MY DAMN EVO LOST CONNECTION AND FLEW AWAY, ANY OTHER OCCURRENCES OR EXPLANATIONS................JOSH

[JOSH BOHAGER]

MY EVO JUST GOT BACK FROM SOME REPAIRS, I MANUALLY UPDATED THE FIRMWARE TO VERSIN 1.4.9. I HAD SOME ISSUES WITH IT FLYING FROM LEFT TO RIGHT AT THE SAME SPEED SO I HAD TO RECALIBRATE IT. I TOOK IT FOR A FLIGHT ON THE EVENING OF THE 30TH OF AUGUST AND I WAS USING MY ANROID PHONE CONNECTED WITH THE AUTEL FLIGHT APP RUNNING. I HAD A CONSISTENT LOCK OF 18 SATELLITES AND IT NEVER WENT INTO ATTI MODE. IT WAS IN NOVICE MODE AND I HAD FLOWN IT ABOUT 1 MILE AWAY WHEN I SUDDENLY STARTED TO LOSE ALTITUDE WHILE I WAS AT A CEILING OF 425 FEET AGL. SUDDENLY THE CONNECTION WAS LOST AND I TRIED TO TELL IT TO COME HOME MANY TIME BUT IT JUST FLEW AWAY AND NEVER CAME BACK. SO MUCH FOR ALL THE SAFEGUARDS HUH! IT ALSO DID NOT RECORD THE LAST FLIGHT IN THE FLIGHT LOG ON THE CONTROLLER FOR SOME REASON. WHAT THE **** IS ALL I CAN SAY. AUTEL IS CURRENTLY INVESTIGATING. I BELIEVE THAT BETWEEN MY REPAIRS OF A NEW GIMBAL, MAIN BOARD IN THE CONTROLLER AND A MAIN BOARD IN THE EVO CAUSE THIS ISSUE AS WELL AS THE NEW FIRMWARE UPDATE 1.4.9.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

I can understand your frustration as I have lost a few UAV's in my time but do you think when you make another post you can kill the caps ?
Thanks

 

[Trox]

The information you provide has some conflicts. You say you were flying in Novice Mode. That mode restricts your altitude to 98 feet, your speed to 8mph, and your distance to 328 feet from takeoff point. There is no way you were in Novice mode flying at the distance and altitude you describe.

Losing altitude at a mile away gives me the impression that there was either a battery malfunction or low voltage triggering a landing or perhaps you ventured into an area where there was some severe interference like a main power transmission line, radio/tv broadcast tower, microwave/cell tower, etc. At one mile the angle of the aircraft compared to the controller at ground level is such that ground-based obstructions such as trees and buildings may block your signal or weaken it the farther you go from your control point when only at 425 feet AGL.

As far as the flight log, there is no better reason to record your phone/tablet screen display to your device during each flight and then delete it after a successful mission. In the event you lose your bird without a flight log to identify the last known location, the video on your device will give telemetry as well as the last camera view of where it was before going dark. In the best of circumstances that can have a happy ending with a retrieval.

I'm not positive but I think the flight log is saved on the phone or tablet device, not the controller. Did you check your Explorer Profile on your phone to see if the last flight was there?

I know its a moot point but for other pilots out there, if you are getting your drone and/or controller back from service/warranty work, its best to be patience and take 'baby steps' as you start testing the equipment for proper function and performance. It sounds as if your equipment had some major problems and issues to resolve in the repair process. Most vehicle owners who just got their car overhauled wouldn't take off on a cross country road trip without first making sure it was now dependable. The same applies, perhaps more so, with unmanned aircraft that can disappear ever so easily and hide anywhere.

I guess the last thought is someone might have shot it down or it was attacked by a hawk or eagle. You would never know at that distance.

 

[JOSH BOHAGER]

Trox. Thanks a million for your response. I agree whole heartedly with you. I was mistaken about being on novice mode during the fly away of my Evo. I live in a rolling hills outter suburb. It is also the highest point in my area by up to 100 yards in some places and yes there is a large comms tower about a mile away. I have flown within a quarter mile of it several times with no interference. When the fly away occurred I was flying almost in the complete opposite direction so a lil stumped on that. Yes the auto flight rec log is stored in the explorer app. However, after scrutinizing the last rec the flight path looked pretty much where I had went on the previous flight. It also shows it coming back the to landing pad and landing at the same point that it took off from and obviously that's ridiculous considering it never came back. It is almost like it recorded the previous flight but failed to rec the fly away flight. I do want to everyone to know that before the fly away I ordered the live deck and a second remote which all together was over $650. The order was placed after 10pm est on 23rd. Well a couple days ago I saw a promo on here about 25% off all Autel accessories from the 25th through the 31st. I called Autel and told them how I was both upset and horrified my Evo flew away and they opened an investigation. I told them about the promo I saw and I missed it by about 30 hours and if there was anyway they could give us a discount even if it was only a small percent. Two days later I got an email as a responseand checked my bank account and no **** they credited me around$170 which is 25% off what I bought. So the guys and gals at Autel are the best for helping me in this total time of chaos! I give them a 12 out of 10!!!! Let me know your thoughts pin my long winded response. Thanks

 

[Trox]

Yes the auto flight rec log is stored in the explorer app. However, after scrutinizing the last rec the flight path looked pretty much where I had went on the previous flight. It also shows it coming back the to landing pad and landing at the same point that it took off from and obviously that's ridiculous considering it never came back. It is almost like it recorded the previous flight but failed to rec the fly away flight.

