Death of a Mavic 2 Pro

[dioscuriII]

Very interesting read from wikipedia. I am not sure that was what happened, (could be). There was definitely turbulent air all around me. In tripod mode, my Mavic 2 Pro could not recover in time to avoid the rock wall as the wind moved me sideways in less than a couple of seconds. Side sensors did not respond in time. I was in tripod mode to slow down any side movement as I came out of the chute. Did not happen!

Tripod Mode was surely the culprit with those darn drafts in stopping the recovery.

 

[Kaydet]

Your YouTube footage is pretty spectacular!

 

[bumper]

If you've ever watched a smoke ring rising closely, on a small scale is displays an interesting dynamic. As the ring goes up the air rotates from within the ring, up, over the top, down the outside, under and back up the center of the "doughnut" - repeat. In nature, this can occur on a much larger scale. When a glider is approaching the rising air of a thermal, there will often be strong sink (the air going down the outside of the "doughnut") before entering the rising air (where we like to circle!). Conversely, a rain shaft, like the waterfall, entrains the air and forces it downward. This can cause a violent downdraft with an equally violent updraft just outside the downdraft (the doughnut effect in reverse), and the probable cause of the turbulence you encountered.

 

[Lee Peachey Productions]

If you've ever watched a smoke ring rising closely, on a small scale is displays an interesting dynamic. As the ring goes up the air rotates from within the ring, up, over the top, down the outside, under and back up the center of the "doughnut" - repeat. In nature, this can occur on a much larger scale. When a glider is approaching the rising air of a thermal, there will often be strong sink (the air going down the outside of the "doughnut") before entering the rising air (where we like to circle!). Conversely, a rain shaft, like the waterfall, entrains the air and forces it downward. This can cause a violent downdraft with an equally violent updraft just outside the downdraft (the doughnut effect in reverse), and the probable cause of the turbulence you encountered.

I think that is probably what happened when I flew Wolf Creek Falls the first time. I flew into a doughnut hole! In Tripod mode, I did not have enough power to pull out of the downdraft. I flew this falls again in Sport mode, (with a new Mavic 2 Pro) and made it back to my Home point successfully. I will post the successful flight on this forum soon, in the video section. In the meantime, you can see the results on YouTube, (Lee Peachey Productions). By the way, flying in Sport Mode in a tight spot with very little GPS made things a little twitchy!