Long story of my lost Mavic in the Mountains

[knsaber]

The Story of the Lost Mavic | Tony Yang

I learned a lot of lessons during this adventure, made sure I went home after and studied more on the limits and settings of the Mavic.

 

[Jayfdee]

Yes indeed RTFM. Also check again after firmware update, you may have got back in sport mode, or if you dropped altitude and crept up the hillside. In desperation the "choose a good spot to dump" is a decent strategy, I would have just attempted to land, rather than a CSC, but the outcome would have been the same.It is easy to suggest things sat at a keyboard, hard when up in the air drifting away and low battery.
Nice story, thanks.

 

[PT_Mavic]

After all that effort, congratulations on getting her back!

Slingshots are illegal in New Jersey? Sheesh; another reason to put on the "Nope, no way!" pile.
Living where the broadcast stations begin with 'K' just feels better to me.

 

[ricklaw]

great story!

 

[Top Hat]

GOOD JOB RETRIEVING MP AND A REALLY KICK *** STORY TO BOOT!

 

[Hotelone]

Very nice write up of an instructive lesson learned. Also, welcome to the forum!

 

[knsaber]

Thanks guys!

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

“we rejoiced in never having to set foot into this park again”

Lol, great story !!
You are one very determined Mavic owner

 

[Freebird32]

Great story and adventure! I applaud your perseverance in pursuit of the crashed Mavic. Considering the thick woods I'm surprised you were able to go that distance and spot its final resting spot/tree. Lots of lessons with these drones... We collectively learn through these forums or as some have tried, the hard way, and go it alone. Thanks for sharing.

I grew up in NJ, and made my own slingshots when I was a kid. I didn't know they were illegal. Chainsaws are not and might have been my option considering how frustrating it seemed.

 

[BigAl07]

Excellent story. That's just a few minutes from where I live (I'm just West of Asheville).

A few tips (which you may have already figured out):

A) Flip into SPORT mode to get more PUNCH to penetrate wind
B) Always ALWAYS be planning for that What If... pick your landing area out as soon as you leave the one you take off from
C) Check the settings before you fly

Thanks for sharing this story.

Allen

 

[Xtreme Drone Pilot]

Wow, the most meticulously documented Mavic crash, ever! Almost as if planned.

This must become a meme for all RTFM drone crashes:

 

[Bogey]

Very interesting story - great outcome! I'm impressed with your tenacity!!

 

[angeloyzf]

Thanks for sharing, amazing story

 

[stressor]

Your dedication to retrieve your drone is amazing. You probably spent more than the replacement price in time and equipment but in the process learned a lot of valuable lessons!

 

[Eddy_B]

Thanks for sharing that awesome story! I certainly took something away from reading it.

 

[singlecask]

Another tip: The higher you go, the more wind there is. Even at 200 ft, the difference can already be significant. So it should be: Flip to sport mode AND go lower.

 

[PeteS2017]

Looking at all those Rube Goldberg methods of retrieving the drone, I couldn't help thinking he'd been watching too many Roadrunner cartoons.

 

[Jonny_Pain]

Dude... could you have tried to fly it down to that clear spot in the videos right below the gentler area that you did the emergency shut off?

Maybe if you tried, and left the motors running, it could have made it through the tree canopy.

You had the refresh package so anything damaged would have been replaced

 

[okw]

Nice write-up. I'd agree that you probably spent more than the replacement cost in gas, hotels, tools, meals, etc. Although returning the unused tools would have helped.

Another thing to remember is that you should be able to change the settings to get that little bit further distance while you're flying. I've adjusted the max altitude when I've hit the limit before.

 

[RayOZ]

Thanks for sharing.
It’s always easy in hindsight to say RTM. Most guys don’t read the manual until something goes wrong. They don’t ask for directions until they are completely lost. How many guys read the manual before operating a microwave? And I bet a lot of people found this forum after they had trouble with their drone and stumbled here googling for help. It’s a guy thing