Just broke my Mavic on the first day!

[Mavoz]

Well I have successfully done it...broken my Mavic Pro on the first day...from a height of about 3 feet!
It was completely my own fault.....

I'd actually achieved a safe maiden flight.... then put the kids to bed...

Then decided to learn how to use the camera....thought to myself....this baby flies up so safely and evenly...it doesn't matter that there isn't much space here.....I'll just pop it up and straight back down....

I took off....it proceeded to slide sideways....I couldn't get it to hover still....tried to catch if before it slammed into something...partly cut my hand...the Drone dropped 2 feet..and now the Gimble won't calibrate and gives a Gimble error....

One day..and one dead Mavic Pro Camera gimble! Was not the wisest thing I've ever done...that is for sure!

 

[OzoneVibe]

You aren't the first, and won't be the last, to achieve the same result on day one.

 

[CyberNate]

Well I have successfully done it...broken my Mavic Pro on the first day...from a height of about 3 feet!
It was completely my own fault.....

I'd actually achieved a safe maiden flight.... then put the kids to bed...

Then decided to learn how to use the camera....thought to myself....this baby flies up so safely and evenly...it doesn't matter that there isn't much space here.....I'll just pop it up and straight back down....

I took off....it proceeded to slide sideways....I couldn't get it to hover still....tried to catch if before it slammed into something...partly cut my hand...the Drone dropped 2 feet..and now the Gimble won't calibrate and gives a Gimble error....

One day..and one dead Mavic Pro Camera gimble! Was not the wisest thing I've ever done...that is for sure!

You were trying to fly at night. The problem with that is the lack of light for the downward vision sensors to track the ground. It'll fly at night, but you need more space and need to be ready to counteract movement with the right stick.

Start a repair case with DJI. It shouldn't cost too much. The part I don't like about their repair service is that they will replace your new Mavic with a refurbished one. The new Mavic is better than the older refurbished ones.

Another option, have a third party repair it that is authorized by DJI to make repairs. I think @Thunderdrones is authorized.

 

[Divine_Madcat]

While my gimble survived, i basically did the exact same thing my first night with it. Cleared the living room, took it off. Made the mistake of fiddling trying to get it into tripod mode, all the while it is drifting left. By the time i notice, it has gone too far, and nails the office chair. Every prop was destroyed (doh), though thankfully the camera lives.

So while i know it cant make you feel better, you certainly join a hallowed hall and are not alone in it. I am sorry you have to deal with added cost right away (or exchanging units, etc).

I do feel that advertising the drone indoors is a bit of a misnomer. You can do it, and more so in a big house. But it is certainly not for beginners, and takes careful stick control to do safely.

 

[Bunny Too]

Well I have successfully done it...broken my Mavic Pro on the first day...from a height of about 3 feet!
It was completely my own fault.....

I'd actually achieved a safe maiden flight.... then put the kids to bed...

Then decided to learn how to use the camera....thought to myself....this baby flies up so safely and evenly...it doesn't matter that there isn't much space here.....I'll just pop it up and straight back down....

I took off....it proceeded to slide sideways....I couldn't get it to hover still....tried to catch if before it slammed into something...partly cut my hand...the Drone dropped 2 feet..and now the Gimble won't calibrate and gives a Gimble error....

One day..and one dead Mavic Pro Camera gimble! Was not the wisest thing I've ever done...that is for sure!

Howdy from Wyoming Mavoz, welcome to the community, plenty of fine folk and excellent information here. I am sorry to hear of your loss, I do not believe it is an expensive fix and I am sure someone here can help you out.

 

[CyberNate]

Howdy from Wyoming Mavoz, welcome to the community, plenty of fine folk and excellent information here. I am sorry to hear of your loss, I do not believe it is an expensive fix and I am sure someone here can help you out.

If the gimbal fails to move, he likely needs a ribbon cable, which is not so easy to install.

 

[Mavoz]

Thanks guys...I actually expected a barrage of 'How could you be so dumb!' statements...which would have been fully deserved mind you!

