Death of a Drone

[BrownsFan12]

Hi. This is my first post. I hope "general discussions" is the right place for this. I have been a photographer for many years and finally decided to make the leap into drones. Two weeks ago, I purchased a Mavid Pro 2 from my local DJI dealer who spent a lot of time with me getting everything up and running. Rather then just go out and fly on my own immediately, I did a week of my own "ground training" watching videos, reading, and trying to prepare as well as possible for the contingencies that I might face. So on Saturday, the weather finally cleared and I dared to take to the air. The attached photo clip is from my first video the last video that this drone will ever take.

So, for anyone (like me) that is new to drones, what did I learn here?

1) I knew that there were geese in the area but I was going with the "big sky little bullet theory". That's probably reasonable in certain situations, but we are entering into mating season, so I think their behavior is more aggressive. These geese deviated from a flight path almost half a kilometer away, and my gut tells me that this was not a coincidence. They were coming after the drone. So in addition to NOT flying where there are a lot of geese, be aware of the season and how the season could effect behavior.

2) Not sure if you can tell in the video, but it went down in a swamp. My unsuccessful recovery efforts are worth telling in separate post, but I digress. The point I want to make is that if you don't HAVE to fly over water, or otherwise inaccessible area, then just don't.

3) I have a new appreciation of why you don't fly a drone near people or private property. This flight was perfectly legal without anyone around, but had I been 25 feet away from people at 100-200 feet, this impact could have resulted in someone getting hurt.

OK. Those are my take-aways. I will get another drone once I process everything and save some some money.

For those of you more experienced than me, what do you do if you see birds nearby like this? My immediate response was just to keep the drone in place and not attract their attention. Obvisouly, that didn't work for me. Now I wonder if I should have dropped altitude....got closer to the ground.

Cheers!

 

[afarkas]

When i started to read your story i thoght i am reading about myself... 20 years photographer, 2 weeks drone owner, took a while before i actually get out to fly -
but then the geeses... i have very lovely experience with them... and with swans as well...

Hope you do not give up and find a new copter

 

[BrownsFan12]

Wow! That is a tremendous piece of art. Thanks for sharing it. It really inspires me to get back out there! That's exactly the kind of stuff I would like to learn to do. I will subcribe to your channel!

 

[MichiganMavic]

It’s a difficult question to answer, but if you see birds in groups around, just don’t fly.
Depending where you are, sometimes you have to just ascend, but if you’re low enough descend.
Even planning doesn’t work out because of panic from being in that situation. Best thing is to not panic ( easy to say)
I’ve had a drone taken down by just one bird too ( A big one at that, a Q5004K)
Your take aways have good points, so I’m not sure what can be added.
Hope you get another drone soon, it’s a great hobby [emoji106]

 

[afarkas]

Wow! That is a tremendous piece of art. Thanks for sharing it. It really inspires me to get back out there! That's exactly the kind of stuff I would like to learn to do. I will subcribe to your channel!

Oh, you are very kind...
But you know - for images like this you MUST fly over water
I take the risk, i think its woth of it
Thanks, wish you the bests

 

[FoxhallGH]

Great photo and sorry to hear of the consequences!
It's a bit like flying a fighter plane, you need to know what your opposition can do ... In this case, Geese can fly faster than you, and can probably dive faster than you, but;
- they will not be able to out-climb a Mavic
- they won't be able to out-turn a Mavic
- and if you get down to ground level, they won't want to go vertical to come down at you (but they will want to chase at low level).
Similar manouvre is required as a jet-fighter avoiding a SAM! Wait 'till the Goose gets close, then pull UP, at the same time as left rudder and aileron. That should leave the goose squarking and having to go round again! Meanwhile get down to ground level by continuing the left rudder & aileron - with max down! Just be very careful not to turn this into two sticks pulled down and in - otherwise, you'll emergency stop the motors and fall out of the sky!!

 

[BrownsFan12]

Great photo and sorry to hear of the consequences!
It's a bit like flying a fighter plane, you need to know what your opposition can do ... In this case, Geese can fly faster than you, and can probably dive faster than you, but;
- they will not be able to out-climb a Mavic
- they won't be able to out-turn a Mavic
- and if you get down to ground level, they won't want to go vertical to come down at you (but they will want to chase at low level).
Similar manouvre is required as a jet-fighter avoiding a SAM! Wait 'till the Goose gets close, then pull UP, at the same time as left rudder and aileron. That should leave the goose squarking and having to go round again! Meanwhile get down to ground level by continuing the left rudder & aileron - with max down! Just be very careful not to turn this into two sticks pulled down and in - otherwise, you'll emergency stop the motors and fall out of the sky!!

