Found this on YT and cannot understand why someone would do this.


As a follow-up here is the Lets find the drone video.

For clicks... YT monetization is evil thing sometimes...

they will do everything for the clicks... unfortunately... brave new world.

Rookie mistake, but nice save although more true luck than anything else. Great lesson for all of us.

eYeSkYeYe Posted at 2018-2-2 10:43
For clicks... YT monetization is evil thing sometimes...

He's got a big following, maybe he got a FREE one from DJI, or as you've said YT monetization could quickly cover the cost.

This guy is a good reviewer. I enjoyed his videos of the Mavic when it first came out. I don't think he's doing anything here to get clicks, it all seems legit. He just made a mistake in not noticing how much tailwind he had going out.

eYeSkYeYe Posted at 2018-2-2 10:43
For clicks... YT monetization is evil thing sometimes...

You do make me laugh and so true!

That was a nice search and recovery.

Nearly 6000 feet to go (over water) and 8% battery. Would have been an early bath!

Crazy, but at least he seems to have learned something.

Nope, I'm happy it was not me

Guy is good reviewer, good pilot and good director. With sense for the drama and clickbait. Don't be fooled, "save" was very well thought and planned. Panic acting was not perfect, but oh well...

eYeSkYeYe Posted at 2018-2-2 14:39
Guy is good reviewer, good pilot and good director. With sense for the drama and clickbait. Don't be fooled, "save" was very well thought and planned. Panic acting was not perfect, but oh well...

No Oscar for him then.

Hummingbird.UAV Posted at 2018-2-2 14:45
No Oscar for him then.

Dunno, is there any "trash" category or something?

eYeSkYeYe Posted at 2018-2-2 14:48
Dunno, is there any "trash" category or something?

I don't think so, maybe on People Choice Awards.

I'm cool with the whole "range test" thing, though I've never done one.  I just don't understand why it has to be over a LARGE body of water.

Tviscomi Posted at 2018-2-2 15:30
I'm cool with the whole "range test" thing, though I've never done one.  I just don't understand why it has to be over a LARGE body of water.

Pretty much the best possible environment for such a tests:
No buildings, no trees, no wifi routers/repeaters, no ferromagnetic materials, no change in elevation, probably the widest open area, most likely no people (including cops ) around...

eYeSkYeYe Posted at 2018-2-2 16:32
Pretty much the best possible environment for such a tests:
No buildings, no trees, no wifi routers/repeaters, no ferromagnetic materials, no change in elevation, probably the widest open area, most likely no people (including cops ) around...

Hmm...makes sense.

Tviscomi Posted at 2018-2-2 16:49
Hmm...makes sense.

A lot of drone related things are somewhat counter-intuitive until a bit more thinking. I do believe this is why a lot of newcomers struggle with the hobby.

I fish that lake a lot and the wind can get bad there also if the water was up he would have lost it for sure.He has a range test for the mavic in the same spot on youtube

jims3000 Posted at 2018-2-2 17:03
I fish that lake a lot and the wind can get bad there also if the water was up he would have lost it for sure.He has a range test for the mavic in the same spot on youtube

Again, this was not the accident but scripted well thought and planned dramatic story to get clicks and profit. Guy knows what he's doing including pretending he does not.

eYeSkYeYe Posted at 2018-2-2 17:05
Again, this was not the accident but scripted well thought and planned dramatic story to get clicks and profit. Guy knows what he's doing including pretending he does not.

and then there is that one know it all in every forum.

It's very obvious it was all planned, good fun to watch though.

Proof the Mavic Air doesn't have enough juice. Mavic Pro would have made it

wut              

Phantomrain.org 1 Posted at 2018-2-3 12:28
We are the Pioneers, the adventures, we push the limits to see the breaking points and when we do we pass them on to you so you can have total confidence in your drone.   He  has offered some amazing insight to what is possible and we learn tons from his failures,   I push how hard you can fly your drone in the extreme weather,  torrential downpour,   high winds 30 mph , extreme cold 30 below, it to stop those from doing something that cannot be done.   Clicks are really not a part of the equation.      Phantomrain.org   that is for the clicks.

