Hey guys,
launched my mavic from a balcony in what didnt seem like much wind but it instantly got swept away to the other side of the building.
Connection was lost and the GPS recording on find my drone is the launch site.
Is there any way to find this damn thing?

please post you log files   read this link to find out how

http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/Upload/

Hi, sorry you lost your drone but you should not be launching from a balcony. you should also download an app called UAV to check your wind speeds before flight.

Sorry for your loss. If the connection loss that time, you might need to search around to see if you can find the drone. And you can at the same time report your case to our support to start a case and see if there is anything we can help. Here’s the link to contact us: http://www.dji.com/support

For the safety of everyone around you please refrain from looking for it. It is very obvious you did no prep, pre-flight or even read the very basics. If you do continue to fly... be sure to get some good liability insurance because you are going to hurt someone or damage someone's property (if not already).  Some people should not have drones... you are apparently one of them. ~ re-think the drone thing, it is not for everyone.

Bob Brown Posted at 2018-3-10 04:44
For the safety of everyone around you please refrain from looking for it. It is very obvious you did no prep, pre-flight or even read the very basics. If you do continue to fly... be sure to get some good liability insurance because you are going to hurt someone or damage someone's property (if not already).  Some people should not have drones... you are apparently one of them. ~ re-think the drone thing, it is not for everyone.

He did a mistake. We all have made a mistakes. It's no need to be so aggressive.

From your description it sounds as if you have taken off without stable GPS link and apparently in ATTI mode. Thus your AC was immediately carried away by the wind. If you want to search for it, you only have the choice to follow on the direction it has taken. If you are lucky it was not flying very high and has crashed into something not too far away. It does not sound like that much GPS data can be expected from your flightrecord, but upload it anyway to the link provided to you above and we'll see what we can get out of it.
A balcony is normally not a good place for take off because you can expect metal and/or other interferences around.

integer Posted at 2018-3-10 05:02
He did a mistake. We all have made a mistakes. It's no need to be so aggressive.

He/she did a mistake that could have hurt or killed another. I won't argue it... this is pure new pilot negligence.
Oh and what the heck is a magic pro? not to be mean but the op obvisouly is not detail oriented or a very young child that doesnt know how to spell?

Again... drone pilot is not for everyone.

Bob Brown Posted at 2018-3-10 05:18
He/she did a mistake that could have hurt or killed another. I won't argue it... this is pure new pilot negligence.
Oh and what the heck is a magic pro? not to be mean but the op obvisouly is not detail oriented or a very young child that doesnt know how to spell?

I respect your opinion, but I think we should not be so aggressive. have a nice day my friend

integer Posted at 2018-3-10 05:29
I respect your opinion, but I think we should not be so aggressive. have a nice day my friend

I think I would be less aggressive on these posts if I did not see them so frequently.  Idiots go buy 3lb. flying machines and then don't educate themselves or take the time for safety. Fly them to 1k ft in strong winds and then blame everyone but themselves for their stupidity when they loose it or crash it. It's ridiculous. I truly hope this kid never finds it.

Does sound a bit of a muppet moment

Looks like somebody is a little frustrated... relax, count to ten... or simply ignore this thread...

Taking Off from a balcony is stupid, TS will remember this for the rest of his life Maybe he will do it again, maybe he doesn't...

Instead of posting that he lost the Mavic he should be outside looking for it... without GPS... good luck in finding the drone...

Hey good afternoon guys, 420f I'm sorry for your loss but I do understand where Brown is coming from. As responsible pilots we should take this seriously even if it's just a hobby. Some guys are military both active and discharged (Semper Fi) and have been trained to use a weapon. If one day they let the weapon go off by mistake, even if no one gets hurt there is a disciplinary process because someone can really get hurt. Those of you who are saying Brown is being aggressive should try to grab a MP prop while it's whizzing away at 500+ RPM and post some pictures of their hand afterwards. Then come back to this thread and admit they now realize how dangerous these drones can be to an adult, now imagine a child, toddler, infant getting struck by a rougue drone. Dude start in beginner mode in an isolated place a bunch of times then start to play with it.  Drones and guns are the same in the sense that they don't kill, although in the hands of the wrong person they are deadly. Fly safe guys, it's never a good day unless everyone makes it home safely.

