You will NEVER out maneuver a Bald eagle!

[Marko9219]

What I saw yesterday struck fear into my heart as a drone pilot! I was not flying, but I witnessed a Bald eagle chasing a smaller raptor of some species. The maneuverability of the much larger eagle was stunning. The smaller and more maneuverable bird absolutely could not shake the much, much larger eagle. It went on for about 3 minutes or so in a giant circle around me.
Our Mavics wouldn't stand a chance no matter what we attempt to do. That eagle climbed, dived and turned at rates we can only dream about.
Our only hope would be a full speed run in sports mode.

 

[kakao]

Sport - fully vertical, full speed ..

 

[Lake_Flyer]

Sport - fully vertical, full speed ..

It only helps IF the eagle wants to preserve his energy. If he doesn't, well,...bye.
But it is the only thing to do really.

 

[tsowry]

I have had an eagle come look at my mavic while flying. Working out whether it was something worth eating. I brought it back asap. Not worth the risk.

 

[ronk]

I have had an eagle come look at my mavic while flying. Working out whether it was something worth eating. I brought it back asap. Not worth the risk.

Same thing happened to me! I put it in sports mode and landed immediately.

 

[Marko9219]

Sport - fully vertical, full speed ..

Nope. I watched that eagle climb far faster than I've ever watched my Mavic climb.

 

[HVYMTL]

An eagle will chase his pray until it is warn out, then strike for the kill. I too have witnessed an eagle chasing another bird. What a scene to watch.

 

[Nickvr628]

You can juke up and down faster than a bald eagle can, the trick is to wait until it gets close and then juke, or else it will just climb to meet you.

That being said, it is best to just bring it back when the big birds start looking at your Mavic.

 

[Tonewheel]

Anybody have an eagle skin with a big smile on it?

 

[Lapeer20m]

This is where the climbing ability of sport+ Mode comes in handy.

I've read that ascending is an unnatural thing for a bird to do when threatened and that by climbing it's likely to reduce the chance of an attack, vs diving which is apparently the exact wrong thing to do.

 

[UAV_C_A]

I've placed orange carbon fiber wrap on mine to HOPEFULLY eliminate any wildlife wanting to go near it LOL
Orange tends to be a "don't go near it" color for those critters

 

[HoozierDroneDaddy]

Here is a video of a Bald Eagle grabbing a Phantom 3 in flight, and carrying it back to its nest while the camera was still running. No more needs to be said.

 

[ronk]

Here is a video of a Bald Eagle grabbing a Phantom 3 in flight, and carrying it back to its nest while the camera was still running. No more needs to be said.

Wonder if the eagle was hurt when grabbing the Phantom.

 

[Lake_Flyer]

Wonder if the eagle was hurt when grabbing the Phantom.

Their legs and claws are about the strongest and resilient body parts of any animal on the planet. They will sense the props striking the leg but it will probably not even leave a scratch. The dutch police had a few bald eagles trained to take drones out of the sky. The birds did it happily. Of course the animal rights orgs where furious and the project was cancelled. But it worked much better than anyone expected.

 

[beinhart]

That would be a great game to play if I had won in lotto and could spare a mavic or 2

 

[Anthony Viscomi]

You can juke up and down faster than a bald eagle can, the trick is to wait until it gets close and then juke, or else it will just climb to meet you.

That being said, it is best to just bring it back when the big birds start looking at your Mavic.

That is the first time I've ever seen the word "juke" being used to describe a drone maneuver...I love it!

 

[ronk]

Their legs and claws are about the strongest and resilient body parts of any animal on the planet. They will sense the props striking the leg but it will probably not even leave a scratch. The dutch police had a few bald eagles trained to take drones out of the sky. The birds did it happily. Of course the animal rights orgs where furious and the project was cancelled. But it worked much better than anyone expected.

TIL eagles are bad a s s ! Thank you.

 

[Lapeer20m]

TIL eagles are bad a s s ! Thank you.

Did he ever recover the phantom?

 

[ronk]

Did he ever recover the phantom?

Yes, you can see the recovered phantom towards the end. Note the damage to the air intake.

 

[mav09]

You can juke up and down faster than a bald eagle can, the trick is to wait until it gets close and then juke, or else it will just climb to meet you.

That being said, it is best to just bring it back when the big birds start looking at your Mavic.

Good luck