Flying in a local park and experimenting with Circle process. Apparently a gust of wind blew the aircraft into a line of trees with heavy brush at ground level. At this point I don’t know whether it is stuck in a tree or buried in bushes. The last altitude in the log is 50+ feet. I searched for 2 hours yesterday and today and wI haven’t given up. I’ve included a link to my log file below.
Interested in any tips/suggestions that could help me locate this lost bird
I had a similar incident getting drone stuck high in a tree. We knew it was there because of the video cached on the phone. Can you find the video on your phone and watch its final moments? For your entertainment, here is the short version of my saga (video on first slide, then page to a couple other slides): drone crash 2 - Google Slides
If you can somehow spot it in the tree (was nigh impossible for us, but somehow we finally did), make a very long pole (45’ for us) and poke it until it falls. This is a multi person operation – a couple with the pole and at least one other a ways away who can see the drone and guide the poking. You have to assemble the pole as you push it up vertically – i.e., can’t build the whole thing on the ground. We used mostly PVC, which flexes more than you’d like. I recently put up some Christmas lights very high and found bamboo sections taped together with duct tape can give you a very rigid, light, long pole.
From the flight map included by JJB (if that’s your info…) it appears that your drone is in an area with a lot of trees with no other discernable land marks, in the middle of “no-where”. If you know which trees ate your drone, do everything to mark those trees (yellow ribbon, stake in ground, paint on trunk, etc…).
Winter is upon us and as the leaves drop, as the snowfalls, etc… things will look different and all the trees will start looking the same.
Keep going out there, take binoculars and a lawn chair and keep searching, do it at different times of the day, so the sun is in different positions. Get some friends to accompany you. Sometimes a different set of eyes may see more than you can wish for. I imagine every shadow is starting to look like your drone.
Agree with LoudThunder. We even knew which tree it was, but with 6 people looking for 2 hours we could not find it. Then my sister-in-law came out at night with a flashlight and binoculars and finally spotted it. It could only be seen from a few certain spots/angles. Having leaves down should help a lot.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I don’t have any assistants to draw from so it looks like I’ll have to focus on patience until it gets disloged. The last photo shown on air data indicates an elevation of 55 feet(attached)
I have the DJI Care Refresh but it’s considerably more expensive if you can’t return the original aircraft. Fortunately, the crash site is located 5 minutes away. I seem to remember seeing some video footage of the drones last minutes, but can’t find it now. How long does the video cache last and where do you look on an iPhone. Thanks again!
I was able to locate the terminal footage and it is interesting in that it shows a patch of grass (end of soccer field) at the time of collision. A subsequent still image has no grass which seems to indicate that the drone is not wedged in and may fall as the winds blow. Terminal Crash Footage
Yes, Find My Drone was very informative about where the drone crashed, but since it appears to be high up in a tree-one of those below I’ll have to wait till it falls.
Live and learn. I’ve been flying drones for 4 years and this was the first (and possibly last) time that I attempted to use this feature. It worked fine on my Air 2 S but the Mini is a different animal. Air 2 S Footage
Thanks for the comment. I actually have returned to the scene twice with a lawn chair, binoculars and garden shears to continue my search. I added the garden shears after falling twice in the heavy underbrush beneath the crash site. By Spring I wil have probably cleared a few more hiking trails for the walkers who must wonder what I’m up to (lol)
Thanks, it’s on the border between a public park and a private farm but I will investigate your suggestion if the wind doesn’t blow my way in a month or so. . . .
It’s not far from the turf. Maybe 1 or 2 trees in.
Use binoculars and stand a bit further away and you might spot it.
As if you were looking for a bird.
