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- Jun 8, 2016
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Nice job Hovtech, and I'm really happy for you that it ended well.
Looks like you'll be doing some more flying soon, but next time listen to the wife. If she says it's a tad too windy, then it's a ta too windy, right"?
Great story too, by the way, thanks.
Bud
Looks like you'll be doing some more flying soon, but next time listen to the wife. If she says it's a tad too windy, then it's a ta too windy, right"?
Great story too, by the way, thanks.
Bud
View attachment 71705 Every now and then we do stupid things with our drones. Today it was my turn. In the Chicago area, the sun came out for the first time in a week. I thought I do a quick flight just because it's been a few weeks, you get itchy. I thought it was a little windy and my wife said to me, don't fly today it's too windy. I sent it up anyway. I had launched it on my driveway, but stepped into the sun shade of my garage till I got up to about 350 feet. Stepped out of the garage and looked straight up and no drone. I thought that was odd. Stepped down the driveway and saw the drone about 1/4 mile to the east. Now I have an other problem. At the end of the driveway there is no shade from the sun. I did have a sunshade on my phone, but it wasn't doing me any good. I could not tell which way the drone was pointed, plus I'm starting to panic. I ran down the street towards a tree that would give my the right shade. Now I could see the done was a mile away. No matter what I tried to do, it would not come back. I watched the distance meter climb. At this point I decided my only option was to try to let it land itself. So I must avoid the exspessway. It was currently right over it and since I couldn't make it come back to me, I had to turn it and send it further away to off the exspessway. Now I live in a highly forested area. A lot of little lakes too. I was able to manuaver it a bit, but alas finally it lost connection!
Ran back home and jumped in the car and drove towrds the drone. I had somewhat of an idea where it was. Now if you've neverdone this, you look at the screen. You are a dot and the drone is an arrow. I drove down the road about 3 miles and the dot and arrow where aligned, took a left towards it. I'm in Lake Forest now, a pretty ritzy neighborhood. Very forested. Got as close to the arrow as I could drive my car. Got out and tried to find the arrow. It is hard to tell if you are walking the right direction because you have to orrient the screen by twing it 180 degrees to where you think it is correct. Well I would ring the bell of the house before I went into there yards. I would say I lost my helicopter in the woods here , is it ok if I walk thru yor backyard forest. Every person said to me, do you mean a drone? I'd sheepeshly say, yes. I seached this area for an hour. It was moderately thick brush and wet ground. I discovered that the P3P was still sending a picure. It was looking shyward. I could tell it had penetrated the canop, but I could not tell how far down it was. At least I believed it was not 30 feet in the air. After about a half hour, I gave up. I had the dot under the arrow and no drone. For some reason I shut everything off, including the remote. Then I turned it all on again. The arrow had moved about 1/4 mile away. But I could not walk to it because of fences and berms. Just then an older gentleman came out to me to ask me why I was in his yard. When I told hm the whole story he asked to see the screen. Now fortunately when I zoomed the screen a street name popped up. He gave me complete street directions to get all the way around to that point.
Followed his directions and once again got the dot aligned with the arrow. OMG, it's an empty lot with a lot of trees in the back. Walked to the back of the lot and the dot and the arrow where on top of each other. I'm looking for about 5 minutes. I now make sure I'm where the dot is dead center under the arrow. I look up and there is my drone!!!
Now look at the picture I took. The P3P came down to land automatically when the battery reaches a certain level. It hit the top of the canopy and fell about 10 feet from there. It fell perfectly into the arms of this tree. Now that thick branch on the right is resting against the carbon fiber crash plate I bought for $5 on Ebay. It saved the entire camera/gimbal assembly. Otherwise that branch would have just taken it out. So it's about 10-12 feet off the ground. I need a ladder. Head back home.
Get a 6 ft ladder a 7 ft paint pole with a roller at the end. Get my daughter and we head back. Funny, when we get back I can see the drone from the street. Can't believe I couldn't spot it the first time. Set the ladder up and start up the ladder when my daughter says, dad, no, let me go up the ladder and you hold it. She's 30 I'm 65, so I thought about it and decided she was right. Handed her the pole, but as it turns out she had to climb to the top rung of the fold out ladder. She got the actual roller thru one of the legs and lifted it up off the hold of the branches. Oh boy, this didn't turn out well. She was holding on to the very end of the pole. As soon as the drone lifted free of the branch the weight was too much for her to control while balancing on the top of the ladder. The pole pivoted from her hand straight down. I reached for it. The top of the drone hit me right in the forehead and then into my arms
Drove home and put the battery on the charger and it recharged. Put a new prop on and took it out to check it out. Took off to about 10 feet. Moved around a little and then landed it. Crashed landed from 3-400 feet and it was flying perfectly!
Lessons, don't fly if you perceive it is windy at a height of 6 feet. It's worse at 300 feet. Buy that crash plate for $5 on ebay. It has saved my camera/gimbal twice now. The find my drone feature does work. On the drive home with the drone in her lap, my daughter asked me if it has a name. "Lucky", I said!
