i lost my drone in a tree, 76 feet up in a tree, help!

[Bad Santa]

How about a JR crossbow with a line attached? Be respectful of the neighbors but could that work? But then there're the worry over a 75 ft drop too.

First off, I got my mini 4 pro stuck in a tree within seconds of taking off from it's first flight. Cost $600 for a tree service truck to get it down for me. Almost not worth it.

So, I went through the gamut on possibilities.

My two solutions (after I had already paid the $600) was:
I know some arrows have a small hole on the back to attach a line. Use one of those with some string to get near the drone and then after the arrow passes past the drone you should be able to retrieve it, replace the arrow with a hook of some sort, and pull it back to shake the tree and hopefully dislodge the drone.

Second option was similar but using a fishing pole and a treble hook. You'd end up leaving a treble hook in the tree and probably some fishing line but as long as it's away from kids, who cares?
Just cast the line up to the area near the drone and shake it like there's a Salmon fighting you.

 

[BossBob]

I’m not a fan of the “leave a treble hook and fishing line in a tree”. Yes it’s just one hook and a length of line in just one tree, BUT, they all count.
Better to get the weight on a piece of cord that tree surgeons use to haul up their climbing line. Lob it over a nearby branch, shake the tree, then hopefully retrieve both drone and line to be used another day.

 

[djwak59]

I know you can buy a weighted line at some home improvement stores in the yard tool section. Tree trimmers use them to snag branches so that they can control the descent of the branches as they’re cut down. Check out some YouTube vids how they do it. Just an idea. Good luck.

 

[Cafguy]

Not to make light of your loss BUT Could we get a pic of the Tree after you have thrown all that stuff into it?
The best solution I have found is using another Drone with a Treble hook to Grab the Drones Arm and pull it away.
Chances of losing that Drone is pretty good tho. Fly Carefully!!

 

[Dogpilot]

Mini 4 Pro are just a lot of fun and after you mount that mini gun on there, very functional. Figures the birds would pick the 3rd floor, what did you do to piss them off.

“Abandon housing project”, are you talking low income and federal money or customs? Of course, now the leins are going to roll in. You’ve got my curiosity up, are you inspecting percentage building completions for the banks?

The housing project was high end, 4500 sq foot jobs. Some would say the economy is to blame. Who knows, they walked off the job around 10 of these high end homes on the edge of the forest here.

These birds are on crack, ADD to the max. Aside from the occasional pecking of holes in your home, they like to peck on the metal flashing around your chimney, at machine gun speeds. Apparently it is a mating thing, females like the noise and swoon over it. Great at 6:00am.

Here is a thought, get one of these bird brains to peck on the branch of the tree holding the drone.

Instead of a crossbow, a wrist rocket slingshot is good to get a weight up to the branch and they are cheap at Big 5.

Here is one that chose a tree over my house:

 

[Bsnyder]

I heard someone who had the same problem they used plastic electric conduit, they put the conduit together as they went up into the tree, it took several attempts but were finally able to get the conduit into the right place and dislodge the drone.

 

[RodPad]

Hum

March 25th first and last post from the op.

Rod ..

 

[TonyPHX]

I would take the tree down. There is only one acceptable solution to this problem. Remove the offending tree.

 

[Rchawks]

"Hey Oak Tree Get Out of my Way! lol

 

[tstr14]

OP seems to be a "one hit wonder". Nevertheless, in his search for "creative ideas" I offer these.

1). A couple pounds of C4 placed under the root structure.
2). Sling-shot a dwarf into the tree.
3). Bend the tree over using a very large tow truck.
4). Jet powered pogo stick.
5). Train a falcon to retrieve.
6). Rent a helicopter and have him dangle you within reach of the drone.
7). High powered rifle to take out the branch it is caught on.
8). Contact Spiderman.

You're welcome.

 

[High_Order1]

He may be gone, but the ideas live on!

This is the ultimate way to toss a hook way up to shake it out:
Can Cannon ® Line Launcher - Can Cannon by X Products

There are also designs for air powered ones and other styles as well, if you poke around the US amateur radio community.

I myself have been cogitating on another issue, might as well share it here.

Kids live next door. They lose their sports toys all the time. Some go in a large steep ditch that floods when it rains.

Certainly, I can toss a ladder down there, but... I have a sUAS now.

I have been looking at claws, but I don't think the a2s will lift one big enough to get a soccer ball.

In my head, I have been thinking about making something like a weighted fishing net. Drop it over the ball, yank it closed and up with a lightweight tag line. My buddy suggests dropping a crossbow bolt; the point of this is to retrieve the kids' toys unharmed LOL

 

[Dogpilot]

If anyone wants to get really elaborate, here are dozens of 3D printer drone claw designs.
Drone Claw

 

[BlueHeeler]

Hum

March 25th first and last post from the op.

Rod ..

His location is about a hour from me, and unfortunately, the trees around here are about to go green which would hinder
his recovery efforts, doesn't help him by not coming back to answer questions, folks here are always eager to lend a hand.

 

[High_Order1]

Perhaps he is presently occupied teaching the squirrels the use of rudimentary recovery gear?

