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Whoops! There It Went! One H Gone on a Flash!

Combine "getterback" and Corrosion X and you would really minimize your risk of drone loss when flying over water.
 
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Remember - there are lot's of electronics in there that can fail at any time. I've had good results dealing with Yuneec customer service -wish ya luck. And many more future successful flights.
 
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I see you can relate 100% with the situation I now find myself in, Foxs1. Sorry to hear about your Typhoon troubles, but I truly appreciate you and your words of support. Both are quite meaningful to me and welcomed.

I hope Yuneec treats both of us kindly and fairly when they do get back to us. From the experiences others have had with Yuneec - from PatR's to ChadCloses' most recent visit to their California headquarters where he was very well treated - I believe we are in pretty good hands. Yuneec seems poised to stand behind their product line and truly support their customer base as much as as possible while still making good business sense, which they must do. I'll be somewhat surprised if we are just left hanging in the winds as our Typhoon's unfortunately were.

Best of luck to you, and it's a great idea to get back up in the air ASAP to ride that horse high and mighty once again. I do have a Mavic Pro I can fly; I was going to wait until my new Typhoon arrived to take to the skies again. But in hindsight that thought may have been colored by my unexpected troubles I experienced yesterday. (The human mind is a complicated thing crammed into a tiny space.) Perhaps I should just pull out my Mavic before the day ends and just zoom around for awhile instead of just waiting for another Typhoon H to arrive.

Yep, that's what I'm going to do. The Mavic is not my beloved Typhoon H, but flying anything for awhile WILL help me out in several ways. Drone flying is one of my favorite things to do, and being outside easily beats doing the indoor office work I face daily (and that never seems to go away) hands down. Thanks for the little push you gave me, intentionally or by accident. It was just what I needed. I'll let everyone know just how things shake out with Yuneec once I get their verdict. Take care and I'll talk with you again later.

How do you like that Mavic? I thought about getting one of those but the camera mount didn't appeal to me.
 
How do you like that Mavic? I thought about getting one of those but the camera mount didn't appeal to me.

Well, since you asked, and I must be honest, I have to say I absolutely love it. It's not my Typhoon H by no means, but it is clearly a quality drone in its own right. It's a neat, well-designed incredible little flying machine with lots of automated features that make great filming and image capturing a real breeze. More importantly, it is a pleasure to pilot. Totally rock solid in winds in excess of 22 mph and very maneuverable.

The Mavic's compactness is unbelievable (takes up the space that a bottle of water does when folded up, props included) making it incredibly easy to just toss in your car or carry along with you anywhere, on a motorcycle, on a bicycle or on foot. It weighs nothing, 1.6 lbs with a battery. I take mine with me wherever I go just in case I come upon anything worth capturing. It stays secure in the small handbag that comes with it designed to carry the drone, its controller, extra props and up to 4 batteries, all of which takes up a space I measured to be only about 8.5" x 8.5" x 6.5". (The storage bag has solid belt loops and shoulder straps to accomodate a variety of needs. Everything is well thought out in the Mavic's design.)

Yet, the Mavic has an incredible stock RC/video transmission range of 4.7 miles in any terrain with no trouble whatsoever; an incredibly excellent 4K camera and extremely stable gimbal assembly that yield perfect image results; an average flight range per battery of more than 8 miles and with flight times in cold weather of at least 20-22 minutes by my tests this past winter, sometimes even more (and that's with a remaining 30% battery power I stick to when it's time for me to bring it back in safely); speeds of up to 43 mph; redundant and intelligent forward and bottom facing sensors and cameras that avoid objects not only in front of it it but also beneath it, ensuring safe RTH functions as the Mavic will find alternative routes and avoid obstacles - tiny tree branches or whatever- to find its own way back to you, utilizing both cameras and sensors as part of its OA systems, thereby able to literally land itself in RTH mode on almost the exact same spot it photographed and recorded during takeoff, just to name a few capabilities that stick out to me.

It also comes designed with several failsafe systems to protect the aircraft in the event of in-air problems and even pilot oversight. For example, the Mavic warns you of high winds it's encountering in realtime; can return to you if you have exceeded the battery power needed to safely return the aircraft to its homepoint; comes back to you in the event of a signal loss using both GPS coordinates and also the takeoff images I just mentioned, and much more than I need share here.

