How to crash your drone...

wellsi · Sep 23, 2017

Here's one for people starting out and maybe a few of us who have been flying for some time, outlining some of the easiest mistakes to crash, smash or lose your drone.
Some of these points I learned with my Phantom 3S, some with my Maivcs (note the plural), and a few points from reading tales of woe on here...
I've made this with my (latest) Mavic but obviously most of the points apply to all models.
I should point out the very first crash was a (semi) controlled crash

Hopefully you'll find it useful! Let me know if I've missed any out...

Main ways listed below:

Cheers,
Ian

1. Flying Indoors
2. Flying Towards You (disorientation of controls)
3. Flying Backwards
4. Trees
5. Powerlines
6. Flying Too Far Away
7. GPS Loss
8. Flying too Low
9. RTH Altitude too Low
10. Flying round Obstacles
11. Pushing Battery to its limits
12. Critical Battery Autoland
13. Flying under Bridges
14. Being Distracted
15. Flying in Forests

**updates:
BIrd Strikes
Showing off to your mates

DroneTurismo · Sep 23, 2017

The pilot should have jumped into the stream, man that clip was intense.

Neon Euc · Sep 23, 2017

Cool video. I nearly lost my drone at Dover last week too lol. Also had two guards giving me a ticking off for flying over 3 ferries lol. Will have to edit that footage soon. But really liked the video [emoji4][emoji4]

macoman · Sep 23, 2017

That's why I stay away from trees.

wellsi · Sep 24, 2017

Neon Euc said:
Cool video. I nearly lost my drone at Dover last week too lol. Also had two guards giving me a ticking off for flying over 3 ferries lol. Will have to edit that footage soon. But really liked the video [emoji4][emoji4]

The guards can tell you off for taking off from a ferry, but not if you took off from common land; you have the right to fly over them if you're more than 50 metres above them and stay more than 50 metres away from them... Dover holds a special place for me... (not a great one, but special nonetheless lol)

Cheers
Ian

Neon Euc · Sep 24, 2017

Lol to be honest the guards are OK... They said I should leave as the police are on the way. So I packed up, said thank you to them as I appreciate the heads up. As I crossed the road a police car drove past. Could be a coincidence but it shocked me. I flew in front off the ferries over the sea and thought i done everything legally including the height and distance. But I didn't as it was restricted air space similar to an airport. Just an honest misunderstanding on my part. Got some great footage tho [emoji4]

wellsi · Sep 25, 2017

It was pointed out this post woudl be way more useful if I listed the actual points; that way others can add any other ways they've managed to crash too.... Edited the opening post as per list below:

1. Flying Indoors
2. Flying Towards You (disorientation of controls)
3. Flying Backwards
4. Trees
5. Powerlines
6. Flying Too Far Away
7. GPS Loss
8. Flying too Low
9. RTH Altitude too Low
10. Flying round Obstacles
11. Pushing Battery to its limits
12. Critical Battery Autoland
13. Flying under Bridges
14. Being Distracted
15. Flying in Forests

SunnyD · Sep 25, 2017

Maybe this is racist, but everything sounds classier with a British accent.
Capital video mate!

Neon Euc · Sep 25, 2017

Lol I prefer the American south south women accents. Something so hot about that

wellsi · Sep 25, 2017

SunnyD said:
Maybe this is racist, but everything sounds classier with a British accent.
Capital video mate!

Ha! Nice to hear! I try and keep things international!

Cheers!
Ian

wellsi · Sep 30, 2017

Neon Euc said:
Lol to be honest the guards are OK... They said I should leave as the police are on the way. So I packed up, said thank you to them as I appreciate the heads up. As I crossed the road a police car drove past. Could be a coincidence but it shocked me. I flew in front off the ferries over the sea and thought i done everything legally including the height and distance. But I didn't as it was restricted air space similar to an airport. Just an honest misunderstanding on my part. Got some great footage tho [emoji4]

So I checked out the ferry port on the NATS Drone Assist app, and the ferry port is not restricted in any way. As long as you take off and land more than 50 metres away from people and stay more than 50 metres away from all structures and ferries, they can't touch you!

NATS is National Air Traffic Control' teh drone assist app outlines all caution / high risk /.no fly zones throughout the UK and it's a really great app that everyone in the UK should have...
Safety Apps | Dronesafe

Cheers

Ian

YouTube / Ian in London

scarrick · Sep 30, 2017

Great vid, thank you for posting here, how can I find you on YouTube?

wellsi · Sep 30, 2017

Thanks fella.
The video is all about how not to crash! I'm at: YouTube / Ian in London
My channel is all about drones and nothing else....

Cheers

Ian

YouTube / Ian in London

Russ43Phantom · Sep 30, 2017

Great summary ... of all the ways people seem to lose their drones in this forum, going beyond VLOS seems to have the greatest incidence. I often fly in areas where trees provide a natural canopy over the streets. In this case, the RTH altitude needs to be set to a minimum to avoid flying up into branches.

PDX1953 · Sep 30, 2017

My second time out with my P3s I was flying over my house (Beginner Mode) but was too close to the roof & wasn't oriented correctly. It hit the roof, slid into the gutter & now has a bit of "roof rash" but I was able to retrieve it with a long stick. I now fly it in a far corner of the Evergreen Aviation Museum but it'll stay in Beginner Mode until I'm more comfortable with it.

wellsi · Oct 1, 2017

PDX1953 said:
My second time out with my P3s I was flying over my house (Beginner Mode) but was too close to the roof & wasn't oriented correctly. It hit the roof, slid into the gutter & now has a bit of "roof rash" but I was able to retrieve it with a long stick. I now fly it in a far corner of the Evergreen Aviation Museum but it'll stay in Beginner Mode until I'm more comfortable with it.

"Roof rash"

Disorientation of the controls when flying in different directions is so hard to get used to when you're getting a little panicked. Just remember that if you let go, it stops where it is! Then do the tiniest sideways movement to check you're going in the right direction before you use full stick....

Cheers!
Ian

YouTube / Ian in London

PDX1953 · Oct 1, 2017

I'd like to put a strobing LED on the battery end of the drone so I'll always be able to tell the orientation. Does anyone know of a small self contained strobe that can be mounted to the drone housing just forward of and under the battery? The strobe is optional but it's a 'nice to have.'

wellsi · Oct 2, 2017

I found using the little map screen in the lower left corner the most useful for idenitfying the orientation of the drone; especially if you tap the map and it expands to full screen. The arrow always shows you which way the drone is pointing.
Cheers

Ian

YouTube.com/IaninLondon

PDX1953 · Oct 2, 2017

wellsi said:
I found using the little map screen in the lower left corner the most useful for idenitfying the orientation of the drone; especially if you tap the map and it expands to full screen. The arrow always shows you which way the drone is pointing.
Cheers

Ian

YouTube.com/IaninLondon

Thanks - I didn't realize that being a newbie but it'd be a lot easier for me to have a visual on the drone. I saw (somewhere) a very small self-contained strobe that could be double-stickied to the underside of the shell & that would be a big help until I get more comfortable using the screen. I have a 7" Samsung tablet on it now but will look for a full sized iPad holder. It should be much easier to use.