Dear Sir, I am sorry to inform you that Pioneers were people flying their self built aircrafts 20 or so years ago. What you are describing is properly named "early adopter consumer".

Phantomrain.org 1 Posted at 2018-2-3 12:28
We are the Pioneers, the adventures, we push the limits to see the breaking points and when we do we pass them on to you so you can have total confidence in your drone.   He  has offered some amazing insight to what is possible and we learn tons from his failures,   I push how hard you can fly your drone in the extreme weather,  torrential downpour,   high winds 30 mph , extreme cold 30 below, it to stop those from doing something that cannot be done.   Clicks are really not a part of the equation.      Phantomrain.org   that is for the clicks.

i know you're a pioneer and an adventurer and all that stuff but advertising is prohibited on this forum. you will be banned

Zatx Posted at 2018-2-2 11:34
This guy is a good reviewer. I enjoyed his videos of the Mavic when it first came out. I don't think he's doing anything here to get clicks, it all seems legit. He just made a mistake in not noticing how much tailwind he had going out.

It looks like he got excited about doing a range test, but I count more than "a" mistake. I'm a fairly new pilot but I counted a few.

1. Flying over water for the very first range test.
2. Flying on sport mode with full throttle on the way out. I seem to remember seeing a range test on a Mavic Pro where the pilot discussed why he wasn't going full speed. There's an ideal speed to maximize the distance you can go.
3. Not doing some test runs with ever increasing distance. Not only would this have allowed for better gauging of available battery, but more cycles on the battery might have increased the run time. Lithium batteries never have their best capacity when they are completely new (Although, I don't know how many times he used the battery before his range attempt. I'm guessing not very many.)
4. Not lowering the altitude a bit on the way back. He mentions this at the end of the video, but I was thinking this while I was watching him try to fly back.
5. I think he paused a bit at the farthest point, but this may have actually been a good thing. Had he been a little quicker turning around, he might have been more tempted to try to fly in and missed the opportunity to ditch the drone where he did.6. Oh, and yes, flying with the wind on the way out.

I'm glad though that he got his drone back undamaged and he did an awesome job getting it down somewhere where it could be recovered. Also, I found his video enjoyable. Most entertained I've been cringing in front of my computer.

eYeSkYeYe Posted at 2018-2-2 17:05
Again, this was not the accident but scripted well thought and planned dramatic story to get clicks and profit. Guy knows what he's doing including pretending he does not.

Proof? How you can be so shure?

II’ll add my own .02 here….

First, I don’t think this situation was staged, just my opinion.  I think the guy made a few mistakes in conducting a risky maneuver (a range test) and then did a good job of finding an emergency landing when he realized he probably wasn’t going to make it.  Could this have been staged, sure.  But he then runs the risk of doing the exact opposite of what people suspect he may be doing, which is looking for “clicks”.  If people smell BS, they may call him out on it, and if they think he is not genuine (as evidenced in this thread), they might unsubscribe.  In my opinion, the biggest part of getting clicks is having subscribers.  So, if this was staged he runs the risk of actually losing subscribers which is the exact opposite of what any YouTuber is trying to do.  Is it possible that he thought of this hoax, but didn’t think of the consequence?  Sure, that is possible.  He did raise the drama quotient by splitting the video up into the flight component and the recovery component, but I think both segments provided views with useful information on what should, and what should not be done.  Ok, enough of whether or not this was real.

On to the phenomena known as Range Testing.  Why on earth would anyone fly their drone out of radio control and risk losing their $500 investment forever?  That’s crazy!  And if so, why would you do it over a lake, where the consequences are even more dire and hope of recovery is almost non-existent?

There are those that would indeed agree with those statements, and would never fly their drone out of line of sight or over water (even if within line of sight; ….assuming Gunship here).  And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, and they are good, conscientious, law-abiding drone “pilots”.  By performing a Range Test, you are in all likelihood breaking the rules, at least here in the states.  Second, it does go against some good common sense.  Those 2 statements are FACTS, not opinions (maybe could be argued slightly on the second point).