The Mavic has carved out its own niche in the drone world. Like the Typhoon H, it well-serves its customers. But also like the H it, too, fills its own certain purpose and comes with its own limitations and downsides. However, I need to stress that nothing replaces my Typhoon H; that's why I have another one coming my way in a matter of a few days to replace the one I lost yesterday.

Would I get a Mavic if I were you, Chad? Well, yes. I'd consider it. Especially being in your particular field of work (manufacturer DJI claims the Mavic can be safely flown indoors to capture unique interior shots; there's even a flight mode for that in the App). They are affordable. Right now they're cheaper than our Typhoons but are hard to get.due to an ongoing high demand for them worldwide.

Feels a little weird to tout the Mavic's abilities in this Forum dedicated to the Yuneec Typhoon H, but I decided the truth is the truth, we are all big people here, and knowing what is out there should only be a good thing, not heresy. So please take what I have written in the spirit in which it was meant: to answer a fellow Forum member's question.
 
Well, since you asked, and I must be honest, I have to say I absolutely love it. It's not my Typhoon H by no means, but it is clearly a quality drone in its own right. It's a neat, well-designed incredible little flying machine with lots of automated features that make great filming and image capturing a real breeze. More importantly, it is a pleasure to pilot. Totally rock solid in winds in excess of 22 mph and very maneuverable.

The Mavic's compactness is unbelievable (takes up the space that a bottle of water does when folded up, props included) making it incredibly easy to just toss in your car or carry along with you anywhere, on a motorcycle, on a bicycle or on foot. It weighs nothing, 1.6 lbs with a battery. I take mine with me wherever I go just in case I come upon anything worth capturing. It stays secure in the small handbag that comes with it designed to carry the drone, its controller, extra props and up to 4 batteries, all of which takes up a space I measured to be only about 8.5" x 8.5" x 6.5". (The storage bag has solid belt loops and shoulder straps to accomodate a variety of needs. Everything is well thought out in the Mavic's design.)

Yet, the Mavic has an incredible stock RC/video transmission range of 4.7 miles in any terrain with no trouble whatsoever; an incredibly excellent 4K camera and extremely stable gimbal assembly that yield perfect image results; an average flight range per battery of more than 8 miles and with flight times in cold weather of at least 20-22 minutes by my tests this past winter, sometimes even more (and that's with a remaining 30% battery power I stick to when it's time for me to bring it back in safely); speeds of up to 43 mph; redundant and intelligent forward and bottom facing sensors and cameras that avoid objects not only in front of it it but also beneath it, ensuring safe RTH functions as the Mavic will find alternative routes and avoid obstacles - tiny tree branches or whatever- to find its own way back to you, utilizing both cameras and sensors as part of its OA systems, thereby able to literally land itself in RTH mode on almost the exact same spot it photographed and recorded during takeoff, just to name a few capabilities that stick out to me.

It also comes designed with several failsafe systems to protect the aircraft in the event of in-air problems and even pilot oversight. For example, the Mavic warns you of high winds it's encountering in realtime; can return to you if you have exceeded the battery power needed to safely return the aircraft to its homepoint; comes back to you in the event of a signal loss using both GPS coordinates and also the takeoff images I just mentioned, and much more than I need share here.

The Mavic has carved out its own niche in the drone world. Like the Typhoon H, it well-serves its customers. But also like the H it, too, fills its own certain purpose and comes with its own limitations and downsides. However, I need to stress that nothing replaces my Typhoon H; that's why I have another one coming my way in a matter of a few days to replace the one I lost yesterday.

Would I get a Mavic if I were you, Chad? Well, yes. I'd consider it. Especially being in your particular field of work (manufacturer DJI claims the Mavic can be safely flown indoors to capture unique interior shots; there's even a flight mode for that in the App). They are affordable. Right now they're cheaper than our Typhoons but are hard to get.due to an ongoing high demand for them worldwide.

Feels a little weird to tout the Mavic's abilities in this Forum dedicated to the Yuneec Typhoon H, but I decided the truth is the truth, we are all big people here, and knowing what is out there should only be a good thing, not heresy. So please take what I have written in the spirit in which it was meant: to answer a fellow Forum member's question.

I don't think you need to justify your response. We're all adults here and entitled to our opinions. When that ceases to exists then there's no point in having a forum. Thank you for that honest assessment of the Mavic. Using indoors could be useful but I'd probably just use a steady cam to give it the same effect. I'll have to research the Mavic a little more. I thought it just had a front facing camera and therefore eliminated that drone as an option fir real estate photography. Thanks again for your input!!!

