Has anyone here NOT crashed a drone?

[Gary Pearman]

I just got a Phantom 3 Standard as my first drone. I plan on being super conservative with it. I got to do mostly family aerial video and high B roll. Nothing too far away.

I’m a little concerned because it seems like everyone says that no matter what you will eventually crash your drone. I don’t really have the funds to replace it. So I am wondering if it’s possible to not crash if you’re careful.

Not all crashes are unrecoverable. 2nd flight, came down a little crooked practicing emergency procedures. Chipped a prop. Understand wind. Practice procedures. Plan your flight. Fly you plan. Deviate when required. As always, an Aviator's priorities are: aviate, navigate, communicate. First, fly the aircraft. Know where you are and where you are going. Communicate your intentions.
Happy landings,
gdpearman

 

[richard Max]

I just got a Phantom 3 Standard as my first drone. I plan on being super conservative with it. I got to do mostly family aerial video and high B roll. Nothing too far away.

I’m a little concerned because it seems like everyone says that no matter what you will eventually crash your drone. I don’t really have the funds to replace it. So I am wondering if it’s possible to not crash if you’re careful.

It is possible not to crash if you don't do ANYTHING with it. A Standard would be easier to get by without crashing because it doesn't do as much. I have a friend who has a Standard who never uses his and he never took it over 100' thinking that it wouldn't get hurt if it crashed from this elevation which is stupid because it hits just as hard as if it was coming from a mile high. He ran into a tree BECAUSE he wouldn't take it over a certain height. Trees and immovable objects are a major cause of crashes so being a wimp can actually cause crashes to a certain extent. Be warned. I have a P3P which I have added a long range antenna to. I have fun with it. It is worth the risk. Check settings and make sure that it is set to return to home and not land where it is at before flight. I had to buy a new bird once because this toggle was set wrong and it landed in salt water (nothing survives a salt water landing). I had to replace the camera too. Never depend on a friend to calibrate the compass, your bird might land where there is a tree, come crashing down and damage the camera. I bought my pro for $600 on special two years ago and I have spent twice that on repaired parts like cameras and birds. It is important to find a good outlet that sells parts. Incredible RC is a great place if you live near Houston, Texas.

 

[Robert Smith jr]

Hi, I started with a P3S and now P3P. I have had a total of 3 crashes (2 minor, 1 more serious, broke the camera humble). One was flying too close to my house, other two were a loss of GPS and switching to ATTI. Have gotten better since then. Over 250 flights. I also have a Goldwing GL1800. I dropped my GL1200 once, scared me to where I was ready to stop riding, but didn’t.

The best that anyone can do is to be prepared for what MIGHT happen. It is important to check weather, maps , etc. to reduce the risk. Oh yes, ALWAYS wear a helmet when you ride! I would have suffered a major head injury when I dropped my bike, but got away with some bruised ribs and road rash (ouch!).

Rob

 

[Alan Russel]

Crashes happen when you least expect it, so if you havent crashed a phantom yet well its only a matter of time.

 

[rogerneeb]

Crashed my phantom 3 advanced a couple years ago trying to rescue a buddy's Syma drone from a tree, stupid I know, total loss for the P3A, got my P4P almost a year ago and haven't crashed yet. I'm overly cautious and conservative when flying and always do a site visual check before taking off. And no backwards or sideways flying unless absolutely necessary and once I have scanned that direction first. My buddy has a drone business called wenevercrash.com, I just chuckle to myself when I think of how he'll explain himself when he does crash

 

[ETC]

I have not crashed - in a few weeks. I have a P3s a p4p and just purchased a mavic. I have not crashed the mavic as i don't have that one here yet. If you are concerned don't be. A crash will happen but these things are easy to fix and part are cheap. All my crashes happened due to error on my part and each time you not only learn but also become more daring. The only thing that concerns me is crashing into a person or damaging some property, especially property that belongs to companies that have lawyers. So I don't fly over people and I make sure to avoid large expensive things,

 

[Craig Willes]

I thought I had it down pat, a good number of flights never with any problem, even a very tough flight where all of a sudden 45 MPH winds came in quickly, then trying to show just how precise I could fly it, in some tight places, like under a table, through a series of tree limbs and the like, coming into land, just two feet from where I was to sit it down, I swooped in low, flew under a table and it flipped.