Anyway the interesting thing is I might have dodged a bullet.......I just watched a couple of videos on this Gimbal issue...did a few gentle rotations...pressed and prodded a couple of the ways the Gimble is supported...shut down..restarted...held my tongue on a 45 degree angle....and now with a restart it is not giving me an error anymore...the Gimble does seem a bit 'shuddery' inside it's housing..but I'm not sure if that is normal behaviour or not?

So the long and short....it might be broken..it might not...I am definitely waiting until I've got about 3 kilometres of open country and daylight hours around me next time that is for sure...I've learned my lesson! Despite how eager you may be to try this Drone out...do not under any circumstances fly this without a massive safety buffer...and definitely not indoors!

 

[Afremont]

If you've had it less than 48 hours, you may want to invest in their care refresh plan. Even if you don't get this covered, far worse things could happen. Welcome to the club, I broke my gimbal completely off. You probably have a small tear in the ribbon cable somewhere. If you still get good video, that's possibly all that will need replaced. It's a $15 part, but the labor looks a little intimidating. For someone that has experience replacing them, it takes less than an hour.

 

[Bergumbira]

While my gimble survived, i basically did the exact same thing my first night with it. Cleared the living room, took it off. Made the mistake of fiddling trying to get it into tripod mode, all the while it is drifting left. By the time i notice, it has gone too far, and nails the office chair. Every prop was destroyed (doh), though thankfully the camera lives.

So while i know it cant make you feel better, you certainly join a hallowed hall and are not alone in it. I am sorry you have to deal with added cost right away (or exchanging units, etc).

I do feel that advertising the drone indoors is a bit of a misnomer. You can do it, and more so in a big house. But it is certainly not for beginners, and takes careful stick control to do safely.

Sorry to tell but a living room, cleared or not, is really not a flying area for a drone like a mavic. Unless you are several months already piloting this exactly drone... And you have a real need to fly it there and then.
I still never flew inside after 10 months experience and I promised myself to not do it and not in smaller place than a sport gymnasium like for basketball or tennis with 10 meters + height ceiling ... And having a good reason to fly it there.

What happened to you, I call that the Christmas Tree Syndrome. Unpacking and starting anything without a minimum of thinking. You was exactly like trying to ride a wild horse, who never being with anyone on his back, in a stable of bedroom size.
I can't be compassionate, neither laughing at you. I'm just puzzled and stunned how people can behave.
The mavic is an eagle, not a mosquitoe, he can fly by 5 km high and 7 km away at maximum speed of 65 kms/hour.
How can you take off in a living room?
Maybe you get it for free, maybe you even don't want it, it was a gift... We back to the Christmas Tree Syndrome... Unpack & play

 

[Ebonicus]

Dark indoor flight results in no vision assisted stability, this drift will likely get you in trouble if you dont have flight skills yet.

Fly outdoors, in clear open spaces first.

 

[Divine_Madcat]

Sorry to tell but a living room, cleared or not, is really not a flying area for a drone like a mavic. Unless you are several months already piloting this exactly drone... And you have a real need to fly it there and then.
I still never flew inside after 10 months experience and I promised myself to not do it and not in smaller place than a sport gymnasium like for basketball or tennis with 10 meters + height ceiling ... And having a good reason to fly it there.

What happened to you, I call that the Christmas Tree Syndrome. Unpacking and starting anything without a minimum of thinking. You was exactly like trying to ride a wild horse, who never being with anyone on his back, in a stable of bedroom size.
I can't be compassionate, neither laughing at you. I'm just puzzled and stunned how people can behave.
The mavic is an eagle, not a mosquitoe, he can fly by 5 km high and 7 km away at maximum speed of 65 kms/hour.
How can you take off in a living room?
Maybe you get it for free, maybe you even don't want it, it was a gift... We back to the Christmas Tree Syndrome... Unpack & play

While i certainly am not looking for compassion (I wasn't the OP, and my bird did survive the impact), i do have to point out that indoor, living room flying is sanctioned and advertised by DJI themselves:
https://store.dji.com/product/mavic-pro

Mavic Manual:

With the help of the Downward Vision System, your Mavic Pro can hover in place more precisely
and fly indoors or in other environments where a GPS signal is not available.

