So my worst fair ALMOST happened

[Neon Euc]

Worst FEAR i mean [emoji12]

In the uk we have slightly different rules to the rest of the world so please don't start all this FAA rules on me [emoji12]

But I admit what I done was not 100% right... But I am telling this story as a heads up to newbies and anyone else really.

Yesterday I had one last "new" flight route I wanted to try with litchi. My longest one yet I ever done. 15 mins of no signal on a route I never flown. I decided to do this to complete my goals of places to fly.

So off the drone went 100% battery... As it hoovered litchi loaded.. By the time it loaded and started the mission battery was at 90% (then I thought it would be more sensible to load the mission before I even arm the motors let alone hoover to save battery) but... I thought "that's what we British do best... Go head first and have a cup of tea)

So off it went... 15 min flight time.. I know I am in for a wait.. Few mins later I looked at the time and then took note when it should roughly come back. 15 mins later no signal, nothing, coudnt see it, could not hear it. So started to pack my stuff up, call it a loss and realized I should have listened to my gut feeling.

"Battery at 22%" was then heard from the controller... Yes I thought.. My baby scared me but has never let me down.

HOWEVER THIS IS NOT THE WORST PART OF IT.. MY WORST FEARS WOULD SOON FOLLOW AS I WATCH BACK ON THE FOOTAGE

took 10 mins to get to where it was before I even got to where I wanted it to film and then... I saw something which I always feared. Was it a group of pigeons? Nope... Out of no where and bear in mind I am flying 120 metres....

I JUST MISSED A CRANE!!!

that was my fear... But man... Did it make great footage or what. I will upload and edit the video later to all to see.

Bottom line is this....

* Remember the longer the distance you fly the higher the ground may rise

* if possible scan the area first before the mission

* take cranes into consideration.

I was going to check as the area I filmed was 20 mins away from me but wanted to live the life of fear and excitement. And boy... Am I glad I did. Would I dare do another risky 15 min flight time mission again? Yep... But only on a field or over the sea.

 

[QuadKid]

You may find this helpful, works great.

 

[Neon Euc]

Cheers quadkid. I did see that before but I usually am fine with ground height as I fly 120 metres. Just that crane that came out of no where caused the most concern lol

 

[Mark The Droner]

Great story. There are not many things more terrifying than sending your beloved AC away, losing contact, and waiting for it to reconnect. Some people get off on it.

A reliable GPS tracker can help take the edge off - especially if it lets you track live or almost live.

You're going to post the footage, aren't you? :-D

 

[charlieb4]

Popcorn and Pepsi, waiting for the show to begin.............lol

 

[bsartist]

The ultimate pucker waiting for the signal to come back... ;-)

 

[Neon Euc]

Great story. There are not many things more terrifying than sending your beloved AC away, losing contact, and waiting for it to reconnect. Some people get off on it.

A reliable GPS tracker can help take the edge off - especially if it lets you track live or almost live.

You're going to post the footage, aren't you? :-D

Footage already up [emoji4] I do have a tracker but the side cradle was not 3D printed good enough so I have to order another one

 

[Neon Euc]

Popcorn and Pepsi, waiting for the show to begin.............lol

Lol hope its good enough for you [emoji4]

 

[Neon Euc]

The ultimate pucker waiting for the signal to come back... ;-)

Lol that was the kind of tense moment it was like for me

 

[With The Birds]

Footage already up

I do have a tracker but the side cradle was not 3D printed good enough so I have to order another one

Was it a blue tower crane? If so I think you might have just cleared the jib even if you went straight over it- wouldn’t have been by a lot though. Lucky you were flying down the middle of the road (and pleasing to see the cars were on the right side, left side that is).

 

[Neon Euc]

Lol yep it was the blue crane. Quite amazing to think how much the ground elevation changes as it was at 120 metres the whole time and yet it went past a yellow crane after and the ground was much lower. Think I will start flying at 125 metres from now lol

 

[G BUCK]

Hi can't see the footage. Has it been taken down?

 

[DocDiggler]

[emoji848]

 

[Neon Euc]

Hi can't see the footage. Has it been taken down?

Lol no... I posted it on another thread. But here is the link for that video with the crane

 

[Nesher]

Good advice, thanks!

 

[mdowney58]

I wonder why all of the car traffic is driving on the wrong side of the road....[emoji6]

 

[With The Birds]

I wonder why all of the car traffic is driving on the wrong side of the road....[emoji6]

It’s a simple matter of perspective.

 

[DocDiggler]

Looks like you where a bit higher than than crane

 

[David_Cambridge]

It is not clear to me that the altitude was dealt with correctly. Litchi uses as a reference throughout the flight an altitude based on the height above your launch point. If in the course of your mission, the ground goes up or down, the drone doesn’t pay any attention and continues at 120 feet above launch altitude. This often results in a very unpleasant surprise when the drone flies directly into the ground at a ground point 121 ft above launch. Litchi will allow corrections for changes in ground altitude, but it is not the default. It requires an adjustment to your mission waypoint heights when the drone is at the launch site.