Because it was very close to ground level, (2 feet or so) it didn't crash and burn in a big way, but it was blades down to the ground, and the motors screaming a horrible sound.
Turned out, that my wife took off her sweater jacket, and laid it on top of the table, but the waist tie string was dangling off the edge of the table, caught a blade and flipped it over.
I have had many occasions to do some trimming of foliage in the trees, but nothing that brought it down.

It sure would be boring to be so concerned and too scared to enjoy it's abilities to the fullest, and yes the day it came from Amazon and I was un-boxing it, my wife said if you crash it, your not getting another one, so I bought the insurance that day before flying.

I do wish I had known of this forum before then as I didn't know about insurance options, and I bought a two year gold coverage that cost over $300 that I found on Amazon.

From some of the posts I have read on the forum, I do wonder if that coverage will do me any good if I was to really need it again, but for that small incident that I did have, they did cover it and fixed it just fine, they took way to long to get it back to me but I did get it back and properly fixed.

 

[wa5tef]

Being careful, preplanning and locational awareness helps but you always have equipment failure (pilot error per DJI) and firmware problems. Example my P4 flew fine for three months then at some 200 feet in perfect conditions it flipped upside down and flew that way into the ground! Of course per policy DJI denied warranty and said it resulted from “a hard landing”!

Do remember a component can fail anytime and usually at the worst moment. DJI drones are probably the best value for our flying but the latest forced updates have somewhat demished DJI’s reputation.
Jim
WA5TEF

 

[DJI_PilotIndy]

So far so good. One close call. 110 flights and 12 hours of flight time on three birds, Phantom 3 Pro, Mavic Pro, Inspire 1 Ver. 2
The key is pre-flight planning and situational awareness.
My demo:

 

[Melvoid]

I just got a Phantom 3 Standard as my first drone. I plan on being super conservative with it. I got to do mostly family aerial video and high B roll. Nothing too far away.

I’m a little concerned because it seems like everyone says that no matter what you will eventually crash your drone. I don’t really have the funds to replace it. So I am wondering if it’s possible to not crash if you’re careful.

Technically.... no. I've been VERY careful and while I have had a few tough landings, I wouldn't call any of them a crash. They were both due to uncharged batteries, and as a result, lost some power but it still was under some power when it landed. And there was no damage at all.

I just took my time learning and realized that when I feel like I might be losing control, I just let go of the controls and let it hover where it is until I figure outmy problem, then continue. Yes, it's possible.

 

[John Tarvin]

I just got a Phantom 3 Standard as my first drone. I plan on being super conservative with it. I got to do mostly family aerial video and high B roll. Nothing too far away.

I’m a little concerned because it seems like everyone says that no matter what you will eventually crash your drone. I don’t really have the funds to replace it. So I am wondering if it’s possible to not crash if you’re careful.

it's easier than driving your car.... But, like driving your car, you must ALWAYS remain "situationally" aware of all that is going on so you can correct for it. Crashed my P4 Standard once using DJI'S crappy follow mode. Have yet to crash my P4P and I fly a LOT of Litchi waypoint missions. Just keep on your toes and you'll do fine. Most of all....HAVE FUN!

 

[JamesT1950]

I've had my P3A for about 10 months now. I have over 200 flights on it and to date, I have not crashed it. I can't even see how someone could crash one of these birds if they are just a little careful and not try to get stupid with them. I read all kinds of posts where people crash them and it usually turns out....pilot error. In my eyes, they pretty much fly themselves!

 

[Dondi58]

Flying in

I have a phantom 3 standard as well and never crash it. I have over 40 flights. I have this drone for almost a year. The key for a successful fly is to follow all procedures. Make sure that the home point is set before taking off and make sure you fly in a open field.

Flying in an open field is not always possible for commercial projects.
There is a difference in skill flying depends.
If u r a hobbyist or commercial pilot

 

[DaveP4Pilot]

I bought a cheap ($50) drone to learn to fly/crash before deciding to invest any real money. With no gps, no auto hover and not a lot of power it was easy to crash it but it was great for learning to fly. After about 4 or 5 months of that I bought a refurbed P4 from DJI, and proceeded very cautiously. Have not crashed yet but I am very conservative, never been above 400 feet or about 600 feet horizontally. Always use my pre-flight check list and think about whether I want "return to home" or "hover" for every flight. I often fly in a wooded area, some real estate photos have to be below the tree canopy so those times hover is a must. Also, I race sailboats so I am more in tuned to what the wind is doing, to check, I often go to maybe 200 feet and hover then switch to "ATTi" mode. Watch what happens and decide if you should be in GPS mode, Sport mode or maybe just land and fly another day. I am convinced that good percentage of fly aways are from the wind being stronger than the pilot thought. Crashes are most often human error, so use a system to eliminate as many of the human errors as you can.

