Luckiest Phantom Pilot Today see Video

[Fourblade]

I'm not proud but today I must have won the prize for the "What was I thinking Award"...

I've flown over this field outside my house dozens of times and thought I was flying higher than the power lines.... I wasn't..

Amazingly if you watch the video I think the Phantom actually recovers itself on the way down and so didn't hit the ground which is truly amazing as it was only about 30ft high and so I would have fully expected it to smash into the ground hard.

There was no damage to the Phantom (apart from my pride) and a few green marks from where the blades hit the green power cables but apart from that I landed it safely stuck in another battery and it flew as if nothing happened... I won't hopefully do that again..

I don't think it hit the ground? Is it normal for the Phantom to recover like this if all props are intact after a collision?

Boy was I lucky...

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[terrylowe]

Looks like your horizon is way off. Is the gimbal bent?
That IS a pretty amazing recovery.

 

[Fourblade]

Nothing is bent or even marked so I don't think it even hit the ground!
The horizon was off after the crash but only until I put in a fresh battery and then the Phantom initialised and the gimbal and camera were level again!
I know - this time I was lucky......

 

[dutch]

wow, good recovery!
the video seems to deteriorate right before you hit the power line,
any chance the power lines interfered with the flight also?

 

[Fourblade]

The video breakup is not on the original file so it really is my fault for not giving the power line a very wide berth... I'm just amazed that the Phantom recovered on its own - the only thing I think I did was give it a bit more throttle when it started dropping in the vain hope that it would correct itself - and it did!

 

[flyNfrank]

Get off here and go buy yourself a lottery ticket!

 

[Fourblade]

Good idea!
So I guess you're saying it's a bit unusual for a Phantom to correct itself after a collision?

 

[N017RW]

Good idea!
So I guess you're saying it's a bit unusual for a Phantom to correct itself after a collision?

Not sure unusual is the right description.

It depends on what, if any, damage is sustained and if it has enough altitude.
That's what the IMU is for.

 

[Fourblade]

Yeah it was a close shave especially as it was only about 30-40ft up - hardly enough time for any correction - I've looked at the video a number of times now and I don't think it actually hit the ground!

 

[fastsmiles]

Change your name to Lucky and go straught to Vegas!

 

[CyberCitizen]

Normally Operation Of The Phantom Is To Maintain Itself Level So If It Flips It Will Try And Correct That. I Had That Issue With A Faulty MC & It Would Cause It To Flip. However The Phantom Recovered. I Also Did What You Did And Gave It A Bit More Throttle To Prevent It Ending Up In A River.

 

[dtitus6297]

Wow that's crazy, i had a video like that and it was when the phantom was recovering right before it hit the ground and it hit the landing gear on one side and just bounced back up real quick. That's what looks like happened to me. That is one of the best recoverys I have seen

 

[IflyinWY]

Hey Fourblade, cool name by the way, here's a video which may help answer your question.

"Is it normal for the Phantom to recover like this if all props are intact after a collision?"
The short answer is yes, but the video is worth a look. The same folks make lots of videos.

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[Ezookiel]

I hit a tree branch, and didn't know it, but sheered a half inch off both tips of a single prop, and it fell halfway to the ground at a weird angle, then corrected and stopped itself falling about 6 feet from the ground. It flew so normally that I didn't even know it had broken both tips off one prop. So yes, they do recover themselves quite well in at least some circumstances. I'm assuming the computer raised the rpm on the prop with the shorter blade, and maybe reduced the rpm on the others, in order to regain level flight, but that would only be a guess.

 

[Larry L]

Wow, you got lucky. Glad it did break a prop. I think your results might of been diffrent. Like Frank said, hope you went out & got a lottery ticket.

 

[Fourblade]

I decided my luck might change so I've just sold it for £600 ($900)

I wanted an excuse to get a P3...

 

[bbfpv]

I decided my luck might change so I've just sold it for £600 ($900)

I wanted an excuse to get a P3...

Hope they actually announce it or someone just got a really good deal

 

[Fourblade]

Hope they actually announce it or someone just got a really good deal

Yeah I hope so too - I don'think I would have got much more than £600 for a version 2 P2V+?

 

[bbfpv]

Yeah I hope so too - I don'think I would have got much more than £600 for a version 2 P2V+?

Yeah didn't realize it was a V2. Good luck!

 

[SteveMann]

wow, good recovery!
the video seems to deteriorate right before you hit the power line,
any chance the power lines interfered with the flight also?

The only interference from power lines is running into one.