Altitude....

[cstruthers]

A recent post regarding "Anxiety" hit close to home (pun intended) as I recently flew my Mavic Pro into a power line. As a CNC machine operator I draw a parallel to the saying "It is not if you crash the machine but more when you crash it."
Same applies to flying drones. Personally experienced...
I launched from the nice flat roof of our 3 story office tower. The intent being to have clear view of my drone for miles. First step was to gain enough altitude to clear a set of adjacent power lines. That done I flew off into wide open space and flew around making lazy turns and straight runs. Time to come home...
Instead of RTH I flew straight to my location with the intent of dropping back down to the roof.
Back to the title of this post. Altitude! At some point during my turns I must have moved the left joy stick slightly down while performing the turns. The downside of having turn/climb/decend on the same stick. My anxiety was replaced with horror as I watched my drone fly straight into the top wire. It hit and dropped like a dead (not a wounded) duck. I retrieved it (no damage), wiped off some bits of wet grass and flew again, this time from the ground. Moral of story:
ALTITUDE, ALTITUDE, ALTITUDE!!! Always be conscious of altitude when not using RTH.
And yes, before you folks come down on me ranting and raving, stay away from power lines no matter how inviting the the area looks to fly.

 

[Mossiback]

...The intent being to have clear view of my drone for miles. ... It hit and dropped like a dead (not a wounded) duck. I retrieved it (no damage), wiped off some bits of wet grass and flew again,...

You may have a clear view for miles of the area that you think you are flying in but you will not be able to see it that far out. I am constantly playing the game of "Find my Mavic" past 500 ft out.

And, congratulations! Lucky you for having no damage! A person doesn't have to wreck their Mavic to learn a lesson.