Very unlucky day today , Lost my drone :(

[Martyg4567]

So I recently purchased a crystal sky monitor so I can fly my drone in the winter because last january when I tried to fly with my iPhone or apple tablet it would die EXTEMLY fast . So today I went to fly my phantom 3 and get some nice winter shots and a video , lucky the crystal sky monitor lived up to my expectations however after flying for a few minutes I was flying the drone back towards my direction but the wind was so powerful it was blowing my drone away I tried my best to fly it back but I literally had no control !!! the more I was trying to make it come back it was flying further and further away so I pressed the rth and I was waiting a couple minutes but I got a single back but apparently it was really blurry but I was able to see a satellite and a couple of wires so i realized it had landed on someones roof . SO I went to my crystal sky monitor to check the flight records so I can get an idea where it probably landed but for some stupid reason it said NO FLIGHt records how is that possible ? So what Im trying to do now is hand some flyers out saying missing drone will give reward if found and I wrote my phone number if that doesn't work Ill just order a phantom 4 .

 

[ryantrax]

Hmmm, weird, did the sync button get you anything? Did you try the Find My Drone option to try to locate it?

 

[Martyg4567]

Hmmm, weird, did the sync button get you anything? Did you try the Find My Drone option to try to locate it?

Im using the dji go and I don't see that option .

 

[Mark The Droner]

Sorry - but I'm not sure if bad luck had much to do with it

Good luck finding it

 

[Kelly57]

Mark.....Don't kick the guy when he's down already!

 

[Mark The Droner]

I am hoping to help the next guy... no harm intended...

 

[Meta4]

So I recently purchased a crystal sky monitor so I can fly my drone in the winter because last january when I tried to fly with my iPhone or apple tablet it would die EXTEMLY fast . So today I went to fly my phantom 3 and get some nice winter shots and a video , lucky the crystal sky monitor lived up to my expectations however after flying for a few minutes I was flying the drone back towards my direction but the wind was so powerful it was blowing my drone away I tried my best to fly it back but I literally had no control !!! the more I was trying to make it come back it was flying further and further away so I pressed the rth and I was waiting a couple minutes but I got a single back but apparently it was really blurry but I was able to see a satellite and a couple of wires so i realized it had landed on someones roof . SO I went to my crystal sky monitor to check the flight records so I can get an idea where it probably landed but for some stupid reason it said NO FLIGHt records how is that possible ? So what Im trying to do now is hand some flyers out saying missing drone will give reward if found and I wrote my phone number if that doesn't work Ill just order a phantom 4 .

In strong winds, you should never fly downwind because it means the trip back will be difficult.
Much better to have a slow flight out against the wind and an easy flight back.
What catches people out is that RTH speed is only 10 metres/sec when you are able to fly yourself at 16 m/s.
You don't give any details but if you were up high, the wind is always stronger there and bringing the Phantom down makes it easier to fly back.

If you want to see exactly what happened and get an idea of where it landed, the recorded flight data in the app will be useful.
Go to DJI Flight Log Viewer
Follow the instructions there to upload your flight record from your phone or tablet.
Come back and post a link to the report it provides.

 

[With The Birds]

Mark.....Don't kick the guy when he's down already!

Probably not so much bad luck as an absence of good luck....

The flight record will be on the tablet and we have a good chance it will reveal where the AC landed. He has video feed after landing on the roof so the flight log will give a location.

The lesson here for those who don’t know better is fly into the wind if you want the best chance of getting home and not ending up in this predicament. That’s all Mark was saying.

 

[Oso]

SO I went to my crystal sky monitor to check the flight records so I can get an idea where it probably landed but for some stupid reason it said NO FLIGHt records how is that possible ? So what Im trying to do now is hand some flyers out saying missing drone will give reward if found and I wrote my phone number if that doesn't work Ill just order a phantom 4 .

I don't know much about the Crystal Sky monitors. Have you been able to see your flight records before or was this your first time using it?

 

[Bad Andy]

In strong winds, you should never fly downwind because it means the trip back will be difficult.
Much better to have a slow flight out against the wind and an easy flight back.
What catches people out is that RTH speed is only 10 metres/sec when you are able to fly yourself at 16 m/s.
You don't give any details but if you were up high, the wind is always stronger there and bringing the Phantom down makes it easier to fly back.

