Whats up there, fellow drone lovers! Right now I wish to share with you a type of tales that make us all higher pilots – my first drone crash. TRUST me, this one’s each painful and academic!
It was again in 2017. I used to be at a spot known as Guangopolo, doing aerial protection of an occasion. I most likely hadn’t even been flying my shiny new DJI Mavic Air for 2 months when, on a Sunday morning, I acquired a name from certainly one of my finest associates and fellow photographer.
What may go improper?
He requested me: “Are you aware tips on how to fly that drone effectively?”
And ultra-confident Rafael responded with all the conceit that might slot in his huge ego: “In fact I do!”
Oh, poor Rafa, if solely at that second I had a channel like Suarez Media to enhance my spider-sense that might have allowed me to keep away from what was coming subsequent. However no, I used to be filled with that harmful mixture of pleasure and overconfidence that each new drone pilot is aware of too effectively!
Quick ahead three hours. I’m on the occasion location. I begin taking normal photographs, clearly flying low as a result of at the moment, going above 50 meters terrified me. Humorous how newcomers are both too cautious or too reckless, isn’t it? In my case, I used to be each – afraid of peak however overconfident in my skills. Dangerous mixture!
Lack of frequent sense? Verify
We had been in a spot filled with eucalyptus timber. Eucalyptus timber are tall. And in case you didn’t know, they’re the primary predator of drones flown by unsuspecting pilots. They’re like drone magnets, I swear! These timber appear to have a particular capacity to draw costly flying cameras straight into their branches.
It was the right storm: tall timber plus inexperienced pilot. The consequence may solely be one factor – a crash. And what a crash it was!
I don’t have the footage from that fateful day anymore (one other remorse – all the time save your crash footage as a reminder!). All I can inform you is that I used to be doing a backward and upward flight, a presentation shot. And clearly, as an inexperienced pilot, I didn’t measure the peak of the tallest tree. Oh Rafa, issues aren’t trying good for you!
It should have been the third or fourth shot of the day. Keep in mind that the unique DJI Mavic Air has entrance sensors. For those who fly ahead, the whole lot’s high-quality (besides in circumstances of energy strains), however if you happen to’re flying backward, the minimal you need to do to forestall accidents is first fly ahead and calculate the heights of potential obstacles. Did I do that primary test? In fact not! I began my shot and precisely 4 seconds later, I noticed on my cellphone display screen the worst photographs a drone pilot by no means needs to see.
All the pieces was spinning. All the pieces blurry. I felt it straight in my pocket – that sinking feeling when your $600 funding is plummeting from the sky? That feeling that makes your coronary heart drop sooner than the drone itself?
My look of panic was unimaginable. My child was falling from virtually 40 meters excessive. Due to the dense and plentiful tree leaves, they cushioned the free fall. If there’s any silver lining to crashing right into a tree, it’s that they’re nature’s drone catchers – significantly better than concrete or water!
The aftermath of the Drone Crash
Extremely, the drone fell from virtually 11 tales excessive and survived. It did odor like eucalyptus for a number of weeks (a pure drone fragrance?), however the lesson it left me has lasted till at present. This primary crash laid the muse for my want to show everybody to fly safely. And I want it had been my final crash, however there’s nonetheless materials for fairly a number of extra articles. As I train my college students, there are two varieties of drone pilots: those that have crashed, and people who will crash.
What has been your most painful crash or accident that broke your little drone-loving coronary heart? Was it a tree like me? Water? Or the dreaded energy strains? Did your drone survive to fly one other day?
Inform me within the feedback! I wish to know I’m not alone within the “drone crash survivors help group!“
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