Chad
 
CC my condolences. I hope Yuneec helps you out. I have been flying various things for 30+ years now and have destroyed several fixed wing craft due to many reasons including pilot error. The H is not my first drone but definitely my fav. Back in the day helicopters were the thing that extremely talented folks flew and I was not one of them. But technology is great. My bet is when the screen flashed, your H dropped like a stone so a boat at the last known lat/lon and fish right there.
I love this forum and the comradery it builds is wonderful.
Wishing you best of luck!
 
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Had a real bummer happen today. I lost my Typhoon H Pro. Just like that.

Can't figure it out and it made no sense when it happened. I was less than 1500' out, about 70' up flying over open marshlands and deep water in a very clear sky, totally in line of sight, flying the exact same path I had flown during a run-through flight a couple of weeks ago. One minute everything was fine as usual, then in a flash my display went black for a moment and when it came back up on its own I had no telemetry data whatsoever, no battery levels or sats for the H, no camera feed, nothing. The display message came up RC & Camera connecting, but no connection was ever established.

I had been looking at my display just when this happened, as I was turning the H around to capture a certain bridge in the distance when the display blinked out, so I saw the whole thing. When I looked up I couldn't find my H in the sky; it was not where I had just seen it last before I began focusing on my ST16 display to maneuver it for my planned shooting. I had no warnings, no nothing. Hit RTH immediately and hoped it would return on its own, as I believe I had it set to RTH if it lost signal. Waited long after I knew the full battery had to be drained, even if it had just been hovering for awhile. But it was gone. (Blowing Taps for it right now as I type.)

Sent the flight logs to Yuneec already and the tech I dealt with said they might even have an answer for me tonight, if not then by tomorrow. We will see. The craft is irretrievable. I was just flying over an inlet, where the water descends quickly to 40' depths and much greater, when this occurred so it's gone for good, destined to make a strange looking marine habitat for something. Maybe some fisherman one day will hook it and think he's caught a stiff octopus with two bulging eyes and dangling testicular cancer!

The battery was definitely well in place and fully charged, two of the things I am quite anal about before takeoff, and I've never experienced any problems whatsoever with either the H or the ST16. Never had calibration problems, firmware update troubles, crashes, nothing to ever complain about. It's always been a fine, great machine to me. Still is.

I had not yet updated to the latest firmware, so that possibility is not an issue. I don't have a clue what happened to it. I am obviously very curious to see what the logs will reveal.

In the meantime, I went ahead and ordered another H Pro just like it from Amazon - cheapest prices I could find anywhere - and it will be here by Monday, March 13 via UPS. If Yuneec comes through for me great, I'll just return the one I ordered to Amazon (I'll have 30 days). And I'll call my insurance agent tomorrow to see what they have to say since I had drone insurance on it that is supposed to cover "flyaways," a term I hate. When the tech called it that tonight I told him I disagreed with his terminology, as the aircraft DID NOT fly away from me at all. But he was unswayed by my argument.

I could have just said, "Oh, well. We will see what we will see," and just gone off and flown my Mavic Pro. But daggone it, I LOVE my Typhoon H! And I want it! I'm 57 years old, everything has happily been done TOTALLY for my children by me for the past 15 years since my first daughter was born and I put my life on hold for theirs as need be, I have some very complicated health problems at a relatively young age that can (and probably will) seriously impact on my longevity, and I rarely do a thing for myself. So now it's Daddy's turn! So another H is on its way to me. I'll hash out the details later.

I'm not about to blame anything - or even myself - yet because frankly I still don't know the facts. Time will tell. I trust Yuneec will treat me fairly, as I have every reason to believe they will. I'll keep you posted if anyone besides me cares about how this goes down. In the meantime, if I can get 5 of you to fly your Typhoons in the missing man formation, I'd appreciate it!

Like John Lennon sang, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."
 
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CC my condolences. I hope Yuneec helps you out. I have been flying various things for 30+ years now and have destroyed several fixed wing craft due to many reasons including pilot error. The H is not my first drone but definitely my fav. Back in the day helicopters were the thing that extremely talented folks flew and I was not one of them. But technology is great. My bet is when the screen flashed, your H dropped like a stone so a boat at the last known lat/lon and fish right there.
I love this forum and the comradery it builds is wonderful.
Wishing you best of luck!

I thank you for your words of comfort and support, and for the empathy you naturally have for me being in my current predicament. Like you said, you've stood where I find myself standing now, so knowing you can relate really does help out at a time like this.