...

Using the Downward Vision System
The Downward Vision System is activated automatically when the aircraft is turned on. No further
action is required. The Downward Vision System is typically used in indoor environments where
GPS is unavailable. Using the Downward Vision System, the aircraft can hover precisely even without GPS

Now.. i do like your analogy. I bought the drone that night, and it was like a kid at Christmas. I had to play with it. And given that DJI said it can fly precisely indoors, i figured i would give it a shot. Lesson learned.

 

[4wd]

While i certainly am not looking for compassion (I wasn't the OP, and my bird did survive the impact), i do have to point out that indoor, living room flying is sanctioned and advertised by DJI themselves

It's a brightly lit room with contrasty objects for the VPS to latch on to though.
It's those late evening moments that will catch you out

 

[JManges]

Thanks guys...I actually expected a barrage of 'How could you be so dumb!' statements...which would have been fully deserved mind you!

Anyway the interesting thing is I might have dodged a bullet.......I just watched a couple of videos on this Gimbal issue...did a few gentle rotations...pressed and prodded a couple of the ways the Gimble is supported...shut down..restarted...held my tongue on a 45 degree angle....and now with a restart it is not giving me an error anymore...the Gimble does seem a bit 'shuddery' inside it's housing..but I'm not sure if that is normal behaviour or not?

So the long and short....it might be broken..it might not...I am definitely waiting until I've got about 3 kilometres of open country and daylight hours around me next time that is for sure...I've learned my lesson! Despite how eager you may be to try this Drone out...do not under any circumstances fly this without a massive safety buffer...and definitely not indoors!

I did something like you described on either the first or second day. Like you I had camera issues and discovered the camera had come loose from it's mount. Anyhow, probably watched the same videos you did and got the camera where it belongs. Been several months now and haven't had an issue with it since. Guessing you are probably good to go now.

 

[MrMavic]

I'm really sorry to hear about your crash on the first flight. And Cudos to your good attitude and not blaming DJI.
Tripod mode makes it a lot easier to fly indoors, but I'm not willing to take the risk. Here's a pretty good video on flying indoors. He mentions setting the RTH to hover, which makes good sense in a way, but on another note, why would the controller disconnect from the bird 10 feet away? Still not a bad idea though just in case there's a software or hardware connection problem between RC and Bird.
He also disables the Forward sensors which would be necessary unless you have one huge house, or in a gym or other large building. The Mavic should be using the floor and furniture for position holding in this case.

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[Mavoz]

Hi All...it's funny how for 2 months leading up to purchase I told myself that I would only fly this thing with a massive safety barrier...and yet....at the crucial moment...like some kind of transfixed moth...I fired those motors up inside!! Spent the whole night shaking my head...thinking 'What on earth was I thinking!'

Anyway the good news...I think I 'may' have got away with this....the Drone took off this morning perfectly...I also managed to get the camera to tilt down while in flight...there are no error reports.

It actually only dropped from a height of about a metre.....so hopefully it was just case of the gimble being slightly unseated....

Trouble is I'm so new to the Drone I don't even know how to use it properly...or test if something is or isn't working!

Will try tonight! Thanks all...appreciate the compassion!

 

[Timster1973]

While my gimble survived, i basically did the exact same thing my first night with it. Cleared the living room, took it off. Made the mistake of fiddling trying to get it into tripod mode, all the while it is drifting left. By the time i notice, it has gone too far, and nails the office chair. Every prop was destroyed (doh), though thankfully the camera lives.

So while i know it cant make you feel better, you certainly join a hallowed hall and are not alone in it. I am sorry you have to deal with added cost right away (or exchanging units, etc).

I do feel that advertising the drone indoors is a bit of a misnomer. You can do it, and more so in a big house. But it is certainly not for beginners, and takes careful stick control to do safely.

As tempting as it is.....I wouldn’t fly it indoors under any circumstances. when I had mine delivered 3 weeks ago, I just set it up and powered it down. No way I was going to crash before even getting it outside!

