged and the next day (tonight) we went up to the school. Huge open field, not a tree for 300 yards in any direction. No breeze. Perfect evening. Ready for a beautiful flight. Again, not worrying about taking video/photo. Just wanted to fly and get used to it.

Powered up the controller and then the drone. It synced connection, no issue, could see the camera just fine. I took off, went to about 10', checked orientation. Up went forward, down went backwards. So I spent about 5 minutes flying in a typical box pattern, fly up to around 30', let it hover and admire the view from the camera screen on the controller. Flew it back, landed it perfectly flat. Zero problems at all.
Powered up the props and lifted off to about 10'. Press up on the thumbstick and again it tilted towards me, so I let off the controls, but this time it didn't settle at all. It kept coming towards me. I tried descending with the left thumbstick and it again tilted to about a 45 degree angle and flew out of control. I didn't press anything on either stick or the screen, or any other buttons/switches this time since there was a ton of space for it to self correct. It sped up and was flying incredibly fast, about 15 feet off the ground. After about 50 feet, it wasn't changing directions or slowing down. I tried anything on the sticks to get it to respond. Wouldn't do anything at all. All I could do was watch in horror as it flew out of control. My wife and my son were by my side watching the whole thing unfold.
Crashed into a tree at max velocity. Broke the camera off completely. broke one of the prop arms and 3 of the propeller blades. Shards of plastic all over the ground. Again, I had zero control.

I don't know what happened. As I said, I've piloted several drones. wasn't doing anything fancy at all. Still getting used to it. With it in simple mode and the speed on turtle, it shouldn't have been even able to get going that fast, but with it tilting at that angle and not correcting, there was nothing I could do. The farthest I ever had it from me was maybe 75' in a straight line. Flat ground, no obstructions. Take off was about 30 feet from where I was standing.

I believe the person that got me this as a gift got the warranty when she bought it, but of course they are going to blame pilot error. Is there any way to view flight logs from the controller that I could use to show them what it did? This is the most advanced drone I've ever piloted so I don't even know if that type of feature is available or not.

But I'm at a loss and don't know what to do. I've had the drone for less than 48 hours and it is destroyed. Not from pilot error, but from something that has to be a malfunction or something. I don't know.

Any help is appreciated.
Thanks

It's always a bummer when you crash a sUAS. But it's a fact that you a far more likely to crash or at least have some sort of 'incident' during the first few flights of any make of drone...be it pilot error, or a technical issue with the aircraft.

Pilot error simply because a pilot is either new to flying drones, or has an unfamiliarity with that particular aircraft and what he must do to avoid issues. Technical issues since if there is an underlying issue with the aircraft it will most likely manifest itself during the first few flights if not the first few minutes.

I feel for you, dude. You have some very knowledgeable people looking at your telemetry. Keep your chin up.

Just a final note: Smart mode isn't as smart as you would think. It can actually be quite confusing particularly to a new flyer so should be avoided until one is more familiar with the system...but the manual doesn't tell you that.

 

[AndyP]

@biltno: Yes, I spend a lot of time on youtube. So I definitely know I can learn a lot there. But even then, that doesn't explain why the drone went rogue and took off on its own and wouldn't respond to any controls.

@FlushVision Thank you. Hopefully somebody looking at it can see the same thing me and my wife did. I'm familiar enough with flying drones to be able to stabilize one mid-flight if it should start going wonky. But I've never seen anything like what this one did. 2 different times.

 

[AH-1G]

@AndyP
I agree with the others you need to fly in angle mode to start with.
I never fly in Angle mode unless I plan to use follow me or watch me mode.
Attached is a newer version of the manual, not sure if you have this?
Leave your camera off until you get more comfortable with the controls.

 

[FlushVision]

@FlushVision Thank you. Hopefully somebody looking at it can see the same thing me and my wife did. I'm familiar enough with flying drones to be able to stabilize one mid-flight if it should start going wonky. But I've never seen anything like what this one did. 2 different times.

I can get by with the skin of my teeth looking at telemetry but I usually defer to others in this forum who are far better than me with telemetry. I know my place...I'm better at other stuff.

 

[AH-1G]

Oh, find a very large open field with out any trees to practice.
Most of all never ever panic, let go of the controls give it a few seconds, by then it should stop and hover.

