Well, it's taken me over 10 days to be able to even look at these boards due to a major crash. Took me just as long to open the case to inspect the wreckage. Having mostly gotten past being pissed at myself, here is my story.
I've been wanting to get footage of the Walls of Jericho, an amazing canyon on the Alabama/Tennessee border, ever since I got the Phantom last summer. There were some obstacles in my way, however. First, getting there is a challenge. A 3 mile hike doesn't sound too daunting until you factor in a 1000 foot drop in elevation and the rugged terrain over much of the journey. Took a little over 2 hours to arrive at the canyon/gorge.
Considering how much rain we've had recently I expected the waterfalls to be more active, but such was not the case. Since I had hauled the Phantom all the way down, I was determined to get some footage. Big mistake. Because we were essentially in a big hole, the most satellites I could get was 6, so I decided to fly ATTI. Then the winds picked up, swirling around the canyon walls, and my better judgement told me to wait, but I didn't listen.
I was airborne for about 5 minutes when the wind grabbed my bird and slung her against the canyon walls about 10 feet above the rocks below. Truth of the matter is I got disoriented and was unable to avoid the panic that ensued when she started to drift. In hindsight, I probably should have never even attempted to fly in such tight quarters.
A quick inspection revealed that the gimbal and camera had completely separated from the Phantom, ripping both cable ties used to secure it to the quad. The gimbal was obviously damaged as well as the GoPro but I was in no mood for a detailed inspection and packed up the wreckage to get it out of my sight.
A difficult 2.5 hour uphill trek back to the car and 1.5 hour drive home were punctuated by putting my kit on the shelf and doing my best to forget about it. After about 10 days, curiosity got the best of me and I decided to wade through the carnage. Yes, the gimbal was toast but the GoPro seemed to be working even though the LCD screen was broken and no longer useful (shame on GoPro for not making repair parts available). OK then, I can use the remote instead. As for the quad, after cleaning her up, I couldn't find any breaks to the shell whatsoever, nor any damage to the battery, which remained in the quad. Not only that, the props were not broken, cracked or dinged in any way, so all is not lost! Took her out for a test flight yesterday and she flies just fine. It also allowed me to drain 3 batteries to 50%, two of which had a full charge.
Anyway, the moral of the story is even if you've gone through considerable pain to arrive at an amazing location to shoot footage, don't do it if your better judgement tells you otherwise. But what's done is done and all I need to be whole again is another H3 3D gimbal. B & H has new ones for $300 but if anyone happens to have a gently used one for sale, I'd be interested.
I didn't get but about 3 minutes of footage before stupid kicked in (actually stupid kicked in when I made the decision to fly), but there was enough to give you an idea of the beauty at the Walls of Jericho.
I've been wanting to get footage of the Walls of Jericho, an amazing canyon on the Alabama/Tennessee border, ever since I got the Phantom last summer. There were some obstacles in my way, however. First, getting there is a challenge. A 3 mile hike doesn't sound too daunting until you factor in a 1000 foot drop in elevation and the rugged terrain over much of the journey. Took a little over 2 hours to arrive at the canyon/gorge.
Considering how much rain we've had recently I expected the waterfalls to be more active, but such was not the case. Since I had hauled the Phantom all the way down, I was determined to get some footage. Big mistake. Because we were essentially in a big hole, the most satellites I could get was 6, so I decided to fly ATTI. Then the winds picked up, swirling around the canyon walls, and my better judgement told me to wait, but I didn't listen.
I was airborne for about 5 minutes when the wind grabbed my bird and slung her against the canyon walls about 10 feet above the rocks below. Truth of the matter is I got disoriented and was unable to avoid the panic that ensued when she started to drift. In hindsight, I probably should have never even attempted to fly in such tight quarters.
A quick inspection revealed that the gimbal and camera had completely separated from the Phantom, ripping both cable ties used to secure it to the quad. The gimbal was obviously damaged as well as the GoPro but I was in no mood for a detailed inspection and packed up the wreckage to get it out of my sight.
A difficult 2.5 hour uphill trek back to the car and 1.5 hour drive home were punctuated by putting my kit on the shelf and doing my best to forget about it. After about 10 days, curiosity got the best of me and I decided to wade through the carnage. Yes, the gimbal was toast but the GoPro seemed to be working even though the LCD screen was broken and no longer useful (shame on GoPro for not making repair parts available). OK then, I can use the remote instead. As for the quad, after cleaning her up, I couldn't find any breaks to the shell whatsoever, nor any damage to the battery, which remained in the quad. Not only that, the props were not broken, cracked or dinged in any way, so all is not lost! Took her out for a test flight yesterday and she flies just fine. It also allowed me to drain 3 batteries to 50%, two of which had a full charge.
Anyway, the moral of the story is even if you've gone through considerable pain to arrive at an amazing location to shoot footage, don't do it if your better judgement tells you otherwise. But what's done is done and all I need to be whole again is another H3 3D gimbal. B & H has new ones for $300 but if anyone happens to have a gently used one for sale, I'd be interested.
I didn't get but about 3 minutes of footage before stupid kicked in (actually stupid kicked in when I made the decision to fly), but there was enough to give you an idea of the beauty at the Walls of Jericho.