Saturday, May 20, 2017

Drone Crash

Last week I crashed my drone at the bottom of Gemini Bridges. It was in a location that I thought only someone who could rappel from the top could get to so I chalked it up as being lost and left it. Now the story of its recovery is a case of truth being stranger than fiction...

Stormy went online to a drone forum and left a post regarding my crash. This week another individual, who had lost his drone in the same area, saw Stormy's post and contacted him to say that they had found my drone while looking for his. He also mentioned that he had hired someone to rappel down and pickup up his drone.

Yesterday, Sunny & Stormy rode out to the Bridges to watch the recovery effort. As fate would have it, the man that was hired to pickup the drone was late and another separate group rappelled down and found the drone. After confirming with the rightful owner that he had not hired those individuals, Stormy raced to the bottom of the canyon and retrieved the drone from the group.

He then met with the drone owner and they exchanged machines, a win/win for everyone. Unfortunately, my drone was damaged beyond repair. Here's the video of its last flight and crash...



Many thanks to Bart Davis and Stormy for their efforts in recovering my drone.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jim, was this pilot error, or a software issue. Inquiring minds want to know.

Jim Brown said...

It was definitely pilot error. I simply hit the wrong icon on the controller.

Anonymous said...

Jim,

That's what scares me with the drones........... being poor, I'd hate to make a mistake that would end in disaster. Replacing it would put tears in my eyes. At this point I'll have to experience the drone game vicariously.

Jim Brown said...

Between bad weather (wind/rain), no fly zones, and the desire not to offend anyone in public places, I flew the drone much less than I had envisioned before the purchase. As a result, I have not decided whether I am going to replace it or not. I love the unique perspective that an aerial video gives but am not sure the time and money needed to get it is worth it.

Anonymous said...


I concur Jim........... I too love the uniqueness and capabilities of the drone. If it wasn't for the possibility/probability of the crashes/failure, I would have bought the one you did. I think it was an excellent choice. I'll keep watching to see if you're flying again. Take care.

lastrick said...

Were you flying in-sight? or by the monitor? I know what that's like to hit the wrong button....nooooo...not THAT way !!

Jim Brown said...

I was flying via the controller and my phone. The autonomous feature of the Skydio 2 along with its excellent obstacle avoidance will hopefully keep me from making the same mistake again.