 

[AndyP]

I kept it in Smart mode because the manual that came with it advised to do so until I was familiar with the controls. But again, all I was doing was flying it in a small square pattern to get used to the feel of it. Wasn't taking it through the woods, or trying to get a panoramic shot or anything fancy. Just straight forward, up/down, left/right, and back to me and land. Wasn't messing with camera controls. Wasn't trying to use any of the modes to follow me, since I was standing perfectly still.
My wife took a video of the first flight where it worked just fine. Everything you'd expect from a drone flight. I had no problem with the controls. There was no change in location or any other setting between the first and 2nd flight. I was standing in the same spot, it took off from the same spot.

That is a different manual than the one that came with the drone. And I wasn't looking at the camera while flying it. I never do that. I was watching the drone itself.

 

[AndyP]

Oh, find a very large open field with out any trees to practice.
Most of all never ever panic, let go of the controls give it a few seconds, by then it should stop and hover.

That's what I did. As I said in the original post. It was a huge open field. No trees for 300 yards in any direction. Perfectly flat. And when I let go of the controls, as is what you are supposed to do, it didn't do anything. Kept careening off on it's own and wouldn't level off.

 

[Eagle's Eye Video]

Andy, start looking at the manual linked below:

Typhoon H Manual - the one that should have been written

It has been written and contributed by many members of this board. Far more useful in explanations and procedures.

 

[AndyP]

Andy, start looking at the manual linked below:

Typhoon H Manual - the one that should have been written

It has been written and contributed by many members of this board. Far more useful in explanations and procedures.

Will download it and keep it handy. But in the meantime, trying to find out what happened because I need to get it repaired since it is broken now.

 

[AH-1G]

That's what I did. As I said in the original post. It was a huge open field. No trees for 300 yards in any direction. Perfectly flat. And when I let go of the controls, as is what you are supposed to do, it didn't do anything. Kept careening off on it's own and wouldn't level off.

Opps I only read that you were in a cult-d-sac, sorry
Careening off could be caused by the Smart Mode being on.
How close were you when it started away from you?

 

[AH-1G]

I'm not sure what the default radius is when in smart mode, I do know it is adjustable.

 

[AndyP]

Opps I only read that you were in a cult-d-sac, sorry
Careening off on it's own could be caused by the Smart Mode being on.
How close were you when it started away from you?

It was probably about 25 feet in front of me, per the recommended distance for taking off. Each time, I flew it straight up about 10 feet. Tried to see if it would fly forwards, saw it was going backwards, tried going the other way, and it started quickly drifting towards me, angled to about 45 degrees and continued to fly at high velocity until it hit a tree, on the other side of the field.

But again. Did the first flight, from the exact same distance. No problems at all. perfect flight. Took off and landed in the same spot. 2nd flight, went rogue.

 

[Dilly Joat]

Hello, I don't know what to do.

I got a Typhoon-H for my 37th birthday this past Sunday. I'm not new to flying drones. Have piloted several over the years without any issues. But my problems with the Typhoon-H started with the first day of flight.

Any help is appreciated.
Thanks

That was a tough introduction to the world of the H and I hope it doesn't put you off flying it after repair. The Yuneec manuals are reknowned for their lack of information and are by far the worst problem the H has.

Other more experienced flyers here may be able to give better advice but as with h-elsner, I noticed in the log files that the aircraft was in Smart mode and using Follow Me. The manuals should tell you NOT to use Smart mode to start with as there are hidden dangers with it. Smart mode defines an area around you of a radius of 20 feet to be a safe area. If the aircraft finds itself inside this area, it will try to escape in an apparently random direction. Also Smart mode redefines what effect the sticks have on the aircraft. All told, take-off in Smart mode while standing closer than 20 feet to the aircraft and it will seem as though you have no control at all.

It is probably good advice to always take-off and land in Angle mode so you have full control.

In regards to calibrations on a new aircraft, they were probably last done in China so the GPS almanac and the compass settings will not match your location. This could mean the GPS control may try to go to a point it thinks is correct but in fact is way off.

I suggest that all of the calibrations should be done before first flight and to allow the aircraft to sit for 15 minutes powered up but without engines running to allow for the GPS update.

