- Joined
- Jul 27, 2016
- Messages
- 11
- Reaction score
- 2
Ok, I admit I must have panicked and made a stupid mistake that caused my drone to fall from about 40 feet on to the parking lot. Here is the scenerio:
This is my first drone experience and mostly I have been practicing flying and getting the controls figured out. I've been slowly getting more daring and going a bit higher and farther out. I got the P3-A as a gift in late July so I probably only have 10 hours or so of flying. Yesterday was the first cooler day in a week so I wanted to go and fly so I went to a local soccer field, there was no one there which was perfect but pretty bright out and that made it hard to see my phone on the controller.
I flew the field area and practiced using the controls and trying to get smoother movements, landing on a target, etc. Even had a big buzzard come fly by to check it out in the air. I got the low battery warning, the sun was very bright so it was no possible to see the battery level on my phone but I could see 1 solid green light and 1 flashing on the battery when it was close. I decided to fly it back to the car which was about 100 feet away, I had another battery there and planned to change it out and fly for another 20 minutes or so. I flew it at about 6 feet off the ground and walked behind it and as I got to the car I attempted to land on a spot I had picked out next to the car.
Suddenly the drone took off straight up. In hindsight I guess it was attempting to get back to the Home Point where I started out on the field before the batter failed. I panicked thinking it was out of control and tried to bring it back down with the left joystick. Somehow in my haste I think I turned off the drone, yes I know that was the stupid part. The blades stopped and it dropped and I tried to run catch it but it hit the asphalt pretty hard.
When I picked it up I could see the immediate damage; the gimbal snapped of at the base where it pivots left to right and is hanging by the ribbon cable. Also the landing leg supports are a bit bent but not broken. There are a few places where the upper shell has a gap from the bottom but no cracks or breaks. I think it can be aligned to fit tight again. I think the camera was in the tilt-down position because the filter is dented and the glass shattered but I can unscrew it. There are a few scuffs on the bottom of the camera. The tilt mechanism on the gimbal seems ok bu the leveling one just behind the camera is bent so I may need a new part there.
Sadly, I did not get the DJI insurance plan so the repairs are on me. I did some searching on line and see that there are several tutorials for replacing the gimbal and the ribbon cable, the legs can also be replaced. Not sure if I should attempt the repairs or send it off or just bite the bullet and order a new camera gimbal assembly.
This is my first drone experience and mostly I have been practicing flying and getting the controls figured out. I've been slowly getting more daring and going a bit higher and farther out. I got the P3-A as a gift in late July so I probably only have 10 hours or so of flying. Yesterday was the first cooler day in a week so I wanted to go and fly so I went to a local soccer field, there was no one there which was perfect but pretty bright out and that made it hard to see my phone on the controller.
I flew the field area and practiced using the controls and trying to get smoother movements, landing on a target, etc. Even had a big buzzard come fly by to check it out in the air. I got the low battery warning, the sun was very bright so it was no possible to see the battery level on my phone but I could see 1 solid green light and 1 flashing on the battery when it was close. I decided to fly it back to the car which was about 100 feet away, I had another battery there and planned to change it out and fly for another 20 minutes or so. I flew it at about 6 feet off the ground and walked behind it and as I got to the car I attempted to land on a spot I had picked out next to the car.
Suddenly the drone took off straight up. In hindsight I guess it was attempting to get back to the Home Point where I started out on the field before the batter failed. I panicked thinking it was out of control and tried to bring it back down with the left joystick. Somehow in my haste I think I turned off the drone, yes I know that was the stupid part. The blades stopped and it dropped and I tried to run catch it but it hit the asphalt pretty hard.
When I picked it up I could see the immediate damage; the gimbal snapped of at the base where it pivots left to right and is hanging by the ribbon cable. Also the landing leg supports are a bit bent but not broken. There are a few places where the upper shell has a gap from the bottom but no cracks or breaks. I think it can be aligned to fit tight again. I think the camera was in the tilt-down position because the filter is dented and the glass shattered but I can unscrew it. There are a few scuffs on the bottom of the camera. The tilt mechanism on the gimbal seems ok bu the leveling one just behind the camera is bent so I may need a new part there.
Sadly, I did not get the DJI insurance plan so the repairs are on me. I did some searching on line and see that there are several tutorials for replacing the gimbal and the ribbon cable, the legs can also be replaced. Not sure if I should attempt the repairs or send it off or just bite the bullet and order a new camera gimbal assembly.