This is great. Thank you so much for posting. Everything you say here makes sense. Cheers!

 

[Rnl]

They say, go straight up not down.

 

[FoxhallGH]

They say, go straight up not down.

You've got to come down at some point - so in this case, you'll need to get down ASAP after the goose makes the pass - as it will be slowly turning about to get back to you. Geese aren't designed for rapid turns - they are the Oil-Tanker of the bird world when it comes to manouverability! My advice above comes from getting above and behind the Goose as fast as you can, so that you can then get down and away after it's passed you by. You are right tho' in pretty much all cases, going up is a major part of the avoid!!
Raptors are a different story. They are like fighter-planes ... They come in fast and turn on a dime. For those, you need sport-mode and fast ascent, with descents - when you get a chance to do it - in a fast spiral holding rudder and aileron to get the tightest turn i.e. don't descend in a straight, predictive vertical ... Birds don't do math, but they can work those intercept angles out in their heads like Cray super-computers.
In my opinion, you won't get one rule that works for all birds. You do need to understand how the birds you encounter fly. When I'm flying along our local river, I'm always making sure I have clear sky above, because if the drone gets chased by a Swan, I need to get up and away vertically ASAP - as those guys are fast when they flap across a surface, but they'll take a good 50 metres to get into the air.

 

[afarkas]

You've got to come down at some point - so in this case, you'll need to get down ASAP after the goose makes the pass - as it will be slowly turning about to get back to you. Geese aren't designed for rapid turns - they are the Oil-Tanker of the bird world when it comes to manouverability! My advice above comes from getting above and behind the Goose as fast as you can, so that you can then get down and away after it's passed you by. You are right tho' in pretty much all cases, going up is a major part of the avoid!!
Raptors are a different story. They are like fighter-planes ... They come in fast and turn on a dime. For those, you need sport-mode and fast ascent, with descents - when you get a chance to do it - in a fast spiral holding rudder and aileron to get the tightest turn i.e. don't descend in a straight, predictive vertical ... Birds don't do math, but they can work those intercept angles out in their heads like Cray super-computers.
In my opinion, you won't get one rule that works for all birds. You do need to understand how the birds you encounter fly. When I'm flying along our local river, I'm always making sure I have clear sky above, because if the drone gets chased by a Swan, I need to get up and away vertically ASAP - as those guys are fast when they flap across a surface, but they'll take a good 50 metres to get into the air.

Do swans attack drones?
One of swans that i filmed was very curious and followed the drone, but did not got airborne, it did swim after it...

 

[FoxhallGH]

Do swans attack drones?
One of swans that i filmed was very curious and followed the drone, but did not got airborne, it did swim after it...

Swans get awfully territorial spring & summer when they nest ... Around our way, if you kayak the river at that time of year (as everyone does!), you need to take a bag of bread bits to throw to distract them - but often you still have to push them off with a paddle! I've had one do his flap across the river at my Mavic when it was low level ... so I'm now very cautious.

 

[DanMc]

I recommend the DJI care for anybody that's just getting into these things. Your chances of a crash are greatest as you learn over the first year. After that, the risk shouldn't be so great.

 

[BD0G]

If I see birds - CLICK! Sport mode activated and climb. They cant catch my Mavic Pro in Sport Mode.

 

[dbyantis]

I recommend the DJI care for anybody that's just getting into these things. Your chances of a crash are greatest as you learn over the first year. After that, the risk shouldn't be so great.

But that only helps if you can recover the drone. Stuck in a swamp, DJI refresh is a waste of money. Get an addendum for Home Owners insurance for loss or stolen property.

 

[BD0G]

Or a Personal Articles Policy that insures just the drone from Statefarm.

 

[afarkas]

When does DJI plan to introduce Mavic 3 with intelligent and autonome AirToAir rockets, or at least machinegun?

Swans get awfully territorial spring & summer when they nest ... Around our way, if you kayak the river at that time of year (as everyone does!), you need to take a bag of bread bits to throw to distract them - but often you still have to push them off with a paddle! I've had one do his flap across the river at my Mavic when it was low level ... so I'm now very cautious.

