"Unfortunately, Flight Mode Has Stopped"

Yuneecrashking · Jul 23, 2017

What the F is that?! I went to the park yesterday and flew without incident for 2 batteries. Today, I get out to the same park and get this goofed message during pre-flight on my ST16. I also noted that B4UFly was basically down. Yes, I am within 5 miles of an airport/field/heliport. In the past (As early as yesterday) I reported my flight through B4UFly and all was well. Today, Crap on me all around. I thought that I read something that FAA signals would automatically ground you if you are too close to air fields in the near future a short time back. Did I just experience this as now in place? If so, IT SUX! Any City boy can understand that it is near impossible to fly in the city without being within 5 miles of an airfield! Can anybody elaborate on this goofed message? Bummer.......heavy sigh.....!

Rayray · Jul 23, 2017

I have no idea about yesterday or that app, but DJI, Yuneec and others have programmed their drones to not fly within NFZs.
Nothing new. I would have felt the same way of course.

PatR · Jul 23, 2017

Flightmode has stopped has, on mine, meant the system can't find the autopilot firmware. Try refreshing the firmware and rebinding. If that does not work install the firmware again and re-bind. Try putting the 16 in team mode before doing the refresh. Every time.

Rayray · Jul 24, 2017

Ah...I have never seen that warning. Live and learn, huh Pat.

I'll add one thing to my post. IF you are in a NFZ AND your craft will not start for that reason AND you decide to violate the NFZ, you can turn off GPS before you turn on the motors. If you crash or cause a NFZ problem, it's on you.

Lots of "ANDS" there, Pat.

Yuneecrashking · Jul 24, 2017

Rayray and Pat (Posted Respectively) I'm not in a NFZ. I am a responsible flyer, and always follow the proper pre-flight protocol (With the FAA, etc... authorities) before leaving the ground. I refuse to toy with the idea of turning off GPS and taking off anyway. Again, I am a responsible flyer......However..... I had turned on my props with the manual button to see what happened, and Typhoon acted as if it were ready to go. But I know that MANUALLY turning on props turns off GPS, and opens the door for an entire volume of flight nightmares as well as all the violations that Rayray mentioned. I SHUT DOWN immediately. I also tried the reload of the software that Pat mentioned, but still got the same results. I even added it as a new model in the ST-16. Same old results. After I pulled my last hair out of my head, I went to Yuneec website and opened a case on the issue. Although I expect a response that generally tells me that I am an idiot, I'm pretty convinced that it will boil down to the fact that I am within 5 miles of an airfield. (But this never happened in the 8 months that I have been perfecting my flight techniques at the same locations.) And I further believe that the FAA has put in place a "Blocker/grounding" signal that causes this. I hope that is the case, and I am ok with that. It's just odd that it took place within 24 hours of take-off time from the same location that I have been using all along. You mentioned (Ray) about the manufacturers programming their drones to "Not fly in NFZ's". It makes sense, and I agree with it and am ok with it. But makes it puzzling, is that I am not in a "NFZ", because, as I stated, I have had numerous successful flights from the same launch point for so long. I'll wait the era for Yuneec to respond to my case and let you all know what comes of it. Thanks for the support and helpful info.

Rayray · Jul 24, 2017

Yuneecrashking said:
I had turned on my props with the manual button to see what happened, and Typhoon acted as if it were ready to go. But I know that MANUALLY turning on props turns off GPS,

Sorry, but I'm confused (not unusual). What are you calling the "Manual button"?

Tuna · Jul 25, 2017

That message is a software failure on Android, and probably not related to where you are flying at all. Have you installed other software on the ST-16, or made any other changes (such as using it to store files, trying to use Google Play etc.)? It may be an indication that there is a problem with the ST-16 hardware, though that's a rare event these days.

Yuneecrashking · Jul 25, 2017

Rayray said:
Sorry, but I'm confused (not unusual). What are you calling the "Manual button"?

The red button in the top left corner of th ST16. I only use it in emergsncies. In fact it was the first time since I stopped taking off in smart mode. I always take off in angle mode and use the takeoff function on the tasks tab.

redbird007 · Jul 25, 2017

Reporting a flight in B4UFLY does NOT notify air traffic control. You must call the tower before each flight when flying recreationally.

Yuneecrashking · Jul 25, 2017

redbird007 said:
Reporting a flight in B4UFLY does NOT notify air traffic control. You must call the tower before each flight when flying recreationally.

I know, and i make every attemp to before I fly.

Rayray · Jul 25, 2017

Yuneecrashking said:
The red button in the top left corner of th ST16. I only use it in emergsncies. In fact it was the first time since I stopped taking off in smart mode. I always take off in angle mode and use the takeoff function on the tasks tab.

Well well... That Red button is the normal way to start and stop the motors. It does NOT turn off GPS and has nothing to do with GPS.
Using Angle Mode is good.

PatR · Jul 25, 2017

Rayray said:
Ah...I have never seen that warning. Live and learn, huh Pat.

I'll add one thing to my post. IF you are in a NFZ AND your craft will not start for that reason AND you decide to violate the NFZ, you can turn off GPS before you turn on the motors. If you crash or cause a NFZ problem, it's on you.

Lots of "ANDS" there, Pat.

Indeed there are.

PatR · Jul 25, 2017

redbird007 said:
Reporting a flight in B4UFLY does NOT notify air traffic control. You must call the tower before each flight when flying recreationally.

It certainly does not but what it does do is record the phone number of whomever might have been at a location during a time period a near miss or drone sighting report was made by a full scale pilot.

PatR · Jul 25, 2017

The red button is the motor arm/disarm button. It's a necessary part of every flight[emoji6]

What airport if you don't mind saying? Yuneec has a very small number of NFZ locations for the U.S.

Calling Yuneec after trying the other stuff was a smart move. There might be something going on with your -16. That's what C.S. is there for. I have yet to hear of them calling anyone stupid or a dumba**. They are very reasonable people.

Yuneecrashking · Jul 30, 2017

OK guys; heres the deal. First off, thanks for the input. I did get a hold of Yuneec C/S and after explaining my issue, they said that it was an Andriod program issue. Although they said that it is not common, they have heard of it. Anyway, the fix was a factory reset on the ST16 (I contemplated that in my troubleshooting, but remembered that it was sort of taboo to do by what I researched.). After the reset, I went through all the routine setup steps for binding and calibrating everything, and everything works ok. I took it to the cabin this past weekend and finally got the aerials that I was trying to get since early March. AND I BROUGHT THE DRONE BACK IN ONE FULLY OPERATIONAL PIECE!
That all being said, and resolved, I have another question about formatting SD cards through the ST, but I will post that in a new topic thread. Thanks again for the input.