First Fly Away & Crash

[Amish_58]

Ok I had a feeling this might happen at some point, just not this soon after buying my X-Star Premium drone! I was visiting my Amish friends and wanted to show them the X-Star and how easy it was to fly. My first few flights I had kept it in beginner mode and I had zero problems controlling it. I was hoping to show my Amish friends more of the X-Star features so I had taken it out of beginner mode before flying it. First thing I did was the calibration of the drone. It took off normally and I had full control of the drone. About a minute into the flight I got the dreaded message "switching to Attitude mode - be careful flying" message. Within seconds the drone exited stage right at a high rate of speed and crashed into a snow covered pile of firewood. For whatever reason it lost its GPS signal and went into the Attitude mode. I had 17 satellites before I took off too.

Luckily it didn't go very far and I found it within a few minutes. 2 broken propellers and the camera was partially knocked off the drone. Thanks to Autel packaging extra propellers and gimbal small attaching parts I was able to repair the drone on the spot. After taking it inside the house to thaw out and warm up I took it outside to see if it would fly. First thing I did was put it back into beginner mode! I then calibrated it and much to my surprise all 4 motors started and I was able to fly it with no problems at all. It never lost its GPS signal and I was even able to make a short video with it. I hope I never have to watch it take off by itself again. What an absolute helpless feeling that was! By the way....... it will stay in the beginner mode for the foreseeable future!

 

[brian bwin]

That sucks! Glad the X-Star survived, they are apparently built to last. I will point you to the calibration post I found very helpful about how to/when to/when not to calibrate the compass: Compass Calibration Guide

Is it possible that instead of losing GPS you were actually experiencing a compass calibration error or magnetic interference?

 

[slimjimtell]

Did you accidentally flip the switch from GPS too Atti mode? Make sure the switch is not stuck between the two settings as it could accidentally switch.

 

[Amish_58]

That sucks! Glad the X-Star survived, they are apparently built to last. I will point you to the calibration post I found very helpful about how to/when to/when not to calibrate the compass: Compass Calibration Guide

Is it possible that instead of losing GPS you were actually experiencing a compass calibration error or magnetic interference?

Thank you for that information..... very informative.

 

[Amish_58]

Did you accidentally flip the switch from GPS too Atti mode? Make sure the switch is not stuck between the two settings as it could accidentally switch.

No the switch was in the GPS position. I may never know what actually caused it to do that. I'm just hoping it never happens again!

 

[Amish_58]

My XStar crashed again yesterday! This time it was on to a concrete patio and it crashed HARD. Everything was going well when out of nowhere the "Magnetic Interference" message popped up on the controller and I had ZERO control over the drone. This is the second time this has happened to me.

Yes I calibrated the compass before flying and I was out in the country with no electrical wires near. I was also flying in beginner mode. This time I have to send it in for repairs as the housing is broken and the camera is in two pieces. I sure hope it is under warranty...... I don't understand why I can't control the drone at all when I get the "Magnetic Interference" warning on the controller.

 

[brian bwin]

I don't understand why I can't control the drone at all when I get the "Magnetic Interference" warning on the controller.

Because the compass is messed up it can't hold a position with the GPS, hence you get the toilet bowl effect and it becomes very difficult to control. Hope Autel is able to fix for you under warranty.

Definitely turn off beginner mode when you get it back. This allows you to switch to ATTI mode on the controller when encountering magnetic interference.

 

[Amish_58]

Good news! Yesterday I received an email from Autel regarding my crashed drone. It reads as follows.

"Hello Dean
We have received your unit into repair, your ticket number for reference is 27176. Our technicians have reviewed your aircraft and determined that there is a problem with the aircraft compass. The crash happened due to large compass error. (We can tell you calibrate your compass every time you change places to fly and that's great!) Since the drone is heavily damaged and beyond repair, we're going to send you a replacement instead. This will be covered under warranty. Please allow up to 14 days for the replacement to be completed. If you have any other questions or concerns, don't hesitate to ask!

Thanks!
Li T
Customer Support"

This has reaffirmed my decision to go with the Autel Robotics drone. I'm hoping the replacement drone doesn't have the same issue. Thank you Autel Robotics!

 

[577-Jersey]

Im so glad you are getting a new one free!! Autel rocks!!
I was thinking maybe you should have tried the PAUSE button just to see if that helped.

Hopefully you dont ever have to deal with that again!!

 

[brian bwin]

I was thinking maybe you should have tried the PAUSE button just to see if that helped.

I'd assume hitting the pause button won't do anything since the X-Star can't hold position (toilet bowl effect) with GPS while experiencing a compass error.

 

[Aerodrone1]

Question regarding ATTI mode...I've switched to ATTI mode on the controller and nothing changed. Autel told me I have to go to advanced flight settings in the app and switch here. Anyone have thoughts on this? Sorry if I hijacked the thread!

 

[Old Bama Dude]

Question regarding ATTI mode...I've switched to ATTI mode on the controller and nothing changed. Autel told me I have to go to advanced flight settings in the app and switch here. Anyone have thoughts on this? Sorry if I hijacked the thread!

You have to go into the starlink app and switch on ATTI, then you can switch it on and off with the switch. Humm, that's a whole lotta switchin' going on.

 

[Aerodrone1]

So if I switch the app to ATTI mode I can then toggle between modes on the controller?

 

[WildDoktor]

Sort of. First, in the app, switch beginner mode to "off", then switch Enable ATTI Mode to "on", *then* you can use the switch on your controller to toggle ATTI mode.

 

[LuvMyTJ]

So if I switch the app to ATTI mode I can then toggle between modes on the controller?

Yes, but... practice using ATTI mode before you need it. The handling of the quad will be drastically different without the assistance of GPS. As a UAV operator, you really should know how to use, and have experience with ATTI mode. I also use it as a tool to determine wind speeds at altitude. If you put it in ATTI once you get to height, with no stick input it will drift in the wind... this will tell you which way it is going and how fast. Until you are experienced with ATTI operations, only learn it in a ~ w i d e ~ open area.

 

[Aerodrone1]

So to confirm...I set the app to ATTI but I can still select my preferred mode on the controller. Am I understanding this correctly?

 

[WildDoktor]

You don't set the drone to ATTI mode in the app; you only *enable* ATTI mode from the app (once you've *disabled* beginner mode...in the app). Enabling it in the app allows you to engage it with the switch on the controller.

Maybe some else can do a better job explaining than me...

Edit: Yes...once ATTI is enabled in the app, you can select the mode you want on the controller; you're not locked in to only ATTI mode.

 

[LuvMyTJ]

 

[Aerodrone1]

Got it now. Still much to learn about this gadget. When the doctors at Autel have healed it from its accident and return it to me, I'll certainly give ATTI mode a try. Thanks guys.