 

[Possums]

When does DJI plan to introduce Mavic 3 with intelligent and autonome AirToAir rockets, or at least machinegun?

Revenge of the Mavics - Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

 

[JDawg]

Hi. This is my first post. I hope "general discussions" is the right place for this. I have been a photographer for many years and finally decided to make the leap into drones. Two weeks ago, I purchased a Mavid Pro 2 from my local DJI dealer who spent a lot of time with me getting everything up and running. Rather then just go out and fly on my own immediately, I did a week of my own "ground training" watching videos, reading, and trying to prepare as well as possible for the contingencies that I might face. So on Saturday, the weather finally cleared and I dared to take to the air. The attached photo clip is from my first video the last video that this drone will ever take.

So, for anyone (like me) that is new to drones, what did I learn here?

1) I knew that there were geese in the area but I was going with the "big sky little bullet theory". That's probably reasonable in certain situations, but we are entering into mating season, so I think their behavior is more aggressive. These geese deviated from a flight path almost half a kilometer away, and my gut tells me that this was not a coincidence. They were coming after the drone. So in addition to NOT flying where there are a lot of geese, be aware of the season and how the season could effect behavior.

2) Not sure if you can tell in the video, but it went down in a swamp. My unsuccessful recovery efforts are worth telling in separate post, but I digress. The point I want to make is that if you don't HAVE to fly over water, or otherwise inaccessible area, then just don't.

3) I have a new appreciation of why you don't fly a drone near people or private property. This flight was perfectly legal without anyone around, but had I been 25 feet away from people at 100-200 feet, this impact could have resulted in someone getting hurt.

OK. Those are my take-aways. I will get another drone once I process everything and save some some money.

For those of you more experienced than me, what do you do if you see birds nearby like this? My immediate response was just to keep the drone in place and not attract their attention. Obvisouly, that didn't work for me. Now I wonder if I should have dropped altitude....got closer to the ground.

Cheers!

Great picture! As BDOG said, sport mode then straight up.

 

[Cymruflyer]

Hi. This is my first post. I hope "general discussions" is the right place for this. I have been a photographer for many years and finally decided to make the leap into drones. Two weeks ago, I purchased a Mavid Pro 2 from my local DJI dealer who spent a lot of time with me getting everything up and running. Rather then just go out and fly on my own immediately, I did a week of my own "ground training" watching videos, reading, and trying to prepare as well as possible for the contingencies that I might face. So on Saturday, the weather finally cleared and I dared to take to the air. The attached photo clip is from my first video the last video that this drone will ever take.

So, for anyone (like me) that is new to drones, what did I learn here?

1) I knew that there were geese in the area but I was going with the "big sky little bullet theory". That's probably reasonable in certain situations, but we are entering into mating season, so I think their behavior is more aggressive. These geese deviated from a flight path almost half a kilometer away, and my gut tells me that this was not a coincidence. They were coming after the drone. So in addition to NOT flying where there are a lot of geese, be aware of the season and how the season could effect behavior.

2) Not sure if you can tell in the video, but it went down in a swamp. My unsuccessful recovery efforts are worth telling in separate post, but I digress. The point I want to make is that if you don't HAVE to fly over water, or otherwise inaccessible area, then just don't.

3) I have a new appreciation of why you don't fly a drone near people or private property. This flight was perfectly legal without anyone around, but had I been 25 feet away from people at 100-200 feet, this impact could have resulted in someone getting hurt.

OK. Those are my take-aways. I will get another drone once I process everything and save some some money.

For those of you more experienced than me, what do you do if you see birds nearby like this? My immediate response was just to keep the drone in place and not attract their attention. Obvisouly, that didn't work for me. Now I wonder if I should have dropped altitude....got closer to the ground.

Cheers!

Birds can not climb fast, they can dive fast, but not climb. If you are ever in such a situation that you see them coming for you, as they get close, just climb quickly, straight up, then fly away from them and drop down as quickly as possible and then get back home on the ground.

I have flown a lot around geese this year and not once have I see them deviate course towards me or come and attack. Here is a shot I took of myself, as I hovered overhead and the geese, by pure luck, flew underneath the drone, but not too far below, when you see their size.

Could it be that they were diverting anyway and maybe did not see your drone? That's me below next to my vehicle.

Good luck saving and don't give up.

 

[BrownsFan12]

Revenge of the Mavics - Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

That's awesome!