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My First Flight... Not Good. Not Good at All.

For me, 10 satellites is far too low. I would never dream of launching with just 10 satellites. I'm not happy unless I have at least 15 satellites seen by my H. As mentioned abouve, the erratic behavior is probably due to ground effect, Best to launch in full rabbit and attain some altitude (15 to 20 feet) as quickly as possible.

Watch those switches. From experience I know just how easy it is to catch a switch without realizing it. On a couple of occasions I've glanced down to the controller and noticed that I've caught a switch without noticing it. Always check your switches before coming into land...just as important as checking them before taking off.
 
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I seem to remember just a few days ago we were discussing a bad J2 stick and I mentioned that the stick had to be cleaned BEFORE re-calibration. It appears that there was a calibration made while the stick was not 100% operable. My guess is that the problem may still be in the stick. If it were me, I would disassemble the ST-16, remove the gimbal (easy) and clean the pot directly and thoroughly then; recalibrate the controls so as to eliminate this as being a problem.
 
I took my new (to me) Typhoon H Pro out today, just for an engine start and hover type of test flight, since I haven't had a chance to even spin the props yet.

Let me start by saying that I have decent drone experience, this Typhoon is my 3rd drone, I've logged considerable hours on my Autel Evo and Parrot BB2 before that. Im a moderately experienced hobby pilot, not a newbie, but not an expert either.

To start, I've recently done firmware updates on the drone and camera, I fixed a sticky J2 using methods suggested on this forum as well as youtube. I calibrated the remote, compass, and altimeter yesterday. My batteries were 100% on both the drone and remote. All toggles on the remote were in the center position (obstacle avoidance off, angle mode), and the right hand slider was on the turtle.

I took it to my driveway, turned on the remote, then drone, pressed the start button, let it spin for a few seconds, and then throttled up. It lifted off the ground, up to about 5 feet, which is right where I wanted it. I went side to side, turned the nose 90 degrees left, then back again. So far so good... sorta. It seemed to be drifting a lot- it was requiring constant corrections to keep it over the lift off point. It was a little breezy, but not enough to account for this. It felt like it was in ATTI mode, even though it had 10 sats connected.

I took it back down twice, touched down, brought it down to idle speed by holding the stick down after it landed, then lifted off again with the same results- constant small corrections to keep it in place. It wasn't always drifting the same way, sometimes it drifted left, sometimes backwards, sometimes right.

Then it got ugly.

The final time as I brought it down to land it started really flipping out, just all over the place with very little control. I got it to touch down but as soon as it did it immediately tried to lift off again. I held the stick down trying to get it to land, everytime it touched the ground it went back up until it was actually bouncing. I noticed at that point the light under the battery on the drone started flashing red. I couldn't get it to just touch down and stay down, it was almost like I was fighting against some automated feature trying to get it to do the opposite of what I was trying to do.

I didn't panic, I knew what the end result would be, and sure enough after it bounced around for a while it tipped over and hit a prop on the driveway. After that it stayed down.

I don't know what to make of this. Did the guy sell me a bad unit? Did I miss something in the manual really important? I've spent the last 3 days reading through it and don't know what it would be. Ive flown my other drones right here in the same spot countless times with nothing like this ever happening. I don't know im at a loss.

I could sure use some input on this. I don't even know where to start troubleshooting this issue.


Edit- according to the chart, flashing red indicates home mode activated. If that's the case it could have been trying to take off to reach rth altitude, but I don't know why it would have gone into home mode, I know i didn't touch the switch... Also, idk about this drone, but on my Evo, rth is always overridden by manual commands, it seems like I still should have been able to land.
Do you have metal reinforcement in your driveway?
 
The OP starts this thread mentioning his H Pro was new-to him. That implied it was purchased used, with with batteries. We should assume the batteries had manufacture dates from 2016.

Unless the original owner religiously logged all aspects of battery use and maintenance and provided them with transfer of the aircraft, something very unlikely, the new owner would have absolutely nothing to assist determining battery condition. It is possible to check battery condition in verifying internal resistance but this is also something not done by many. It’s been well documented throughout this and other forums that many do not use or care for their batteries properly, nor do they understand how and why they work, and therefore damage them on a regular basis, which in turn reduces reliability and flight time. A damaged battery can show a full charge state yet provide only a couple minutes of effective use. Once a damaged battery is subjected to system loads they can and do discharge quite rapidly. Low battery voltage will automatically initiate an RTH event, a condition present as indicated by the color of the flight condition LED on the aircraft.

Something missing from the incident description is the state of displayed aircraft telemetry on the ST-16 screen. This is important as it was mentioned that firmware was updated prior to the flight, with no mention of the firmware version being replaced or what it was replaced with. As it has also been well established that an H can fly having an incomplete firmware upload or without being properly bound we have but two indications of a successful firmware and binding process. One is found in the ST-16 “Settings” pages by viewing the firmware versions, while the second is in having active aircraft telemetry displayed on the ST-16 prior to takeoff and throughout the flight.

