Bird down..bird..down!!

[Dj Will]

Can't believe this happened to me. I been flying for about a week or so. Still on beginners mode of course. Flying normal no issues, All of a sudden my phone dies, mind you I had over 60% of battery left. I'm using a Samsung Note 4. The bird started to return home, but it missed the ground by few feet and landed on my roof. My home is a 2 story house in which I don't have a latter big enough to get up there. So as of right now the bird is still up there hopefully no major damage. Just wanted to share my experience.

 

[DroneDestination]

You should probably either borrow a ladder from a friend or hire someone (like a gutter cleaner) to get it down for you... if it rains there could be "issues"...

 

[flpholt]

set your rth a little higher next time

 

[shorttimer]

Better your roof than the swimming pool. Yea, I would definitely focus on getting it down ASAP.

 

[Dj Will]

I'm trying to get a gutter cleaning out right now. I don't have any buddy's with high enough ladders. I hope it not too damage, it went down soft, but tipped over once it landed on the roof.

 

[MedinaTaylor]

FYI, you can still fly it if your phone dies. The remote will still work and you can override RTH.

 

[Dj Will]

FYI, you can still fly it if your phone dies. The remote will still work and you can override RTH.

Really?? Man I panic and didn't even think of using the sticks to try to fly it in the right direction. Clearly I'm a rookie!

 

[OrlyP]

FWIW, very nice home.

I'm with the others... get it down asap. No telling how well it is caught on by the gutter. Roof vibration or wind, or maybe even if the motors somehow starts turning, could dislodge it and well... pavement.

Good luck!

 

[D Myers]

Even in the auto land portion of the return to home mode (RTH) using the left stick will allow you to control the landing spot. I believe you can even push the left stick up and slow or stop the decent as you move it around to the exact landing spot you want then then let it continue. Flipping the right switch will cancel the auto RTH and let you take full manual control.

Question? Was it really cold out? A phone exposed to a really cold environment can shutdown prematurely. I use a portable high current (2.4A) mobile phone charger stored in a warm pocket to keep my iPhone 6 topped off and running when it is extremely cold out (and any time for that matter just to be safe). My phone would go to deep sleep all the time in the freezing cold until I did this.

 

[SZNJ732]

So technically the "bird isn't down", yet..
Call the local fire department, see if they can help.. If they are not too busy, maybe they can send someone. And good luck, i hope there is no damage to your bird!

 

[Sabalon]

Sounds like it's time to buy a ladder. Or an empty paint roller (ie. hook) a long extension pole or two, and some duct tape

 

[Dj Will]

Even in the auto land portion of the return to home mode (RTH) using the left stick will allow you to control the landing spot. I believe you can even push the left stick up and slow or stop the decent as you move it around to the exact landing spot you want then then let it continue. Flipping the right switch will cancel the auto RTH and let you take full manual control.

Question? Was it really cold out? A phone exposed to a really cold environment can shutdown prematurely. I use a portable high current (2.4A) mobile phone charger stored in a warm pocket to keep my iPhone 6 topped off and running when it is extremely cold out (and any time for that matter just to be safe). My phone would go to deep sleep all the time in the freezing cold until I did this.

It was about 59 degrees today in Dallas. So not too cold. Going forward I will do the same as you. I have a handy battery charger for the go.

 

[Dj Will]

OK so after a few calls to several gutter cleaning places, I found out they won’t come out to save a drone. They wanted to charge a minimum of $75 bucks just to come out.
I reached out to my father in law and he came to save the day. He was able to get a ladder that would reach the roof.
I have checked the damages to the bird and they are minimal. The blades took must of the damage. Scuffs more than anything. I fired it up and I did get the cam to turn on. The gimbal seems to be working fine I was able to move it up and down. No odd noises when doing so either.
I did notice that the gimbal didn't have that small clear piece on all four side. Guess I lost 2.
I wasn’t able to take it back up and check if it can still fly. I’ll be doing that tomorrow when I have sun light. Anything I should pay attention to?

 

[Illina]

Sounds like it's time to buy a ladder. Or an empty paint roller (ie. hook) a long extension pole or two, and some duct tape

Yep....maybe a couple universal telescoping pool poles. I've got a couple that extend three sections that I used to put end to end to get my old Syma out of the trees all of the time.

 

[Illina]

I did notice that the gimbal didn't have that small clear piece on all four side. Guess I lost 2.

It comes with only two. Loosely put a tie wrap in the other two holes.

 

[Dj Will]

It comes with only two. Loosely put a tie wrap in the other two holes.

cool beans.. I was looking on Amazon for replacements already. Which I just realized I think I have some in the box.

 

[Big Easy Drone Videos]

cool beans.. I was looking on Amazon for replacements already. Which I just realized I think I have some in the box.

Yep you get an extra set of them when you bought your phantom, same little baggie as the prop removal tool

 

[DroneDestination]

Though you do have extra anti-drop pins, using 4 can adversely affect your videos (i.e. jello and vibrations) so, for safety, you can LOOSELY zip-tie the remaining two corners to prevent the gimbal from falling off in a crash.