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So... I screwed up

Joined
Jul 21, 2018
Messages
51
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Age
47
Location
Davao City, Philippines
Start of a long 5-day weekend... Topped up 3 batteries the day before, st16 full and ready, calibrated and every stick button on green. Perfect dawn. 15mins on preflight, camera settings locked, and off we go. Started my first of many distance runs, discovered that video starts to lag at around 500m. No problem, can still see the H at that distance, was able to practice visual flight control. Voltage drops to 15, time to bring her close. Did some fast climbs to bring her down to 14.7v, landed her and changed the battery. Let the H stay put for 5mins with the new battery..

Hey, I forgot, I followed Ty Pilot's settings for the broken curve rates, so I tried it for the next flight... Man before the H felt like a hyped up malinois, now it's as docile as a champion show dog, all smooth as silk. I was able to do a manual POI on a person working with a weed hacker... Needs to practice more on the left stick for the yaw in but the right stick is bang on. Oh, yeah.

Got tired, decided to do some flybys above my head... H is really great handling wise, I can swoop in and pull up and bank when it's directly overhead. Thanks Ty you're settings are really great! I was also able to do nap of the earth flying, climbing upon approaching some shrubs then dropping down again... Boy was I in the groove!

OK, voltage going down to 15v... Tried to think on what maneuvers to do to drain the battery down... Did I mention I grew up on RCs and this is my first drone? So all my stunts earlier was done LOS, you know, the old school way. So I decided, what if I go round the street and to some laps. I knew there are wires on the side, but hey as long as I stick to the center of the road I am safe. So I started to fly, using FPV. Mistake number 1. Stick to what you are used to. Flying low at 4m agl. Mistake number 2, always have eyes on the bird. If not yours, someone else's! Rounded a curve, still on the center line. Tree cut off any line of sight, but it doesn't matter since my eyes are on the screen.
 
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Glad it wasn't worse and no one got hurt, the good news is; parts for the H are plentiful and fairly cheap. I don't know too many pilots that have been flying for any length of time that haven't had a scrape or two ;) I tried FPV once, dang near made me dizzy and it felt so unnatural that I cured my self of ever wanting to do that again. Hope you get back in the air soon.

P.S. if the camera still works you may be able to power on then, start a new recording for a second, stop the recording the turn it off, this may recover the crash video. Good Luck.
 
Thanks Ty. For what it's worth, it seems that the only badly damaged part is my pride. Here are the post mortem pictures...

Looks like I need a new B arm, a new leg, and a new camera mount top plate.
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Damage assessment. Broken B arm, broken starboard leg. Broken gimbal mount, can't figure out yet if it's the camera side or the AC side. Broken uv filter. One rubber bushing pulled out. Good thing before I started low level flying I lowered the landing gear, otherwise the damage to the camera could have been worse.
Are you going to repair the H at home?
 
Now the good news... Motor still runs... Gimbal mount is intact and still working, camera is still functioning. Was able to record while it panned 360. Forgot to test the tilt though, but it centered itself when switched to follow mode. Leg actuator also worked up and down. Seems I got off lightly, with only a minor operation to transplant the new arm and leg, and the camera mount. The problem really is, shipping to the Philippines costs more than the actual item!
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Are you going to repair the H at home?
I'll try. I have a friend though who fixes dji's for a living, so if I feel that it's gonna be way over my head I'll just have him have a go at it. Also, I can't solder a da** anymore. Looking at the videos on arm replacement, I'm sure I'll unsolder a lot of connections before I can attach the correct ones hehehe
 
I'll try. I have a friend though who fixes dji's for a living, so if I feel that it's gonna be way over my head I'll just have him have a go at it. Also, I can't solder a da** anymore. Looking at the videos on arm replacement, I'm sure I'll unsolder a lot of connections before I can attach the correct ones hehehe
No soldering needed. I have a few repair videos that should help with the repairs. Be sure to check that slide mount on the bottom of the H. Sometime those flanges crack during a crash. It's best to remove it and inspect it carefully.

There are several videos in this playlist:


 
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It appears the landing gear still operates. You lucked out on this crash. It could have been much worse.
BTW, the record function doesn't go through the slide contacts. I think it's on the video signal so it goes straight to the camera antenna and not through the H.
 
That's good to hear, no soldering! Must have mixed up the videos, since I listen to them while driving. I still have to take a closer look at the arm if the arm latch is still intact. Leg snapped off right at the joint, took the brunt of the impact since its deployed, otherwise goodbye cgo3+.

Here's the last clip...

It's true God watches over drunks and fools. Wish I drank the night before, it's less embarrassing.
 
Finally, the parts have arrived sans the battery leads which is still in postal limbo. But along with it comes the realization that getting the H is a mistake. Not that the AC is faulty, but that product support is nonexistent here in southeast Asia. All parts have to be ordered in the US, and finding a repairman who knows what a Yuneec is is downright impossible. Good thing this repair is simple enough to do myself.

Dji's on the other hand, are really popular here, with dealers offering drones with in store warranty AND care refresh, with lots of successful claims. There's also a repair center down the block for out of warranty jobs. And with the mavic platinum at 900 USD... Tempting.
 
Finally, the operation is complete... Well almost. Had problem removing the screw at the landing gear servo to replace the new leg. Damaged the screw, so I got one of my old parker pen, cut a groove for the screw, inserted one end up the broken area towards the servo, inserted the broken leg, secure with duct tape. It holds the weight well enough. Even dropped the drone with battery from 3 inches high to stimulate a rough landing. Good enough until I order a new servo.

Funny thing, when I was replacing the arm, I discovered that the broken arm is shorter than the new one that arrived. I thought first that I got a Plus arm, but when I checked the other five arms, they are the same length as the new one! The broken arm is the only one that's short.

Replacing the gimbal top cover is easy, using the elastic string from the tag that came with the arm to install the dampers.

Test flight would probably be Wed or Thurs, winds still kinda gusting at 40 kph.
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It's alive! And airborne! Thanks to all those who contributed to these forum, who shared their knowledge, experience and insights regarding the H. Any mistakes are solely mine, like after replacing the gimbal top mount you have to do a camera calibration. I did it, but forgot to center the variable knobs for the camera, so I spent a couple of hours figuring out what did I do wrong. Also did a controller calibration with the said dials not centered. Almost reset the st16, then I recalled that the camera tilt was way down, which explains why the angle was only 45 degrees in the up position. Also the knob was askew as well, explaining the slow rotation of the camera. Zero everything, recalibrate controller, then recalibrate camera. Everything ok after that!

St16 check, all controls on green. AC check, everything tight and secure. Cg03 detached.

ON the flight pad aka cemetery road, everything green. Made sure uav forecast is all green as well. Now or never. Pushed the red button, no vibrations or flying props. Final check, tighten sphincter, balls tucked in inside body... Lift off! I was ready for anything, my right index poised near system button to disable GPS if it decided to fly erratically... 6m up. Hover... Stable so far. Gear up, still stable. Did a square dance, oh yeah. Another square dance, then a Figure eight. Everything is just like before. Landed to attach the Cg03. And airborne again. Just kept her near, not able to test the new high gain omni and directional antennas. Halfway down the battery level, decided to bring her in for a controlled angled descent in front of me. I guess the mavic pro platinum can wait a few more weeks hehe till it becomes to cheap to finally consider getting one.
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