Lesson 1 - Mavic loses height when flying forwards in sports mode - crash at 30MPH :(

[Hamltnlbue]

With the angle maybe the Mavic sensors see the grass passing by, tricking it to think it's climbing.
It might have been trying to compensate by lowering altitude.

 

[dwallersv]

BTW... while close to ground is cool u could still be higher and in editing do a little zoom in... none would notice the difference..

The classic way to do a shot like this is slow, then speed it up in post. I'd do it in Tripod mode.

Of course, that wasn't the point (the thrill was), but still if you truly want to include something like that, you do it as I've described.

Another option would be to do it full-speed in Terrain Following mode. While this will be about half the speed (which again can be sped up in post), it'll be much faster than Tripod, and probably provide that margin of safety to stay above the ground. Although, this is not a well-tested technique like the former.

 

[zoomie]

Smart idea about the post footage editing. Yeah that drone was flying way too low. I do that too, but only with my JJRC H36 $18 toy which always gets back up for another fly session.

Too bad the bottom sensors are turned off during sport mode. Curious if they can be manually turned back on and still be in sport mode. Maybe in another app update if not already available. I've only flow the Mavic through 3 batteries, so still kinda new to this particular one.

 

[jcarloacsay]

Why you did not pull up? You had time

 

[zoomie]

Panic probably or just hopeful that it would recover. I turned around to see my Dobby drone almost hit a window just under a soffit and panicked losing my orientation. It ended up hitting the window and crashing to the floor. That little thing is pretty durable. Still on the same propellers and I crashed it maybe 3x already.

 

[Tricky98]

Why you did not pull up? You had time

My plan was to fly it the full length of the field and then pull up at the end, over the building- I was waiting at the pull-up point, watching the Mavic, rather than looking at the screen. With it so low already I simply didn't see it was going to hit- first thing I knew was it spinning head over tail

If I had been looking at the screen, then agreed - I would probably have been able to save it - watching the video afterwards I had the same thought- it was obvious it was going down.

 

[stratos]

I forgot about the drop when trying to show in a video how fast the Mavic flies!

Lol mate totally pilots fault !!! Kee your eyes open and fly safe buddy!!

 

[Skychs]

It happened to me but I hit the water just over 35mph. It's at Thunderdrones now getting a new gimbal ribbon. Lesson learned.

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[Chet Bang]

#1 - Sports Mode turns off Obstacle Avoidance sensors
#2 - You are usually not flying on level ground.
#3 - MP records AGL at start but flying straight into anything higher than your starting AGL will always result in a crash!
#4 - Terrain Follow Mode is not a Feature in Sports Mode
#5 - Sorry to say - Rookie Mistake. Showing Off may lead to these tragic moments!
#6 - Respect the Mavic Pro - It's NOT a TOY!

End Admonition

 

[3VP]

Oh, what can I say - we have all been there, some, like me got off lucky with no visible damage. The videos just look so cool that close to the ground.

Lots of good information here as to why it occurs.

People with great amount of experience on this site - people on here that really know their stuff and one can learn a lot from them and their experiences.

 

[Av8rshane]

I have had a few close calls in the beginning in low altitude sport mode flying but that's where it's the most fun. I love to terrain follow. What got me was many years of flying fixed wing RC and you would pull right stick back to climb so a few times I reverted to old habits and pulled back on left stick .

 

[Skychs]

#1 - Sports Mode turns off Obstacle Avoidance sensors
#2 - You are usually not flying on level ground.
#3 - MP records AGL at start but flying straight into anything higher than your starting AGL will always result in a crash!
#4 - Terrain Follow Mode is not a Feature in Sports Mode
#5 - Sorry to say - Rookie Mistake. Showing Off may lead to these tragic moments!
#6 - Respect the Mavic Pro - It's NOT a TOY!

End Admonition

Thanks for your critique. It cost $119 to get it fixed. Lessons learned. I may be a rookie in regards to Drones but I have been in aviation all my life. I hope that moves me up the chain just a little bit. Also, since I was by myself when it crashed I doubt I was showing off.

And it is a toy !!

 

[Av8rshane]

Same here Skychs, been flying for almost 50 of my 60 years. Love the mavic and fly it almost every day.

 

[RBacio]

#1 - Sports Mode turns off Obstacle Avoidance sensors
#2 - You are usually not flying on level ground.
#3 - MP records AGL at start but flying straight into anything higher than your starting AGL will always result in a crash!
#4 - Terrain Follow Mode is not a Feature in Sports Mode
#5 - Sorry to say - Rookie Mistake. Showing Off may lead to these tragic moments!
#6 - Respect the Mavic Pro - It's NOT a TOY!

End Admonition

Ummm...Clearly you're not a believer in Karma. Let's hope that works out for ya.

 

[charliesRig]

To repair you Mavic cost only $119.?
You are living the good life.,...

I dropped mine from 20 ft into soft lushes grass it was $350 for another gimbal/Camera
On the up side I personally got to see what was under skin of the Mavic
I can say the inside to me are
amazing .
A really well made machine
........C
.

 

[Skychs]

I agree. Im very lucky at $119. Im not sure if it helped or not but I did have a gimbal cover on when it hit the water. The first thing I did when I got home was take the thing apart to dry it out. Its actually very easy to do. YouTube has everything. Here is what it looks like on the inside.

 

[Av8rshane]

Thanks Skychs, been wanting to see what is inside my mavic but not enough to take it apart unless I really needed to.

 

[Explorer]

It was DJI's fault. They owe you a new one.

 

[CLwilliams]

I forgot about the drop when trying to show in a video how fast the Mavic flies!

It holds altitude in sport mode. You just have to remember that there's a variance of around 3 ft. If you're lower than 3 ft, you're in a margin of error and probably too fast for vps to figure it out.

 

[Explorer]

I noticed at the 2:01 mark that there were some wires going across the river. Probably why you climbed at that point. However, didn't help you in the end.