Hope this helps with understanding your misfortune and I hope you have good luck with Yuneec.

 

[biltno]

Well put Dilly Joat

 

[biltno]

You would think after having a poorly written manual on the first gen H, it would have been better the second time around.. I don’t own an H+ but wanted to read the manual and I must say it lacks more information than the first !

 

[AH-1G]

That was a tough introduction to the world of the H and I hope it doesn't put you off flying it after repair. The Yuneec manuals are reknowned for their lack of information and are by far the worst problem the H has.

Other more experienced flyers here may be able to give better advice but as with h-elsner, I noticed in the log files that the aircraft was in Smart mode and using Follow Me. The manuals should tell you NOT to use Smart mode to start with as there are hidden dangers with it. Smart mode defines an area around you of a radius of 20 feet to be a safe area. If the aircraft finds itself inside this area, it will try to escape in an apparently random direction. Also Smart mode redefines what effect the sticks have on the aircraft. All told, take-off in Smart mode while standing closer than 20 feet to the aircraft and it will seem as though you have no control at all.

It is probably good advice to always take-off and land in Angle mode so you have full control.

In regards to calibrations on a new aircraft, they were probably last done in China so the GPS almanac and the compass settings will not match your location. This could mean the GPS control may try to go to a point it thinks is correct but in fact is way off.

I suggest that all of the calibrations should be done before first flight and to allow the aircraft to sit for 15 minutes powered up but without engines running to allow for the GPS update.

Hope this helps with understanding your misfortune and I hope you have good luck with Yuneec.

Thanks, very well put.

 

[CraigCam]

Never take off in smart mode. Angle mode is best all the time. In smart mode, your movement moves the drone. It’s really a headless mode with a geo fence that puts you in the middle of a safe circle. It’s very confusing as there is no orientation so your lack of what you thought was control was actually giving stick info. If you were in the safe circle then it will still try to move away from you even when the sticks are released. One flick down of the right switch to angle mode would have stopped the fly always that you were unfortunately inadvertently creating. My guess is your first flights you were safely away so it behaved. That first crash could be when in descent, you were too close so it was trying to move away. You chasing it moved it more. It becomes a cascade of confusion and panic that often times gets worse. My best advice is to always ascend and get it out of the safe zone. Up is a safe spot to let it hold and hover while you figure out what’s wrong at the control and settings.

 

[AndyP]

That was a tough introduction to the world of the H and I hope it doesn't put you off flying it after repair. The Yuneec manuals are reknowned for their lack of information and are by far the worst problem the H has.

Other more experienced flyers here may be able to give better advice but as with h-elsner, I noticed in the log files that the aircraft was in Smart mode and using Follow Me. The manuals should tell you NOT to use Smart mode to start with as there are hidden dangers with it. Smart mode defines an area around you of a radius of 20 feet to be a safe area. If the aircraft finds itself inside this area, it will try to escape in an apparently random direction. Also Smart mode redefines what effect the sticks have on the aircraft. All told, take-off in Smart mode while standing closer than 20 feet to the aircraft and it will seem as though you have no control at all.

It is probably good advice to always take-off and land in Angle mode so you have full control.

In regards to calibrations on a new aircraft, they were probably last done in China so the GPS almanac and the compass settings will not match your location. This could mean the GPS control may try to go to a point it thinks is correct but in fact is way off.

I suggest that all of the calibrations should be done before first flight and to allow the aircraft to sit for 15 minutes powered up but without engines running to allow for the GPS update.

Hope this helps with understanding your misfortune and I hope you have good luck with Yuneec.

Thank you and it won't put me off from flying it once it gets repaired. I love flying drones. I'm a very technical guy, it's my career, so reading every piece of literature that came with it, front to back before even turning it on, seemed like the obvious decision. And I followed the instructions to a T.

I don't know if Follow-Me mode was on, because if it was, I didn't turn it on. didn't even know how. I left everything default from the time it booted up. But even if it was in follow mode, I wasn't moving.

It would be nice if the instruction manual that came with it, actually said anything about calibrating anything like that.

My biggest concern now is that I'm going to be responsible for footing the bill to have this thing repaired, when it wasn't my fault it took off and refused to respond to any controls.