I never thought I'd be this stupid!

[Weston Ney]

Okay so I have gotten pretty proficient in flying in tight spaces, but I got my depth perception off, I was completely flying visual line-of-sight, and not checking my screen for about 10 seconds, trying to maneuver around some power lines. Yeah that didn't work. I hit some power lines, and my drone crashed.

I was mad when it happened, but upon looking at it later that day, it looks like a bit of duct tape will do the trick.

The gimbal is bent up really bad, but a calibration fixed that easy, but it sure looks funny!

The Drone had tons of error messages before this crash, because I bought it crashed and broken on eBay, I replaced a bunch of stuff, and it flew perfectly fine, except for a few cracks in the shell, and tons of error messages. So I'm used to air messages haha. I think that the body damage that was there previously made it weaker, because the arms only broke in the places that the Drone was kind of messed up to begin with.

I buy all my cameras and computers broken on eBay, so I am used to fixing things and having my equipment held together by tape and such.

 

[WV. Rootman]

Sorry, but I know you will recoup. Don’t feel too bad. It’s part of flying.
I trust the screen more than my eyes on the drone. I was flying at Mexico Beach, Fl. after Hurricane Michael, and the power lines was only 100 ft. away. I hit them with the landing gears. It just bobbled around and kept going. I thought I was well clear of them. I’m pretty decent flying watching through my I Pad Air. I practice flying down trails where I live for a little thrill and skill training.
It’s good that you tackle doing repairs yourself. It make you a more rounded drone pilot.

 

[Deleted member 62848]

oh man eeeekkkkk,hope repair not cost to much,yes I can say I nearly played in the powerlines, they just so invisible on some angles,yes the odd crash does make you a better pilot.I know it kills the pride aswell but take it on the chin and back out there,,take care

 

[Weston Ney]

Thanks Ian!

oh man eeeekkkkk,hope repair not cost to much,yes I can say I nearly played in the powerlines, they just so invisible on some angles,yes the odd crash does make you a better pilot.I know it kills the pride aswell but take it on the chin and back out there,,take care

 

[KachemakDiver]

That’s why they call them accidents. We all have them,,,it’s easier on our egos to call them accidents?.Think about it, a stupid bone-head move is still an accident!

 

[KachemakDiver]

Gorilla tape works great! It’s also been called 100 mph tape, for good reason too. Comes in several colors.
There is an old Subaru running around my town that’s covered with it, looks kinda cool also.?

 

[Weston Ney]

Gorilla tape works great! It’s also been called 100 mph tape, for good reason too. Comes in several colors.
There is an old Subaru running around my town that’s covered with it, looks kinda cool also.[emoji868]

I actually have some white gorilla tape coming from Amazon now! (Ordered it yesterday after the crash). I also bought new props.

 

[CPO Coastie]

Judging the distance to power lines can be tricky - at best! While flying over the Potomac River near where I live I was in the area of high-tension lines, and kept a respectable distance from them. Even so - the pucker factor was very high until I was safely clear of them!

 

[CPO Coastie]

You can see the high tension wires in this video. DID NOT want to hit those!

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[PhantomWetSuits]

Okay so I have gotten pretty proficient in flying in tight spaces, but I got my depth perception off, I was completely flying visual line-of-sight, and not checking my screen for about 10 seconds, trying to maneuver around some power lines. Yeah that didn't work. I hit some power lines, and my drone crashed.

I was mad when it happened, but upon looking at it later that day, it looks like a bit of duct tape will do the trick.

The gimbal is bent up really bad, but a calibration fixed that easy, but it sure looks funny!

The Drone had tons of error messages before this crash, because I bought it crashed and broken on eBay, I replaced a bunch of stuff, and it flew perfectly fine, except for a few cracks in the shell, and tons of error messages. So I'm used to air messages haha. I think that the body damage that was there previously made it weaker, because the arms only broke in the places that the Drone was kind of messed up to begin with.

I buy all my cameras and computers broken on eBay, so I am used to fixing things and having my equipment held together by tape and such.View attachment 116451View attachment 116452

Compromised Drone

The best thing you can do now is to get the Phantom Wet Suit for your drone.

The Wet Suit does a whole lot more than just allow you to fly in the Rain.

Secures the battery
Secure the Props
Secure the Leg clips
Covers the Seams
Provides a a good handle for hand catches
Changes the Visual Line of Sight with quicker orientation
and will add support as to where the drone is now compromised

We offer a Discount for the Forum Members , let me know your interested
and email me at [email protected] and will get you set up.

