Typhoon H flyaway

[Tilo]

Typhoon H takes off over Java rice fields.
Hi I just flew my Yuneec H in West Java, Indonesia. I lost the connection and the drone took off and never came back.
Does someone can help to get an idea why it not came back to the starting point? I attached the flight data.
Thank you and kind regards from Jakarta
Tilo

 

[Tilo]

My last footage from the controller

 

[Tilo]

they found it. Curious if I can fix it

 

[YuneecFox]

Is it not an issue with last GPS lock

 

[WTFDproject]

they found it. Curious if I can fix it

I will take look at the flight data to see if there is anything obvious. There are others on the forum that are better at reading the data.

Photographs are not a reliable way to assess damage, of course. But for what it is worth, the pictures are very promising for a fairly easy fix. The motor arm pin is visible in the right rear. That one will probably only need a new arm. I can't see into the left rear. But even if the frame is broken, it is still a reasonable repair. The camera will need a new slip ring if there is not enough wire left to solder. No way to tell if the camera has had other damage, such as bent frame, etc.
Did it crash into tall grass, hard surface, water?

Forum members will be happy to provide any information we can as you work your way through the repair.

 

[WTFDproject]

@Tilo,
The flightlogs you provided are mostly unusable. I can only open the telemetry section. This sometimes happens if you open the files in another program, such as Excel prior to uploading them. A complete set of the flightlogs would be more helpful.
There is at least a problem with the control signal. It was bad, and eventually failed. That I can see. Also, the data ends abruptly with the drone still in flight. It would be good to know what was happening inside the controller during this time. Without the complete log set, analysis will be weak.
Downloading the entire flight log as described in Attachment 60 (Typhoon H Flight Log Retrieval) of Way To Fix Drones project will give us the best chance to provide a useful review.

 

[Tilo]

Dear DoomMeister
thank you for taking the time to look at it.
It may take a week before I can take my drone from the place I flew to have a closer look at the damage.
I attached the complete flight logs.
I bought the drone used 3 month ago and do only took less than 10 flights with it.
Kind regards from Jakarta.
Tilo

 

[WTFDproject]

@Tilo,
The new set of flight logs looks much better. I notice the control stick values are not normal. If you have the controller with you, please check the Hardware Monitor to see if the sticks are moving full scale, moving smoothly, and if they return promptly to center when released.

 

[Tilo]

Hi DoomMeister
the sticks are moving Ok but not full scale on J2-J4 but coming back to 0
J1 = +- 100
J2 = +- 70
J3 = +- 60
J4 = +- 55

 

[WTFDproject]

@Tilo,
I notice this kit was in storage from 2014 until about January of this year. The previous owner flew it only a few times. Most of the recorded "flights" were not actual flight time. It can be seen from the few actual flights that the bad control signals existed during that time period. It is not fully understood yet how much of an influence the controller signals had on your fly away experience. But it would certainly be a good idea to do a good stick cleaning before the next flight.

I'm not @DoomMeister, by the way. DoomMeister had added a "like" reaction to one of the earlier posts. I am @WTFDproject. Or just "Tom".

 

[Tilo]

thank you TOM !
Your insides are very helpful>
Cheers
Tilo

 

[WTFDproject]

Tilo,
The attached image shows the recorded flight path. It is not clear if the drone was still in flight at the end of the data. Can you indicate where the drone was actually found?

 

[7cyclops]

@Tilo,
I notice this kit was in storage from 2014 until about January of this year. The previous owner flew it only a few times. Most of the recorded "flights" were not actual flight time. It can be seen from the few actual flights that the bad control signals existed during that time period. It is not fully understood yet how much of an influence the controller signals had on your fly away experience. But it would certainly be a good idea to do a good stick cleaning before the next flight.

I'm not @DoomMeister, by the way. DoomMeister had added a "like" reaction to one of the earlier posts. I am @WTFDproject. Or just "Tom".

I wondered about that too Tom,,Thankfully there is only one of each of you! KC

 

[WTFDproject]

Update: Please disregard the "bad control signal" comments. At the time I wrote that, I had not grasped the distances involved. The signal was getting weaker the further out the drone was moving.
The gaps in the signal data record are probably just the drone not reporting the data. More experienced reviews will need to comment, but I believe the signal strength report is one of the lowest task priorities, and the system just skips them when it gets busy. The final data location is about 460 meters, and possibly behind some trees.

 

[WTFDproject]

@Tilo,
I do not believe there was a problem with the drone itself before the crash. All indication I see is the drone responded normally to the signals it received. The problems seem to be from the controller. It did not generate all the signals you were trying to produce, and it was generating some signals you did nothing to produce. There are long duration steady inputs that are not consistent with someone trying to stop a flyaway. There is also a noticeable lack of inputs that you would almost certainly have been making. Signals do not show up if the controller is not generating them, no matter how much you move the stick. The signals that appear to be spurious are coming from the right stick. The absent signals could be an issue with either stick. This problem is likely the result of oxidation on the controller potentiometers.

The controller stick issues can often be resolved by spraying the potentiometers with plastic safe contact cleaner and moving the sticks around for awhile to break up the oxidation.
Let us know if you need directions for how to clean the potentiometers.

If cleaning the potentiometers does not return the sticks to full normal capabilities, we will need to discuss other possible remedies.

 

[Tilo]

@Tom
thank you fro the advice. I will have a close look at the controller.
Before it crashed it had some funny zick zack moves I noticed.
According to the farmers who found your drone, they found it nearby the chicken coop which is around this area that is highlighted yellow>

 

[h-elsner]

In flight 00066 the sticks J4/roll and j3/pitch are not going back to zero but remains on -3% (roll) and +7% pitch. I can imagine that drone is drifting and hard to control. If the sticks in HW monitor are OK, possibly you used the cruise control buttons or the is is something mixed. Check the controls using output monitor (double tap on the volt symbol in the upper left corner).

I guess the drone got ground contact or hit an obstacle. Drone was >400m away. Altitude over start position is only 35m at the end and the area in GoogleEarth looks like raising territory.

RTH was raised as the drone was already at the ground. Too late, sorry.

br HE

 

[h-elsner]

Do you have a ST16 with 3 antennas outside or only 2? I wonder why the 2.4GHz control signal is much weaker than the 5GHz WiFi. This is unusual. Did you point the stick antennas to the drone?

br HE

 

[Tilo]

Hello HE
thank you for the input.
I have a controller with 2 Antennas that I pointed at the aircraft.

Going to check the ST16

 

[DoomMeister]

With the two antenna version the antennas should be positioned as shown here. The first is with the Omnidirectional mushroom antenna for the camera and the second is when using the flat more directional patch antenna for the camera.

Both antennas up and perpendicular to the ground.


Flat surface of patch antenna pointed at the aircraft and control antenna up and perpendicular to the ground.