I also don't wish anyone a 1k loss whether or not it was a risky decision. Check your flight record on your DJI app and go to your fight records. If your lucky it will pin point the location of the MP even if the drone has no juice left in it.

Pilot was not the sharpest tool in the box but I don't think I'd post anything else after that tongue lashing.

Why its such a bad idea to take off from a balcony? Obviously there is a level of skill required. I have done it a few times with a lot of precautions taken, and haven't had any issues.

I don't think this OP is going to respond on his thread. He learnt a very expensive lesson here. Hope he finds his drone though.

Dirty Bird Posted at 2018-3-10 07:45
Can you tell us someone who was killed with one of these consumer level drones?

Answer to Dirty Birds question: As far as I can tell from internet searches... None!

Here is what the FAA said.
While the idea of having a drone fall on your head isn’t pleasant, it turns out you’re much more likely to suffer an injury from getting hit by a block of wood or a hunk of metal than a flying robot of the same size, according to the new report.

That’s because the shape of a typical four-propeller consumer drone causes it to fall more slowly than a block of wood. Drones are also more likely to deform in some way during a collision and absorb more of the energy from the impact, the researchers found. The report was written with the help of a consortium of universities, led by the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

DJI’s Phantom 3 drone, for example, was found to have about a .03 percent chance of causing a head injury if it fell on a person, compared to a block of wood of the same mass, which was found to have a 99 percent chance of a head injury. But while your head may not be injured by a falling drone, the chances of suffering a neck injury if hit by a Phantom 3 drone increased to around 13 percent.

The report also found that blade guards used to protect the rotors help to decrease the severity of an injury from collisions and should be required for safe flight over people.

These findings could impact the outcome of new rules on flying drones, which are still being written in many countries around the world, including the United States. The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to continue to seek input from the public and industry experts on how drones should be allowed to fly over people, beyond line of sight of the operator and at night.

The current threshold for determining if a drone needs to be registered with the FAA — unmanned aircraft weighing more than 250 grams — was decided in part using Cold War-era military projections on the lethality of being hit with debris in a nuclear fallout, as Recode reported last month.

Bob Brown Posted at 2018-3-10 04:44
For the safety of everyone around you please refrain from looking for it. It is very obvious you did no prep, pre-flight or even read the very basics. If you do continue to fly... be sure to get some good liability insurance because you are going to hurt someone or damage someone's property (if not already).  Some people should not have drones... you are apparently one of them. ~ re-think the drone thing, it is not for everyone.

You like to bash people and talk down to them? You beat up a toddler today to make yourself feel better?

I would hate to be your kid learning to drive, holy crap.

For the record, I take off from a balcony almost every flight. That has absolutly nothing to do with it. Balconies go from 5ft to hundereds of square ft. The more important bit of info would be:

Make sure no metal around for compass
Make sure to have sensors off if balcony is tight. Otherwise the drone will sense walls and drift away and up on it's own.
Check wind for sure.

I was going to bring my drone to Disneyland, and take off from inside my room then out the sliding door. Turning sensors off of course. Then back up to the room.

integer Posted at 2018-3-10 05:02
He did a mistake. We all have made a mistakes. It's no need to be so aggressive.

Not all of us.

Bulldog Posted at 2018-3-10 09:12
You like to bash people and talk down to them? You beat up a toddler today to make yourself feel better?

I would hate to be your kid learning to drive, holy crap.

For the record, I take off from a balcony almost every flight. That has absolutly nothing to do with it. Balconies go from 5ft to hundereds of square ft. The more important bit of info would be:


No wonder your drone can't maintain a connection!!!

ghostrdr Posted at 2018-3-10 10:08
For the record, I take off from a balcony almost every flight. That has absolutly nothing to do with it. Balconies go from 5ft to hundereds of square ft. The more important bit of info would be:

So please explain how a 600sq ft balcony made of zero metal is effecting take off? You are so smart, I feel like I can learn a lot here......... Go ahead, explain. We will all wait kindly.

fansf77370fb Posted at 2018-3-10 09:16
Not all of us.

You never done a mistake?  Please, can you share with us the way you fly your drone?

ghostrdr Posted at 2018-3-10 10:08
For the record, I take off from a balcony almost every flight. That has absolutly nothing to do with it. Balconies go from 5ft to hundereds of square ft. The more important bit of info would be:

Didn't think so.
I like how you came into my thread trying to post evidence that I can't fly at Disney, yet in what you posted it showed the procedure. You sir, are a piece of work.