 

[Benjo75]

I'm an arborist. Been climbing for 31 years professionally. Have 3 bucket trucks sitting in my yard. Have done seversl drone rescues. Usually right after Christmas when they get a new drone as a gift and have never flown or tried to learn how to fly beforehand. Strangest case was a doctor who had his $3k drone 100 ft in a tree. While getting it down I noticed a sack hanging from the bottom of the drone. This was before I had ever flown a drone. I thought he might have hit the Wal Mart sack mid air, got tangled up and crashed. Nope. Got it down and it had 2 diapers and baby powder in it and it was tied to the landing gear. Turns out his in laws were keeping his baby for the night and ran out of diapers. He decides to fly them over at night in a very wooded area. Didn't make it out of his own yard. I would have expected something like that out of someone like me. But this guy was a doctor.

If I couldn't climb trees or didn't have bucket trucks at my disposal and my drone was in a tree I'd use a throwbag and make several attempts to knock it loose. This is an 8 to 16 ounce bag tied to a small line that is usually 200 ft long. It takes practice to become proficient at hitting a target with it. You can hit a fork higher than the drone and as the weight comes back down, get it to swinging and hit it that way. You could also hit a fork or limb higher than the drone, let the bag fall back to the ground, tie something like the head of a rake or something wide to it. Also tie another line on to the bag while it's at the ground. Pull the bag back up to the height of the drone then pull both ends of the line and manipulate the bag or rake and try to swing it in to the drone.

I know that sounds complicated but dedicate a couple hours to figuring out how to hit it with something and it would be cheaper than hiring a climber. Or renting a lift.

 

[Mrktn]

I'm an arborist. Been climbing for 31 years professionally. Have 3 bucket trucks sitting in my yard. Have done seversl drone rescues. Usually right after Christmas when they get a new drone as a gift and have never flown or tried to learn how to fly beforehand. Strangest case was a doctor who had his $3k drone 100 ft in a tree. While getting it down I noticed a sack hanging from the bottom of the drone. This was before I had ever flown a drone. I thought he might have hit the Wal Mart sack mid air, got tangled up and crashed. Nope. Got it down and it had 2 diapers and baby powder in it and it was tied to the landing gear. Turns out his in laws were keeping his baby for the night and ran out of diapers. He decides to fly them over at night in a very wooded area. Didn't make it out of his own yard. I would have expected something like that out of someone like me. But this guy was a doctor.

If I couldn't climb trees or didn't have bucket trucks at my disposal and my drone was in a tree I'd use a throwbag and make several attempts to knock it loose. This is an 8 to 16 ounce bag tied to a small line that is usually 200 ft long. It takes practice to become proficient at hitting a target with it. You can hit a fork higher than the drone and as the weight comes back down, get it to swinging and hit it that way. You could also hit a fork or limb higher than the drone, let the bag fall back to the ground, tie something like the head of a rake or something wide to it. Also tie another line on to the bag while it's at the ground. Pull the bag back up to the height of the drone then pull both ends of the line and manipulate the bag or rake and try to swing it in to the drone.

I know that sounds complicated but dedicate a couple hours to figuring out how to hit it with something and it would be cheaper than hiring a climber. Or renting a lift.

Got it down and it had 2 diapers and baby powder in it and it was tied to the landing gear. Turns out his in laws were keeping his baby for the night and ran out of diapers. He decides to fly them over at night in a very wooded area. Didn't make it out of his own yard. I would have expected something like that out of someone like me. But this guy was a doctor.

you couldn’t make it up could you? Sorry I had to laugh. Thanks for sharing

 

[tstr14]

Got it down and it had 2 diapers and baby powder in it and it was tied to the landing gear. Turns out his in laws were keeping his baby for the night and ran out of diapers. He decides to fly them over at night in a very wooded area. Didn't make it out of his own yard. I would have expected something like that out of someone like me. But this guy was a doctor.

you couldn’t make it up could you? Sorry I had to laugh. Thanks for sharing

At least they were clean diapers!

 

[Benjo75]

Definitely couldn't make it up. Lol. Yeah glad they were clean. I guess he never thought about how he'd land. He was doomed to crash either way.

 

[Mrktn]

At least they were clean diapers!

Would have made it easier to find if they were not

 

[BlueHeeler]

I'm an arborist. Been climbing for 31 years professionally. Have 3 bucket trucks sitting in my yard. Have done seversl drone rescues. Usually right after Christmas when they get a new drone as a gift and have never flown or tried to learn how to fly beforehand. Strangest case was a doctor who had his $3k drone 100 ft in a tree. While getting it down I noticed a sack hanging from the bottom of the drone. This was before I had ever flown a drone. I thought he might have hit the Wal Mart sack mid air, got tangled up and crashed. Nope. Got it down and it had 2 diapers and baby powder in it and it was tied to the landing gear. Turns out his in laws were keeping his baby for the night and ran out of diapers. He decides to fly them over at night in a very wooded area. Didn't make it out of his own yard. I would have expected something like that out of someone like me. But this guy was a doctor.

If I couldn't climb trees or didn't have bucket trucks at my disposal and my drone was in a tree I'd use a throwbag and make several attempts to knock it loose. This is an 8 to 16 ounce bag tied to a small line that is usually 200 ft long. It takes practice to become proficient at hitting a target with it. You can hit a fork higher than the drone and as the weight comes back down, get it to swinging and hit it that way. You could also hit a fork or limb higher than the drone, let the bag fall back to the ground, tie something like the head of a rake or something wide to it. Also tie another line on to the bag while it's at the ground. Pull the bag back up to the height of the drone then pull both ends of the line and manipulate the bag or rake and try to swing it in to the drone.

I know that sounds complicated but dedicate a couple hours to figuring out how to hit it with something and it would be cheaper than hiring a climber. Or renting a lift.

That's a new one ! ( to me anyway )