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[Jon LeMay]

I had a recent flyaway which resulted in a damaged typhoon h. Yuneec has repaired it at no charge but I would like to understand what happened. I have the data but have no idea how to read it. Any help would be appreciated, see the attached file. I am a real estate photographer so I go up and across and then hopefully back down no acrobatics. Does Yuneec have an insurance program to repair damaged drones? jon

 

[Ty Pilot]

There are 77 flight logs, any chance you remember the date of the crash/flyaway? Was it the last flight or have you flown since?

 

[Jon LeMay]

Thanks, It would be the last one Feb 13th. jon

 

[Ty Pilot]

Okay so there are 3 log files on the 13th and only one was a flight of about 4 minutes on the corner of Whiteville Road and Warren Road this must be it.

 

[Jon LeMay]

That’s it. Jon

 

[Ty Pilot]

What was your recollection of the flight? Can you take us through it?

 

[Jon LeMay]

I was flying low under twll pine trees and the drone slid to the right I corrected and it went left then flew back over me and crashed in some woods across the road. I did activate RT H but without success. Jon

 

[Ty Pilot]

Did you at any point turn off the GPS? I am seeing you had two separate flights or hops. The first had a lift off and hover under the tress starting at 11:55:33 hovering at about 14 feet for just over two and a half minutes landing at 11:58:08. From there the aircraft appears to have been moved to that little clearing and then there was a second liftoff at 11:59:00 then 19 seconds later the Flight mode indication shows GPS off. From there it looks as though it drifted or flew South East across Whiteville road where eventually it ended it's flight. At the end of the flight there is a five motor warning but that is probably after hit contacted the ground.

I am just looking at the telemetry, there are guys that can look at the other files and see more data or a clearer picture of the flight possibly. Maybe @DoomMeister can take a look and see what he finds.

If it wasn't you turning off the GPS, then perhaps the GPS Module failed? In any case Yuneec repaired it for you which is good.

 

[Jon LeMay]

I don’t think I would ever turn the gps off on purpose maybe it failed so yuneec repaired it. I am looking at the extended warranty or crash forgiveness. Is there software to run the crash data?
Jon. Thanks

 

[Oscar Cymru]

Did you at any point turn off the GPS? I am seeing you had two separate flights or hops. The first had a lift off and hover under the tress starting at 11:55:33 hovering at about 14 feet for just over two and a half minutes landing at 11:58:08. From there the aircraft appears to have been moved to that little clearing and then there was a second liftoff at 11:59:00 then 19 seconds later the Flight mode indication shows GPS off. From there it looks as though it drifted or flew South East across Whiteville road where eventually it ended it's flight. At the end of the flight there is a five motor warning but that is probably after hit contacted the ground.

I am just looking at the telemetry, there are guys that can look at the other files and see more data or a clearer picture of the flight possibly. Maybe @DoomMeister can take a look and see what he finds.

If it wasn't you turning off the GPS, then perhaps the GPS Module failed? In any case Yuneec repaired it for you which is good.

I don't believe you can turn off GPS whilst in flight, and it's buried in settings so it's not easy to 'accidentally' turn GPS off..

 

[Ty Pilot]

I don’t think I would ever turn the gps off on purpose maybe it failed so yuneec repaired it. I am looking at the extended warranty or crash forgiveness. Is there software to run the crash data?
Jon. Thanks

Yes, the software we use was created by one of our very own members, his name on this forum is @h-elsner and he has a website HERE where you can go and download the Q500log to view your files.

 

[Ty Pilot]

I don't believe you can turn off GPS whilst in flight, and it's buried in settings so it's not easy to 'accidentally' turn GPS off..

You can turn it off and on while in flight and; it is actually something that a lot of us practice in the event there is a problem such as a flyaway. Being able to quickly pull up the fly-out menu and disable GPS is something of an emergency procedure. But moreover, being able to fly in manual mode builds better piloting skills.

Though I must say - fly aways have become a rarity among the Typhoon family, this case may just be equipment failure as fly aways usually happen very quickly and the aircraft moves away at high speed - which is why you would want to be able to turn off the GPS before the craft is out of sight.

 

[DoomMeister]

The first part of the flight was fine and I'm looking only at the second takeoff and beyond. The motors were armed at 58:57 and takeoff was just a couple of seconds after that. I think the trees had the GPS at a very marginal value (max of 14) and at 59:19 the satellite count dropped to 10 and the flight mode automatically changed from 3 (Angle with GPS) to 4 (Angle without GPS). This had a detrimental effect on stability, but the aircraft was responding properly to inputs. Once it got into an opening over the road the wind may have gotten to it. The TH did start gaining speed in the 15 seconds showing that it may have been affected by the wind.

 

[NorWiscPilot]

Is this another instance whereby attempting Return to Home was a detrimental factor, considering GPS was no longer available for navigational assistance?

As @Ty Pilot has affirmed previously, GPS can indeed be removed (turned off) as a control aide. All pilots need to master the procedure, AND be ready to take action, when it is recognized there is a possible issue with the GPS subsystem.

One important key is the quick recognition of such and incident in progress.

Practicing the procedure BEFORE it happens is a good way to prepare for when it DOES happen. Just like getting many, many flights under one’s belt builds confidence before attempting something in more stressful environments such as “on the job.”

This has been pointed out in many discussions. Stating again in case those curious want to search and read up on previous posts on this topic.

Jeff

 

[Ty Pilot]

I am not 100% sure about GPS on/off status on the Typhoon H 480 as to whether or not when it is turned off; if it simply is not using it while in Angle mode for position or, if in fact it is literally turned completely off.

On the H Plus we can now go into 'Manual' mode which leaves the GPS on but; the flight controller is not using it for positioning so, for all intents and purposes it is off as far as piloting in Angle Mode. However the GPS is still on in the background so in the event we switch to RTH - those coordinates are still logged and the Plus will fly Home. We also have the ability to turn the GPS truly off and in that case a RTH would not work.

So in this case when the Flight Mode went to a '4' (Angle without GPS) one would assume that it might still have the home position recorded but I am not sure. The flight time/distance once GPS was lost or turned off, has me suspecting that it was adrift and not doing the typical high speed fly away. If the wind was high enough and the GPS failed a pilot might not see his craft responding correctly at first and upon hitting RTH and waiting to see what happens - the craft carried on in the drift until the end.

 

[DoomMeister]

The switch in flight mode was automatic when the satellite count dropped to 10. GPS is still active, but is not used by the flight controller. The GPS actually goes to the aquiring phase instead of ready and RTH is unavailable until a Ready Status is regained.

The following is an excerpt from the expanded manual Vcho3.2:

LOSS of GPS

The aircraft will Hover and wait for a command.
ST16 will vibrate and give a Pop-Up Warning
WARNING!!!
GPS Lost
(Maintain Manual Flight)

Tap [ back] button to clear alarm – check telemetry to see if aircraft has “GPS DISABLE”. If so SWITCH TO Angle Mode. Smart Mode, OBS Avoid and Home Mode will be unavailable/disabled.

If the Typhoon H loses GPS lock or GPS has been disabled/turned off the Main LED status Indicator on the aircraft will flash purple and the motor LEDs will flash three times per second then off one second and repeat.

Note:If GPS lock is re-acquired (after receiving a GPS signal for5-10 seconds), Smart Mode and Home Mode will work again.
End excerpt.

I am pretty sure that the reactions were delayed due to the trees being at least a partial obstruction to LOS and the pilot did not recognize the drift in time.