And I totally agree with you about the unity this Forum projects to all of its members. The ONLY things I have received here since reporting my unfortunate Typhoon H incident that occurred 2 days ago have been well-wishes, kind words of support and sympathy, and complete understanding. VERY comforting knowing there are good people in the trenches with you who have your back when the going gets rough or whenever the chips are down. A real "Band of Brothers (and Sisters!)" are waiting here, that's for sure. Thanks, again, for reaching out to me. Hope you have a good weekend to fly in!
 
Had a real bummer happen today. I lost my Typhoon H Pro. Just like that.

Can't figure it out and it made no sense when it happened. I was less than 1500' out, about 70' up flying over open marshlands and deep water in a very clear sky, totally in line of sight, flying the exact same path I had flown during a run-through flight a couple of weeks ago. One minute everything was fine as usual, then in a flash my display went black for a moment and when it came back up on its own I had no telemetry data whatsoever, no battery levels or sats for the H, no camera feed, nothing. The display message came up RC & Camera connecting, but no connection was ever established.

I had been looking at my display just when this happened, as I was turning the H around to capture a certain bridge in the distance when the display blinked out, so I saw the whole thing. When I looked up I couldn't find my H in the sky; it was not where I had just seen it last before I began focusing on my ST16 display to maneuver it for my planned shooting. I had no warnings, no nothing. Hit RTH immediately and hoped it would return on its own, as I believe I had it set to RTH if it lost signal. Waited long after I knew the full battery had to be drained, even if it had just been hovering for awhile. But it was gone. (Blowing Taps for it right now as I type.)

Sent the flight logs to Yuneec already and the tech I dealt with said they might even have an answer for me tonight, if not then by tomorrow. We will see. The craft is irretrievable. I was just flying over an inlet, where the water descends quickly to 40' depths and much greater, when this occurred so it's gone for good, destined to make a strange looking marine habitat for something. Maybe some fisherman one day will hook it and think he's caught a stiff octopus with two bulging eyes and dangling testicular cancer!

The battery was definitely well in place and fully charged, two of the things I am quite anal about before takeoff, and I've never experienced any problems whatsoever with either the H or the ST16. Never had calibration problems, firmware update troubles, crashes, nothing to ever complain about. It's always been a fine, great machine to me. Still is.

I had not yet updated to the latest firmware, so that possibility is not an issue. I don't have a clue what happened to it. I am obviously very curious to see what the logs will reveal.

In the meantime, I went ahead and ordered another H Pro just like it from Amazon - cheapest prices I could find anywhere - and it will be here by Monday, March 13 via UPS. If Yuneec comes through for me great, I'll just return the one I ordered to Amazon (I'll have 30 days). And I'll call my insurance agent tomorrow to see what they have to say since I had drone insurance on it that is supposed to cover "flyaways," a term I hate. When the tech called it that tonight I told him I disagreed with his terminology, as the aircraft DID NOT fly away from me at all. But he was unswayed by my argument.

I could have just said, "Oh, well. We will see what we will see," and just gone off and flown my Mavic Pro. But daggone it, I LOVE my Typhoon H! And I want it! I'm 57 years old, everything has happily been done TOTALLY for my children by me for the past 15 years since my first daughter was born and I put my life on hold for theirs as need be, I have some very complicated health problems at a relatively young age that can (and probably will) seriously impact on my longevity, and I rarely do a thing for myself. So now it's Daddy's turn! So another H is on its way to me. I'll hash out the details later.

I'm not about to blame anything - or even myself - yet because frankly I still don't know the facts. Time will tell. I trust Yuneec will treat me fairly, as I have every reason to believe they will. I'll keep you posted if anyone besides me cares about how this goes down. In the meantime, if I can get 5 of you to fly your Typhoons in the missing man formation, I'd appreciate it!

Like John Lennon sang, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."
Yuneec has always gone above and beyond in any situation I have had. I would love to know what happens. I've been fortunate not to have any of the dreadful fly aways and hope I don't ever experience one. In the event that I it was to ever happen I hope I can have as much humor about it as you do. Your life situation sounds like a parallel to mine and I will be anxiously waiting for an update.
 
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Yuneec has always gone above and beyond in any situation I have had. I would love to know what happens. I've been fortunate not to have any of the dreadful fly aways and hope I don't ever experience one. In the event that I it was to ever happen I hope I can have as much humor about it as you do. Your life situation sounds like a parallel to mine and I will be anxiously waiting for an update.