I think the winds aloft difference might catch more people off-guard than you might think.

 

[Kelly57]

There is a program, can't recall the name of it at the moment, that lets you know if it is good to fly or not. It gives the local conditions to where you are. Part of the info is the wind speed at a certain altitude, and you would be amazed at the wind speed a couple of hundred feet off the ground.

 

[msinger]

@Martyg4567, did you restart your CrystalSky since attempting to look for the flight log? If not, restart it and check again.

 

[Mark The Droner]

There is a program, can't recall the name of it at the moment, that lets you know if it is good to fly or not. It gives the local conditions to where you are. Part of the info is the wind speed at a certain altitude, and you would be amazed at the wind speed a couple of hundred feet off the ground.

The popular one is www.uavforecast.com which I check before each flight.

But my favorite is www.windy.com, which I also check before each flight, after checking uavforecast.com. It has a little bit more of a learning curve but it's a great site - suggested roughly a year ago by TJ. The advantage is you can check three different sources whereas uav only uses one source and is not as accurate.

It's especially important to be aware of winds aloft when you live in a hilly+ terrain. There will be many times when one may have almost no wind at the surface and significant winds at a few hundred feet up.

 

[Meta4]

There is a program, can't recall the name of it at the moment, that lets you know if it is good to fly or not. It gives the local conditions to where you are. Part of the info is the wind speed at a certain altitude, and you would be amazed at the wind speed a couple of hundred feet off the ground.

Forecasts are just forecasts and although useful for general planning, are no substitute for actual observations where you are flying.

 

[Bad Andy]

Forecasts are just forecasts and although useful for general planning, are no substitute for actual observations where you are flying.

There are inexpensive handheld anemometers.

Doppler radar, not so much.

How do you make useful observations without info from a nearby airfield? Seriously.

 

[Meta4]

How do you make useful observations without info from a nearby airfield? Seriously.

You start with the feel of the wind on your face and seeing it blow the branches of trees or the surface of the sea.
Seriously.
If the wind is too strong to fly, you should know without any gadgets.
Once you launch (if the wind is strong), fly against it and see what effect it has on your top speed.
If you can normally make 15 m/s in still air but can only make 10 m/s against the wind, you know it's a wind you have to make allowances for.
Or if you are flying with the wind and making 19 m/s, you know you have a significant tailwind that would be an issue going back against it.
You could also switch to atti mode and watch the speed it drifts at with the wind doing the driving.
And always understand that the wind up high will be stronger than it is down below.

 

[Bad Andy]

You start with the feel of the wind on your face and seeing it blow the branches of trees or the surface of the sea.
Seriously.
If the wind is too strong to fly, you should know without any gadgets.
Once you launch (if the wind is strong), fly against it and see what effect it has on your top speed.
If you can normally make 15 m/s in still air but can only make 10 m/s against the wind, you know it's a wind you have to make allowances for.
You could also switch to atti mode and watch the speed it drifts at with the wind doing the driving.

Winds at ground level are one thing. What about winds aloft?

By the time you see ATTI drift it's maybe a bit late.

Oh, advice in case it's not obvious to everyone... probably best thing if you're caught up in winds is descend first, then try to get the aircraft back, being mindful of obstacles.

 

[Meta4]

Winds at ground level are one thing. What about winds aloft?
By the time you see ATTI drift it's maybe a bit late.

You can safely assume that winds high up will be stronger than on the ground - but they will be going the same direction (unless you are getting up there with pressurised aircraft).
If wind is likely to be an issue, don't fly away downwind because you will have a battle coming back against the wind.
Fly into the wind and you'll have an easy assisted return flight.
And you can always check wind speeds up high just like you can down low.

 

[Mark The Droner]

If you're flying in Oklahoma, wetting your finger and sticking it up in the air is a great strategy.

If you're flying in western NC, you better be looking at a wind site.

 

[Bad Andy]

And you can always check wind speeds up high just like you can down low.

My drone is flying away! DIVE! DIVE!

Yep, guess the wind speeds aloft were too high, LOL.

Sorry, I think I'm not communicating well. When I read your remark about "observation" I'm thinking how do you know winds aloft before you get up there.