Almost lost her to 40 MPH wind gusts

[LordEvil]

So I wanted to catch a storm today approaching from the south east. Normal gulf coast sea breeze showers. I took off with 15 to 18 MPH winds no issues. You can see the huge American flag whipping around in the wind to the bottom right. At the :28 mark and :46 mark above the flag you can see the dust kicking up at the volleyball/baseball courts. I was at 350 feet. About 1:25 to 1:35 she quits moving Southeast. I had the stick around 80% and she just wouldn't gain any speed at all. Turned the bird around and looked down and she was pushing 40 MPH NW and I had maybe 10% stick engaged.

When I turned over the construction area you can see the dust below moving rapidly, It was still drifting north west with 100% stick engaged to the south east. I flipped over to ATTI and with 100% stick crawled at 1-3 MPH. Brought her down to 100 feet and started moving faster 5-7 MPH and reeled her in.

Just a warning to newbies, don't panic. turn towards the wind and flip the switch to ATTI mode. Bring it down slowly. Make sure your multiple mode is selected before flying. Had that not been the case and had I had low battery I would of lost her. Luckily for me I had 87% battery to work with. Also the wind let up some.
As a bonus you can see a hawk fly underneath 2:42 to 2:45

 

[wotblake]

Why switch to ATTI mode?

 

[LordEvil]

Why switch to ATTI mode?

Kept drifting away in GPS, slowly but it was drifting.

 

[envisionabove]

Why switch to ATTI mode?

You can get more articulation from the prop angle for more power. Leans into the wind more...

 

[envisionabove]

So I wanted to catch a storm today approaching from the south east. Normal gulf coast sea breeze showers. I took off with 15 to 18 MPH winds no issues. You can see the huge American flag whipping around in the wind to the bottom right. At the :28 mark and :46 mark above the flag you can see the dust kicking up at the volleyball/baseball courts. I was at 350 feet. About 1:25 to 1:35 she quits moving Southeast. I had the stick around 80% and she just wouldn't gain any speed at all. Turned the bird around and looked down and she was pushing 40 MPH NW and I had maybe 10% stick engaged.

When I turned over the construction area you can see the dust below moving rapidly, It was still drifting north west with 100% stick engaged to the south east. I flipped over to ATTI and with 100% stick crawled at 1-3 MPH. Brought her down to 100 feet and started moving faster 5-7 MPH and reeled her in.

Just a warning to newbies, don't panic. turn towards the wind and flip the switch to ATTI mode. Bring it down slowly. Make sure your multiple mode is selected before flying. Had that not been the case and had I had low battery I would of lost her. Luckily for me I had 87% battery to work with. Also the wind let up some.
As a bonus you can see a hawk fly underneath 2:42 to 2:45

Nice story telling...as if I could see the whole thing without the video.

 

[denodan]

Stupid flying in winds like this, how stupid, your asking for trouble. Beginners never try what this guy did, don't risk it. The higher you go the stronger the winds.

 

[skyhighdiver]

Stupid flying in winds like this, how stupid, your asking for trouble. Beginners never try what this guy did, don't risk it. The higher you go the stronger the winds.

Why I fly in winds 25 -35 all the time > Just beware of your surroundings shes a fighter you will get her back. Just remember though
wind rolls over big items so be ready for a quick drop when coming in for landing
They have really cut her speed angle down though since the PV1

 

[jcknows0]

Even if you are not a beginner, don't try this as I learned the hard way. I'm about 400 ft above see level with valley below me and about 3 months ago (5 months with P2 without a single crash) decided to get some shots of spectacular cloud formations during 20 mph winds. I have flown before in that but there were wind gusts that far exceeded this and the spot I flew from I had one close encounter of fly away before so you think I would learn. From the moment I took off, the quad started drifting into the trees so I brought it a little higher right into a wind gust. It flew several hundred feet away and all my efforts only made it go further and further. I ended up RTH but the P2 was not strong enough to fight the wind and ended up descending below tree line into a neighborhood down the side of the hill. I could barely see anything on fpv and struggled to regain control. Finally I got back a video feed and it looked like it was stuck in a tree so I engaged CSC as I had no further recourse. The quad fell to the ground and fpv went out. Found it an hour later about 400 feet away beneath wind line. P2 had decided to take shelter from the wind and if I had let the battery run out it probably would have descended to an uneven landing but would not have crashed. Lesson learned. The Phantom is not powerful enough for anything approaching 20 mph winds and its not worth the risk or heart palpitations.
Also radiation level was at 8 that day, and I learned the importance of that as well.