Hey Dirty Bird I clearly understand where you are coming from, you need to hear that some innocent child or adult was just sitting in a back yard playing and a drone just fell out of the sky and took there eye out. Or simply just cracked there head open to say that precautions are in place for a reason. Take a hot dog and put it in your blades while revving up and see what happens to it. Common sense isn't a very common quality and that's the shame. I live flying my MP but not at the risk of hurting anyone.

Either way I hope u find your MP, as long as no-one gets hurt an experience is worth what u learn from it. Next time practice before trying stunts, it's not impossible to achieve. Good luck finding it and I hope u had dji refresh and replace the MP.

Bulldog Posted at 2018-3-10 09:12
You like to bash people and talk down to them? You beat up a toddler today to make yourself feel better?

I would hate to be your kid learning to drive, holy crap.

"I was going to bring my drone to Disneyland, and take off from inside my room then out the sliding door. Turning sensors off of course. Then back up to the room."

Of course, there's a 3 mile no fly zone around Disneyland...

Blind emotion, the guy says his drone just drifted away. There are numerous threads on glitches based on pilot error, software errors, mag interference, bird strikes, etcetcetc. To have a false sense of security relying on software always being spot on is blind irrational reasoning. Either way, I can't wait to hear about the story where someone flies a drone over Disney land. There was a P3 pilot over here in NYC that relied on software bringing him back in an emergency and also to warn him of no fly zones and his drone ended up crashing into an Army chopper. No fairy tale, just another guy exercising his "Right" to fly his drone fearlessly. Only issue with that is when u purchase a $1000 drone you feel like you can do anything with it. Keep Flying safe boys and girls.

They all survived the drone crashing into them, as if that is a concern for some pilots. They even found the P4 pilot because one of his motors was lodged into tje choppers rotor. Next your going to say that it's impossible for the drone to take down a chopper, or that the Army pilot should be seen the drone and avoided it. It's hard to understand where your logic lies. I'm an honorably discharged US Marine and have lived my entire life fearlessly before and after my service time. Flying my drone recklessly is as rational as driving my car 100mph in a residential area just because my dash says 180mph. Let's be grown adults here and not give JHS responses although there are several JHS students at my air field which truly understand how to abide and why rules and regulations are in place.

integer Posted at 2018-3-10 10:49
You never done a mistake?  Please, can you share with us the way you fly your drone?

No actually I haven’t. I own a MP and a Inspire. I’m sure I may have a mistake down the road but it hasn’t happened yet. I make sure everything is perfect before I take off and if it isn’t I don’t take off and I use common sense. It’s really not that difficult.

Wow so many perfect people on one forum. Must be a miracle to find you all in one place...get a life and shut up. Holier than thou give me a break. Pfft!

Bob Brown Posted at 2018-3-10 05:18
He/she did a mistake that could have hurt or killed another. I won't argue it... this is pure new pilot negligence.
Oh and what the heck is a magic pro? not to be mean but the op obvisouly is not detail oriented or a very young child that doesnt know how to spell?

For what it's worth, i've lost count of the number of times my phone had autocorrected Mavic to magic. I always check it, or edit it after i see that it's wrong, but this is probably more OP's issue rather than an inability to spell.

Not sure he deserves this level of derision - nobody purposely loses their drone or tries to hurt someone with it, and i bet he's a lot more careful in future.

This forum helps me understand what's wrong with the world. My only hope is that you guys don't have children to teach them how to drive or read because they may have  harder times in life than normal people should and that what ever rock u live under has a bigger rock placed on top of it so that you can stay under. One day your mom will make you move out and hopefully you realize what life is really about. Happy droning kids.

Dirty Bird Posted at 2018-3-11 00:48
Yet no one was seriously injured in any of those incidents.  

Each year over 10,000 people actually DIE falling from ladders, in their bathtubs or pools, or riding their bicycles.  NOT A SINGLE PERSON HAS DIED FROM A CONSUMER-LEVEL QUAD.  I try to keep things in perspective.  You are reacting irrationally over what is essentially a non-issue.

