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Newbie Lesson

RickSnider

Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2019
Messages
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Age
64
Location
Winston-Salem NC, USA
So, I bought a Mavic Pro 2. Very excited. But not experienced (first drone). While sitting on my deck under a canopy I foolishly turned the drone on and it started to take off. Not wanting to destroy it as it hit the top of the canopy (intellectually, I know it wouldn’t) and not being adept at the controls, I reached for it. Luckily one finger escaped lacerations! Two fingers have stitches, but all is healing well (this was a week ago). Live and learn. Drone is fine, fingers getting there. Wife went completely schizo, though.
 
I got chopped once with my P3. I was on RTH with critical battery, got right overhead, but then did a forced landing. With a forced landing, you lose joystick control. Not a big deal except it was about 4' from the shoreline launch spot, over the water. I usually do a hand catch, but by the time I stepped into the water, it was just dipping the camera into the wet and I had to grab from above... into the props. Two things I learned, don't push the low battery warning 'cause the drone calculates altitude, wind direction and velocity for RTH. The other thing is that underhand grab is probably the way to go, otherwise just let it go down on its own. But it was water, so I accepted the risk of injury. No stitches though.

Do yourself a favor though and get insurance for peace of mind with regards to loss or damage. It happens. I'll assume you already have health insurance. I also carry a well-stocked first aid kit.
 
I got chopped once with my P3. I was on RTH with critical battery, got right overhead, but then did a forced landing. With a forced landing, you lose joystick control. Not a big deal except it was about 4' from the shoreline launch spot, over the water. I usually do a hand catch, but by the time I stepped into the water, it was just dipping the camera into the wet and I had to grab from above... into the props. Two things I learned, don't push the low battery warning 'cause the drone calculates altitude, wind direction and velocity for RTH. The other thing is that underhand grab is probably the way to go, otherwise just let it go down on its own. But it was water, so I accepted the risk of injury. No stitches though.

Do yourself a favor though and get insurance for peace of mind with regards to loss or damage. It happens. I'll assume you already have health insurance. I also carry a well-stocked first aid kit.
You don’t have that on film???
 
Not sure. The camera lens was either under water or spattered with blood!

The gimbal was acting really quirky after dipping in the water. I never got it repaired as I was in the height of the fall color season (last year) and rather than ditch the rest of the season while waiting on the repair, I decided it was a good opportunity to just upgrade to the M2P. The P3 4k was a good bird for my first drone, but even with the Itelite DBS mod, I wasn't happy with the limited range. But, the other big issue was the size of the P3 w/case. I often travel with a lot of photo/video gear and the compact size of the M2P is travel-friendly.

I'll get the P3 repaired when I get around to it. I truly expected I'd crash it at some point without obstacle avoidance.
 
I expect there to be a great number of us out there with scarred fingers. My circumstances were similar. My wife, “what are you screaming about!”, then her turn upon seeing blood, “QUICK! OFF MY NEW OUTDOOR CARPET!!!”
 
Wow. Sorry to hear about your injuries . Can image your wife dismay. Hope your back flying without any residuals soon.
Also sorry for your injuries, but since you only hurt your fingers, there should not be a problem with your wife (unless you use it as an excuse not to do te laundry etc...)
 
P3 I'm pretty sure still gives you lateral control, and even on forced landing, you can slow down the descent. That probably depends on how critical the battery is though.
 
P3 I'm pretty sure still gives you lateral control, and even on forced landing, you can slow down the descent. That probably depends on how critical the battery is though.
No, I didn't have any control over the joysticks in critical battery forced landing. I was attempting to control it as it became clear it was gonna come down 4' offshore, which delayed my attempt at an underside hand grab. I better appreciate the intelligence of the DJI drones calculation on a safe RTH.
 
How critical was the battery? I've always been able to control my P3 when it was past (below) 10% battery, which is where it wants to land.
 
How critical was the battery? I've always been able to control my P3 when it was past (below) 10% battery, which is where it wants to land.
Ya know, I can't recall the battery level when it started the forced landing. In this instance, it was at the home point at the RTH elevation (30m, I think). At some point between 5-8% critical battery, you lose all controls.

If you're a distance away, with altitude, loft generated by a ridgeline, RTH into the wind, allow yourself an abundance of charge, 'cause even failsafe RTH can miscalculate.

Copied from DJI Forum post

25%(default) low battery alarm - controller/tablet beeps, full control maintained
15% - RTH alert, cancelable
10%(default) critical battery alarm - switches to sport flight mode and begins trying to auto land. you still have control and can fight it if need be.
5-8% - controls are completely disabled and it forces auto land with no way to cancel it. This is also what will most likely happen if a battery gets an error and misreads as critical.
 
If that was written for a P3, it has flaws.

Low Battery warning is adjustable in app. It's just a warning, no action taken.
RTH is variable depending on conditions. If you're far enough, it will trigger even before Low Battery setting.
Critical Low Battery setting is adjustable in app, but no lower than 10%.

There's no such thing as sport mode on a P3. Sport was introduced in P4. Besides, sport mode speed is not used with RTH, actually slower.

There's a difference between cancelling a mode, which I agree you can't do with critical battery landing and overriding its effects with the sticks.
 
Nice! We also have a dangerous pizza cutter. Could use these in the kitchen when not flying.
 
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I got chopped once with my P3. I was on RTH with critical battery, got right overhead, but then did a forced landing. With a forced landing, you lose joystick control. Not a big deal except it was about 4' from the shoreline launch spot, over the water. I usually do a hand catch, but by the time I stepped into the water, it was just dipping the camera into the wet and I had to grab from above... into the props. Two things I learned, don't push the low battery warning 'cause the drone calculates altitude, wind direction and velocity for RTH. The other thing is that underhand grab is probably the way to go, otherwise just let it go down on its own. But it was water, so I accepted the risk of injury. No stitches though.

Do yourself a favor though and get insurance for peace of mind with regards to loss or damage. It happens. I'll assume you already have health insurance. I also carry a well-stocked first aid kit.

I do have PPI thru USAA. I’ve read some horror stories on here about insurance claims, though. I guess I should call them and make sure, but the insurance is designed for cameras, computers, jewelry, etc. no reason it shouldn’t cover a drone.

Fingers almost fully healed.
 
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