Typhoon H is not waterproof...

[Nebraska Pilot]

Flying my Typhoon H today- (replacement sent by Yuneec as the first one had an issue right out of the box). I am flying over a river 75 feet up, 300 feet away- getting amazing footage. Lots of action on the river, boats/kayaks/tubes etc... I have been flying for 8 minutes... on a full charge. Typhoon drops out of the sky straight into the river. Luckily a kayaker went and grabbed what was left. Camera gone- ( along with the SD card) which I am ticked about because I really had some great footage at that point. I called yuneec and send them the telemetry data off the controller. I was told by customer service if they determine it was a manufacturer defect I would be given a new drone. ?? What else would it be the drone lost signal and dropped 75 feet into a river. I am worried that they will say it was something I did but really the flight data doesn't show anything crazy at all. 14.5 volts at 65 feet-- then nothing. Like it just disconnected.

Watching the drone fall from the air into the river was like watching your house burn down in slow motion, (or at least it felt like that)

REALLY disappointed with this thing. When you spend $1400 you shouldn't have issues like this.

 

[David Wilson]

Sorry for your loss. It could be something with the H itself but often times it's pilot error. Was this your first flight with the replacement unit? Did you do all calibrations? Some more details would be appreciated.

 

[Nebraska Pilot]

Sorry for your loss. It could be something with the H itself but often times it's pilot error. Was this your first flight with the replacement unit? Did you do all calibrations? Some more details would be appreciated.

All calibrations were done... it was the 12th? flight since the new drone had been received. Since I started flying the Yuneec Typhoon H in early June between the two units I have about 30 flights in and feel very confident in being able to handle the unit. At the time of the crash it was almost just hovering- I was panning up and down the river, no actual left/right/up/down/forward/back movement. OH and I am over a river... literally by nothing- nothing at all in the area except water.

The flight data reads as though it just completely disconnected from the controller. It has a good read out up until the last second then its nothing- the last logged item ont he flight data is 64 feet up int he air, 20 GPS satellites, everything else is good as well.

 

[THoff]

Was the battery latched properly?

 

[DroneClone]

14.5 v is pretty close to first battery warning? Wonder if battery died/faulty ?

 

[Nebraska Pilot]

14.5 v is pretty close to first battery warning? Wonder if battery died/faulty ?

Battery was definitely latched properly and I had received no warning regarding battery. Usually when it starts beeping and saying low- even if it has 5 more
Minutes left I land it. I am wondering if the battery junked out? That's the only explanation it's like the power flickered for just a minute and that was enough to stop the rotors. I really enjoy the tech behind this unit but I don't know if it's the right one for me out there. This is the 2nd unit I've had he first had a bad motor 8 flights in.

 

[Nebraska Pilot]

Was the battery latched properly?

Definitely- I was on a. Full charge and less
Than 10 minutes In on the flight with almost no wind and mostly hovering.

 

[DroneNerd]

Please let us know what Yuneec does. Crazy what happened. I also have the Solo and just purchased the Typhoon H because I thought that I wouldn't have to worry as much when flying this drone. You are not the only one that I have read that this has happen. Makes me lose confidence in flying this over water. My Solo took a quick bath in a lake in NY last week with a GoPro Hero 4 Black. I was lucky, and was able to get all of it working again but decide to purchase the Typhoon H. DJI customer service is what kept me from moving to the Phantom 4. Wonder if I made a mistake...

 

[SkyEye]

Mine also fell out of the sky. It was my 2nd flight. The first one was successfull. I flew in Pilot Mode and worked on familiarizing myself with the controls both camera and drone, I flew right in front of my house and never let iit get more than about 30' or so away. During a hover, it just fell (full battery charge) . The thing was pretty well wiped out. Yuneec had me send it back. They said they would repair it. I told them I wanted a replacement or a refund. From all indications they repaired it only and it's on its way back.

My confidence level is very low. I would like to know what caused this and what Yuneec intends to do about it. Is it faulty firmware? hardware? The tech(s) working on the repair didn't bother to contact me to ask questions or let me know what's going on. I'm worried this is more likely than not going to happen again. I don't have money to burn.

Lastly, they did not replace the propellers. They said that their policy is not to replace them. I had to remind them that the H was defective and crashed through no fault of my own. The rep had to get permission to include them.

