Lost drone

[paulbuckley]

You started your thread in the right tone. You deserve it.

But please, please, please keep the forum up to date with future developments, including what DJI have to say.
Too many members post their difficulties but never close their thread with the eventual conclusion.

 

[fivepak]

But please, please, please keep the forum up to date with future developments, including what DJI have to say.
Too many members post their difficulties but never close their thread with the eventual conclusion.

I definitely will post a follow up.

 

[wytnyt]

Man, dont beat yourself up about it! **** happens and you were in it!!! Learn from this and move on and learn more as you go!
You are in a good forum of people, and no doubt most, more experienced operators would like to say ...."DOH!", they dont, and let you move on through your grief!
I'm a Mavic newbie too and RTFM! is permanently tattooed in the back of my brain!

not as much as remove the gimble clamp i bet,i did it almost for the first time,i was putting on my skin and pushed the power button,glad it takes 2 presses

 

[dan0mite]

Unfortunately the OP is one of the many thousands of victims of DJI's policy to position their consumer drones as perfect beginner flying camera (they rather call it a camera than a drone). Nobody should have to be a pilot according to DJI. They even renamed their PILOT App to GO, because they wanted the public to think it it just pushing a button and GO! Even the Spark is not a real beginner drone. Way too much enforced autonomy to be able to learn the principles of drone piloting. Even for an experienced RC pilot a manual drone is something different to get used to. I lost my first manual drone on the second flight exactly the same way, I just didn't know what it would do with high winds. After flying RC collective pitch heli's for years.

The OP couldn't know beforehand how a Mavic would react when it would switch itself to Atti, there's simply no way to try it on a Mavic, (not even in the simulator!) which is fine for an experienced pilot, but for a beginner it is a moment of total terror when it happens. Even if you read the manual you can't learn to fly Atti with a Mavic (or Spark).

DJI marketing is totally responsible in my opinion for the many first time user disasters.

To all new upcoming pilots: I would strongly suggest to get a cheap no-GPS drone (big enough to fly outside, cost about up to 50$) and practice manual VLOS flying in a safe unobstructed area, before flying anything as sophisticated and capable as a Mavic.

OP, I really hope you will get your drone back in one piece or at least a replacement from DJI.

What would you consider a good cheap no-gps drone to practice with?

 

[DomoDan]

You can buy one at Costco for under $30.

 

[Callum]

What would you consider a good cheap no-gps drone to practice with?

To simulate something like the mavic your looking for a cheap quad that has attitude hold (self leveling), and altitude hold.

There's no point learning to fly full manual (acro mode) as you will never encounter it with consumer quads like DJI. If you do want to learn it go ahead but can be very frustrating for beginners.

No need for GPS as you want it to drift like in atti mode.

Can't recommend any specific quad but hope this helps with your choice.

 

[dan0mite]

To simulate something like that the mavic your looking for a cheap quad that has attitude hold (self leveling), and altitude hold.

There's no point learning to fly full manual (acro mode) as you will never encounter it with consumer quads like DJI. If you do want to learn it go ahead but can be very frustrating for beginners.

No need for GPS as you want it to drift like in atti mode.

Can't recommend any specific quad but hope this helps with your choice.

Thanks! I bought a cheap toy drone to practice with but it doesn’t hold altitude and the throttle response is so inconsistent that I don’t feel it would mimic a Mavic at all. I pretty much just mess with it when I’m waiting for the grill to heat up outside...no longer try to “practice”. Therefore, I’m still on the hunt for something that’ll mimic the Mavic in atti.

 

[Callum]

Thanks! I bought a cheap toy drone to practice with but it doesn’t hold altitude and the throttle response is so inconsistent that I don’t feel it would mimic a Mavic at all. I pretty much just mess with it when I’m waiting for the grill to heat up outside...no longer try to “practice”. Therefore, I’m still on the hunt for something that’ll mimic the Mavic in atti.

Yeah I've had a few like that, if your only looking to improve your mavic skills then constantly adjusting throttle can be counter-intuitive.

I've seen a few that might fit the bill but haven't personally tried them. I'll post them up if I can find them again.

 

[dan0mite]

Yeah I've had a few like that, if your only looking to improve your mavic skills then constantly adjusting throttle can be counter-intuitive.

I've seen a few that might fit the bill but haven't personally tried them. I'll post them up if I can find them again.

Awesome...thanks!

 

[Callum]

Awesome...thanks!

