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Any drone flyers out there? I crashed mine and then repaired it. (videos inside)

jtmat

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That is why I don't get flying flying over little kids or property that does not belong to me. Seems so intrusive.

Anyway, it does take nice pictures....

Do you know what happened to it?
 
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robertwsimpson

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That is why I don't get flying flying over little kids or property that does not belong to me. Seems so intrusive.

Anyway, it does take nice pictures....

Do you know what happened to it?
Do you fly? On about the 100th flight, you start to trust the thing to do stuff because it has 100 times before. It's an extremely well designed piece of equipment and it's made to stay in the air.

I don't understand your last question. Do you mean do I know how it crashed? it's in the video. I hit a kite that my son was flying and one of the props flew off. It fell about 180 feet onto a football field.
 

jtmat

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Do you fly? On about the 100th flight, you start to trust the thing to do stuff because it has 100 times before. It's an extremely well designed piece of equipment and it's made to stay in the air.

I don't understand your last question. Do you mean do I know how it crashed? it's in the video. I hit a kite that my son was flying and one of the props flew off. It fell about 180 feet onto a football field.
Don't fly... I looked into them last year and most did not fly for long periods of time.

Ideally I'd like to have one that scans some property I own maybe twice or three times a day, autonomously.

I'd ask you nicely not to fly that thing around my kids though. Guess I'm picturing a blade in an eyeball. Sure I'm over thinking it... I'll not be the person who craps in your thread. Sorry, not my intent.

Great video, loved how you spiced it up and had fun. And the video shots were great over the water, etc.
 

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I professionally fly a phantom 4. They are a lot of fun, but can sometimes leave you cringing. I probably have over 500 hours of flight, and I am on my third drone due to the following...

  • Ran into a tree limb...20th hour of flight
  • Attacked and killed by a hawk @ 335ft... 200th hour of flight
  • Prop mounting base broke during flight..I watched the prop fly off and down came the drone 300 feet. 400th hour of flight

I say 3rd drone because everytime I receive the repaired drone back, it has been a new drone.

The average repair cost for DJI to repair the drone including shipping has been $250. Not bad considering.
 

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robertwsimpson

robertwsimpson

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Don't fly... I looked into them last year and most did not fly for long periods of time.

Ideally I'd like to have one that scans some property I own maybe twice or three times a day, autonomously.

I'd ask you nicely not to fly that thing around my kids though. Guess I'm picturing a blade in an eyeball. Sure I'm over thinking it... I'll not be the person who craps in your thread. Sorry, not my intent.

Great video, loved how you spiced it up and had fun. And the video shots were great over the water, etc.
Most of the consumer level units fly for 10-25 minutes depending on which one you're talking about. Mine is on the entry level of the spectrum, but the Mavic will do what you're talking about. it's fast enough to fly a few miles before coming back and needing a charge, and it will operate autonomously if you set that up.

I don't blame you for not wanting them around your kids. I fly them around my own kids and that's it. Most people get a kick out of seeing it at a park or whatever, especially kids, but I don't really go near other people's kids. That would be weird.

Thanks for the comments, I definitely don't consider it crapping in my thread!
 
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robertwsimpson

robertwsimpson

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I professionally fly a phantom 4. They are a lot of fun, but can sometimes leave you cringing. I probably have over 500 hours of flight, and I am on my third drone due to the following...

  • Ran into a tree limb...20th hour of flight
  • Attacked and killed by a hawk @ 335ft... 200th hour of flight
  • Prop mounting base broke during flight..I watched the prop fly off and down came the drone 300 feet. 400th hour of flight

I say 3rd drone because everytime I receive the repaired drone back, it has been a new drone.

The average repair cost for DJI to repair the drone including shipping has been $250. Not bad considering.
wow, that's not bad at all. If I had one of the more expensive units, I would just do that. I had no idea how much it would be to send it in.

One of the things I like most about the Spark is its unassuming appearance. it looks like a toy, so I wasn't afraid to just take it apart and put it back together. All in all, I spent about $70 on the repair, but parts for the phantom and mavic seem much more expensive, and the units are FAR more complicated as well.


That's awesome that your phantom got attacked by a hawk. Did you get it on video?????
 

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wow, that's not bad at all. If I had one of the more expensive units, I would just do that. I had no idea how much it would be to send it in.

One of the things I like most about the Spark is its unassuming appearance. it looks like a toy, so I wasn't afraid to just take it apart and put it back together. All in all, I spent about $70 on the repair, but parts for the phantom and mavic seem much more expensive, and the units are FAR more complicated as well.


That's awesome that your phantom got attacked by a hawk. Did you get it on video?????

I was taking still images at the time, and unfortunately didn't get any good hawk footage. However, see attached bill from DJI for my latest repairs. They do things cheaper than I could.

a0hylz.jpg
 
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robertwsimpson

robertwsimpson

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I was taking still images at the time, and unfortunately didn't get any good hawk footage. However, see attached bill from DJI for my latest repairs. They do things cheaper than I could.

[/IMG]
How much was shipping? that's amazingly cheap! the Spark motors are about $50 most places I've checked. I can't believe that a phantom motor would be cheaper than that!

I'll definitely check into this if I need repairs in the future. Thanks for posting that!
 

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Free shipping both ways. They sent me a label via email to print off. I think those prices reflect their cost. So basically, they just fix it at cost plus labor. It's like a sore dick. You can't beat it.
 

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This is the aftermath of the latest crash. The gimbal was also toast. The prop mount on the top left is the one that broke. One of the teeth had snapped off. That prop is the one that is still in one piece. It fluttered down with the broken piece still in it. I sent it to DJI just like you see it in the pic. Dirt; grass and all.

2qj9k7p.jpg
 
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robertwsimpson

robertwsimpson

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This is the aftermath of the latest crash. The gimbal was also toast. The prop mount on the top left is the one that broke. One of the teeth had snapped off. That prop is the one that is still in one piece. It fluttered down with the broken piece still in it. I sent it to DJI just like you see it in the pic. Dirt; grass and all.

2qj9k7p.jpg
yeah, I'm just going to go that route next time. that's much better than the month of downtime and probably 10 hours or so of work that it took me. I'll let the pros handle it.
 

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I have a P4P+ and Inspire 1V2
 

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THE MPP is definitely on my short list.
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