My final flight (crash footage)

Thanks. Alaska is an amazing place to own and fly our machines. I've ordered another one, which should be here next week. I ended up going with another P3A as I was already heavily invested in the platform with three batteries, a nanuck case, and a backpack. I'll be excited to get back in the air.

Here is the video from the entire weekend in Sitka, everything that I successfully shot before I decided to fly it into a dam (accidently).



Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots
Been there, my wife and I have worked in Excursion inlet for 8 years, Hoonah 2
 
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If it's the new motors 2312A then the mainboard must be the ver.2. You think yours got destroyed?
I haven't opened it up, and I don't intend to do so. The plastic on the "body" (excluding the rotor arms), looks to be in good shape. The vision positioning sensor looks completely unscathed. With that said, there could be some internal damage from the sudden stop it made when it hit the ground.
 
It is a W322A, so I believe that means it has the newer motors. Not sure about the mainboard.
You can tell by looking at the motors. If the bottom is square and does not have the 3 circumference lines just above the motors then they are the older ones. The flat bottom motors with the 3 lines circumscribed are the new motors. It should be noted that the motors are NOT interchangeable. Below is a clip from DJI website on compatibility. I was going to replace the ESC board because I had a few loose connectors after my crash and almost bought the wrong ESC for my motors:

DO NOT install the new 2312A motors onto a Phantom 3 Professional/Advanced aircraft with the old central board (Spare Part NO. 33). Likewise, DO NOT install the old 2312 motors onto a Phantom 3 Professional/Advanced aircraft with the new central board (Spare Part NO. 96). Doing so will likely damage the aircraft. As a general rule, match the old motors with the old central board and the new motors with the new central board. Follow the steps below to replace the motors.

  • Change the 2312 motors to the 2312A motors (or change the 2312A motors to 2312 motors), then install the corresponding central board.
  • When changing to the 2312A motors (or 2312 motors), please change all four motors.
  • If you do not wish to replace the motors and central board by yourself, contact DJI support to arrange an expert to help you.
Reminder – changing motors is only necessary in case of motor damage or as a part of regular scheduled maintence.

Compatibility Table for the Motors and Central Boards

ddd.jpg


ccc.jpg
 
I haven't opened it up, and I don't intend to do so. The plastic on the "body" (excluding the rotor arms), looks to be in good shape. The vision positioning sensor looks completely unscathed. With that said, there could be some internal damage from the sudden stop it made when it hit the ground.
I had to change the lower board under the vision positioning system after my crash. The gimbal mount broke off and pulled the ends off the cables to the camera and broke of the connector inside the VPS. However, the replacement board was only about $35 on Amazon. The tough part was routing the radio antenna wires under the board and getting those itty-bitty connectors snapped on!
 
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The tough part was routing the radio antenna wires under the board and getting those itty-bitty connectors snapped on!

I applaud you for going through the effort to rebuild. I'm hoping someone will buy mine on eBay and combine it with another one they already have and build a "Franken-Phantom". Here is a close up of the top of one of the motors. Comparing it to your post above, I think it's safe to say these are the "new" motors. 2312A.

Motor.png
 
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I applaud you for going through the effort to rebuild. I'm hoping someone will buy mine on eBay and combine it with another one they already have and build a "Franken-Phantom". Here is a close up of the top of one of the motors. Comparing it to your post above, I think it's safe to say these are the "new" motors. 2312A.

View attachment 67982
Yes, those are the new motors alright!
 
You can tell by looking at the motors. If the bottom is square and does not have the 3 circumference lines just above the motors then they are the older ones. The flat bottom motors with the 3 lines circumscribed are the new motors. It should be noted that the motors are NOT interchangeable. Below is a clip from DJI website on compatibility. I was going to replace the ESC board because I had a few loose connectors after my crash and almost bought the wrong ESC for my motors:

DO NOT install the new 2312A motors onto a Phantom 3 Professional/Advanced aircraft with the old central board (Spare Part NO. 33). Likewise, DO NOT install the old 2312 motors onto a Phantom 3 Professional/Advanced aircraft with the new central board (Spare Part NO. 96). Doing so will likely damage the aircraft. As a general rule, match the old motors with the old central board and the new motors with the new central board. Follow the steps below to replace the motors.

  • Change the 2312 motors to the 2312A motors (or change the 2312A motors to 2312 motors), then install the corresponding central board.
  • When changing to the 2312A motors (or 2312 motors), please change all four motors.
  • If you do not wish to replace the motors and central board by yourself, contact DJI support to arrange an expert to help you.
Reminder – changing motors is only necessary in case of motor damage or as a part of regular scheduled maintence.

Compatibility Table for the Motors and Central Boards

ddd.jpg


ccc.jpg

...and the star on top of the motor is "tapered" and flat towards the tip in the new motors. :)
 
I just KNEW someone would come up with something like that sooner or later!

I couldn't resist..lol The original joke came from my daughter when she was 6, and she's 23 now, ..... What did the fish say when it hit the concrete wall? Dam! I said, "what did you say?" She said, " Dam Dad, Dam!" I still had that look and she said, "It hit the dam Dad!" And turned and walked off.. Lol What could I say?