I have read only a couple posts on forums about EVO fly aways that mentioned the final fatal flight was not recorded on their device flight log to give some some search coordinates. Could you double check your flight log last entry and verify the Time/Date stamp displayed was actually the fatal flight and not just the previous successful flight? Your observation of the flight log showing a successful home landing would indicate maybe the fly away flight was not recorded. Or there was a duplication event that transpired that must be addressed.

I have sent an inquiry to Autel Support to have them identify what the Flight Record subroutine does during the creation and saving of the data files. So correctly identifying exactly what that last flight record is on your device is important in case their is a flaw in their programming.

 

[Whiteboirobb]

I have read only a couple posts on forums about EVO fly aways that mentioned the final fatal flight was not recorded on their device flight log to give some some search coordinates. Could you double check your flight log last entry and verify the Time/Date stamp displayed was actually the fatal flight and not just the previous successful flight? Your observation of the flight log showing a successful home landing would indicate maybe the fly away flight was not recorded. Or there was a duplication event that transpired that must be addressed.

I have sent an inquiry to Autel Support to have them identify what the Flight Record subroutine does during the creation and saving of the data files. So correctly identifying exactly what that last flight record is on your device is important in case their is a flaw in their programming.

How many evo fly-aways have you seen!? I’m a new evo owner who had maybe 20 min of flight time in before crashing and am currently awaiting repairs (long DJI owner which led to the feeling of skilled ability that ended in the crash). Some of the posts I’ve read while waiting to fly again have spooked me a little on the evo. Honestly my mavic pro was almost foolproof and would self right in mid air every single time there was any contact while flying regardless of the affect it had on the flight. Now I’m reading about fly aways too. Great posts btw very insightful and logical

 

[Ansia]

How many evo fly-aways have you seen!? I’m a new evo owner who had maybe 20 min of flight time in before crashing and am currently awaiting repairs (long DJI owner which led to the feeling of skilled ability that ended in the crash). Some of the posts I’ve read while waiting to fly again have spooked me a little on the evo. Honestly my mavic pro was almost foolproof and would self right in mid air every single time there was any contact while flying regardless of the affect it had on the flight. Now I’m reading about fly aways too. Great posts btw very insightful and logical

I have read of 4 fly aways in the year I've been reading about Evo. In all of those cases the Evo was BVLOS, so the owner does not know how or why it happened.

 

[Whiteboirobb]

I have read of 4 fly aways in the year I've been reading about Evo. In all of those cases the Evo was BVLOS, so the owner does not know how or why it happened.

I’m sorry, BVLOS?

 

[Ansia]

I’m sorry, BVLOS?

Beyond Visual Line of Sight

 

[Whiteboirobb]

Beyond Visual Line of Sight

That would be effing terrible

 

[NovicePilot]

The information you provide has some conflicts. You say you were flying in Novice Mode. That mode restricts your altitude to 98 feet, your speed to 8mph, and your distance to 328 feet from takeoff point. There is no way you were in Novice mode flying at the distance and altitude you describe.

Losing altitude at a mile away gives me the impression that there was either a battery malfunction or low voltage triggering a landing or perhaps you ventured into an area where there was some severe interference like a main power transmission line, radio/tv broadcast tower, microwave/cell tower, etc. At one mile the angle of the aircraft compared to the controller at ground level is such that ground-based obstructions such as trees and buildings may block your signal or weaken it the farther you go from your control point when only at 425 feet AGL.

As far as the flight log, there is no better reason to record your phone/tablet screen display to your device during each flight and then delete it after a successful mission. In the event you lose your bird without a flight log to identify the last known location, the video on your device will give telemetry as well as the last camera view of where it was before going dark. In the best of circumstances that can have a happy ending with a retrieval.

I'm not positive but I think the flight log is saved on the phone or tablet device, not the controller. Did you check your Explorer Profile on your phone to see if the last flight was there?

I know its a moot point but for other pilots out there, if you are getting your drone and/or controller back from service/warranty work, its best to be patience and take 'baby steps' as you start testing the equipment for proper function and performance. It sounds as if your equipment had some major problems and issues to resolve in the repair process. Most vehicle owners who just got their car overhauled wouldn't take off on a cross country road trip without first making sure it was now dependable. The same applies, perhaps more so, with unmanned aircraft that can disappear ever so easily and hide anywhere.

I guess the last thought is someone might have shot it down or it was attacked by a hawk or eagle. You would never know at that distance.

Very good info for all. I have my RC in the shop for repairing the antennas. When it comes back I will take baby-steps to make sure everything is fine.

 

[Rubik3x]

Yes the auto flight rec log is stored in the explorer app. However, after scrutinizing the last rec the flight path looked pretty much where I had went on the previous flight. It also shows it coming back the to landing pad and landing at the same point that it took off from and obviously that's ridiculous considering it never came back. It is almost like it recorded the previous flight but failed to rec the fly away flight.

Josh, sorry to hear about your fly-away. As for the flight log, is it possible that the Explorer app did not get a proper end-of-file mark? That could leave the file un-findable but still there. This happens sometimes with my Typhoon H on-board video if the recording is not stopped properly. The solution is usually to start a new file which automatically closes the previous file. Just a thought.

 

[JOSH BOHAGER]

Rubik3x,
Thank you for your input. I was not filming at the last flight of my fly away. I have no record of my automatically recorded flight path. Autel has currently, and at least over the phone to me, admitted to a similar situation happening in the past. They have my investigation form filled out and in their hands as well as my explorer app login name and password. It has been 3 days, which is a long time to hear back from them. They must be really scrutinizing the hell out of any info they can to find out the reason for this fly away. I will keep you all updated on all that transpires, thanks for everyone who has commented's support,