From my perspective this incident event possesses several “red flags” that cause me to consider several conditions that would induce a crash. Some would be self induced, (firmware update, turtle mode, low hover) while at least one (batteries) being transferred from the original owner. A description of “drifting a lot” was also provided with nothing to define “a lot”. Was that inches, feet, yards, or what? In any case having the ST-16 in Turtle mode assured that corrective control response would have been slow and with minimal effect. Turtle mode was designed to reduce aircraft response to command input while also greatly reducing the speed of the aircraft. In Rabbit node the H is quite “sporty” and provides a considerable level of response to commanded input.

In his incident description there were more than enough possible/probable conditions present to induce system instability while reducing to the maximum extent possible the operator’s ability to deal with that instability using the flight controls. Having a lot of stick time flying different systems does not necessarily imply an operator possesses an adequate understanding of system functionality, and tossing a new system into the fray with features and functions that have yet to be learned or understood only increases the risk factors.

All the above should not be viewed as the definitive cause of this incident, but if we were performing an incident review to provide probability scenarios in a written report the above would be included as possible causal factors.

Every incident has those involved always looking at the aircraft itself as the cause, few want to look at themselves as causal. We have to recognize the vast majority of aircraft incidents either initiated or ended through one or more “pilot errors” during the course of a flight. The possibility of maintenance errors also have to be factored in. It’s more often than not that when all the possible factors have been honestly and accurately reviewed the aircraft itself was the least of the problems.
 
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Sounds like the bird was infact in return home mode, judging by how bad you said the batteries are and the home mode light was on, that would explain it to me. Your trying to oppose that may have caused erratic behaviour but its more likely the turbulence as was mentioned above was causing the bouncing and finally caused it to tip. I'm no expert either but this would be my logic on the matter. Definitely get new batteries, a good aftermarket charger and also, did you calibrate accelerometers and compass first? Wait for 15+ sats to be real safe too.
What does a good aftermarket charger offer that the stock charger doesn't?
 
For me, 10 satellites is far too low. I would never dream of launching with just 10 satellites. I'm not happy unless I have at least 15 satellites seen by my H. As mentioned abouve, the erratic behavior is probably due to ground effect, Best to launch in full rabbit and attain some altitude (15 to 20 feet) as quickly as possible.

Watch those switches. From experience I know just how easy it is to catch a switch without realizing it. On a couple of occasions I've glanced down to the controller and noticed that I've caught a switch without noticing it. Always check your switches before coming into land...just as important as checking them before taking off.
When I said 10 sats I was looking at the remotes number, the drone had around 15. I realized that shortly after I posted, sorry for the confusion.
 
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I seem to remember just a few days ago we were discussing a bad J2 stick and I mentioned that the stick had to be cleaned BEFORE re-calibration. It appears that there was a calibration made while the stick was not 100% operable. My guess is that the problem may still be in the stick. If it were me, I would disassemble the ST-16, remove the gimbal (easy) and clean the pot directly and thoroughly then; recalibrate the controls so as to eliminate this as being a problem.
I was able to remedy the J2 using contact cleaner as suggested on this forum, and re-calibrated. The issue was resolved (I updated the thread with my results). I could see how that could easily be a recipe for disaster if not taken care of.
 
What does a good aftermarket charger offer that the stock charger doesn't?
The ability to charge your batteries, discharge to storage voltage and monitor Internal resistance, use a DC input and with different leads the ability to charge other batteries.
 
The OP starts this thread mentioning his H Pro was new-to him. That implied it was purchased used, with with batteries. We should assume the batteries had manufacture dates from 2016.

Unless the original owner religiously logged all aspects of battery use and maintenance and provided them with transfer of the aircraft, something very unlikely, the new owner would have absolutely nothing to assist determining battery condition. It is possible to check battery condition in verifying internal resistance but this is also something not done by many. It’s been well documented throughout this and other forums that many do not use or care for their batteries properly, nor do they understand how and why they work, and therefore damage them on a regular basis, which in turn reduces reliability and flight time. A damaged battery can show a full charge state yet provide only a couple minutes of effective use. Once a damaged battery is subjected to system loads they can and do discharge quite rapidly. Low battery voltage will automatically initiate an RTH event, a condition present as indicated by the color of the flight condition LED on the aircraft.

One of the first questions I asked the former owner was how he stored the batteries, he looked like I was speaking greek to him. I clarified and asked at what level of charge, full? He answered yes with all of the uneasiness of someone who doesn't know if they're saying the right thing or not. So I fully expected to have to replace the batteries. After learning the drone, doing updates, etc, the batteries seemed to hold a charge at least long enough to do the test flight I did. Should I have trusted them? Idk, maybe not, but hindsight is 20/20.

Something missing from the incident description is the state of displayed aircraft telemetry on the ST-16 screen. This is important as it was mentioned that firmware was updated prior to the flight, with no mention of the firmware version being replaced or what it was replaced with. As it has also been well established that an H can fly having an incomplete firmware upload or without being properly bound we have but two indications of a successful firmware and binding process. One is found in the ST-16 “Settings” pages by viewing the firmware versions, while the second is in having active aircraft telemetry displayed on the ST-16 prior to takeoff and throughout the flight.