 

[Nebraska Pilot]

Mine also fell out of the sky. It was my 2nd flight. The first one was successfull. I flew in Pilot Mode and worked on familiarizing myself with the controls both camera and drone, I flew right in front of my house and never let iit get more than about 30' or so away. During a hover, it just fell (full battery charge) . The thing was pretty well wiped out. Yuneec had me send it back. They said they would repair it. I told them I wanted a replacement or a refund. From all indications they repaired it only and it's on its way back.

My confidence level is very low. I would like to know what caused this and what Yuneec intends to do about it. Is it faulty firmware? hardware? The tech(s) working on the repair didn't bother to contact me to ask questions or let me know what's going on. I'm worried this is more likely than not going to happen again. I don't have money to burn.

Lastly, they did not replace the propellers. They said that their policy is not to replace them. I had to remind them that the H was defective and crashed through no fault of my own. The rep had to get permission to include them.

Yes! My biggest concern is ok you fix this or replace it because what was recovered from the river is trashed... How do I know the next one won't do the exact same thing? What caused this? Sorry you're going through this as well

 

[PatR]

14.5 v is pretty close to first battery warning? Wonder if battery died/faulty ?

I've received the first warning at 14.8 volts on a first time use battery. Admittedly it was very windy and I was flying hard, but it was 14.8v when the warning displayed.

 

[PatR]

Mine also fell out of the sky. It was my 2nd flight. The first one was successfull. I flew in Pilot Mode and worked on familiarizing myself with the controls both camera and drone, I flew right in front of my house and never let iit get more than about 30' or so away. During a hover, it just fell (full battery charge) . The thing was pretty well wiped out. Yuneec had me send it back. They said they would repair it. I told them I wanted a replacement or a refund. From all indications they repaired it only and it's on its way back.

My confidence level is very low. I would like to know what caused this and what Yuneec intends to do about it. Is it faulty firmware? hardware? The tech(s) working on the repair didn't bother to contact me to ask questions or let me know what's going on. I'm worried this is more likely than not going to happen again. I don't have money to burn.

Lastly, they did not replace the propellers. They said that their policy is not to replace them. I had to remind them that the H was defective and crashed through no fault of my own. The rep had to get permission to include them.

In all fairness, Yuneec has as their option the ability to repair or replace as they decide. In their user documentation they clearly state they do not warranty crash damage so perhaps we should be a little grateful they are providing warranty claims for crashed aircraft. There is no manufacturer responsibility to walk a warranty repair customer though every step of the inspection and repair process.

Hopefully the H is not your first semi serious camera drone. It is not a beginner's aircraft and those just entering this level of the hobby would be well advised to have already learned how to fly multirotors in both fully automated and mostly manual modes before stepping up to this level. They are not cheap toys to be taking the first steps in learning to fly on, however, they are much less expensive than giant scale RC aircraft, where it is understood that if you can't tolerate the possibility of a crash, or don't have the money to buy another, you aren't in a position to comfortably fly them and should find a more affordable activity. Something many fail to consider is these things are not Mil Spec in quality nor they meet any kind of air worthiness standards, they are toys, subject to failure, and can fall out of the sky in a heart beat. Of course, usually when that happens the operator had some level of responsibility in causing it, like a less than secure battery or over flew a battery. Some have even held down the arming button while in flight.

 

[SkyEye]

In all fairness, Yuneec has as their option the ability to repair or replace as they decide. In their user documentation they clearly state they do not warranty crash damage so perhaps we should be a little grateful they are providing warranty claims for crashed aircraft. There is no manufacturer responsibility to walk a warranty repair customer though every step of the inspection and repair process.

Hopefully the H is not your first semi serious camera drone. It is not a beginner's aircraft and those just entering this level of the hobby would be well advised to have already learned how to fly multirotors in both fully automated and mostly manual modes before stepping up to this level. They are not cheap toys to be taking the first steps in learning to fly on, however, they are much less expensive than giant scale RC aircraft, where it is understood that if you can't tolerate the possibility of a crash, or don't have the money to buy another, you aren't in a position to comfortably fly them and should find a more affordable activity. Something many fail to consider is these things are not Mil Spec in quality nor they meet any kind of air worthiness standards, they are toys, subject to failure, and can fall out of the sky in a heart beat. Of course, usually when that happens the operator had some level of responsibility in causing it, like a less than secure battery or over flew a battery. Some have even held down the arming button while in flight.

Yuneec should not be selling defective products, and they should clearly state that all crash damage due to defective units will be covered under warranty. I took great care (and responsibility) to take my time to acclimate myself to the craft and controls. I don't need to be lectured, thank you.

 

[SkyEye]

I am curious about the telemetry data. Are there programs out there which can be used to view the data in any special ways? Thanks...