 

[MacPhersonCa1]

Sorry to tell but a living room, cleared or not, is really not a flying area for a drone like a mavic. Unless you are several months already piloting this exact drone.

another option you could look into is propeller guards. you can either get guards that protect from side bumps(Drone World) or full propeller cages that protect the propeller and anything that might contact it (Buy Mavic Propeller Cage) . Just a consideration.

 

[Mavoz]

As tempting as it is.....I wouldn’t fly it indoors under any circumstances. when I had mine delivered 3 weeks ago, I just set it up and powered it down. No way I was going to crash before even getting it outside!

Yes....I certainly should never have done it too! It was a moment of 'madness'! Anyway...the positive thing is it has made me incredibly more wary for all other flying locations....outside included.

Am actually hopeful that all is well anyway! Will give it a thorough test tonight.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Mavoz, bummer about the crash, but good it might all be ok !!

The prop guards as mentioned above are great for walls, posts, tree trunks etc.
I bought a set and think it saved my props once, testing out obstacle avoidance front sensors near and external wall, and I'd turned a bit, , and was side on . . . then it either drifted a little, or (more likely) I pushed stick ever so gently the WRONG WAY, and it kinda bumped a bit.

The cages are good for more protection if you hit a bush in the garden, etc.

Now . . . 'How could you be so dumb!'

Seriously though, forget the camera and video use for now, learn how to fly it, learn all the important functions, then begin the other less important stuff.

RTFM is the best advice, but it doesn't have ALL the little things in there either.
Youtube has excellent first flight vid tutorials, and of course just reading through this forum, you'll pick up so many little pointers about what happens in RTH, settings, etc.

So next outing, big flat oval, into beginner mode, fly some patterns to learn how controls work.
It won't be long until you get in normal mode and start the learning curve to other things.

This is one video I really got a lot out of early on, has been posted in other recent threads too . . .

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You just have to get used to the weird accents in these tutorials !!
Love to see some Aussie ones . . . "now look mate, don't go acting like a drongo and fly indoors !"

 

[Mavoz]

Mavoz, bummer about the crash, but good it might all be ok !!

The prop guards as mentioned above are great for walls, posts, tree trunks etc.
I bought a set and think it saved my props once, testing out obstacle avoidance front sensors near and external wall, and I'd turned a bit, , and was side on . . . then it either drifted a little, or (more likely) I pushed stick ever so gently the WRONG WAY, and it kinda bumped a bit.

The cages are good for more protection if you hit a bush in the garden, etc.

Now . . . 'How could you be so dumb!'

Seriously though, forget the camera and video use for now, learn how to fly it, learn all the important functions, then begin the other less important stuff.

RTFM is the best advice, but it doesn't have ALL the little things in there either.
Youtube has excellent first flight vid tutorials, and of course just reading through this forum, you'll pick up so many little pointers about what happens in RTH, settings, etc.

So next outing, big flat oval, into beginner mode, fly some patterns to learn how controls work.
It won't be long until you get in normal mode and start the learning curve to other things.

This is one video I really got a lot out of early on, has been posted in other recent threads too . . .

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You just have to get used to the weird accents in these tutorials !!
Love to see some Aussie ones . . . "now look mate, don't go acting like a drongo and fly indoors !"

Thanks mate....might look into those prop guards! Will definitely watch more of those vids too...I have literally been shaking my head all day...thinking..'what sort of a goose launces his $1700 brand new Mavic Pro off ..with zero experience....inside a house?!!' Might have to make a YouTube video called ' What not to do with your new Mavic Pro'..complete with a few Aussie expressions that articulate the sheer lunacy of such an attempt.

All I was actually trying to do was go up in the air 30cm and straight back down....why the thing decided to head Kamikaze style towards the bookshelf I don't know!

Anyway..by the look of it...it is actually normal for the Gimble to look a bit shaky inside it's cage? I won't know for certain until I try out some filming from the Drone to see if the Stabilization and tilt still works properly....

Hopefully all is well....and I got away with this one after all!

Thanks!