I've Joined the Crashed Drone Club....

[jephoto]

I have to admit I was getting smug. Hearing about all you guys who MUST have been Hot dogging around, flying to fast, or not getting a proper compass calibration or Doing Something Wrong.

Wasn't going to happen to me....
Last night wanted to do Dusk/night shots at this really nice fountain in Chicago- Buckingham Fountain.
In the middle of a large plaza surrounded by gardens & low trees. Spectacular cityscape backdrop.
I'd begun shooting and got some nice things, singles & panos. Getting a feel for the long exposures & getting ready for the 9:00 light show when the fountain revs up & shoots the water high with lots of colored lights all around.
I was shooting at 30-40' high and decided to move back & up for a wider view on a single frame.
The drone was up and behind me now and I moved slowly up & back, watching my screen and backed right into the ONE tall tree in the area....
Tumbled down through the free 50' to the grass. Found her upside down, camera & gimbal ripped off & battery popped out.
UV filter also cracked. One landing gear looks a little out of shape, but the main body seems totally intact so far. We'll see what my repair guy says about that.
At least there was nothing wrong with the P3 - totally pilot stupidity.

AFGO for me - Another [expletive deleted] Growth Opportunity....

 

[phantom3menace]

Another one bites the dust.

Hope u get back in the air soon.

 

[hunch]

jephoto,
let me know if you need your gimbal / camera repaired, i am located in MN.

 

[Altanore]

My heart would literally drop if I saw my Phantom like that. Mistakes happen thus why I ordered whatever I could to make it more crash proof. Including a Gimbal guard, carbon fiber camera guard & replaced the plastic camera support with a carbon fiber one. Hopefully I won't have to put them to the test.

 

[Ottawa Aerials]

My heart would literally drop if I saw my Phantom like that. Mistakes happen thus why I ordered whatever I could to make it more crash proof. Including a Gimbal guard, carbon fiber camera guard & replaced the plastic camera support with a carbon fiber one. Hopefully I won't have to put them to the test.

Altamira would be curious to see a pic of your setup. What do you figure is your total added weight, notice any battery life decrease?

 

[Altanore]

Altamira would be curious to see a pic of your setup. What do you figure is your total added weight, notice any battery life decrease?

Very little added weight if any. The only piece that would add any weight is the camera guard and it adds very little since carbon fiber is very light. I have not noticed any performance or reduced battery life issues.

 

[Jbundy63]

**** that sucks man! I hate to hear when someone crashes their drone.

 

[flyNfrank]

jephoto,
let me know if you need your gimbal / camera repaired, i am located in MN.

This guy is trust worthy and has been around awhile, plus fixed numerous quads with no bad reports by anyone. Add him to your favorites.

Btw, I do not vouch for many people.

jephoto, I hope you get'r fixed soon!

 

[hunch]

thanks Frank, i appreciate that.
i can't be exact as to how many quads because i honestly don't know but i know it has been more than 500 so far and over 500 gimbals from P2s
came through me.
and in the past two weeks i already got and shipped back out over 20 P3 birds and gimbals

 

[jephoto]

Thanks Hunch. I bought mine from STC Electronics in NYC. Sam Cowen has excellent customer service & will do it fast for me. I'm glad to know you're there though. Always good to have more resources.
He'll get it Tuesday. Says he's got the cameras in stock if no other major problems I should have it back pretty quick.
It was able to startup, spin props. One landing leg seemed a bit bent and may need replacing. But antenna wires intact.
The plate above the gimbal with the se card was hanging down. And one cable disconnected- but did not look damaged - from what I could see. Hopefully it's not broken inside. Fingers crossed.
Here what I was shooting:

An expensive shot to be sure...

 

[Jbundy63]

Very cool pic!

 

[Altanore]

Thanks Hunch. I bought mine from STC Electronics in NYC. Sam Cowen has excellent customer service & will do it fast for me. I'm glad to know you're there though. Always good to have more resources.
He'll get it Tuesday. Says he's got the cameras in stock if no other major problems I should have it back pretty quick.
It was able to startup, spin props. One landing leg seemed a bit bent and may need replacing. But antenna wires intact.
The plate above the gimbal with the se card was hanging down. And one cable disconnected- but did not look damaged - from what I could see. Hopefully it's not broken inside. Fingers crossed.
Here what I was shooting:View attachment 26772
An expensive shot to be sure...

But an extremely nice shot!

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

[JKDSensei]

Yes. Breath taking shot!

You think this was pilot error? Pfffft!
Those sneaky trees. You do know that it wasn't that the ONE tree just happened to be right "there"..don't you ?

 

[jryser]

Gorgeous shot. At least u got the pic! I was videoing a luminary launch over a pond. And OF COURSE you know what happened! I guess flying is like hunting - if you don't miss sometimes ur not a hunter; if u don't crash once ur not a droner! Hope u r flying soon.


Sent from my PT beating heart

 

[MPD352]

Evil, Evil Trees!

 

[johnv]

Evil, Evil Trees!

Trees be evil!! That's why I take my 20' trimmer with me to get my X5c out of them (Cut there Branches Off)? Ha!
Never the P3P. Yet...

 

[jephoto]

Evil, Evil Trees!

**** things are a menace.
And messy too... All those dame leaves dropping in the Fall....

 

[MPD352]

Why don't we take action against these fing trees!? Remove the prop guards, upgrade to laser hardened titanium props with quantum hardened super sharp leading edges and di-lithium crystal enhanced batteries and motors.

Then we could fly through the stinking trees and sell the resulting mulch to the gardening types.

 

[Luis Costa]

Being aware of surroundings is key to avoid crashes at low altitudes.
I was lucky enough not to crash mine on my very first flight, as the momentum carried my P3P inches above a metal fence into the bushes....
Then, two days later I forgot there was a lamp post right behind me, and did a fly-over with the drone over my head.
When I looked back to follow the P3P, well..... let's just say I still can't believe how lucky I was.

Always be aware of surroundings, that's why line of sight is so important, more so than FPV.

I am sorry for your loss, but you sure got a very nice picture!
Got to say I always loved the Chicago skyline!

 

[jephoto]

Yes Luis. Total rookie mistake. The plaza with the Fountain is surrounded by low trees- no more than 20' and gardens. I'd flown there with the P2 and my position was fine for the P2's lens. But once there with the P3 I realized I wanted a wider view and started backing up. The TALL tree was behind and out of my line of sight.
I got too focused on the image, forgetting to FLY safely.
Definitely My Bad.
As I say - AFGO...
I rarely make mistakes like that twice.