 

[Nebraska Pilot]

In all fairness, Yuneec has as their option the ability to repair or replace as they decide. In their user documentation they clearly state they do not warranty crash damage so perhaps we should be a little grateful they are providing warranty claims for crashed aircraft. There is no manufacturer responsibility to walk a warranty repair customer though every step of the inspection and repair process.

Hopefully the H is not your first semi serious camera drone. It is not a beginner's aircraft and those just entering this level of the hobby would be well advised to have already learned how to fly multirotors in both fully automated and mostly manual modes before stepping up to this level. They are not cheap toys to be taking the first steps in learning to fly on, however, they are much less expensive than giant scale RC aircraft, where it is understood that if you can't tolerate the possibility of a crash, or don't have the money to buy another, you aren't in a position to comfortably fly them and should find a more affordable activity. Something many fail to consider is these things are not Mil Spec in quality nor they meet any kind of air worthiness standards, they are toys, subject to failure, and can fall out of the sky in a heart beat. Of course, usually when that happens the operator had some level of responsibility in causing it, like a less than secure battery or over flew a battery. Some have even held down the arming button while in flight.

uh oh folks looks like we have a know it all on our hands. I am very familiar with drone aircraft and this is the 3rd model I've flown. Things in life I've spent 1400$ on and had them break this fast... Hmm nope this is it. Also pretty ******* comment to tell that guy to find a more affordable activity. Yuneec shouldn't have released this product until the bugs are worked out- they are he ones who advertise this drone is professional quality. I can tell you this only needs to happen to a few dozen people before they turn this into a class action lawsuit for selling lemons. In my 2 months of owning this drone- I had a motor go bad after 8 flights, yuneec sent me a replacement drone after I bitched all the way up the chain as I had owned it for 7 days. Then this replacement had nearly equal flight time. If I spent 300$ on this ok maybe you can make the argument that you can't expect this thing to be professional grade- but when you spent 5 times that you can't.

 

[Nebraska Pilot]

I've received the first warning at 14.8 volts on a first time use battery. Admittedly it was very windy and I was flying hard, but it was 14.8v when the warning displayed.

I can believe that especially with wind. In this scenario maybe 5mph wind? And not much action flying the drone mostly hovering and doing camera work.

 

[Nebraska Pilot]

I am curious about the telemetry data. Are there programs out there which can be used to view the data in any special ways? Thanks...

The telemetry data reports in excel and is sort of possible to understand. Some of it I admit I have no idea what it means but it displays altitude batter voltage how many satellites you have etc. pretty cool

 

[SkyEye]

The telemetry data reports in excel and is sort of possible to understand. Some of it I admit I have no idea what it means but it displays altitude batter voltage how many satellites you have etc. pretty cool

I figured I could view it in either excel or access, but was wondering about any custom programs built specifically for getting the most out of the data. Is there anything like that out there?

 

[Nebraska Pilot]

Please let us know what Yuneec does. Crazy what happened. I also have the Solo and just purchased the Typhoon H because I thought that I wouldn't have to worry as much when flying this drone. You are not the only one that I have read that this has happen. Makes me lose confidence in flying this over water. My Solo took a quick bath in a lake in NY last week with a GoPro Hero 4 Black. I was lucky, and was able to get all of it working again but decide to purchase the Typhoon H. DJI customer service is what kept me from moving to the Phantom 4. Wonder if I made a mistake...

I sent them the flight data they said processing time is about one business day they will review it and determine if it was pilot error or manufacturer defect I'm not sure how on earth it wouldn't be but I digress. She also told me that 85% of the time they are able to determine it is a manufactures defect in and they replaced the drone in this case there is nothing to repair as a drone is beyond salvageable when I said it fell onto river Vallentine you a sandbar rive she also told me that 85% of the time they are able to determine it is a manufactures defect in and they replace the drown in this case there is nothing to repair as a drone is beyond salvageable when I said it fell onto river it fell onto a sandbar river pretty shallow no water to brace the impact it nailed the ground and then sat in the running water for about 10 minutes . If they replace the drone I'll be happy but I'm very concerned this will happen on the next one it makes me want to not fly over water at all . Since this is the second drawn I've had from them and I've had issues with both of them I'm really considering getting the DJI and returning this- but we'll see how goes I'll keep you posted once I hear response from the company.

 

[charon]

they should clearly state that all crash damage due to defective units will be covered under warranty.

They state the opposite, and you are bound by their policy until you decide a lawsuit is worth it. Then, you are still bound by it until the finding is in your favor.