So glad to hear about your good experiences with Yuneec. That gives me more hope to hang my hat on.

I, too, hope you never have to go through this experience, my friend. It's not a pleasant one! Since our Life situations do parallel each other's as you say, then I'm sure you'll understand when I say when it comes to facing Life's adversities, "If I didn't laugh, I'd cry."

My nickname happens to be Charlie (short for Charles) and ever since I was a kid comparisons have always been made by my friends and family between myself and cartoon character Charlie Brown, sometimes portrayed with a dark cloud hanging over his head, the same cloud that has followed me around for years!

They even gave it a name - "Chuck Luck" - when I was younger, a name which still sticks to me this day. If it's going to happen to 1 out of 10,000 people, buddy, then I am guaranteed to be walking around right at the perfect time to end up smack dab in the middle of it when it happens! This is the main reason why I have never entertained the idea of having corrective laser eye surgery done even though I want it; tried parachuting, rock climbing or dangerous amusement park thrill rides and the like; gone on a blind date (too likely she'll be either a serial killer or from an as -yet identified new gender species); get a tatoo; or in any other way press my luck too far. Still, oddly enough, I LOVE shooting craps at casinos!! Go figure.

Whenever I make a purchase, I keep the original boxes intact until my warranties expire, just in case. So, whenever I venture into ANY situation I am always aware of what I might get myself into and am always prepared for the unexpected...and I'm usually not too disappointed! All in all, though, I don't have much room to complain, Wayne. I'm much better off than a lot of people I encounter, that's for certain, and I count my blessings daily.

Like Clarence the Angel says to character George Bailey in the old 1940s Christmas movie classic, "George Bailey, you've actually had a wonderful life!" So, no complaints here, either! Thanks for reaching out to me, Wayne. Safe flying and enjoy your weekend.
 
Im sorry to hear this happened ....So I read all this and I'm curious to know when your battery was produced and the number of cycles you had on it as well as any ir numbers you may have checked on it.

Aside from a bird strike in which you would not loose power or connection my only other logical analysis would be a cell died in the battery. That will shut everything down immediately.

Interesting that everyone that has had these immediate power loss situations are always flying the factory battery.

From a warranty point of view with telemetry data yunnec might be able to register momenterially a loss of about 4v in battery voltage. But I'm sure it's not something they will disclose or admit. If the system isn't able to run at 12-13v the data prob cut out completely. Did you keep telemetry log copies for yourself?

Has anyone checked if the typhoon will stay on with voltages of a 3s?

Another thing is if the cell opened it would drop voltage to 0v.

I'm interested in the final outcome and if I can help I'll be happy to send you a complimentary battery tray.
 
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No they will not care about the update. You did not look at the telemetry for the flight yourself?
First thing popped into my pea brain was BIRD OR GUN.

Yikes, my friend. I feel bad for you. A "Black Swan" event happened. I'm sure you'll get a number of conjectures here, but it's all for naught.
Let us know if Yuneec takes care of it. Be careful with Amazon's 3rd parties. Be sure it said "RealSense" and not just "Pro".
First thought, bird attack. More realistic thought, angry sharpshooter
 
Im sorry to hear this happened ....So I read all this and I'm curious to know when your battery was produced and the number of cycles you had on it as well as any ir numbers you may have checked on it.

Aside from a bird strike in which you would not loose power or connection my only other logical analysis would be a cell died in the battery. That will shut everything down immediately.

Interesting that everyone that has had these immediate power loss situations are always flying the factory battery.

From a warranty point of view with telemetry data yunnec might be able to register momenterially a loss of about 4v in battery voltage. But I'm sure it's not something they will disclose or admit. If the system isn't able to run at 12-13v the data prob cut out completely. Did you keep telemetry log copies for yourself?

Has anyone checked if the typhoon will stay on with voltages of a 3s?

Another thing is if the cell opened it would drop voltage to 0v.

I'm interested in the final outcome and if I can help I'll be happy to send you a complimentary battery tray.

Thank you for your remarks, observations, insights and offers to help, Ralphy. Although I do not have the exact dates and info you discussed readily available, I'm sure I can dig it out. And yes, I did keep a copy of my telemetry files on my laptop and a flash drive, just in case.