You have a point in that no Mavic has killed anyone.

I don't think your opinion on it being a non issue makes it a non-issue for others.  People have been killed by radio control aircraft.  Model helicopter with their blades killing children being the most common.  Though at least two .90 size heli's have killed an adult pilot and an adult instructor.  Quads are like helicopters with unshrouded lawn mower blades.  

Yes, you are right that no platinum colored store bought drone has killed anyone.  That does not make it a non-issue.  Especially not a non-issue, since children no where near a model flying club are in the strike zone of drones piloted by the reckless.  People at a flying club know to be alert for out of control model aircraft.  People at a 7-eleven, near an apartment balcony, getting a ice cream for their toddler should not have to be as alert.

You climb a ladder you take your chances of being injured or killed.  You tolerate reckless drone pilots, you take your chances?  We sure don't need drones in our community if history serves.

The first consumer level quad fatality will be of a pilot getting his drone shoved up his rear by the family of a severely injured child.

How about if I just refrain from recklessly flying off my balcony and crying to the forum that it flew away towards 'who knows'.  You continue doing anything you want or orbiting small children with your phantom because "no one has yet been killed by a very specific group consumer quads."

I just show some courtesy to others when I fly and take steps to not put others at risk.  A fairly common concern for others and how ones actions impact others.  The only one at risk where I fly is my horses, trees, and plowed corn fields.  Sociopaths fly recklessly and claim they can do so because they haven't killed anyone yet.  Any risk is worth it for the photo said the paparazzi?

Dirty Bird Posted at 2018-3-11 13:21
If one don't share your view they are a sociopath?  Hmmm...sort of like reactionaries after Parkland declare 2nd Amendment advocates "murderers"?

Fear is an irrational emotion.  Don't leave your room you might get hurt.  Then again an asteroid may hit the house.  It could hapoen!

Note: this isn't a big deal but is an interesting discussion on drone edicit.  No one should get their panties bunched over it.

Your strawman argument has a sociopath as someone who doesn't share my view.  Nice strawman since I didn't say that and it is easy for you to prove wrong.

How about the sociopath being someone who's actions, often criminal (such as in violation of FAA regulations for hobbyist use of UAV's), is without consideration of the impact on others or society.  The community, maybe.  Unless I don't know what an apartment balcony means since I think lots of non-drone people live there and there is a lot of property in the area not owned by the pilot.  Though sociopath is on the too agressive side to push a point and I should have used another word.

And lifting off from a balcony is not like a deck or pier.  It is reckless and I hold that it is so because it is the opposite of FAA regulations and AMA/DJI recommendations on how to safely fly the drone.  Your other strawman is to say I know what went wrong with the mavic (easily proved wrong if I claimed it which I did not), and that I need to know what exactly went wrong with the mavic in order to deem the launch reckless.   

Lastly, 25,000 feet out is not the same risk of losing control, or the drone, as in VLOS.  Way different chances of losing control.  Hence, FAA regulations requiring one to stay within VLOS.

Get out and live a little.  Launching from one's apartment balcony is couch hermit lazy and could EASILY lead to loss of drone.  Reckless.

https://www.techrepublic.com/art ... e-faa-hates-drones/

3. Drone cuts off tip of photographer's nose
What started out as goofy holiday promotion ended terribly when a drone crashed into the face of Brooklyn Daily photographer Georgine Benvenuto, clipping the end of her nose and cutting her chin. The drone was a promotion by TGI Fridays called "Mobile Mistletoe," and it carried mistletoe above diners prompting them to kiss.

4. Drone injures Australian triathlete
At the Geraldton Endure Batavia triathlon in Australia, a drone was being used to photograph competitors when it crashed into triathlete Raija Ogden, causing a minor head wound, which required stitches to close. The drone operator, photographer Warren Abrams, claims that the drone crashed after someone in the audience stole control of it from him.

5. Drone injures bystanders in Virginia crowd
In the fall of 2013, spectators gathered at the Virginia Motorsports Park for the Great Bull Run, a festival with live music, drinking, a tomato fight, and a bull run similar to the Running of the Bulls in Spain. During the festival, a drone being used to record videocrashed into the stands, injuring several people in attendance.

http://www.independent.co.uk/new ... afety-a7180576.html

London woman dies in possibly the first drone-related accidental death