Second drone gone in six months. :(

[cameraz]

My Mavic Mini got eaten by a tree today. What makes this especially upsetting is that I had bought the Mini only 6 months ago to replace a Spark which had a fatal crash into a building.

In both cases, bright sunlight played a big part in their demise. I just couldn’t see the light-colored drones.

Today I was flying my Mini at a local heavily-wooded park when I decided to bring her in. The view on my phone screen showed that it was pretty much overhead to near to where I was standing. But the picture on the screen was deceptive because of my gimbal’s camera angle. Actually, my mini was maybe 15-20 feet behind me. I should have had the camera pointing straight down.

The picture on my screen soon became a tangle of tree branches, and I knew I was in trouble. I tried to climb, and the Mini jerked around a bit, and then stopped.

I walked around looking for it, but the trees in the park are very tall, and most still have a lot of leaves on them, so it would be hard to spot the drone. The Find My Drone showed me I was very near the Mini, but, like I said, there were too many leaves in the way. And the beeping and flashing the light feature was useless; there was too much noise from a nearby highway, and way too bright out to see any flashing light.

I was thinking of going back after the sun started to set, but the drone only had 30% of battery power left and would probably be drained by then. Also, even if I did spot it, it would be up way too high to retrieve it.

I suspect it will take a very stiff wind to dislodge the drone. Meanwhile, I do have a waterproof sticker attached to the Mini with my name and phone number on it. But I’m afraid the Mini wouldn’t be able to survive such long drop to the ground. (Not to mention the rain storm predicted for later this week.)

I have DJI’s insurance policy, but without a drone to turn in, they would not give me a replacement. So I am out of luck ... again! ?

 

[Deleted member 103366]

I would try going back after nightfall just on the chance that there is still power, did you switch off the find me and beep before you left?
I can say that in the dark the flashing is VERY good, I tree'd mine into a fir and in the dark the flashing was actually too bright when going up the ladder to retrieve it.

 

[cameraz]

Thanks. Yes, I did turn off the Find My Drone before I left. One problem is that the park closes at dusk. I could walk in, but have to walk about a mile to get to where I lost the drone. Secondly, even if I was able to locate the Mini, it most likely will be way too high up to retrieve it.

The Mini had a landing cradle attached to the bottom of it. I'm sure this helped it get stuck in the tree. But it would be nice if it cushioned the Mini's fall out of the tree some day!

 

[SkyeHigh]

Today I was flying my Mini at a local heavily-wooded park when I decided to bring her in. The view on my phone screen showed that it was pretty much overhead to near to where I was standing. But the picture on the screen was deceptive because of my gimbal’s camera angle. Actually, my mini was maybe 15-20 feet behind me. I should have had the camera pointing straight down.

So if it was behind you then no VLOS??

 

[cameraz]

So if it was behind you then no VLOS??

Correct. I couldn't even see it when I was first bringing it in because it was lost in the bright sky. But I had video on the screen and could see the general area where it was. But when it gave view of the area I was in, I expected it was in front of me, so I brought it down. But actually it was behind me! Like I said, I should have had the gimbal pointing straight down. I might've seen the tree then.

 

[shaneb50]

I’m so sorry about your loss of your drone.
I hope some how you can get it back or get a replacement .[emoji26]
You have my prayers and God bless you

 

[cameraz]

I’m so sorry about your loss of your drone.
I hope some how you can get it back or get a replacement .[emoji26]
You have my prayers and God bless you

Thank you very much, Shane. It's not the end of the world. If I should ever get it back, I don't think it would be in flyable condition. I will consider getting a replacement, and be more careful how I fly.

 

[Thomas B]

If you decide to try again... recommend a good strobe... I prefer Firehouse. They will run for 6 hours... and the ARC XLs emit a 96bD tone until battery is depleted (6hrs) once the drone is motionless for 2 minutes.

one question... maybe I missed it... but did I understand you were flying in a park?

 

[cameraz]

If you decide to try again... recommend a good strobe... I prefer Firehouse. They will run for 6 hours... and the ARC XLs emit a 96bD tone until battery is depleted (6hrs) once the drone is motionless for 2 minutes.

one question... maybe I missed it... but did I understand you were flying in a park?

Yes, I was flying in a public park. Do it all the time. It is permitted. I was taking photos of foliage. Not flying over people.

 

[Thomas B]

Yes, I was flying in a public park. Do it all the time. It is permitted. I was taking photos of foliage. Not flying over people.

Kudos to the park administration. Wish the parks in AZ were legal to fly.... envious

 

[shaneb50]

Thank you very much, Shane. It's not the end of the world. If I should ever get it back, I don't think it would be in flyable condition. I will consider getting a replacement, and be more careful how I fly.

