Mini Droning Disaster and Recovery at Fish Lake, Yukon

[PBDawg]

I put together this narrated instructional/warning video to tell the sad tale of what can happen when you ignore a propeller warning message! The video explains how I lost my Mavic Mini, and then how I managed to locate and retrieve it hours later.

Here is the location of the place where the incident occurred, on Google Maps: 60°39'07.1"N 135°14'40.0"W

 

[vindibona1]

Such an interesting narrative. I watched the whole thing, which underscores what an interesting presentation you've made.

Early on I discovered that the Mini's props are delicate and there are multiple things that could cause them to become imperfect and cause problems. This story underscores the importance of not messing around. If in doubt, just replace them all straight away.I also discovered the importance of insuring them for all-risk loss or damage. I just insured my M2P via State Farm (who covers my homeowners policy) for $60 and the Mini is only a $25 add-on which I am adding on as I type this.

 

[RockyMtns]

Vindibona1......thanks for the heads up regarding insuring through a convention insurance company. Had never considered that possibility.
In which Democratic People's Republic state is Cook County located?

 

[TomSull]

Great video, excellent narrative, informative and engaging, thanks!

 

[Squidinc]

Never before have I seen a more interesting video on the forum as yours explaining the entire crash & recovery process that you detailed. Great job all round in presenting it as well! ??

 

[rhberg]

Thanks for the educational and interesting video.

 

[PBDawg]

Great video, excellent narrative, informative and engaging, thanks!

Thank you TomSull. I'm so glad that you enjoyed it.

 

[PBDawg]

Never before have I seen a more interesting video on the forum as yours explaining the entire crash & recovery process that you detailed. Great job all round in presenting it as well! ??

Wow! Thank you so much Squidinc. Your positive feedback and encouragement are greatly appreciated.

 

[PBDawg]

Thanks for the educational and interesting video.

Your comment is very much appreciated. Thank you rhberg.

 

[Topwind]

This is the clearest, most wonderfully helpful video I have seen on such a recovery. As a Mini pilot, I am always worried about losing it, even when being as conservative as possible in choosing flying conditions. Believing the best mantra is not "IF" a drone is lost, but "WHEN", I have put this video in a file I can refer back to, should the stars align against my drone! Thank you for your incredibly informative presentation. It should go viral for all mini pilots!

 

[Zbip57]

I like happy endings.

See this thread for an explanation of why the props are going bad, particularly always the left-rear.
mavicpilots.com/threads/propeller-guards.99882/

Also here:
Motor Speed or Propeller Speed Error - How to avoid.
forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=227318

 

[PBDawg]

This is the clearest, most wonderfully helpful video I have seen on such a recovery. As a Mini pilot, I am always worried about losing it, even when being as conservative as possible in choosing flying conditions. Believing the best mantra is not "IF" a drone is lost, but "WHEN", I have put this video in a file I can refer back to, should the stars align against my drone! Thank you for your incredibly informative presentation. It should go viral for all mini pilots!

Thank you so much Topwind. When I put the video together, my hope was that a couple of people might get a small benefit from it. Your level of appreciation is far greater than I had ever expected! I am honored and humbled by your kind words!

 

[PBDawg]

I like happy endings.

See this thread for an explanation of why the props are going bad, particularly always the left-rear.
mavicpilots.com/threads/propeller-guards.99882/

Also here:
Motor Speed or Propeller Speed Error - How to avoid.
forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=227318

Thank you for sharing these excellent explanations. I especially like the work that you put into the thread on the DJI forum. Your diagrams illustrated the problem perfectly!

 

[Harro]

Very informative and well presented, kept my interest throughout!

 

[PBDawg]

Very informative and well presented, kept my interest throughout!

Thank you Harro for watching (especially all the way to the end)!

 

[Crouching Leopard]

Compelling watching! Had to see it through to the end. Glad you got your drone back. The final clip at the end brought back memories of my searching for my own mini whilst it was recording me looking for it around the base of a very high tree it was stuck in. Also of the outside aircon unit and white wall of a house 1.5 kilometers away where it landed after being blown off course by a sudden high-speed gust of wind which rendered all control attempts useless. The last instance was useful because all the other houses had normal brick-colored walls so I searched for the white house as well as used "find my drone". Everyone will be in that situation at some point so your video is well worth keeping in a folder, which I have done. Great stuff!

 

[PBDawg]

Compelling watching! Had to see it through to the end. Glad you got your drone back. The final clip at the end brought back memories of my searching for my own mini whilst it was recording me looking for it around the base of a very high tree it was stuck in. Also of the outside aircon unit and white wall of a house 1.5 kilometers away where it landed after being blown off course by a sudden high-speed gust of wind which rendered all control attempts useless. The last instance was useful because all the other houses had normal brick-colored walls so I searched for the white house as well as used "find my drone". Everyone will be in that situation at some point so your video is well worth keeping in a folder, which I have done. Great stuff!

Glad you made it all the way to the end of the video! I can totally picture the story that you related and I'm happy that your story also ended well. It must have been kind of surreal to see the video of yourself searching for your Mini. Thank you for your story and your compliments.

 

[Gagey52]

Picked up some good tips from that video, much appreciated.

 

[PBDawg]

Picked up some good tips from that video, much appreciated.

Thank you Gagey52. I'm glad that you gained something from watching.