If those two statements are true, why would anyone want to do a range test?  A couple of thoughts based on my own perspective, and why from time to time I do range tests also.  Yes, I follow all the rules of FAA and AMA about 90% of the time; but the one I sometimes flex is VLOS.  I do want to make a standalone post re: following rules and regulations.

From my perspective, range tests are about pushing some limits and taking some chances.  Initially, I was very curious, how far could my little Spark actually go?  Once you’ve done that, if that was all that you were interested in, it’s doubtful you would need to do it again.  

Ok….fine my Spark can go 1 mile, neato.  But for me, that’s not the whole picture.  It is about pushing boundaries and taking some risks.  That little sense of nervousness when you start to lose video signal and you keep the stick forward….and then it happens….aircraft disconnected.  Your stomach sinks a bit, your palms feel a bit clammy, and you wonder if you just pushed a little too hard this time….and it may be the last time you ever see your $500 investment…as you anxiously await and hope to hear the “Aircraft returning home” message from your phone.  And then you finally hear the message and you start looking at distance, battery levels and start doing calculations in your head…will it make it back?  I’ll admit, there is a sense of exhilaration and accomplishment when your aircraft is returning home and all looks good.  I know, it sounds a bit crazy and non-sensical, but it is just a bit like any endeavor which can give you an adrenaline rush; rock climbing, skiing, car racing, whitewater kayaking, those crazy parkour kids, etc.

For me though, it is ALSO about exploration.  I think a lot of people are drawn to aerial photography because it provides a point of view not typically experienced, I know I am.  It gives me a sense of exploration to see what is just beyond that cornfield (probably just another cornfield!).  I also think that’s why these types of drones are a little different that other RC aircraft such as planes.  Most of the time (would be interesting to see what other people think), I’m flying for the views, not necessarily to watch the Spark make circles in the sky.  

It could by a new hobby...Flyfishing..

lose, as in lost. For some reason almost everyone spells it loose.

i watched these when looking for 'range tests'  This is why i don't need to do a distance test on my Mavic Air.  If my Mavic is 12000 feet from me, it's because it's in the case on the couch and i'm on the way to work!!!

Free2be Posted at 2018-5-18 03:14
It could by a new hobby...Flyfishing..

haha... i see what you did there.

Todd in Chicago Posted at 2018-2-4 22:04
II’ll add my own .02 here….

First, I don’t think this situation was staged, just my opinion.  I think the guy made a few mistakes in conducting a risky maneuver (a range test) and then did a good job of finding an emergency landing when he realized he probably wasn’t going to make it.  Could this have been staged, sure.  But he then runs the risk of doing the exact opposite of what people suspect he may be doing, which is looking for “clicks”.  If people smell BS, they may call him out on it, and if they think he is not genuine (as evidenced in this thread), they might unsubscribe.  In my opinion, the biggest part of getting clicks is having subscribers.  So, if this was staged he runs the risk of actually losing subscribers which is the exact opposite of what any YouTuber is trying to do.  Is it possible that he thought of this hoax, but didn’t think of the consequence?  Sure, that is possible.  He did raise the drama quotient by splitting the video up into the flight component and the recovery component, but I think both segments provided views with useful information on what should, and what should not be done.  Ok, enough of whether or not this was real.

Todd, i completely understand your point.  I'm not going to get into the staging of the video.  Whether it was or wasn't really isn't a concern of mine.  He got his point across, and for me, it gave me the lesson i needed to learn.

I get that it's an adrenaline rush to fly to the limits, but I won't do it.  I like you, do fly for the views.  So instead of reaching the limits of the aircraft (and the law) i'll drive (or hike) further to get more views.  Just my addition to your $.02.  getting close to a nickel...

I think his story that is contained in these 2 videos is interesting and compelling.

I like his videos, tutorials and reviews and I think he is a talented drone pilot.