 

[ThommyBoy]

Flying in

Flying in an open field is not always possible for commercial projects.
There is a difference in skill flying depends.
If u r a hobbyist or commercial pilot

I agree. Flying for business can get you in very tricky situations. I haven't crashed in the last couple of hundred flights, but my earlier Phantoms met a lot of trees while learning.

 

[CEEJAY]

I am 64, never flown any sort of drone until 3 years ago.
Was bought a Syma X5C for Christmas, and I was hooked !!.
Bought a Phantom 2 Vision Plus and flew it many ,many times!.
Got a Phantom 3 Advanced, again flew it loads of times, Bought a P4 ,then a Mavic Pro, took all of the different birds all over the world to Photograph/ Video my Holiday memories.
NEVER once in all this time have I even had a rough landing, and most importantly never crashed any of them, anywhere.
My philosophy is, know your limits, know your area surroundings, know your Drones settings and limits.
I should add, that in the last 3 years I have also learned how to make antennas, how to modify them ,and how to fit them to other peoples drones ¬.
But, the most important thing..............enjoy it, and don't be scared of being adventurous.
Happy and Safe Flying everyone !!

 

[jbolf6]

I just got a Phantom 3 Standard as my first drone. I plan on being super conservative with it. I got to do mostly family aerial video and high B roll. Nothing too far away.

I’m a little concerned because it seems like everyone says that no matter what you will eventually crash your drone. I don’t really have the funds to replace it. So I am wondering if it’s possible to not crash if you’re careful.

I was lucky enough not to have a bad crash. I flew into a chain link fence that was about 4 feet tall, at a low rate of speed. Broke 3 props. Completely pilot error

 

[iride4u]

I crashed 2 drones with in half an hour. The first was because I was trying to follow a new bike trail that was being installed by my house. I brought the drone down next to a tree and flew into one of the branch's. The second was a Typhoon H that would not turn except when flying very slowly. It flew straight when I wanted it to turn. I snapped off parts of at least one propeller maybe more. I still had some control for about 30 feet then it crashed. Both of these were my fault The Phantom 3 was not repairable the Typhoon H was. I sold the Typhoon H and bought a Phantom 4 Pro+ and a Mavic Pro. The only problems that I have with either bird is flying into the sun.

 

[Tomatoman65]

I just got a Phantom 3 Standard as my first drone. I plan on being super conservative with it. I got to do mostly family aerial video and high B roll. Nothing too far away.

I’m a little concerned because it seems like everyone says that no matter what you will eventually crash your drone. I don’t really have the funds to replace it. So I am wondering if it’s possible to not crash if you’re careful.

I've had a Yuneec Q500 4K for 2 years and a Phantom 4 Pro Plus for 9 months. I have never crashed either drone in hundreds of flights ( probably 150 flights with the P4Pro and 400 with the Q500). I don't want to seem immodest here so I put it down to starting with 'toy' drones lacking GPS or cameras and learning to fly them in all conditions from inside to outside in moderate winds. These 'toy' drones did crash on occasion but by the time I invested some real money in the hobby I had a pretty good feel for what drones could do and how they responded in adverse conditions. I also read a lot on the forums before I fly and try and learn from others mistakes that way which is far cheaper. Lesson: start with a good toy drone like the Hubsan X4. That was my first and its still a good one. Good luck.

 

[NYroadside]

I've had at least 2 crashes in the year since I've had my P3S. All were likely due to operator error. The first and most spectacular crash had the drone landing through some tree tops roughly 200' up due to a critical battery setting error. Drone crashed through the tree canopy, flipped over, and landed upside down. I found it exactly where the map coordinates said it was. I replaced one broken prop and a cracked gimbal mount board. Cleaned it up and it's good as new. That happened roughly 200 flights ago.