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots Sorry to go off topic, just thought it was worth a share.
 
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I'm sorry for your loss.

By the way, unless you had an FAA COA, flying a sUAS over a dam or reservoir is a federal offense.

You may have the FAA or Homeland Security paying you a visit real soon! :(
I suppose in some countries or states this would be the case, but the very first time I had went to our Lake here in KY. USA, I went straight to the park rangers office and ask if I could fly near the marina, but not over it or people, and was told that at the time there was no law that said I couldn't, but KY was working on getting a law passed to where we couldn't fly over an infrastructure. (e.g. Dam) I was granted permission. This was July, 2016. So not everywhere it's a federal offence... Yet. Although he said this, I still didn't fly and video over top of the dam and just a very very distant piece of it ended up in the video. I didn't want to take a chance of the video ending in an investigation at a later date if that law was passed.

Sent from my XT1585 using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
I'm sorry for your loss.

By the way, unless you had an FAA COA, flying a sUAS over a dam or reservoir is a federal offense.

You may have the FAA or Homeland Security paying you a visit real soon! :(

Can you point me to information from the FAA regarding this restriction?

I know there seems to be this misconception that if you have a VO, the RPIC (or operator) can fly FPV. Everything I've learned (studying for Part 107) and read says the sUAS operator must maintain VLOS at all times. In all that study, I've not read of the Dam or Reservoir restriction.
 
Can you point me to information from the FAA regarding this restriction?

I know there seems to be this misconception that if you have a VO, the RPIC (or operator) can fly FPV. Everything I've learned (studying for Part 107) and read says the sUAS operator must maintain VLOS at all times. In all that study, I've not read of the Dam or Reservoir restriction.

It's here in this document, § 6d, ¶ 2.

Excerpt:
... operations near locations such as military or other federal facilities, certain stadiums, power plants, electric substations, dams, oil refineries, national parks, emergency, services and other industrial complexes.
 
It's here in this document, § 6d, ¶ 2.

Excerpt:

It's useful to read the entire sentence and not just cherry pick portions of it for your argument. Here is the complete "excerpt" from the document you reference.

"Additionally, model aircraft operators should be aware of other Notices to Airmen (NOTAMS) which address operations near locations such as military or other federal facilities, certain stadiums, power plants, electric substations, dams, oil refineries, national parks, emergency, services and other industrial complexes."​

I checked the NOTAMS for the area the day I flew and there were no NOTAMS specific to that dam or reservoir. Unless there is an overarching NOTAM that speaks specifically to this, I do not believe I violated anything. I make no claims to be a lawyer, but I believe my interpretation of the circular to hold true.
 
I checked the NOTAMS for the area the day I flew and there were no NOTAMS specific to that dam or reservoir. Unless there is an overarching NOTAM that speaks specifically to this, I do not believe I violated anything.
It's a standing notice CFR (CFR 99.7)....

https://www.faa.gov/pilots/safety/notams_tfr/media/tfrweb.pdf

Pilots must also be aware of a standing notice, issued under section 99.7, advising them to avoid the airspace above, or in proximity to, sites such as nuclear power plants, power plants, dams, refineries, industrial complexes, military installations, and other similar facilities.
 

More clarification on your part would be nice. If you could supply a link to the NOTAM or TFR referencing the standing notice that would be great.

I have read the article you referenced. It in itself is not regulatory. It's also 13 years old so perhaps things have changed since then considering that was just 2 years post 9/11. I looked up 14 CFR 99.7 and it doesn't mention anything about flight restrictions over dams. I also looked at the VFR chart for the Sitka area. The dam isn't even on the chart. It's also worth mentioning that the VFR chart showing the Hoover Dam actually has a notice to watch for tour aircraft and to monitor a frequency. There is no mention of avoiding flight around the dam on the chart. I think rmasson will probably avoid any issues with the FAA for this flight.
 
I hear you guys...I was always on the assumption that these areas were NFZ (at least for UAV/UAS).

I hope I'm wrong on this whole "don't fly over National Parks, dams, power plants, schools, prisons" thing, because I would love to fly over a dam and get some cool video/pics. :)
 
Just another thought...you could call flight service and ask them if there are any current NOTAMS for a particular location. Those calls are recorded in case there's ever an issue. Good luck!
 
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Thank you SoCalDude for providing the ref. link, but as you have already figured out you miss interpreted the information.
 
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

I can't agree more with you on this one. I own a P3P & P4, both great machines but different. They have their own unique features that differentiate one from the other. In the end I feel the P3P is more robust that the P4 even with OA.
 
Thank you SoCalDude for providing the ref. link, but as you have already figured out you miss interpreted the information.
Yeah, many of these "guidelines" are left up to interpretation in some cases. I think they are all area-specific. Some (if not all) National Parks disallow such activities. I would venture to guess that if you flew over a prison or a nuclear plant that you would get an unwelcome visit from the authorities, if they found out who you were! LOL!
 
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