 

[Woody369]

Multiple mode?

 

[skyhighdiver]

I ended up RTH but the P2 was not strong enough to fight the wind and ended up descending below tree line into a neighborhood.

This was your first mistake RTH has way less pitch angle and power. Should have switched to ATTI and drove her home.
Go out on a calm day and give her hell and you will see even in gps mode she does over 30

But like we say in skydiving just because you can jump out of a plane, it doesn't make you a skydiver.
Some people don't handle changing circumstances quickly or well

I Do

 

[LordEvil]

Multiple mode?

Enable Multiple Flight Mode, allows you to use ATTI and F switch

 

[jcknows0]

The wind gusts were over 30 mph and radiation played havoc with gps mini was giving me wrong location info. Point is don't Fly in weather phantom was not made to withstand

 

[ScottTaylor]

This was your first mistake RTH has way less pitch angle and power. Should have switched to ATTI and drove her home.
Go out on a calm day and give her hell and you will see even in gps mode she does over 30

But like we say in skydiving just because you can jump out of a plane, it doesn't make you a skydiver.
Some people don't handle changing circumstances quickly or well

I Do

Dude just a side note. If your going to deploy that fast after filming your tandems your not going to be around for much longer. Watch that slider and wait for the canopy to inflate slightly. Then throw your pilot chute. Imagine if the tandem had a chop or even a bag lock. You'd have two people wrapped in your main. Be careful bro please.

 

[Farmertml]

after stressing out the P3 that much you might want to check your screws underneath, lots of people reporting cracks inside the holes of the ones under each motor closest to the bot (inset in a hole). Check the plastic

 

[LordEvil]

after stressing out the P3 that much you might want to check your screws underneath, lots of people reporting cracks inside the holes of the ones under each motor closest to the bot (inset in a hole). Check the plastic

I did, looks great, no cracks.

 

[skyhighdiver]

Dude just a side note. If your going to deploy that fast after filming your tandems your not going to be around for much longer. Watch that slider and wait for the canopy to inflate slightly. Then throw your pilot chute. Imagine if the tandem had a chop or even a bag lock. You'd have two people wrapped in your main. Be careful bro please.

Dude I have over 4000 jumps more than 1000 shooting tandems I think I know well more than you about how to do my job

 

[ScottTaylor]

Dude I have over 4000 jumps more than 1000 shooting tandems I think I know well more than you about how to do my job

Well I think you need to reconsider what you've been doing. And to your reply.. I very much doubt that. Ps with over 4000 jumps id have thought you'd downsize by now?

 

[Chuck Young]

Dude I have over 4000 jumps more than 1000 shooting tandems I think I know well more than you about how to do my job

Skygod for sure man! Jump on man!

 

[skyhighdiver]

Well I think you need to reconsider what you've been doing. And to your reply.. I very much doubt that. Ps with over 4000 jumps id have thought you'd downsize by now?

This is old videoI have And fly a stilleto 120 as i do video and demos so can't go much smaller D70122 and with 2 world records for large formations and many awards for accuracy competitions what you believe is irrelevant and this is way off topic anyway this is about p3 speed and not your lack skydiving skills

 

[edonovanl]

Why I fly in winds 25 -35 all the time > Just beware of your surroundings shes a fighter you will get her back. Just remember though
wind rolls over big items so be ready for a quick drop when coming in for landing
They have really cut her speed angle down though since the PV1

I also like the challenge of flying in a stiff wind.