Failsafe malfunctioning?

rbarghini · Mar 10, 2014

Hi Group,

I went out for a quick flight and at about 60% battery life I decided to kick in failsafe via the S1 switch to bring her home (it was about 1,000 feet out). It started to come back home - nothing appeared abnormal. Once it reached directly above where it took off (AKA my driveway), it hovered like it usually does for a short period of time. But that typical period of time turned into minutes, and the darn thing never descended on its own like it should have. I had to kick it into GPS again to regain control and land it myself.

Anybody know why it did that? I had 8 satellites and it recorded its home point (rapid flashing green lights) before take off. I hooked it up to the assistant afterwards, and nothing is abnormal. This is the first real problem I've had since I've owned it in November. All FW updates have been applied. Never crashed it. Temperature was 48 degrees, 10 mph wind.

Thanks,
Ron

RCRookie · Mar 12, 2014

rbarghini said:
Hi Group,

I went out for a quick flight and at about 60% battery life I decided to kick in failsafe via the S1 switch to bring her home (it was about 1,000 feet out). It started to come back home - nothing appeared abnormal. Once it reached directly above where it took off (AKA my driveway), it hovered like it usually does for a short period of time. But that typical period of time turned into minutes, and the darn thing never descended on its own like it should have. I had to kick it into GPS again to regain control and land it myself.

Anybody know why it did that? I had 8 satellites and it recorded its home point (rapid flashing green lights) before take off. I hooked it up to the assistant afterwards, and nothing is abnormal. This is the first real problem I've had since I've owned it in November. All FW updates have been applied. Never crashed it. Temperature was 48 degrees, 10 mph wind.

Thanks,
Ron

I'm to new to these things to give much of an opinion. But I would consider reinstalling the latest firmware v1.08 , then take it out for testing. Alternatively, you could call your purchaseing retailer if they provide technical support.

Byroman · Mar 12, 2014

Ron,
Take her out for another spin to see if you can re-create the issue. Could have simply been an anomaly with regard to barometer or GPS (maybe re-calibrate). If it happens again you may need to consult a higher power...perhaps your retailer??

Good luck!

jimdenburg · Mar 12, 2014

Was IOC on when this happened? I seem to remember seeing a video somewhere where at least in home lock, when the aircraft reached reached a certain distance it would automatically switch to course lock. Don't know if that's related at all to your issue but I would try again, making sure that IOC was off.

rbarghini · Mar 12, 2014

Thanks guys for your advice... I have yet to take it out for another flight. Perhaps I will tonight - I will try and re-create the issue. I forgot to mention I did re-calibrate the compass & successfully prior.

The IOC was off when it happened. I will let everybody know how my next flight goes.

Thanks,
Ron

rbarghini · Mar 12, 2014

Hi Group,

I just got back from my flight... I took it up to 1,000 ft and snapped some pictures of the sun setting, then initiated failsafe via the S1 switch to try and re-create the issue. All went as planned. It flew over to the area directly above where I took off, hovered there for several seconds (not several minutes) and then slowly descended and landed itself.

I didn't do anything different than my last flight so I am puzzled as to why it didn't descend automatically before.

Thanks,
Ron

Pull_Up · Mar 13, 2014

I think it might have been One of Those Things... I believe that's the technical term.

Byroman · Mar 13, 2014

Hope it remains functioning properly. Certainly glad it didn't do something more dramatic - like a flyaway!

Best of luck... happy flying!!!

rbarghini · Mar 13, 2014

Pull_Up said:
I think it might have been One of Those Things... I believe that's the technical term.

Pull_Up,

That's what I keep telling myself. I really hope it was just One of Those Things...

Thanks Byroman, I will keep everyone posted if it happens again. Perhaps I might even reach out to my dealer (Dronefly.com) and explain to them my situation.They may have some valuable insight of the issue. And If they do, I'll post it here to benefit other members.

Thanks,
Ron