Missing Drones

[JohnYayas]

I saw an article this morning about people who got drones for Christmas and already lost them. Here is a quote from one person that made me LOL.

"I tried to run after it, but you can’t run after a drone … it’s like running after an airplane," he said. " ... It’s like putting a bunch of propellers on your wallet and watching it fly away.

I thought some of you might find it amusing.

[kecked]

It’s so true. I’ve been flying helicopters...little ones. For years. Those starting with expensive drones are asking for it. You can’t just walk out and fly a drone. Did you see the video of the one with a shotgun mounted on it.

Surprised no one has mounted a laser just to fly up into air space. Good thing the iq of the people shining on planes is to low which is a good thing.

[JohnYayas]

A guy I know said he got one for his birthday or something like that. First time he went to fly it he made it go too high and it just drifted off and he never saw it again. It is funny to think of people all excited when they get one up in the air for the first time and then it just goes away.

When I was in the 6th grade I got one of those string controlled Cox gas powered airplanes for Christmas. My dad did the first flight. It went straight up and then straight down and broke into pieces. We were able to glue it back together but it was never the same and it kept re-breaking all the time. At least it didn't entirely fly away.

[VDX]

... some drones with better quality are programmed with "watch-dog" and security functions - one I've seen acting like this, started slow descending, when the contact was lost ...

Viktor

[lasersbee]

It all depends on the pilot...
Did he read the instructions and follow them to a "T" ???
Was he experienced in flying Drones ??
Did he know the rules and restrictions in his location ???
Was it very windy during the flight ???
Did he initiate RTH when the flyaway occured ???

I've been flying Drones for the past 5 years... Hand built
GPS Drones and bought commercial drones like the DJI
Phantom 4 Pro Plus and the DJI Mavic Pro.
I have yet to lose a Drone in 5 years.

Jerry

[Bradfo69]

Even experienced fliers have lost drones though - buffo unfortunately lost one at one of the Florida laser meets and its in the bottom of the Dead River. Inaccurate battery level reporting from a racing drone. We didn't actually see it hit the water since it was on the other side of a 4 lane highway but, you could see the hole in the algae on top of the waters surface where it likely plunged through.

[lasersbee]

That's a bummer...
Not saying technical problems don't show up.
Was just saying that noob Drone pilots having
flyaways is most like likely due to Pilot error
or just plain inexperience..

I've had what seemed to be a flyaway early on
but re-gained control and later found out it was
my error by not calibration the IMU and Magnetometer
before I took off.

Jerry

[turbohead]

For someone staring out, it is hard to imagine the circumstances associated with a drone fly away. It is like experiencing fire for the first time, mesmerizing until you experience the burn. After my first drone fly-away (inexpensive homebuilt), I focused on root cause and radio beacons for recovery. For someone who does not do their own due diligence and listen to advice, a $1,000 DJI Mavic Pro fly away is an expensive and painful lesson.

[kecked]

With all these fly always I wonder why I have not found a free one yet....come on amazon...skeet shooting with prizes.

[Photonbeam]

I know very little about drones but I have been using a GPS dog collar. The circuit including battery is not much bigger than a pack of gum and can last a week on standby. Don't know how much weight a drone can carry but it might be cheap insurance for an expensive toy. They cost about $35. If your drone flies away, wake up the GPS and see its location within 3 meters (unless it is underwater).