Saga of stupidity

[allenface]

Just want to impart how I lost my Mavic Pro by being stupid. I was making a shot for a doc I’m working on and let the machine get out of my view. I made a nice shot but then got disoriented and actually flew the Mavic behind me when I thought it was in front. Could not see it but instead of just stopping and hitting the RTH, I tried to guide her back into visual, which failed. She hit a tree and came down several hundred yards to my rear, across a rapid and deep stream. Battery on the machine was going down as was power to my phone monitor. Suffice to say, my drone was forever lost because of, A. Not activating the location beacon (I believe the Mavic Pro has that), B. Not calibrating the compass. And of course C, not hitting the RTH button when I reAlice’s I was in trouble. I replaced the machine with a new body and will now take time to make sure I know [Comment removed by ADMIN]I’m doing before my next adventure.
Bottom line, I went against my own gut feeling about allowing my drone out of eye sight. Won’t make that mistake again.
Live and learn...or will I?

 

[dirkclod]

Hate that happened to you but curious why you think not
calibrating your compass had anything to do with it.

 

[BigAl07]

Wouldn't the root cause of the "incident" be:

A) Flying beyond the operator's abilities
and
B) Flying BVLOS

It sucks you lost/crashed your aircraft but it could be a valuable learning moment for you and others who happen to read this. Thanks for sharing and good luck

Allen

 

[Meta4]

my drone was forever lost because of:
A. Not activating the location beacon (I believe the Mavic Pro has that),
B. Not calibrating the compass.
C, not hitting the RTH button when I realised I was in trouble.

A. Locator beacon? What locator beacon?
B. Not calibrating your compass had nothing to do with the incident
C. It's important to know where your drone is and which way it's pointing at al times.
The information is there if you know where to look.
The best tool for that is the radar display.
Learn to use that and you'd never be stuck like you were this time.

 

[allenface]

Hate that happened to you but curious why you think not
calibrating your compass had anything to do with it.

Well...I don’t actually. Basically I didn’t pay attention to the actual coordinates when I took off, so I really didn’t have any reference. I presumed that had I calibrated and then more importantly, paid attention, I might have had a better shot at steering her back into my view. I’m just reaching here. Had I just hit the RTH button, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. This is my second drone after having a Phantom II so I can fly...OK. I’ll really need to consider all the proximity functions on the Mavic Pro and in that regard thought having a true compass visual may have helped. The tough part was I was afraid this would happen, and pulled the card and replaced with a clean one since I had a bunch of material I didn’t want to lose...so something told me disaster was imminent. Once again, pay attention to your gut Well not yours, mine!

 

[Meta4]

Basically I didn’t pay attention to the actual coordinates when I took off, so I really didn’t have any reference.

Coordinates ??
The home point is where you launched from.
Unless you were flying from a moving boat, you should know where you launched from.

I presumed that had I calibrated and then more importantly, paid attention, I might have had a better shot at steering her back into my view.

If your drone flies straight and doesn't slowly spiral when you hover, its compass is calibrated as well as it can be.
Recalibrating won't make it fly any better and wouldn't have made any difference.

I thought having a true compass visual may have helped.

A true compass visual ??

 

[allenface]

Coordinates ??
The home point is where you launched from.
Unless you were flying from a moving boat, you should know where you launched from.

If your drone flies straight and doesn't slowly spiral when you hover, its compass is calibrated as well as it can be.
Recalibrating won't make it fly any better and wouldn't have made any difference.

A true compass visual ??

Yes. I didn't have the compass up and visual even if I did, I really couldn't orient myself relative to the craft so I didn't know what my starting readings were. I was able to use the locator via my iPhone but for some reason, it didn't give me actual readout with coordinates via my map. It clearly showed he path and clearly showed where she ended up but could find the actual direction .
And I'm aware of how the RTH feature works and generally always mark my take off spot making sure it's free and clear for a clean take off/return. I thought the MavicPro has a Homing Beacon function that emits an audible beep when activated. I could be and may be wrong. Guess another manual reading would be helpful.
To add insult to injury, power to the both the aircraft and iPhone were waning so it was a compilation of circumstances tied with my ineptitude that led to my loss. Pilot error on the highest order.

 

[dirkclod]

Well...I don’t actually. Basically I didn’t pay attention to the actual coordinates when I took off, so I really didn’t have any reference. I presumed that had I calibrated and then more importantly, paid attention, I might have had a better shot at steering her back into my view. I’m just reaching here. Had I just hit the RTH button, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. This is my second drone after having a Phantom II so I can fly...OK. I’ll really need to consider all the proximity functions on the Mavic Pro and in that regard thought having a true compass visual may have helped. The tough part was I was afraid this would happen, and pulled the card and replaced with a clean one since I had a bunch of material I didn’t want to lose...so something told me disaster was imminent. Once again, pay attention to your gut Well not yours, mine!

Hey I just asked because you did say

my drone was forever lost because of, A. Not activating the location beacon (I believe the Mavic B. Not calibrating the compass

and was just curious. I never said you couldn’t fly OK.
We all learn and I still am. Hope you never have any more
mishaps.

 

[old man mavic]

you had one of those moments ,when all your past experience seems to leave you, you forgot everything you should have done to get your mav back safe,you are not the first and you will not be the last to have had such an event , the main thing is to learn from it and take a look in the manual again ,and bone up on what each button on the controller does and why

 

[Mossiback]

...A. Locator beacon? What locator beacon?...

