That tree came out of nowhere (Video "The Death Of A Mavic" Added 3/9/17)

[RC Mantis]

One way to avoid sideways crashes is to plan your mission on Google Earth, then load it into Litchi App to fly. You can avoid obstacles during your mission, make much smoother turns, set the camera to train on your points of interest as you are flying, and set a given distance above the ground to maintain and it controls the drone elevation. All you have to do is watch as it creates your masterpiece without worry of crashing.

I definitely need to study up on Litchi.

 

[MrMavic]

Forgot to mention, litchi also controls the gimbal pitch. I bought the Litchi app last year, but I never got a chance to use it. I plan on using it and flying Litchi missions with my Mavic this summer. Here's one mission I have planned already and loaded into the Mission hub. The first image is the planned mission path on Google Earth. You can see the wall on the Google Earth path which is the elevation I set which is relative to the ground. Notice how it follows the terrain. The second one is the mission loaded into the Litchi App.

 

[Kestrel]

If i'm trying to get a close shot of something i'll use visual line of sight, it helps a lot when you can see the drone but if im doing a close shot of something a good distance away, if im flying there i'll scan the area for any thing that might hit me, trees, poles and what not, i'll fly around the area from a decent height and get a feel for the area, then i'll come down if I think its safe and then i'll very cautiously fly around my subject.

And yes Litchi is awesome, I use the waypoints on my phantom, its nice especially if you are following a river bank or something like that so you can get the curved turns to follow the bank it creates nice shots, haven't used it for the Mavic yet since I get really good range with it. I haven't had any need for it just yet.

 

[Edjes]

Beautiful music! Take care bro!

 

[MrMavic]

Sorry Mantis, I didn't mean to hijack your thread. Happy future flying.

 

[RC Mantis]

Sorry Mantis, I didn't mean to hijack your thread. Happy future flying.

All good. I think you added valuable information regarding Litchi.

 

[kydroneman]

I was filming The Palace Of Fine Arts in San Francisco this evening. The sun was low in the sky and behind the Palace. With the harsh back lighting I was thinking the only way to get a decent exposure was to fly close enough to keep the Mavic in the shadow of The Palace. I decided to do a sideways pan and had a few moments where I lost track of the Mavic in the Sun. Being mistakenly certain that I was safe over the water I continued my pan until I saw branches and leaves on my IPad screen. I destroyed thee propellers and broke the gimbal. Who knows what other damage that is not obvious to the eye. I am relived to say there was no third party property damage and no one got hurt.

Lesson learned. Do not fly sideways when you loose sight of your Mavic even when the camera is giving you nice video that makes you think you are safe.

I just submitted my "DJI Care Refresh Claim" I will keep you guys updated on how that goes.

Ok you are all free to tell me what an idiot I am now, However I am already beating myself up on that point.

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would a sun shield have saved the gimbal. just wondering.

 

[RC Mantis]

would a sun shield have saved the gimbal. just wondering.

I do not know, I understand your thought. A sun shade should offer some protection from impact. I have just never seen one in person.

 

[JustinVV]

I have been in the same situation, I would have stopped and done a 360 to take a look at the surroundings. But its easy to let the excitement get the better of you, and you have to get the shot

 

[Simsstash]

Rest In Peace Little Buddy

 

[vashon100]

I defiantly need to study up on Litchi.

Did you really mean "defiantly"? If so, is there something you don't like about Litchi?

 

[RC Mantis]

Did you really mean "defiantly"? If so, is there something you don't like about Litchi?

Lol, sometimes I trust autocorrect a little to much. "defiantly" looked a lot like "definitely" in a quick glance (i'll go back and correct it, thanks). I really don't know enough about Litchi to have an opinion about it, I plan on learning about it.

 

[R1Mavic]

These things make you realize how tall trees are real quick!