I too lost a couple of drones .but like you said we move on and learn from our mistakes.?
I have no doubt soon you will be flying and having fun

 

[theDRONEranger]

It’s unfortunate for the loss of 1 drone, let alone 2. Situational awareness plays a very important part of flying. One must always be aware of surroundings at all times. Here is a trick I perform in unfamiliar areas. This works for rural and urban environments, and both trees and buildings. When flying near trees/structures, if one is unsure of the height of the trees/structures a test flight may be an option. Such as finding a spot close enough to the taller trees/structures in your flight area and performing a vertical check of safe tree/structure top altitude. Keep the drone camera level to the surface as you climb. Now, as you climb, hover periodically and perform a slow, level rotation. Make note of the altitude! When you are satisfied, add yet another 25 feet altitude to your intended flight level as a safety margin. You may not know the exact height of the trees/structures, but a far better judgment may be obtained by this action than a takeoff and horizontal flight at a too low altitude.

Bonus: https://www.faa.gov/uas/resources/e...afety_awareness/media/DSAW_2020_guidebook.pdf

 

[zeusfl]

Sorry for your loss. Always altitude is your friend. I always fly about 10FT or more from the highest tree around. Even when you think you are high sufficient, you never know when a wind gust can blow the drone done. It never happened to me, but just in case.

 

[LifesShort]

I know this suggestion is of no use to you now, but this would have been a great time to use the RTH function, assuming you had a safe RTH height set and clear skies directly above you.

 

[Fort Pierce Pilot]

Do you have any friends with drones? Maybe it could be seen from the air.

 

[hiflyer201]

Directly overhead is such a bummer. You can easily have the drone insight and then lose it in the sun when it gets close. Naturally that's often the situation around tree's and even with the best laid plans you can overlook that point. Thanks for posting. It's a good reminder if that's any consolation

 

[DanMan32]

Altitude wasn't really his issue, since he was flying OK. His issue was descending in order to land. He had landing clearance in front of him which is where he thought the AC was, but it was behind him where he didn't have clearance.
That orientation indicator can be wrong if the mobile device compass is not in calibration. Map view may be a better help.

 

[cameraz]

Altitude wasn't really his issue, since he was flying OK. His issue was descending in order to land. He had landing clearance in front of him which is where he thought the AC was, but it was behind him where he didn't have clearance.
That orientation indicator can be wrong if the mobile device compass is not in calibration. Map view may be a better help.

Exactly! It was plenty clear in front of me, but not behind. My mistake was not pointing my gimbal straight down so I could see what was underneath my Mini. And the reason I did not use the RTH button was because 20 minutes earlier, I was in another location in the park and when I hit RTH, the drone landed about 15 feet away from where it took off. In this new location, I was afraid the drone would do the same thing, and hit one of the trees that were nearby.

I know that with my now-deceased Spark, when you take off you were supposed to fly up 25'-30' and pause for a moment so the drone could lock onto its home point. Should I have done this with my Mini?

In any event, I have learned several valuable lessons when flying a drone: 1) Never be in Sport Mode when you don't have VLOS and you are surrounded by tall buildings and/or trees; 2) If you need to land and can't see your drone, point your camera straight down and look for a clearing to land, even if it is a short distance away from you. Maybe by the time it's only 20 feet off the ground, you will be able to see it and bring it toward you.

Meanwhile, I am trying to decide whether to get another Mini or the Mini 2. The main reason I fly is for the photography & videography aspect, so I like the ability to shoot in RAW. But the 4K video is not as important to me at this moment. I also like the fact that I wouldn't have to take my phone out of its case to use the Mini 2's new controller. Now, if I can just justify the price!

 

[cameraz]

PS: Yesterday afternoon, I returned to the site of my drone's disappearance, and, as expected, I could not pick up a signal from it. And the trees in the area are still heavily covered with leaves, so it was very difficult to see through their thick canopies.

In another couple of weeks when the leaves should be gone, I will go back and look again. But I think my Mini is going to be up in the tree for a long time, since I had a landing cradle attached to it and it's probably hooked onto a branch. If my Mini ever falls out of the tree, I have my name and phone number on it. But unless the drone falls into a pile of leaves, I doubt it would survive the fall.

 

[SpitFire]

Sorry, about loss of two drones. Here is something else to remember, when a drone falls from a great height. It may affect your ESC, (Electronic Speed Controller) The ESC controls the speed of the motor , which directly alters the in flight aircraft directional changes. Hardware may be damaged, after a crash. So. if your drone was in a crash, and you get ESC status error, just a heads up if after a crash you get error messages. Check it out your self, don"t take my word for it.