 

[PhoenixOne]

Wow weston that stinks. Sorry tonhear.to hear i actually came close to some yesterday on the other side of a bridge. I was under them and gained too much altitude forgetting they where there. Even on your best days it's possible to make a mistake. Everyone keep your eyes peeled and fly safe.

 

[sprchg50]

Judging the distance to power lines can be tricky - at best! While flying over the Potomac River near where I live I was in the area of high-tension lines, and kept a respectable distance from them. Even so - the pucker factor was very high until I was safely clear of them!

View attachment 116454View attachment 116455

Great pics

 

[Andy9]

Yes, estimating depth of field is very unreliable when the drone is more than 100 m away from you. It is almost impossible to determine by eye would the drone fly a few m behind or in front of the tower being let's say 200 m away. And without the monitor I think no one who like his drone would test that. At the power line the situation is even more difficult. It is always safer to go pretty far around obstacles. If you want to film the object from the closer perspective, fly very slow. The estimation is much easier in the vertical level. You just need to have a free air gap between the drone and the upper margin of the obstacle, no matter how far the obstacle is. But the obstacle must be a bit higher than you are, if not the estimation is more tricky. The situation around power lines is even more demanding. Firstly you need to see them at all.

 

[Propsontop]

Think about it, a stupid bone-head move is still an accident!

I must have accidentally married my ex-wife!

 

[Capt KO]

I use gorilla tape too, but it does not go around shapes very well. I use the silicone fusion tape which will stretch to form around objects. Only sticks to itself but man it is strong and have it on a couple drones right now. Multiple colors so you can dress it up. Hope your back up in the air soon.

 

[Weston Ney]

I use gorilla tape too, but it does not go around shapes very well. I use the silicone fusion tape which will stretch to form around objects. Only sticks to itself but man it is strong and have it on a couple drones right now. Multiple colors so you can dress it up. Hope your back up in the air soon.

I'm probably going to be buying a new shell for it eventually,

 

[Weston Ney]

Yes, estimating depth of field is very unreliable when the drone is more than 100 m away from you. It is almost impossible to determine by eye would the drone fly a few m behind or in front of the tower being let's say 200 m away. And without the monitor I think no one who like his drone would test that. At the power line the situation is even more difficult. It is always safer to go pretty far around obstacles. If you want to film the object from the closer perspective, fly very slow. The estimation is much easier in the vertical level. You just need to have a free air gap between the drone and the upper margin of the obstacle, no matter how far the obstacle is. But the obstacle must be a bit higher than you are, if not the estimation is more tricky. The situation around power lines is even more demanding. Firstly you need to see them at all.

The funny and ironic thing is that I have gotten pretty good at flying in tight situations, some of my other photographer and drone friends I have been very impressed at my ability to fly through extremely small places through cracks in the trees, it makes for awesome videos, but I find it ironic that I didn't crash doing that extremely dangerous maneuver, I crashed trying to film a barn for somebody, and didn't think I was on the same plane as the telephone wires. Oh well.

 

[3putts]

The thought of causing damage to a power grid scares me, in addition to the possible loss of my drone. Hope you get your bird up and flying soon.

 

[Adamborz]

Just to play devil’s advocate but if you’re using that for commercial use and ever need to make a claim and your insurance company finds out you are using a UAS with obvious maintenance issue (which violates your 107) your insurance claim will probably denied.

Otherwise, if for hobby use, fix it up and go. I’ve crashed plenty of RC aircraft in my day and some glue and monokote fixed a lot of issues... ?

 

[Weston Ney]

Just to play devil’s advocate but if you’re using that for commercial use and ever need to make a claim and your insurance company finds out you are using a UAS with obvious maintenance issue (which violates your 107) your insurance claim will probably denied.

Otherwise, if for hobby use, fix it up and go. I’ve crashed plenty of RC aircraft in my day and some glue and monokote fixed a lot of issues... [emoji41]

Yes, I will never use this for commercial use. When I get my part 107 I'm going to buy the mavic 2 Pro. The reasons I don't want to use this for commercial use are one, because it is somewhat unstable, and has a lot of error messages. especially now after its second crash, first crashed by the first owner... Second, it's not the best quality drone, the footage looks okay on YouTube, and on my laptop screen, but when played on a larger computer screen or TV, it doesn't look very good, so I would want a better quality drone if I was asking someone to pay for my work.

Thanks for the advice!