In a nutshell, the battery I was using was a Yuneec brand battery, purchased last mid-December 2016 with my Typhoon H Pro, one of 6 Yuneec brand batteries I purchased, used and cycled through routinely.This flight was my 77th flight - my first and only unsuccessful one - and I numbered each battery and used them and recharged them in order. So, I estimate at most 12 charging cycles were on that battery. All of my batteries are balance checked and properly stored and maintained according to Yuneec's instructions and in accordance with good LiPo battery practices.

My telemetry file of the doomed flight indicates the battery was fully charged pre-flight and had a level of 15.2 volts during its last recorded connection to my ST16. I wasn't too long in the air when things quickly broke down. The bird was hovering when my display blinked out, went black, and then resumed on its own without then having any RC or video feed connections to the H or any flight telemetry information displayed whatsoever. I saw nothing outstanding when reviewing the telemetry data, no errors or anything that pops out as being a problem. So, I am still in the dark.

I get what you mean about Yuneec's possible stance on this situation. I'm hoping to get the same fair treatment from them that other Typhoon H pilots have received, but of course time will tell.

I am totally open to any suggestions coming my way to better understand my experience and to bolster my position on this incident. I thank you for contacting me today with your input as you have.
 
Sorry for your lost. I had a blade chroma do the same thing and I almost broke down in tears. Now I do have yuneec h and I love it and this morning while flying it with my wizard it started to fly away by its self and lucky I saw it going away and I panic and started pushing the buttons on the control and got control of it. But while I was doing it I heard a plane flying over and I just wonder if that might have had something to do with it. So now I am a little scared to fly it.
 
Off topic but already mentioned: a friend who is a vidographer for ESPN decided to buy a Mavic as his first drone, he brought it over to my house and said he would show me how it flies...I asked him not to (he had only had it 1 day) but he said he had flown it in his own house without issue. I was very impressed with how it flew indoors until he tried to land it...it shot to the ceiling and then into one of my walls. He tried to stop it and cut his hand...it fell to the non carpeted floor. He then took it outside since it appeared nothing was wrong and he wanted to fly it because he was planning on taking it to Florida the next day. It flew and landed perfectly despite the rough crash which hadn't even broken a prop indoors. He also sent me some sample footage which looked very good shot late in the day outdoor with snow and ice on trees. I started thinking about buying one and then I read about one possible fatal flaw on many of them...the camera apparently often loses focus while in flight. I think I'll wait for Ver. 2...the footprint is absolutely what I need for long Icelandic hikes.
 
Had a real bummer happen today. I lost my Typhoon H Pro. Just like that.

Can't figure it out and it made no sense when it happened. I was less than 1500' out, about 70' up flying over open marshlands and deep water in a very clear sky, totally in line of sight, flying the exact same path I had flown during a run-through flight a couple of weeks ago. One minute everything was fine as usual, then in a flash my display went black for a moment and when it came back up on its own I had no telemetry data whatsoever, no battery levels or sats for the H, no camera feed, nothing. The display message came up RC & Camera connecting, but no connection was ever established.

I had been looking at my display just when this happened, as I was turning the H around to capture a certain bridge in the distance when the display blinked out, so I saw the whole thing. When I looked up I couldn't find my H in the sky; it was not where I had just seen it last before I began focusing on my ST16 display to maneuver it for my planned shooting. I had no warnings, no nothing. Hit RTH immediately and hoped it would return on its own, as I believe I had it set to RTH if it lost signal. Waited long after I knew the full battery had to be drained, even if it had just been hovering for awhile. But it was gone. (Blowing Taps for it right now as I type.)

Sent the flight logs to Yuneec already and the tech I dealt with said they might even have an answer for me tonight, if not then by tomorrow. We will see. The craft is irretrievable. I was just flying over an inlet, where the water descends quickly to 40' depths and much greater, when this occurred so it's gone for good, destined to make a strange looking marine habitat for something. Maybe some fisherman one day will hook it and think he's caught a stiff octopus with two bulging eyes and dangling testicular cancer!

The battery was definitely well in place and fully charged, two of the things I am quite anal about before takeoff, and I've never experienced any problems whatsoever with either the H or the ST16. Never had calibration problems, firmware update troubles, crashes, nothing to ever complain about. It's always been a fine, great machine to me. Still is.

I had not yet updated to the latest firmware, so that possibility is not an issue. I don't have a clue what happened to it. I am obviously very curious to see what the logs will reveal.

