Lost Mavic Pro

Chris1960 · Jan 8, 2019

draver said:
Sounds good, what is the requirement there for that? It would be interesting if you had a pics of the battery that you could share with us. Also, was there any damage to your roof? It would seem that the terminal velocity would have been huge and could have punched a hole or caused a leak possibly. Quite the high density projectile, LOL. You didn't describe what was visible inside, if anything. Could you count the cells, were they damaged as far as you could tell?

Took the battery to local recycling centre.Damage to roof was s broken tile just pleased it didn't hit any of us in the garden.Will try to attach picture of battery from my phone. No sign of leaks in fact the battery still switched on with no visible leaks.

draver · Jan 8, 2019

Sounds like you caught a break. A quick calculation puts your 1/2 lb. battery at over 100 mph when falling from 370 ft. in altitude. That's a lot of energy to dissipate in a fairly concentrated impact area. I know I wouldn't want to be hit by it. Or even consider trying to catch it now I know the speed and mass!

crlmjohnson · Jan 8, 2019

The drone is small, look in one of the trees, right or left. it is light, it could be caught up on something, not necessary on the ground.

crlmjohnson · Jan 8, 2019

It can also be hard to see, because of the color of the drone and background. hopefully no one picked it up.

Chris1960 · Jan 8, 2019

crlmjohnson said:
It can also be hard to see, because of the color of the drone and background. hopefully no one picked it up.

Thanks for that will keep looking will hopefully find it at some point

Pro Mavic Pro Flyer · Jan 8, 2019

Chris1960 said:
That's what I thought must be close by but unable to find searched 100m radius with no luck.

It could be up in a tree, or somebody could have picked it up depending on where it crashed.Hope you find it.

cstruthers · Jan 12, 2019

Which raises the question if a drone will "Auto-Rotate" in after power loss as with helicopters?

Chris1960 · Jan 12, 2019

cstruthers said:
Which raises the question if a drone will "Auto-Rotate" in after power loss as with helicopters?

I have DJI looking at the incident so will c what they come back with.

Meta4 · Jan 12, 2019

cstruthers said:
Which raises the question if a drone will "Auto-Rotate" in after power loss as with helicopters?

They autorotate much the same way a brick does.

draver · Jan 12, 2019

I believe helicopter rotors free wheel during unpowered auto rotation, building up speed Then after rotor speed is sufficient at a very low altitude, the pitch is adjusted to a lift configuration to arrest the rapid descent. A drone doesn't have the capability to either free wheel or adjust pitch. As I've mentioned previously, the glide ratio of a safe.

Sportking · Jan 14, 2019

Does anyone make a strap to secure the battery in case it should loosen, or maybe a strong rubber band?

Test pilot · Jan 14, 2019

These things can hide anywhere next to a rock next to a tree in a tree in a creek in his shadow. On a branch on a house on a car you name it that’s where it will be. Sorry I can’t help.

Cheech Wizard · Jan 14, 2019

cstruthers said:
Which raises the question if a drone will "Auto-Rotate" in after power loss as with helicopters?

Nope, first off too many props. and I assume that helicopters us some kind of clutch system. Plus electric motors are a lot different that engines that run on fuel. .

Cheech Wizard · Jan 14, 2019

Sportking said:
Does anyone make a strap to secure the battery in case it should loosen, or maybe a strong rubber band?

Just buy some velcro tape.

Mavic Pro Platinum · Jan 15, 2019

dylanthecat said:
Chris1960, Im curious why you won't post the flight logs. Sar104 is really good at extrapolating the position of a copter after loss of data. Give him a chance.

sar104 helped me find my drone. His methods are insanely accurate and you will find your drone!

Chris1960 · Jan 15, 2019

Mavic Pro Platinum said:
sar104 helped me find my drone. His methods are insanely accurate and you will find your drone!

sar104 reviewed my flight logs and his help was appreciated

Mavic Pro Platinum · Jan 15, 2019

Chris1960 said:
sar104 reviewed my flight logs and his help was appreciated

Good! Did you find it?

Chris1960 · Jan 15, 2019

Mavic Pro Platinum said:
Good! Did you find it?

No still not found it's either well hidden or been picked up by someone,but will keep looking

Mavic Pro Platinum · Jan 15, 2019

Chris1960 said:
No still not found it's either well hidden or been picked up by someone,but will keep looking

That stinks! When you find it you should consider getting State Farm insurance for your drone. It starts at $60 a year and covers the drone and all the accessories.

Nfhill · Jan 15, 2019

cstruthers said:
Which raises the question if a drone will "Auto-Rotate" in after power loss as with helicopters?

As already posted, the short answer is no.

To perform an auto rotation, the helicopter pilot must dump the pitch in the rotor blades from positive to negative (no lift). This causes the air flow through the rotors to spin the rotors up (store energy in the rotors). Just before landing (impact), the pilot will pull positive pitch in the rotors and use the stored energy to slow the helicopter's decent. None of this is possible with fixed pitch rotors.

Nick