... I thought the MavicPro has a Homing Beacon function that emits an audible beep when activated...

I believe you are referring to the Find My Drone feature in Go 4. You can make the Mavic beep and flash the led's to help find it.

 

[KennyJr]

The bottom line is don't rely on the display to keep track of the drone. Over the summer I was flying and the battery in my tablet swelled causing the back to pop off and the display to go blank. I could have hit RTH, but because I had a visual on the Mavic I just flew it by sight. Had the drone been out of my sight I'd have had to hope RTH worked.

 

[Meta4]

The bottom line is don't rely on the display to keep track of the drone. Over the summer I was flying and the battery in my tablet swelled causing the back to pop off and the display to go blank. I could have hit RTH, but because I had a visual on the Mavic I just flew it by sight. Had the drone been out of my sight I'd have had to hope RTH worked.

The bottom line is that the app gives you tools to keep track of the drone .. but you have to know they are there.
Seems a lot of flyers have no idea of their radar display and how it helps.

Lost sight and don't know how to bring the drone back?
No problem
Use the radar to turn the drone to face home and fly in that direction.
Monitor the distance showing to confirm.
The radar display also shows you where to look in the sky to see the drone.
It's down in the bottom left of your screen and is a lot more useful than the maps that share the same spot/

 

[AnzacJack]

I think the bottom line is, without rubbing salt into wounds, you where operating way outside you ability and knowledge. You say you were making a doco. would you operate a new camera without reading the instructions and understanding all the settings?
Anyway, im sure you have learned and will be a safer pilot for it.
All the best for future ops.

 

[CyrusBlack]

The bottom line is that the app gives you tools to keep track of the drone .. but you have to know they are there.
Seems a lot of flyers have no idea of their radar display and how it helps.

Lost sight and don't know how to bring the drone back?
No problem
Use the radar to turn the drone to face home and fly in that direction.
Monitor the distance showing to confirm.
The radar display also shows you where to look in the sky to see the drone.
It's down in the bottom left of your screen and is a lot more useful than the maps that share the same spot/

Exactly - I have had the same issue this guy did where I lost orientation of where my drone was but looking down at the radar and steering it back to me was all I needed to do . . . except raise it up a bit to make sure it didn't hit something on the way back.

 

[DanMan32]

And if you're in map view, it shows a line between HP and AC position. Just turn the AC until nose points towards line.

Note that radar orientation (which way is north relative to which way YOU are facing) is dependent on accuracy of phone's compass. Androids are notorious for needing frequent calibration.
Note that you should still be able to orient yourself.

 

[DanMan32]

I believe you are referring to the Find My Drone feature in Go 4. You can make the Mavic beep and flash the led's to help find it.

Assuming you still have a connection to AC. If battery popped out or crash disabled AC, then you can't beep/flash AC. Otherwise it can only show last known coordinates.

 

[macfawlty]

Allen, stop shaming yourself over it. We've all been there. You can read the manual over and over, watch dozens of YouTube tutorials, hours of flying experience... and still screw up on occasion. $60/yr insurance is peace of mind. You did the right thing swapping cards between flights. I'm less concerned losing the drone than the footage in many cases.

For my purposes, cinematic drone footage necessitates risk. Flying close to land features, trees, water, cliffs, using both joysticks and gimbal simultaneously is risky, but higher quality footage. Flying high over a distant landscape is interesting for about 5 seconds. Photos are fine, but to a videographer, movement is the magic.

If I may... I don't really get the VLOS thing. Sure, I try not to fly behind obstacles, but I can't see my M2P past about 200'. And why would I try? That's what the camera is for... POV.

Opinions aside, my advice is to get a 9.7" Ipad so you can better view your telemetry. A bigger POV and clearly visible flight data is essential. I'd get an even bigger tablet if not for the expense. It's also a good time to consider upgrading to a new model, like the brilliant M2P.

 

[DanMan32]

"If I may... I don't really get the VLOS thing. Sure, I try not to fly behind obstacles, but I can't see my M2P past about 200'. And why would I try? That's what the camera is for... POV. "

I get you.
Reason is safety. You have tunnel vision with FPV alone, so you're not aware of air traffic or other obstacles behind and side of you.

 

[Redleg]

Allen, stop shaming yourself over it. We've all been there. You can read the manual over and over, watch dozens of YouTube tutorials, hours of flying experience... and still screw up on occasion.

I second this. Consider it an expensive learning experience.

 

[kidroc]

Well...I don’t actually. Basically I didn’t pay attention to the actual coordinates when I took off, so I really didn’t have any reference. I presumed that had I calibrated and then more importantly, paid attention, I might have had a better shot at steering her back into my view. I’m just reaching here. Had I just hit the RTH button, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. This is my second drone after having a Phantom II so I can fly...OK. I’ll really need to consider all the proximity functions on the Mavic Pro and in that regard thought having a true compass visual may have helped. The tough part was I was afraid this would happen, and pulled the card and replaced with a clean one since I had a bunch of material I didn’t want to lose...so something told me disaster was imminent. Once again, pay attention to your gut Well not yours, mine!

You always have the map to look at and you can fly right back home or use home lock and pull back on the stick no matter where you are it comes home just give it the height it needs so you don’t hit a tree?