Lost Typhoon on 4th flight

[JDQ]

I have been getting flights of around 18-19 minutes on the Typhoon on the first two flights. Last weekend I flew it in 10-15mph gusty winds off of an island here in Florida. It flew well and produced very smooth video considering the wind but lasted around 15 minutes.

This weekend, I took my Typhoon out in the boat for a follow me flight in calm weather, just a slight breeze occasionally. I set up the framing and then took off in the boat. I kept the drone only about 50 feet away and around 30 feet high as it followed my boat. I drove down the coast a few minutes and then re-framed the shot off the front of the boat looking backwards. At that time I looked at the battery and saw 11.1V. I should have landed but a lot was going on and I saw under 10 minutes of flight time and thought I would be okay and th waves, the sun... it made it hard to focus I suppose. I drove a litttle again, just maybe one-two minutes, did a u-turn to bring it in for a landing and when we looked back, it wasn't there. We then looked at the controller and saw the final video frame which was about 2 inches above the water. The final flight time was only 11 minutes.

I'm guessing it landed in the water from low battery? I had charged the battery two weeks ago, but didn't recharge it before this flight. I've only flown this drone 3 times prior to this flight and each time was a fresh charge. Lesson learned - and I didn't have a SD card in the controller. I was in 10 feet of water and could not see bottom. Even if I knew the coordinates, the current, the salt water, it would be pointless. I just bought a brand new battery I never even used and my go-pro was on board. Since we weren't looking when it landed, the search area was too large to dive for, especially with the currents off-shore it would be too dangerous.

I thought I would post this in case there is a takeaway and also because I'm surprised I only got a 11 minute flight from a battery that was full two weeks ago. Has anyone else noticed such a short flight time from a two week old full charge?

 

[DroneClone]

Never use a battery that was charged two or even one week before hand, always do a recharge before flight even after 2 days of sitting as they drain off slowly the minute they get off the charger, also it is bad for LiPo batteries to leave fully charge and sit for more than a few days. I always charge the night before, or day of flight. If you store or leave them for more that a few days, drain them down to at least 50%.

 

[JDQ]

Good Advice! I've been flying RC for almost 15 years so I should know better but I've used batteries that sat for a week or two with no issues... I would not let it sit for a month or more but well... lesson learned is to never become too relaxed with your thinking, especially when flying over water. We've all heard the stories like this so again, it never hurts to hear it again and be extra careful. This was a last-minute thing and I could have used the boat car-charger but didn't. A month old brand-new drone with my go-pro 10 feet under.

 

[humboldt 707]

D.C. Is right always charge up,that goes for the transmitter also.these birds are to pricey to take a chance,plus it's also a safety factor,and flying over water,I bet you'll find plenty of horror stories on this forum on that subject.

 

[Chilcotin]

I have been getting flights of around 18-19 minutes on the Typhoon on the first two flights. Last weekend I flew it in 10-15mph gusty winds off of an island here in Florida. It flew well and produced very smooth video considering the wind but lasted around 15 minutes.

This weekend, I took my Typhoon out in the boat for a follow me flight in calm weather, just a slight breeze occasionally. I set up the framing and then took off in the boat. I kept the drone only about 50 feet away and around 30 feet high as it followed my boat. I drove down the coast a few minutes and then re-framed the shot off the front of the boat looking backwards. At that time I looked at the battery and saw 11.1V. I should have landed but a lot was going on and I saw under 10 minutes of flight time and thought I would be okay and th waves, the sun... it made it hard to focus I suppose. I drove a litttle again, just maybe one-two minutes, did a u-turn to bring it in for a landing and when we looked back, it wasn't there. We then looked at the controller and saw the final video frame which was about 2 inches above the water. The final flight time was only 11 minutes.

I'm guessing it landed in the water from low battery? I had charged the battery two weeks ago, but didn't recharge it before this flight. I've only flown this drone 3 times prior to this flight and each time was a fresh charge. Lesson learned - and I didn't have a SD card in the controller. I was in 10 feet of water and could not see bottom. Even if I knew the coordinates, the current, the salt water, it would be pointless. I just bought a brand new battery I never even used and my go-pro was on board. Since we weren't looking when it landed, the search area was too large to dive for, especially with the currents off-shore it would be too dangerous.

I thought I would post this in case there is a takeaway and also because I'm surprised I only got a 11 minute flight from a battery that was full two weeks ago. Has anyone else noticed such a short flight time from a two week old full charge?

If it was still flying at 11.1v......that is incredible, and the alarm should have come on way before that.
At 14v you better make sure the copter is back on the ground.
Sorry for the loss.
edit.....are you talking about the Typhoon H??
Woops sorry, wrong thread

 

[DroneClone]

Sorry about your loss !, I have an H, so don't know if battery info is the same? But I have no specs on what the low volt landing recommendation is or how to tell voltage during flight but on top left of controller it says voltage anyone have info on this, I am a DJI deserter and they make it simple and clear what voltage is throughout flight!

 

[OregonDrone]

Of course hind sight is always 20-20. Good advice on charging batteries if you haven't flown for a couple of weeks.

As you already found out, always use your battery voltage as your reference to land. Your transmitter should vibrate when it's time to come home. You'll notice that the color on your voltage meter changes as the voltage drops. I usually start thinking about coming in when it turns yellow.

Flying over water is different. I don't take the same chances I would over land. Worse case is on land all I have to do is land it and maybe take out a prop or two. We need a good float solution for the Q.

 

[Radar12]

JDQ - I feel your pain. I lost my Typhoon G this morning also shooting my boat. My crash was different. I was in angle mode about 200 ft away and 75 high. We were turning toward it and I was maneuvering to try to frame us. It suddenly started an increasing roll angle and descent rate. Moving sticks and releasing them seemed to do nothing and impact was at an angle and speed I've never seen it do.

I just joined this forum looking for help with the Post Mortem. I have the log file from my st-10+ but not sure I'm seeing all the data and not sure what units the data I have are in. The speed column appears to be mph because my previous files never go over 17. If that's the case this one hit the water at about 50! The Lat/long columns appear to be in exponential or scientific notation... No idea what the accuracy number means.

Does anyone have a decoder ring, or information on other data (GPS status, accel health, etc) that might be available? I read about a download here that appears to show additional columns, but have not found a link that works.

Thanks in advance. I don't know about JDQ, but I think I will drink heavily.

 

[Radar12]

I should add it was less than 10 minutes in, and batteries were fine (I had two spares, all charged in the last 48 hours). I did not a beep that occurred when I made altitude command changes that struck me as u

 

[Radar12]

Unusual.

 

[DroneClone]

Of course hind sight is always 20-20. Good advice on charging batteries if you haven't flown for a couple of weeks.

As you already found out, always use your battery voltage as your reference to land. Your transmitter should vibrate when it's time to come home. You'll notice that the color on your voltage meter changes as the voltage drops. I usually start thinking about coming in when it turns yellow.

Flying over water is different. I don't take the same chances I would over land. Worse case is on land all I have to do is land it and maybe take out a prop or two. We need a good float solution for the Q.

Green to yellow on the 4 battery level bars?