RIP Droneto

[BillyBoot]

Since I live in Brazil, a drone from eBay will cost a fortune in taxes
And here a new one costs almost US$ 2k
My best bet, since my daughter lives in NY is to find someone coming to Brazil that could bring it to me...

WOW!..Amazing..How the heck you fly a drone from Brazil to New York?

 

[Neto]

WOW!..Amazing..How the heck you fly a drone from Brazil to New York?

You need a lot of batteries and a really good flight plan to avoid the Bermudas Triangle

 

[BillyBoot]

You need a lot of batteries and a really good flight plan to avoid the Bermudas Triangle

LOL...Good one..Sorry about your drone

 

[daisy-girl]

nope...tax anyway.
In fact, there is a small chance customs doesn't check the package...but it is just luck.
And if they get, I should pay 100% tax over original price.
That's third world, my friend.
I really curious thing.
I could definitely understand a huge taxation to protect national industry.
But considering there is no drones made in Brazil, makes complete nonsense this kind of tax.

In my native country, which I shall not mention, it's sometimes possible to solve the problem by mailing the article as "spare parts" -- i.e., one package could contain the AC, another the RC, another the remainder.

 

[Neto]

In my native country, which I shall not mention, it's sometimes possible to solve the problem by mailing the article as "spare parts" -- i.e., one package could contain the AC, another the RC, another the remainder.

There are some "alternative" methods here. As ask to the seller to send it as a "gift" or "sample".
But I'm not sure it worth the risk...

 

[swooshdave]

Flying off a boat I'm 100% sure I've got floaties on the drone. This might also help:

 

[joejaxvic123]

Sorry for your troubles, Neto, you seem like a good guy. Best of luck.

 

[macoman]

I knew it would be my turn one day.
Totally my fault, I should say.
I'll share my story so maybe it will help someone in the future.

===

Took off from my boat, exactly as I have done dozens of times.
Clear and sunny day here in Brazil, I grabbed some nice footage from an island nearby.
Not more than 1 mile from my boat.
At 32% battery, I decided to bring the MP back, but got a strong lateral wind, so battery was draining fast.
I kept a straight line to my boat until I found that....it wasn't my boat.
I was so worried about the batter I never looked the map that easily would have alerted me of the wrong heading.
But wait.
There's more.
Without battery to make home I decided to land in a green grass field, so I could rescue it.
Battery died just as I landed.
Not bad, I thought.
It just so happened that the "green grass field" was green, but it wasn't a field.
In fact, it was one of those muddy small plants that grow on water, you know?
The kind that is not strong enough to hold the Mavic.
To add insult to injury, the area is absolutely polluted with trash that stick to the roots of the plants.
Go, tiger. You are fearless, I said to myself, and dove onto the garbage hoping to find my now-terminal drone still breathing, crying for my help, hanging from some branch.
But no.
It was already in that place of heaven full of drones owned by stupid pilots.
Probably engulfed by underwater creatures.
I went back to the pier, with my clothes stinking.
Took a hot shower.
Now I'm driving home wearing my underwear.
It'll be hard to explain to cop.

===

Things I learned:

1. Never trust the camera only to head home when you are low on battery.
2. If you like to add a skin to your Mavic, do not use black. It's pretty hard to find at night. Use the most grotesque and contrasting color you can find.
Just a suggestion to DJI (I know there is a mod for this, but I think it will be a great addition to the factory version): a flashing LED that activates when the battery dies (powered by a small lithiun battery).

Well, that's it for now.
Please say something to cheer me up. Or not.

BTW, when will the next Mavic version be available?

I have few rules that I applied when I fly my quads:

1- I always return at 50% of battery level

2- Never take a quad out in winds over 15mph, not matter how powerful the quad it's.

3- I don't go over 2 miles in range. In clear weather conditions.

4- I do not fly in areas where I can see bird predators or big birds around. These hate quads and they will attack if the quads get close to them.

People need to understand that these quads are limited in battery and weather - winds conditions. Just have common sense and you will enjoy the hobby.

 

[Neo]

My condolences. But your story made my Monday morning worth waking up to.

 

[JMF]

I must say you made me laugh, not for the loss of your drone but your story was great !

 

[daisy-girl]

Sorry to hear about your drone, but great story.

Why wait for the next one to come out? You can just buy a drone body and battery and use your existing controller, charger and spare batteries (if you have them) on another Mavic Pro.

If he has spare batteries, then all he would need is the drone body. Does Thunderdrones stock this, and if so what is the cost?

 

[SpitFire]

What you experienced is my night mare. I bought some pontoons in case of a situation
with MP flying over water. I like flying over lakes, rivers, oceans, gives me some peace of mind having pontoons attached. Thank you for sharing your experience on this forum.

 

[matteolugli]

Sorry for your loss man! Thank you for sharing and forcing us to think about our dangerous habits...