In the meantime, I went ahead and ordered another H Pro just like it from Amazon - cheapest prices I could find anywhere - and it will be here by Monday, March 13 via UPS. If Yuneec comes through for me great, I'll just return the one I ordered to Amazon (I'll have 30 days). And I'll call my insurance agent tomorrow to see what they have to say since I had drone insurance on it that is supposed to cover "flyaways," a term I hate. When the tech called it that tonight I told him I disagreed with his terminology, as the aircraft DID NOT fly away from me at all. But he was unswayed by my argument.

I could have just said, "Oh, well. We will see what we will see," and just gone off and flown my Mavic Pro. But daggone it, I LOVE my Typhoon H! And I want it! I'm 57 years old, everything has happily been done TOTALLY for my children by me for the past 15 years since my first daughter was born and I put my life on hold for theirs as need be, I have some very complicated health problems at a relatively young age that can (and probably will) seriously impact on my longevity, and I rarely do a thing for myself. So now it's Daddy's turn! So another H is on its way to me. I'll hash out the details later.

I'm not about to blame anything - or even myself - yet because frankly I still don't know the facts. Time will tell. I trust Yuneec will treat me fairly, as I have every reason to believe they will. I'll keep you posted if anyone besides me cares about how this goes down. In the meantime, if I can get 5 of you to fly your Typhoons in the missing man formation, I'd appreciate it!

Like John Lennon sang, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."
Had a real bummer happen today. I lost my Typhoon H Pro. Just like that.

Can't figure it out and it made no sense when it happened. I was less than 1500' out, about 70' up flying over open marshlands and deep water in a very clear sky, totally in line of sight, flying the exact same path I had flown during a run-through flight a couple of weeks ago. One minute everything was fine as usual, then in a flash my display went black for a moment and when it came back up on its own I had no telemetry data whatsoever, no battery levels or sats for the H, no camera feed, nothing. The display message came up RC & Camera connecting, but no connection was ever established.

I had been looking at my display just when this happened, as I was turning the H around to capture a certain bridge in the distance when the display blinked out, so I saw the whole thing. When I looked up I couldn't find my H in the sky; it was not where I had just seen it last before I began focusing on my ST16 display to maneuver it for my planned shooting. I had no warnings, no nothing. Hit RTH immediately and hoped it would return on its own, as I believe I had it set to RTH if it lost signal. Waited long after I knew the full battery had to be drained, even if it had just been hovering for awhile. But it was gone. (Blowing Taps for it right now as I type.)

Sent the flight logs to Yuneec already and the tech I dealt with said they might even have an answer for me tonight, if not then by tomorrow. We will see. The craft is irretrievable. I was just flying over an inlet, where the water descends quickly to 40' depths and much greater, when this occurred so it's gone for good, destined to make a strange looking marine habitat for something. Maybe some fisherman one day will hook it and think he's caught a stiff octopus with two bulging eyes and dangling testicular cancer!

The battery was definitely well in place and fully charged, two of the things I am quite anal about before takeoff, and I've never experienced any problems whatsoever with either the H or the ST16. Never had calibration problems, firmware update troubles, crashes, nothing to ever complain about. It's always been a fine, great machine to me. Still is.

I had not yet updated to the latest firmware, so that possibility is not an issue. I don't have a clue what happened to it. I am obviously very curious to see what the logs will reveal.

In the meantime, I went ahead and ordered another H Pro just like it from Amazon - cheapest prices I could find anywhere - and it will be here by Monday, March 13 via UPS. If Yuneec comes through for me great, I'll just return the one I ordered to Amazon (I'll have 30 days). And I'll call my insurance agent tomorrow to see what they have to say since I had drone insurance on it that is supposed to cover "flyaways," a term I hate. When the tech called it that tonight I told him I disagreed with his terminology, as the aircraft DID NOT fly away from me at all. But he was unswayed by my argument.

I could have just said, "Oh, well. We will see what we will see," and just gone off and flown my Mavic Pro. But daggone it, I LOVE my Typhoon H! And I want it! I'm 57 years old, everything has happily been done TOTALLY for my children by me for the past 15 years since my first daughter was born and I put my life on hold for theirs as need be, I have some very complicated health problems at a relatively young age that can (and probably will) seriously impact on my longevity, and I rarely do a thing for myself. So now it's Daddy's turn! So another H is on its way to me. I'll hash out the details later.

I'm not about to blame anything - or even myself - yet because frankly I still don't know the facts. Time will tell. I trust Yuneec will treat me fairly, as I have every reason to believe they will. I'll keep you posted if anyone besides me cares about how this goes down. In the meantime, if I can get 5 of you to fly your Typhoons in the missing man formation, I'd appreciate it!

