First post here and it is sad one...

[EyesofCanadaGoose]

I've been flying my PV2+ for exactly a month. Flew it several times at empty fields north of Toronto, then took it to the trip to Canadian Rockies (before ban to fly drones in National Parks spread from US to Canada). Got 3 flights in Banff, Jasper and Yoho. Nothing risky, just video over some lakes and picnic areas. The smile never left my face. Untill...

A day ago I decided to fly around railroad bridge over Humber river... Did couple ascents and descents far from the bridge, then decided to fly under the bridge (it's quite high ~ 50 meters). Flew it nicely under and then I levelled the copter to be at about the same heigh as the bridge is, and started to bring it back. FPV showed me: it's too high - at exact heigh as the structure is, I need to bring it down. I did for about 1 meter. Visually the Phantom looked waaay lower than the arch of the bridge. I did not check FPV - too excited to fly it right under it...

The sound of broken propellers and 2 seconds later sound of splash in the water are still in my ears. Ohhhhh...

The stream of the Humber river is relatively fast. The depth of the river is at about waist deep, water is muddy but warm at this time of the year. I spent close to 30 minutes going in circles in my underwear down from the place where the bird killed by me fell in the waters. Trying to find it with my feet. No luck.

Next post from me will be in Classifieds selling transmitter and charger.

 

[DavesMotorCity]

That sound will be forever in your ear. $1300 smash!

 

[Sasquatch]

Really sorry to hear about your bad luck, that really sucks.

Was this your first quad? Are you giving up on the hobby then for good?

Sorry again, your situation is really unfortunate.

 

[EyesofCanadaGoose]

Really sorry to hear about your bad luck, that really sucks.
Was this your first quad? Are you giving up on the hobby then for good?
Sorry again, your situation is really unfortunate.

It was my first "real" quadcopter. I flew and still enjoy flying little Blade Nano. I can't give up this hobby, got addicted. I'll be buying the same bird again in few days... Thanks for the kind words, Sasquatch.

@JUSTNONEYA
I'm in Ontario, Canada and not really want to deal with shipping the transmitter+extender to US or overseas. If you are local, please PM me, as I can't PM anybody.

 

[CarlJ]

hi im interested in your transmitter and wifi extender how much

And the humanitarian of the year aware goes to...

OP sorry for your loss, you've got the right idea about getting back on the horse. And yes, the Phantom's can be downright tricky to judge their exact location, you need lots of room for error.

 

[kymedic121]

So sorry to hear this. I certainly hope the next aircraft will prove to have more longevity. I am still flying with extreme caution, not even over 125' yet and know farther away than 150-200'. I am going to send her on her first ground station mission over my hunting lease but will be really methodical on my altitude and surroundings. I am setting first waypoint directly over head of the home lock location with an altitude of 225' and the increase her altitude to 277' as to be certain she will not encounter any of the trees on the property. Her return trip home will also be at 277'. I will not send her that high with me at the controls but I am going to trust the software. If something happens it will be the fault of the software and not me. I will still be sick but not as sick if I was the cause. I will be videoing the entire process including programming software and my steps on the ground as well as the flight. This way if something happens I have video evidence. I am kinda freaked out by it but I am gonna do it.

 

[happydays]

So sorry to hear this. I certainly hope the next aircraft will prove to have more longevity. I am still flying with extreme caution, not even over 125' yet and know farther away than 150-200'. I am going to send her on her first ground station mission over my hunting lease but will be really methodical on my altitude and surroundings. I am setting first waypoint directly over head of the home lock location with an altitude of 225' and the increase her altitude to 277' as to be certain she will not encounter any of the trees on the property. Her return trip home will also be at 277'. I will not send her that high with me at the controls but I am going to trust the software. If something happens it will be the fault of the software and not me. I will still be sick but not as sick if I was the cause. I will be videoing the entire process including programming software and my steps on the ground as well as the flight. This way if something happens I have video evidence. I am kinda freaked out by it but I am gonna do it.

If I was you, I'd test the ground station operation in a big open field using short distances first. Once that is done, you'll be happy with it and can then take it over your hunting lease comfortable in the knowledge that one obstacle in the test has been overcome, i.e. that it actually works. I flew three or four GS missions in a big field so I knew how it worked before I took it over water. You can see the results on my Narrow Water clip - link to YouTube channel below. I used GS for a fair part of that clip. Works great, nice smooth action.

 

[EyesofCanadaGoose]

@CarlJ and @kymedic121 Thanks guys for kind words. I'll be flying next one with extreme caution... FPV was behaving odd recently on my copter (I know, there are multiple threads about this and how to fix it) and I was not relying on it even when it was working.
@happydays Narrow Water - sweet video. Thanks for sharing!

 

[jimdenburg]

You might want to look into purchasing just the copter end of things, keeping your transmitter/repeater. I've read that some dealers will work with you on that type of thing. Lessen the blow...a little. Sorry to hear your story.

 

[fastsmiles]

Sorry to hear that. It can be hard to judge at a distance.
Good luck with your next one.

 

[EyesofCanadaGoose]

You might want to look into purchasing just the copter end of things, keeping your transmitter/repeater. I've read that some dealers will work with you on that type of thing. Lessen the blow...a little. Sorry to hear your story.

I emailed couple local hobby stores. No-one sells "transmitter-less" P2V+. No-one wants to take it as a trade in either. Thanks for suggestion.

 

[Double-D]

That such a sad story. The sort of thing I dream about at night.
Sorry for your loss.