I just experienced my first TB and eventual Crash. I took off after 10 minutes of allowing the H to acquire a lock on Satellites. H was locked on 14 ans ST was locked on to 12. I started the motors and took it up 100 feet so I could record the view around my backyard. I hovered for around five minutes. The the H began to circle in I guess is called TB mode. I was flying in angle mode all the time. I lowered the landing gear and began my approach to land. The H response was jerky at best and when I held the left joy stick all the way down, it would not descend. I then toggled to Home and the H took off like a bat out of ****. I quickly toggled back to angle and again tried to land. The H began to TB again and this time got too close to the trees in the back yard.
Fortunately, I was able to get a ladder up the tree and rescue the poor bugger. The gimbal mount was damaged and broke two propellers. I have not done and further investigation on any other damage. I recovered the telemetry and plan to send it to Yuneec on Monday. Does anyone have any comments that will help me plead my case with Yuneec?
Dick,
Sorry to hear of your ordeal. Any chance you can describe what the flight or attitude of your H looked like when it was failing to fly correctly? Reason I ask is to continue my own research. I am suspecting we are seeing two different scenarios being termed "Toilet Bowl" and am trying to get some differentiation and your help is most appreciated.
Did it seem like your H was in a gentle circle around a point, or was it a more violent rotation, even pitching your H round and round (your camera, instead of at vertical, could have been angled 10, 20, 30 degrees or more).
Or, was the flight path more like a side to side, back and forth motion that eventually turns itself into an oval rather than a circle?
The latter is what I have been experiencing, intermittently, at about 4 feet. Lifting higher than 4 feet, or turning off GPS stopped this side to side to oval flight path. Also, i have been looking for TB videos. So far, all I have seen is more of the side to side path that eventually becomes an oval, rather than the violent circling some have described.
As for Yuneec, here are some recommendations as to being prepared:
- Write down as much as you can remember, including: temperature, wind speed, cloud cover, time of day.
- While telemetry can show voltages, switch settings, stick inputs, et al, if you can record what you remember, the better prepared you will be when you talk to customer support as well as having your email ready to send.
- While you state you took off with 14 satellites on the H, do you recall how many had been acquired by the time you reached 100 feet>
- Tell it like it happened. We all need to know what is causing these abnormal flights so... facts help. Saving face does not.
By the way, I expect others to chime in with respect to your satellite count. 14 is a bit low for me. I usually wait for 17, even 18 or more. Could be more of a personal preference, but 14 for me is just too low.
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Now for some additional personal research questions:
Before you took off to 100 feet, did you do any pre-checks such as:
- hover between 4 and 10 feet, ensuring GPS and compass are able to hold consistent position.
- ensure battery voltage is sufficient for the expected duration of your flight.
- check response with some simple left to right, right to left, forward/backward maneuvers to ensure controls are responsive AND letting the sticks go to neutral stops your H and resumes stationary hover.
(By the way, before lift off, I make sure I remember how to quickly turn off GPS in case the need arises!)
Since my first low level oval flight incident, I have incorporated those simple pre and post lift-off checks to make sure everything is working and low-level hover is possible. If I sense something not right, I am able to either gain altitude and regain stable flight, or turn off GPS to do the same. I only had to resort to "procedures" a couple times. Being prepared for them has definitely saved the day.
Looking forward to reading your kind replies, and also looking forward to the resolution you receive from Yuneec.
Good luck!
Jeff
