Oh man, I just did a body shell replacement on my Q500+. What an ordeal. Seems like there were a hundred little screws to remove and replace. To do this job you really need a cordless drill with allen bits for the two small sizes of allen screws. I didn't, I did this all by hand with T-handle allen wrenches. By the time I realized the extent of screwing I needed to do, I figured by the time I got in the car and found the right size allen bits, I could have all the screws out by hand. That was a mistake that contributed to my sore back today, leaning over the project so long. I should have hack sawed my t-handled allen wrenches to fit the drill, but I didn't. You also have to unsolder every motor from their respective ESCs. This takes an industrial strength solder sucker that can fit over each of the 3 large gauge motor wires, and a good 50W soldering iron. I didn't realize that until I got all the screws out, so I had to get in the car anyway to find the right solder sucker. This whole deal turned out to be a 10hr job! Even doing it a second time with the drill w/ allen-bits, and the experience I gained, I think it would take at least 8hrs.
This is all because I accidentally launched in SMART mode, when I normally always launch in ANGLE mode. I guess the switch got bumped up somehow. The craft was only ~10' from me when I launched. I didn't notice the lights blinking on the bottom until it was airborne. I was going by the Welcome Pilot message, which isn't enough. That was a huge error on my behalf, and I paid the price. I'm sure you all know what happens if you launch inside the 25' safety zone in Safety Mode, right? Yes, once the craft is in the air it gets a mind of its own and takes off in a direction of it's choosing to get 25' away from the controller. Unfortunately it flew toward me, right over my head and hit a tree 10' behind me. The craft doesn't allow any controller input during it's mission to get outside the 25' zone. After hitting the tree the ground impact snapped a motor arm.
I'm having a difficult time accepting fault, but it was my fault. I deem this a software bug. I would have designed the s/w to prevent take-off when an error like this made, launching within the 25' safe zone.
This is all because I accidentally launched in SMART mode, when I normally always launch in ANGLE mode. I guess the switch got bumped up somehow. The craft was only ~10' from me when I launched. I didn't notice the lights blinking on the bottom until it was airborne. I was going by the Welcome Pilot message, which isn't enough. That was a huge error on my behalf, and I paid the price. I'm sure you all know what happens if you launch inside the 25' safety zone in Safety Mode, right? Yes, once the craft is in the air it gets a mind of its own and takes off in a direction of it's choosing to get 25' away from the controller. Unfortunately it flew toward me, right over my head and hit a tree 10' behind me. The craft doesn't allow any controller input during it's mission to get outside the 25' zone. After hitting the tree the ground impact snapped a motor arm.
I'm having a difficult time accepting fault, but it was my fault. I deem this a software bug. I would have designed the s/w to prevent take-off when an error like this made, launching within the 25' safe zone.
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