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Drone in tree 100' up

steelguy49

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Unfortunately, today my drone decide to land on the very top of a tree 100 feet up! I called a local tree company that has a crane and they are willing to provide the crane and a climber for $500 I cannot do the work until tomorrow afternoon, but want an answer from me this eveing so they can plan tomorrow's schedule. The dilemma is we are supposed to start getting overnight snowing which will turn to rain tomorrow.

Alternatively, I did get DJI insurance when I bought the drone and spoke to someone there and filed a case number. The woman explained that their data analysis team would do a review and then get back to me with their findings. Assuming that they will replace it, does anyone anyone know the cost? Is it a simple discount on the new drone purchase or is it a full refund for replacement. She told me that if it blows if it falls from the tree and has sustained damage either from the elements or fall, or both, it can be sent back to them for repair. I asked her what cost might be associated with that and she said it was minimal, but could not be really quoted until they examined the drone.

I'd appreciate any advice as to what I do what I should do. Please keep in mind, time is of the essence if I am going to hire a tree company. What would you do?!
 
@steelguy49 you dont say which drone you have, but honestly if it is only a Mavic Mini then is it worth spending $500 on trying to retrieve it from the tree, you could get just a replacement drone for less than that
 
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Look at completed listings for Mavic 2 Zooms on ebay etc., $500 seems to be getting a bit close to second hand prices (UK )
dji mavic 2 (zoom,pro) | eBay
especially when a UK flymore went for £629.

Do you know what damage there currently is, I guess not but........
Would any necessary repairs be DIY.
I tree'd mine and it had a hard 50ft fall onto a boat hull.
Damage, front nose cone crumpled £5ish, left rear arm and motor replaced £35ish, the gimbal carrier was broken but I did a DIY repair on that but a replacement would have been £20 to £30 at the time, bent front left arm pivot, I straighten it but new would have been £8 for a pair, front sensors £70ish but I am not certain whether they were damaged (ribbon cable nicked) in the crash or during my opening the shell, I don't remember what props were damaged.
I suspect that most of the damage was caused when the drone hit the boat, I heard and I am functionally deaf.
This was all DIY
 
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Thanks for the replies. Hard to say what damage there might be, but pretty gently landed on the very tiptop on small branches at the center of the tree. Battery was at 25% when I tried taking off a number of times but, although props partially spun, controller message said something about "failed takeoff due to tilt". I'm guessing nothing more than maybe broken props. If it does blow loose, probably going to hit limbs and hopefully leaves on the ground, or, driveway asphalt which would not be a good thing!
 
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I got a mini1 stuck about 50-60ft up a tree and tried various ideas to get it down. Success came from pushing multiple lengths of 1x2" timber screwed together up between the branches and "poking" the drone out of its "nest". I joined several lengths together on the ground and lifted this up vertically against the tree. Much longer than this and the pole assembly became too bendy to lift up to a vertical position. I then pushed the pole up further into the tree and screwed a new length onto the bottom end of the pole so it got longer and longer, until I could reach where the drone was.

The drone was outside in all weathers, including a couple of good downpours. All that was needed after getting it down was a fresh battery - no water damage noted, after fully disassembling it and inspecting the circuit boards/motors etc. This was over 18mths ago and the same drone still flies perfectly today.

edit: There's a few photos of the rescue mission in this old thread: Are there only few hours to find lost MM ?
 
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My Mav 3 diverted during RTH into a cable and survived the trip home. Damage was limited to a single motor replacement and I was offered the option of immediate shipment of replacement drone under the "refresh" program for $159 or repair at a very modest $15 for the motor and $60 for the labor. I chose the repair option and received a "new drone" 5 days after my payment. The online RMA process was very convenient.
 
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I backed my Mavic Pro 1 into a tree about 4 years ago. The crane cost me $300. Other than a little prop damage, the drone was good to go. Here's the video:
 
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Unfortunately, today my drone decide to land on the very top of a tree 100 feet up! I called a local tree company that has a crane and they are willing to provide the crane and a climber for $500 I cannot do the work until tomorrow afternoon, but want an answer from me this eveing so they can plan tomorrow's schedule. The dilemma is we are supposed to start getting overnight snowing which will turn to rain tomorrow.

Alternatively, I did get DJI insurance when I bought the drone and spoke to someone there and filed a case number. The woman explained that their data analysis team would do a review and then get back to me with their findings. Assuming that they will replace it, does anyone anyone know the cost? Is it a simple discount on the new drone purchase or is it a full refund for replacement. She told me that if it blows if it falls from the tree and has sustained damage either from the elements or fall, or both, it can be sent back to them for repair. I asked her what cost might be associated with that and she said it was minimal, but could not be really quoted until they examined the drone.

I'd appreciate any advice as to what I do what I should do. Please keep in mind, time is of the essence if I am going to hire a tree company. What would you do?!
Use another drone to pick up yours.
 
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