Like John Lennon sang, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."
 
This sounds a lot like what happened to me, except the battery just fell out of mine, or at least it was that or over heating and the expansion jettisoned it. I saw it happen so there was no mistake, the loss of power and the last view still up on the remote, and like you I'm very carefull putting batteries in, and I was not doing anything but simple maneuvers and was heading home after 10 -15 mins of flighgt. I feel your loss ,I hope it turns out ok, and I think we should keep an eye out for other post similar to yours and mine as there could be a defect in the battery housing or the batteries them selves.
 
First thought, bird attack. More realistic thought, angry sharpshooter

Always two possibilities in this case, too. Birds of prey do fish the waters I was flying over and I do live in "shotgun and gun country." While I do not recall hearing any firearm report, a bird strike - especially one from behind - would be instantaneous and devastating and not captured on camera.
Off topic but already mentioned: a friend who is a vidographer for ESPN decided to buy a Mavic as his first drone, he brought it over to my house and said he would show me how it flies...I asked him not to (he had only had it 1 day) but he said he had flown it in his own house without issue. I was very impressed with how it flew indoors until he tried to land it...it shot to the ceiling and then into one of my walls. He tried to stop it and cut his hand...it fell to the non carpeted floor. He then took it outside since it appeared nothing was wrong and he wanted to fly it because he was planning on taking it to Florida the next day. It flew and landed perfectly despite the rough crash which hadn't even broken a prop indoors. He also sent me some sample footage which looked very good shot late in the day outdoor with snow and ice on trees. I started thinking about buying one and then I read about one possible fatal flaw on many of them...the camera apparently often loses focus while in flight. I think I'll wait for Ver. 2...the footprint is absolutely what I need for long Icelandic hikes.

I fly a Mavic Pro, too, and even though manufacturer DJI portrays it flying indoors and even has a particular flight mode for such an undertaking, that is something I would not attempt to do, although others have done it without any problems.

The issue seems to be that, while flying indoors, the Mavic Pro goes into "Opti Mode," in which its location is kept well in check via the camera system it has built into its design, part of its extensive system redundancy. But even though indoors, a GPS signal can still get through and come into the picture, causing the Mavic to suddenly switch guidance systems on the fly, going from "Opti Mode" to "GPS Mode." This change of flight modes unfortunately usually ends up putting the Mavic in what is termed "Atti Mode" at some point, a flight mode in which apparently only God himself knows what may happen indoors, as the reports of what occurs next are all over the charts. However, the majority of them end just as badly as your friend's demonstration did in front of you. Although I have high enough ceilings and an open house plan to fly my Mavic indoors, I have not yet done so for these reasons.

Outside, however, the Mavic is quite the drone in its own right, with amazing capabilities in a uniquely small but effective and aggressive package. With regards to the Mavic's focusing issue, the Mavic's excellent 4K camera does not actually lose focus while in flight, but instead it requires you to manually focus on what you are shooting at to ensure accurate focusing on the subject at hand, unlike the Typhoon H which does autofocus for the drone operator, a feature I like and enjoy. The DJI App for the Mavic does require you to either tap the display screen where you want the camera to focus on, or else simply press a programmable button on its hand-sized controller to focus on what is in the center of its lens. Either way, obtaining and maintaining focus are not an issue with this aircraft.

All of that being said about the Mavic Pro since the issue was raised, I still cannot wait until I have a Typhoon H Pro back in my hands. Two more days to wait and counting!
 
This sounds a lot like what happened to me, except the battery just fell out of mine, or at least it was that or over heating and the expansion jettisoned it. I saw it happen so there was no mistake, the loss of power and the last view still up on the remote, and like you I'm very carefull putting batteries in, and I was not doing anything but simple maneuvers and was heading home after 10 -15 mins of flighgt. I feel your loss ,I hope it turns out ok, and I think we should keep an eye out for other post similar to yours and mine as there could be a defect in the battery housing or the batteries them selves.
Just a heads up guys, I placed my claim on Monday and sent the telemetry in the same day. When I was done talking to customer service he stated that I would know something within a day or two. I waited until yesterday morning and contacted them to see if there was an update. They stated that the technician hadn't reviewed the telemetry yet but would get back to me by the end of the day. I never did hear back from yesterday.

Does anyone know what the typical time is for the review and determination? Also, does anyone know who I should be talking to at customer service? I appreciate any and all input from you guys.
 
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