Cornforth Images
Member
I am a relatively new pilot, but in the past 3 months have progressed from learning to fly a DJI Phantom to building and flying an S800 using Wookong and a Century NEO 660 using the same Wookong electronics. I built my S800 in July, successfully flew it, rebuilt it after a minor crash that was my fault, and then traveled with it to the Canadian Arctic. I had concerns that it might not fly correctly at 74° N, but was told that as long as I received GPS signals that it would be OK. After initially testing my Phantom and having it spiral out of control and crash on its side, I was very careful setting up and testing my S800. I successfully hovered it close to the ground for several minutes, before trying a slightly more ambitious test flight the next day. My S800 was hovering totally stable less than 30’ above the ground and slightly in front of me when it suddenly turned on it’s side, would not respond to any of my control inputs, and accelerated for about 100 yards before crashing. The airframe of the copter was totally destroyed, but the flight electronics appeared to have survived the crash.
Upon returning home, I ran several tests on my surviving Wookong electronics and had several phone discussions with Helicopter World about salvaging these components to use in building a new NEO 660 hexacopter. I then spent approximately 20 hours building my NEO 660 from August 14 until 18. I assembled the aircraft using my Wookong and began my initial test flights on the morning of August 18. My initial tests were very careful and controlled, as I did not want to take any chances at losing another vehicle. I carefully hovered it in my driveway only a few feet off of the ground. Everything appeared to be functioning correctly, which was also confirmed by my WM Assistant app, as well as the data that I was monitoring on my 5” LCD screen from my iOSD. In order to test the copter and break in the new batteries, I performed seven 5 minute flights using each pair of batteries for a total flight time of approximately 1:10, during which I progressed from hovering the copter in my driveway to slightly above the alley in front of my house.
After the success of my initial test flights and breaking my batteries in, I was ready to perform my first duration test of my copter using a pair of batteries. I hovered my copter approximately 60’ in front of my house and 60’ above the ground while monitoring its performance and data, along with running a stop watch to test the duration. I successfully landed the copter at approximately 18:30 without any performance glitches. I then hooked up my second set of batteries to perform another duration test. My copter was hovering without any problems and the data was showing me that my batteries were at about 14.6V at about 16:30 into the flight. From the time, I knew that it was almost time to land my copter as its electronics were also getting close to the first low voltage warning set at 14.4V. Suddenly without any warning, my copter began to rotate counter-clockwise and accelerate to the right and would not respond to any of my control inputs. I tried flipping my fail-safe control switch to regain control of my copter and make it automatically return to home. The copter did not respond and continued on a trajectory that took it 200 yards over the top of some nearby apartment buildings at which point I lost sight of it, but it appeared to crash into the lake. I was devastated.
Am I the only one experiencing this sudden loss of control and catastrophic landing of my copters using DJI's Wookong? I appreciate any advice or anecodotes.
Upon returning home, I ran several tests on my surviving Wookong electronics and had several phone discussions with Helicopter World about salvaging these components to use in building a new NEO 660 hexacopter. I then spent approximately 20 hours building my NEO 660 from August 14 until 18. I assembled the aircraft using my Wookong and began my initial test flights on the morning of August 18. My initial tests were very careful and controlled, as I did not want to take any chances at losing another vehicle. I carefully hovered it in my driveway only a few feet off of the ground. Everything appeared to be functioning correctly, which was also confirmed by my WM Assistant app, as well as the data that I was monitoring on my 5” LCD screen from my iOSD. In order to test the copter and break in the new batteries, I performed seven 5 minute flights using each pair of batteries for a total flight time of approximately 1:10, during which I progressed from hovering the copter in my driveway to slightly above the alley in front of my house.
After the success of my initial test flights and breaking my batteries in, I was ready to perform my first duration test of my copter using a pair of batteries. I hovered my copter approximately 60’ in front of my house and 60’ above the ground while monitoring its performance and data, along with running a stop watch to test the duration. I successfully landed the copter at approximately 18:30 without any performance glitches. I then hooked up my second set of batteries to perform another duration test. My copter was hovering without any problems and the data was showing me that my batteries were at about 14.6V at about 16:30 into the flight. From the time, I knew that it was almost time to land my copter as its electronics were also getting close to the first low voltage warning set at 14.4V. Suddenly without any warning, my copter began to rotate counter-clockwise and accelerate to the right and would not respond to any of my control inputs. I tried flipping my fail-safe control switch to regain control of my copter and make it automatically return to home. The copter did not respond and continued on a trajectory that took it 200 yards over the top of some nearby apartment buildings at which point I lost sight of it, but it appeared to crash into the lake. I was devastated.
Am I the only one experiencing this sudden loss of control and catastrophic landing of my copters using DJI's Wookong? I appreciate any advice or anecodotes.
