[knocking on wood before typing this]
I landed my trusty, age-worn Phantom 3 Standard safely on the rear hatch of my boat last weekend. It was breezy but I managed to track the deck and set her down, grateful I didn’t have to try a hand-catch.
But after touching down on the deck with the throttle pinned down, the props continued to idle for a second or two. This is normal but I wasn’t anticipating they would partially support the drone’s weight. As I watched, the boat just sort of drifted out from under the Phantom. With the props still idling It skittered over the side, into the lake.
With me after it. I lunged, grabbing hold of a leg and taking a prop hit to the back of the hand as I went into the drink myself.
I’d say the drone was completely submerged for no more than a few seconds, with the props kicking up water.
Yes, my fault.
I got back in the boat, pulled the battery pack out, and headed home.
My years of pre-drone electric seaplane experience told me the ESC elements of the main board would be baked for sure. Probably the camera would also be beyond hope.
With low expectations, I used a shop compressor to blast air into the body vents, motors and camera for about 20 minutes, and set the thing in a sunny spot for an hour. At that point I could see condensation forming in the camera lens, so I tore down the camera and, without breaking the glue on the lens assembly, blasted it with a hairdryer on high for 10 minutes or so. I then left the lens assembly on a computer for some ambient heat.
I put the P3S in a dry basement beside the exhaust from a portable dehumidifier, and left it for a week.
Today I reassembled the camera, recharged the pack and, watching for the inevitable magic smoke release, turned on the Phantom. Nothing. It initialized as usual. After 15 minutes of morning flying and pictures it seems right now to be none the worse for wear!
I know I may not have seen the last of the water or the damage it’s done, but wanted to celebrate the durability of this old bird.
I landed my trusty, age-worn Phantom 3 Standard safely on the rear hatch of my boat last weekend. It was breezy but I managed to track the deck and set her down, grateful I didn’t have to try a hand-catch.
But after touching down on the deck with the throttle pinned down, the props continued to idle for a second or two. This is normal but I wasn’t anticipating they would partially support the drone’s weight. As I watched, the boat just sort of drifted out from under the Phantom. With the props still idling It skittered over the side, into the lake.
With me after it. I lunged, grabbing hold of a leg and taking a prop hit to the back of the hand as I went into the drink myself.
I’d say the drone was completely submerged for no more than a few seconds, with the props kicking up water.
Yes, my fault.
I got back in the boat, pulled the battery pack out, and headed home.
My years of pre-drone electric seaplane experience told me the ESC elements of the main board would be baked for sure. Probably the camera would also be beyond hope.
With low expectations, I used a shop compressor to blast air into the body vents, motors and camera for about 20 minutes, and set the thing in a sunny spot for an hour. At that point I could see condensation forming in the camera lens, so I tore down the camera and, without breaking the glue on the lens assembly, blasted it with a hairdryer on high for 10 minutes or so. I then left the lens assembly on a computer for some ambient heat.
I put the P3S in a dry basement beside the exhaust from a portable dehumidifier, and left it for a week.
Today I reassembled the camera, recharged the pack and, watching for the inevitable magic smoke release, turned on the Phantom. Nothing. It initialized as usual. After 15 minutes of morning flying and pictures it seems right now to be none the worse for wear!
I know I may not have seen the last of the water or the damage it’s done, but wanted to celebrate the durability of this old bird.