Eachine E58 was one of them. Supposedly quite durable, spares available and looks like a mini mavic. Can fly FPV with phone and gets good reviews on the likes of gearbest.

Not sure about flight characteristics, I know it's self leveling, altitude hold and has no GPS, going to watch some YouTube videos and find out.

Edit -
Might be ideal

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[Keule]

... something that’ll mimic the Mavic in atti.

Try to find an used Phantom 1/2/3. They can be flown in manual ATTI mode.
But it’s hard to find those for $30 ...

 

[shoemaker]

Good Luck bro!

 

[royster]

I thank the Drone gods for sending me a Syma X8 to fly before i tried my new Phantom 3 Advanced. I crashed/lost that Syma at least a dozen times, certaibnly gave me an edge . Until they add a switch to enable ATT mode to the Mavic, i would suggest to any newbie to fly a SymaX5 or 8 like drone, or even a Phantom before the Mavic.
The switch from the Syma to the Phantom was huge, but, at least i knew the basics.
did you have your contact info on your Mavic?
Had my phone # on the Syma, not embarrassed to tell you , it was returned twice!

 

[fivepak]

did you have your contact info on your Mavic?
Had my phone # on the Syma, not embarrassed to tell you , it was returned twice!

Unfortunately I didn't. Just the FAA reg number. This next Mavic I'll be sure to add my information to a label.

 

[HiKen51]

I expected to get beat up by a few people. I appreciate all the kind responses.

Just wanted to add to my previous post, I feel your pain. There's still an aspect of fear every time I fly, mixed with the joy. My heart sank for you when I read your story.
One thing I've been doing lately is going to a soccer field and flying over, then through the soccer goals that don't have nets, also through the goal posts of a football field, helps me learn about lining up for a flight and getting used to flying close to things without hitting them, and there's lots of empty space around to practice other things too. Soon you'll be out of beginner mode and loving it!

 

[Herr Wizard]

+1 on the Syma X5C. Yes, it's all manual but it does have embedded gyros for attitude control so you can set a throttle position for hover and it will then drift around. You can currently get them on Amazon for $35 and up. It includes a barely-HD camera that does video/stills. It also has two different control rates that govern its responsiveness. My first X5c flight outside resulted in it getting caught by the wind and then deposited close to 100 feet up in an old-growth tree behind our house. It hung in that tree for about 4 months before the Earth wanted it more than the tree did. First thing I did after I got it back was remove the prop guards! Two years later, I'm still flying it. In my opinion, it's a perfect trainer quad for the more sophisticated quads like the Mavic Pro.

 

[hammick]

Eachine E58 was one of them. Supposedly quite durable, spares available and looks like a mini mavic. Can fly FPV with phone and gets good reviews on the likes of gearbest.

Not sure about flight characteristics, I know it's self leveling, altitude hold and has no GPS, going to watch some YouTube videos and find out.

Edit -
Might be ideal

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I've had my "Baby Mavic" (E58) for a few days now. I've flow it mostly indoors and I think it is a great trainer. It holds altitude well but drifts a fair amount indoors. I think it is great training practice in case your MP goes into ATTI mode. Flight time is about 7 minutes 30 seconds for me without the prop guards. The prop guards are pretty much worthless. The surprise was the 720p video was pretty **** good for a cheap toy drone. I bought the 3 battery combo on Ebay. Total was $65.89 shipped.

You can pay less on Bangood if you want to wait a month to get it.

 

[dbyantis]

Tbh I don't know much about the logs but some here do and will be able to help more

It looks to me like a Flyaway

At the end of the log its still moving at about 400ft up with 50% battery so it could be a lot further

It maybe time to contact dji

Perhaps a "drift away", the drone dropped to ATTI from GPS, so no longer able to hold position in the wind. Cannot tell why, but it also looks like the drone was in the air before home point was recorded.

 

[fivepak]

Cannot tell why, but it also looks like the drone was in the air before home point was recorded.

I'm new to looking at the logs, but doesn't this entry say RTH point was established?

5m 16.6s P-GPS 14satellites 2.3ft 2.3ft 0mph 3.6ft 78% 12.199V 4.066V 4.066V 4.066V 0V Home Point recorded. Return-to-Home Altitude:98FT

 

[fivepak]

I just checked the "Find my drone" feature again and now see a line going from the last know location to further down its path. The problem is the map won't scroll and let me see where the line terminates. It scrolls part way and then pops right back to the origin. It this a bug in the software that anyone else has experienced?