The firmware is updated to the latest version for the drone, camera and gimbal. The gimbal didn't update with the first attempt, so I downloaded from a second sight (link provided by a forum member) and tried again, with good results. Drone, gimbal, camera, and remote are all running the latest firmware.

From my perspective this incident event possesses several “red flags” that cause me to consider several conditions that would induce a crash. Some would be self induced, (firmware update, turtle mode, low hover) while at least one (batteries) being transferred from the original owner. A description of “drifting a lot” was also provided with nothing to define “a lot”. Was that inches, feet, yards, or what? In any case having the ST-16 in Turtle mode assured that corrective control response would have been slow and with minimal effect. Turtle mode was designed to reduce aircraft response to command input while also greatly reducing the speed of the aircraft. In Rabbit node the H is quite “sporty” and provides a considerable level of response to commanded input.

I did mention the amount of drift in a follow up post- 3 or 4 feet in any direction.

The reason I used turtle mode is because it was suggested to me that I do so, as well as start in angle mode until I have a better feel for the aircraft.

In his incident description there were more than enough possible/probable conditions present to induce system instability while reducing to the maximum extent possible the operator’s ability to deal with that instability using the flight controls. Having a lot of stick time flying different systems does not necessarily imply an operator possesses an adequate understanding of system functionality, and tossing a new system into the fray with features and functions that have yet to be learned or understood only increases the risk factors.

All the above should not be viewed as the definitive cause of this incident, but if we were performing an incident review to provide probability scenarios in a written report the above would be included as possible causal factors.

Every incident has those involved always looking at the aircraft itself as the cause, few want to look at themselves as causal. We have to recognize the vast majority of aircraft incidents either initiated or ended through one or more “pilot errors” during the course of a flight. The possibility of maintenance errors also have to be factored in. It’s more often than not that when all the possible factors have been honestly and accurately reviewed the aircraft itself was the least of the problems.

The reason I pointed out the hours I have flying is because if I didn't that would be one of the first things people would ask. I was careful not to suggest that I was above error by stating I'm not an expert by any means.
 
The ability to charge your batteries, discharge to storage voltage and monitor Internal resistance, use a DC input and with different leads the ability to charge other batteries.
Gotcha, the discharge ability in itself would be worth the investment, I'll add this to my list.
 
One of the first questions I asked the former owner was how he stored the batteries, he looked like I was speaking greek to him. I clarified and asked at what level of charge, full? He answered yes with all of the uneasiness of someone who doesn't know if they're saying the right thing or not. So I fully expected to have to replace the batteries. After learning the drone, doing updates, etc, the batteries seemed to hold a charge at least long enough to do the test flight I did. Should I have trusted them? Idk, maybe not, but hindsight is 20/20.



The firmware is updated to the latest version for the drone, camera and gimbal. The gimbal didn't update with the first attempt, so I downloaded from a second sight (link provided by a forum member) and tried again, with good results. Drone, gimbal, camera, and remote are all running the latest firmware.



I did mention the amount of drift in a follow up post- 3 or 4 feet in any direction.

The reason I used turtle mode is because it was suggested to me that I do so, as well as start in angle mode until I have a better feel for the aircraft.



The reason I pointed out the hours I have flying is because if I didn't that would be one of the first things people would ask. I was careful not to suggest that I was above error by stating I'm not an expert by any means.
Might be worth as Ty Pilot mentioned, every pot is working correctly then do your calibrations, but first get at least one new battery, start with at least one reliable power source.
 
Gotcha, the discharge ability in itself would be worth the investment, I'll add this to my list.
Li Po batteries don't like to be stored fully charged for long periods of time, they degrade and their life is shortened and can become unpredictable, for a better longer life its better to bring to storage after use. And temperature can cause problems too. They don't like overheating too.
 
Might i add, probably one of the biggest benefits is that a decent charger can usually charge your batteries up to almost 5 times faster than the trash of a charger yuneec provide (sorry to say), within caution boundaries however. Be sure to read the excellent battery bible you can find on this forum. Lipo's must be used delicately to prolong health and safety of both you and the batteries [emoji856]
Gotcha, the discharge ability in itself would be worth the investment, I'll add this to my list.
 
When the voltage gets too low the ST16 will vibrate to get your attention.
If it is in RTL mode, you can manually switch the mode switch down & back to center to get back in angle mode.
 
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Might i add, probably one of the biggest benefits is that a decent charger can usually charge your batteries up to almost 5 times faster than the trash of a charger yuneec provide (sorry to say), within caution boundaries however. Be sure to read the excellent battery bible you can find on this forum. Lipo's must be used delicately to prolong health and safety of both you and the batteries [emoji856]
Thank you, I have read that lipo battery doc, Ive got a regular lipo library over here.
 
Are there any brick and mortar stores that sell the Typhoon batteries? None of the Best Buys within an hours drive from me have any in stock.
 
Two new 2016 batteries here in Orlando. From R/C hobby store.
I purchased one of the three remaining they have. Got 17 minutes of flight.
 
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