My final flight (crash footage)

look_alive · Oct 26, 2016

Ugh! Heartbreaking. I like that you are ordering another P3A. I just purchased a used P3P, and it's testament to the fact that there's a LOT to love about the P3 platform even in late 2016. The footage was beautiful!

Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

rmasson · Oct 26, 2016

look_alive said:
Ugh! Heartbreaking. I like that you are ordering another P3A. I just purchased a used P3P, and it's testament to the fact that there's a LOT to love about the P3 platform even in late 2016. The footage was beautiful!

Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

A big part of me wanted to wait for the Mavic platform, as the portability is important to me. I know one shouldn't consider sunk costs when making decisions, but in this case I did. My $500 worth of P3A accessories weighed heavily on my decision to stick with the P3A platform for another year. I'd love to upgrade to the P3P platform, but don't have the computing power, nor the TV to enjoy 4K.

Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

direkMel · Oct 27, 2016

Sorry man... I know how bad it feels! I had it at the back of my head every time I fly... I hope you can get a new one. Maybe an excuse to buy a P4 or Mavic? Awesome materials by the way.

Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

Fishie · Oct 27, 2016

SPECTACULAR footage! What were your camera settings? Lens filters? So sorry for your loss. Maybe you could sell this footage to the Alaskan Tourist Bureau and pay for that new P3A with it?

Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

mnewxcv · Oct 27, 2016

the damage doesn't look that bad considering the tumble it took. Mainboard destroyed?

Raul Jereb · Oct 27, 2016

This looks just too sad..
Since Im new to Phantoms world, I wonder, would prop guards be any usefull in this (or similar) situations?

mnewxcv · Oct 27, 2016

Raul Jereb said:
This looks just too sad..
Since Im new to Phantoms world, I wonder, would prop guards be any usefull in this (or similar) situations?

I personally feel a cheap practice drone (syma x8c/x8w) is a better investment than prop guards. Prop guards can have negative flight characteristics. If you can fly an x8c and not crash it, you can fly a phantom without prop guards.

Raul Jereb · Oct 27, 2016

mnewxcv said:
I personally feel a cheap practice drone (syma x8c/x8w) is a better investment than prop guards. Prop guards can have negative flight characteristics. If you can fly an x8c and not crash it, you can fly a phantom without prop guards.

OK, but the fact is that accidents could happen, even to most experienced and trained pilots? I just wonder, if this airplain had those guards, could it be saved, would those prevent dissaster after touching the wall?

mnewxcv · Oct 27, 2016

Raul Jereb said:
OK, but the fact is that accidents could happen, even to most experienced and trained pilots? I just wonder, if this airplain had those guards, could it be saved, would those prevent dissaster after touching the wall?

It's really impossible to determine, but my guess is the speed of travel when he hit the dam would be enough to destroy the prop guards and thus the blades, causing the same result. Prop guards are more protection for 'bumping' into things, not crashing into things.

Raul Jereb · Oct 27, 2016

mnewxcv said:
It's really impossible to determine, but my guess is the speed of travel when he hit the dam would be enough to destroy the prop guards and thus the blades, causing the same result. Prop guards are more protection for 'bumping' into things, not crashing into things.

Ok, thank you!

Klipkop · Oct 27, 2016

D.a.m.n!!

AWD · Oct 27, 2016

Nice piece of video and the commentary was perfect.

Thanks for posting and hopefully your incident will help someone else in the future.

Like everyone else in this thread, we feel for your loss.

AD

Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots

rmasson · Oct 27, 2016

Fishie said:
SPECTACULAR footage! What were your camera settings? Lens filters? So sorry for your loss. Maybe you could sell this footage to the Alaskan Tourist Bureau and pay for that new P3A with it?

Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

Camera was set to auto, no lens filter. Thinking about adding a set of lens filters in the near future. I'm working on my sUAS certification now, so maybe, just maybe, I'll approach the Visitors Bureau.

rmasson · Oct 27, 2016

mnewxcv said:
the damage doesn't look that bad considering the tumble it took. Mainboard destroyed?

I actually think the mainboard survived. I haven't pulled it apart yet, as I intend to sell the wreck as it is on eBay. I'm surprised at the prices some people get from wrecked drones.

The damage I can tell includes:
- All four props cracked
- Gimbal/Camera L arm sheared
- One leg of the landing gear cracked
- Numerous cracks on the upped body
- Two of the motors no longer spin freely
- Battery housing is cracked

On the plus side:

- I "think" the mainboard survived
- The lens of the camera was not scratched
- The vision positioning module looks completely unscathed
- There was no water damage

rmasson · Oct 27, 2016

Raul Jereb said:
This looks just too sad..
Since Im new to Phantoms world, I wonder, would prop guards be any usefull in this (or similar) situations?

As I sit here looking at the prop guards that I never installed, I wonder the same thing. I think this may be one on the rare cases where they just might have saved it. I wasn't going all that fast when I hit the dam, so they just may have.

What would have guaranteed survival would have been not hitting the dam, which was entirely preventable. Classic case of complacency, distraction, FPV, etc., are what caused this to happen. I won't claim I'm an expert as there are far, far more experienced pilots out there, but I had plenty of P3 time under my belt when this happened. I also recommend flying with the cheap quads (Syma, etc) which is exactly how I first got my feet wet. That said, I've found shooting video with the P3 to be a much different experience than just keeping the Syma in the air. When I crashed, my focus was 100% on setting up "the shot" and not on keeping my drone safe. That was biggest mistake as keeping it safely in the air should always be priority #1.

AWD · Oct 27, 2016

rmasson said:
When I crashed, my focus was 100% on setting up "the shot" and not on keeping my drone safe. That was biggest mistake as keeping it safely in the air should always be priority #1.

A classic example of "Target Fixation".

Most pilots (drone and otherwise) will have the experience at one time or another in a highly charged situation.

Glad we could learn from it.

AD

Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots

Erised · Oct 28, 2016

Nice, really nice videos', after having several close calls myself I understand how this can happen. Too bad for the bird, glad the dam is ok.

DB4Tim · Oct 29, 2016

GREAT editing .....bad for bird but great lesson...sorry man

rbhamilton · Oct 29, 2016

The camera looks like your biggest challenge. You may need to replace it. The other damage is superficial. A new case and landing struts, a few new props... you never know. On the other hand, great time to just cut your losses and grab a Mavic.