Lost then found: Lessons to learn here... Video link

[Flydigital]

Inexperienced but Impatient to fly I made a few mistakes. Lost my now very expensive F550 with everything on board but happily reunited after 48 hours.
I flew in a very strong wind, but it did very well. When the battery ran out I switched to a battery that wasn't fully charged. I was using a lipo alarm as my cue to bring it down. When it started bleeping it began to flail and drift downwind. It seems there was no time to bring it in. The power to bring it in against the wind wasn't there and it drifter out f the park. It was at about 15-20m and dropping but due to wind drifting off over houses losing altitude then out of sight. Thanks to a few flyer drops and asking around I was reunited with it via a kind neighbour living next to drop zone.
I think the half charge, high wind and urban area + my total lack of experience didn't help. I'm also aware these things are always at risk of flying off. Very glad it didn't damage anything or anyone. Also I've read they should not go above 400'. I don't know how high that is but I went as high as felt I appropriate but without any way to measure- it's just a guess without OSD -next step.
Im now planning to fly again and be aware of limits and risks. Take note of battery life etc. in this case it seems the battery discharged completely as it's now a bit baggy and no doubt ruined.

I got everything back and cut down the footage. The crash is from 3m30s approx. (filmed in Tufnell Park Playing fields, London N19)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3t8sm8cgrk5431z/TufnellPark.mp4

 

[Scott Drysdale]

If your battery charge has the IR, i.e., internal resistance function, measure that and compare it with the original battery specifications. If the IR is close to the original specs, then your battery electrochemistry is not compromised and it can be recharged and re-used safely. But also be sure to confirm that all cells have been balanced. Typically if each cell was found after the flight to be below 3.5 volts they may be damaged. Never trust a damaged battery.

Inexperienced but Impatient to fly I made a few mistakes. Lost my now very expensive F550 with everything on board but happily reunited after 48 hours.
I flew in a very strong wind, but it did very well. When the battery ran out I switched to a battery that wasn't fully charged. I was using a lipo alarm as my cue to bring it down. When it started bleeping it began to flail and drift downwind. It seems there was no time to bring it in. The power to bring it in against the wind wasn't there and it drifter out f the park. It was at about 15-20m and dropping but due to wind drifting off over houses losing altitude then out of sight. Thanks to a few flyer drops and asking around I was reunited with it via a kind neighbour living next to drop zone.
I think the half charge, high wind and urban area + my total lack of experience didn't help. I'm also aware these things are always at risk of flying off. Very glad it didn't damage anything or anyone. Also I've read they should not go above 400'. I don't know how high that is but I went as high as felt I appropriate but without any way to measure- it's just a guess without OSD -next step.
Im now planning to fly again and be aware of limits and risks. Take note of battery life etc. in this case it seems the battery discharged completely as it's now a bit baggy and no doubt ruined.

I got everything back and cut down the footage. The crash is from 3m30s approx. (filmed in Tufnell Park Playing fields, London N19)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3t8sm8cgrk5431z/TufnellPark.mp4

 

[Motopreserve]

Also I've read they should not go above 400'. I don't know how high that is but I went as high as felt I appropriate but without any way to measure- it's just a guess without OSD -next step.

400 feet is about the height of a 40 story building.

That at flight seemed to get pretty close to traffic - make sure your next flights are in a safe area in case of another flyaway.

 

[Benjamin Kenobi]

Hi mate,

I would highly advise not flying over houses even when things seem to be working fine. We don't want to annoy the public too much if we can avoid it :black_eyed:.

I used to fly here: NW4 1RL. Lots of space and no people around. Not too far from Tufnell Park (if you have a car). There's a few fliers who go there. Of course now I live in the middle of no where so a bit more choice. I never did like flying in public parks, even if they are empty.

I would recommend staying low and close by for your first 50 flights or so until you're sure of your machine and skills. Then you can be a bit more adventurous. I took it real slow at first. Just flying around in front of me and seeing what happened. It's much safer in the beginning.

Be safe! :tennis:

 

[Flydigital]

Thanks Ben. Sounds like very wise advice. I know I've been a bit too keen to 'go up and take a look' In theory it was within the park but up high it quickly drifts off limits so will keep it in check until I learn a lot more. That spot you recommend sounds good. I did see it while looking around on Google Maps but thought it may have a lot of sport going on there. Maybe not the West side? I've also thought of going to Fryent Country Park a bit further West NW9 8QG. Never been there before though so don't know how quiet it is.

 

[Motopreserve]

Great advice from Ben there. And keep in mind that if you're new to flying and have a camera, even footage from low, safe flights looks pretty cool!

I now find myself driving around looking at fields and assessing their potential for flights

 

[jbrumberg]

Thank you for sharing Flydigital. I am glad you got your quad back and that there are still neighborly people around.

Ben your points are well taken- no need to agitate the natives unnecessarily, and flying closer and lower in the beginning of the learning curve is safer and easier on one's mental status. I did not follow your advise on the low and close in the beginning. I will follow it soon as my ship from China with repair/replacement parts arrived at my local post office today.

"no need to agitate the natives unnecessarily"- is said in complete jest. I am fortunate to live and fly in the middle of nowhere in total isolation, but there are communities nearby that what happened to Flydigital could have resulted in all kinds of reactionary hysteria. I feel sorry for Scott and for anyone who has to scout around for a "safe" place to fly, if he was only a little closer to my "airfield"

 

[cootertwo]

Wowzers! Neat flight. Picked the perfect place to set down. Think about those glass enclosed green houses I spotted. Would have cost a chit pile, if it crashed through one of those! Glad you got her back.

 

[Cheshirecat]

Great advice from Ben there. And keep in mind that if you're new to flying and have a camera, even footage from low, safe flights looks pretty cool!

I now find myself driving around looking at fields and assessing their potential for flights

LOL i can relate to that and a lot of time on Googlemaps.

 

[SoCal Blur]

You are so fortunate that it missed hitting the roof of that house. Otherwise, you may have had to sell your rig to pay for the repairs.

That said, you've got some nice footage there... still pretty smooth considering the wind issues.

 

[Benjamin Kenobi]

Thanks Ben. Sounds like very wise advice. I know I've been a bit too keen to 'go up and take a look' In theory it was within the park but up high it quickly drifts off limits so will keep it in check until I learn a lot more. That spot you recommend sounds good. I did see it while looking around on Google Maps but thought it may have a lot of sport going on there. Maybe not the West side? I've also thought of going to Fryent Country Park a bit further West NW9 8QG. Never been there before though so don't know how quiet it is.

It's deserted almost all of the time. They have events on every now and then but they were few and far between. I only came across two days when I couldn't fly in the 3 years I flew there.

 

[jimmygixxer]

Good advice from Ben, After that i don't think you will be flying above houses again.
Nice save lucky you and lucky aircraft
Good luck dude

 

[Klaus]

Is it just me, but I have never read about any Fly a-ways from other brands than DJI?

 

[Motopreserve]

Some people have the opinion that it only appears that way because there are so many more DJI FCs in the field than any other brand. But it has seemed that way to me too, and because of these reports, [fairly or unfairly] I have never entertained the idea of buying a DJI FC.

But in fairness, I had a weird moment with my multiwii quad a while back where I had limited control. It was not exactly a fly-away - more like I could only control in one direction (which happened to be away from me!). It's a terrifying feeling. Had a bad crash right after that - so I was never able to definitively tell what caused the issue. I think it may have been a power issue though. PDB crapped out causing the crash - so the previous weird situation may have been caused by intermittent power of some kind..