I've often said that everything I've ever learned in life, I've learned the hard way, and the same certainly applies to flying quads. In just over a month since I got my first one, I've spent more time getting them out of trees than actually flying them. Most of these mishaps were annoying at worst, but after this latest one I think I'll stick to open fields until I've got a bit more practice.
I thought that getting something with FPV would make it easier, but apparently I was wrong. On Friday I received my JJRC V686, and got it stuck in a tree in my backyard on its first flight. So on Sunday I tried again, but first added a wifi router antenna to the transmitter for extra range. Instead of keeping a line of sight like I probably should have, I tried to navigate solely by the FPV screen. But I was so wrapped up in the nifty aerial view, that I failed to realize a light breeze was slowly drifting the quad off-course. I also didn't realize that it was still climbing when I didn't want to go any higher. Eventually it went out of range (at about 300ft high and 500ft away), I was able to briefly regain control but the next time it started to drop, it flipped upside down and there was nothing I could do (gyro preventing the props from spinning?). I walked down the road and used the FPV signal to find the general area, then when I was close enough I spun the props to help me pinpoint the quad itself. This video shows where I found it and what a job it was to get it back:
I stood there for about half an hour spinning the props, hoping to dislodge it but no luck. Once the battery went dead, then I decided to get some help.
(spoiler warning)
To my great relief, the property owner graciously allowed me to cut the tree down (she actually suggested it, I didn't have the nerve to ask). My dad, a former lumberjack, did the actual cutting.
The tree, fortunately, was just an old poplar near the end of its life anyway (it was rotten in the center).
I know how lucky I was to get my quad back and I'll definitely be more careful from now on. My next quad (or hexacopter) will be something with GPS navigation and failsafes to prevent this from happening again.
I thought that getting something with FPV would make it easier, but apparently I was wrong. On Friday I received my JJRC V686, and got it stuck in a tree in my backyard on its first flight. So on Sunday I tried again, but first added a wifi router antenna to the transmitter for extra range. Instead of keeping a line of sight like I probably should have, I tried to navigate solely by the FPV screen. But I was so wrapped up in the nifty aerial view, that I failed to realize a light breeze was slowly drifting the quad off-course. I also didn't realize that it was still climbing when I didn't want to go any higher. Eventually it went out of range (at about 300ft high and 500ft away), I was able to briefly regain control but the next time it started to drop, it flipped upside down and there was nothing I could do (gyro preventing the props from spinning?). I walked down the road and used the FPV signal to find the general area, then when I was close enough I spun the props to help me pinpoint the quad itself. This video shows where I found it and what a job it was to get it back:
(spoiler warning)
To my great relief, the property owner graciously allowed me to cut the tree down (she actually suggested it, I didn't have the nerve to ask). My dad, a former lumberjack, did the actual cutting.
The tree, fortunately, was just an old poplar near the end of its life anyway (it was rotten in the center).
I know how lucky I was to get my quad back and I'll definitely be more careful from now on. My next quad (or hexacopter) will be something with GPS navigation and failsafes to prevent this from happening again.
