Unfortunately, after nearly a year of ownership, I've lost my Mavic.   Well technically it isn't lost, I know exactly where it is.....I just can't get to it.   I was flying around the common land near my house and I misjudged the height of one of the tallest trees in a programmed waypoint flight with Litchi.    It clipped the top of the tree, and STAYED THERE!   It's about 50-60 feet up at the very top of the tree, with a leg (and extender) hanging over a pretty solid branch.   We had some pretty good wind last night and it didn't budge.    I can't even hit it with a ball.   I have a 30 foot extension pole that won't touch it either....and no friends with a cherry picker.

Rest assured, once again I own all of it...the error, using Litchi, etc., but since I can't get to it, I can't take advantage of care refresh (which expires at the end of June).   Is there anything DJI can do here?   Any chance of a replacement if I take a picture of it in the tree?   How about a replacement discount?   Anything?   I figured it couldn't hurt to ask...

All I have now is a backpack of accessories and a remote control....not much fun to play with.

Missing my Mavic,
LP

Hi, I'm sorry to hear about the accident, in order to use the DJI Care refresh, you are recommended to get the drone first, then please contact our support to start a case and send it in for diagnosis: https://www.dji.com/support. Thanks!

I would find an arborist close to you and see if they would climb the tree and rescue the Mav.

Chop down the tree

Agree with Hurley. Find a tree surgeon who can go up and get it for you. It may cost £50 (a guess) but with care refresh thats still cheaper than any alternative.

Buy another drone or hire a friend with one, and organize a rescue expedition.
I've seen many of them on youtube and for sure it's possible with some patience and a good aim.

Sorry for your temporary lost.

You definitely need a tree surgeon.  It will cost you$100 bucks, you will not get one to come out for less money unless you know him.

I wish you luck in getting your drone back.

One of my friends had the same incident and called the fire department to assist they were all to kind and retrieved the mavic without any hassles.

You could use a shotgun, it doesn’t really matter how many bits it arrives back to dji in. ;-).."

I can't hurt to ask the local fire department, the most they can say is no. Just be polite and let them know how expensive the drone is.

I had bought a cheap drone a couple of years ago and done the same thing, high in the tree, first option was take the tree down, people around here have acreage, most lots are standard 105 acres so cutting down a tree is not so much of a problem, we also thought about  a shotgun, well buddy had got 3 shots at it without success , I took over and with one shot cut the limb enough for it to break and down came the drone only to land further down the tree which buddy easily climb and retrieved it.  the other idea was to send another drone up there and somehow execute another procedure in which like some other droner was speaking of hook it and voila! Isn't all that crazy, look at some of the fishing videos on YouTube.

This should do the trick...

But seriously, that stinks!  I would do what's already recommended about contacting an Arborist.  Hopefully the tree isn't in a swamp and is somewhere accessible.  If not, you may need a friend with a drone and some fishing line.  Good luck!

I got my old F450 stuck in a similar sized tree a few years ago. Took a while to get it down but this is how i done it....

I got a reel of fishing wire and taped one end of it to a golf ball, and then used a tennis racket to hit the ball up into the tree. It took a few attempts, but eventually I got lucky and got the ball to fly over the branch that the drone was stuck in. I then got hold of the other end of the fishing wire and shook it backards and forwards to rock the branch, until the drone fell out.

Its a long shot but it might work.

Good luck I hope you get it back.

Thanks guys.   I think the FD is out because there's just no way they'd get their equipment back there without a TON of work - and I'd be embarrassed to ask for that much effort.   The shotgun is out too.   The care refresh terms clearly state the damage cannot be obviously intentional, and I'd have a hard time proving that if the thing was all shot up...that and my neighbors probably wouldn't like me shooting into the air around their houses.  I thought about maybe a bow and arrow with a line to shake the branch - and I like the golf ball idea too.  I may try that, but I think I may try the arborist idea first.   I'm going to have to talk to my neighbor first since the tree is right on the edge of the common land -I'm not sure if it's common, or on his property.   Once I have his permission, I'll take some additional steps.   

In the mean time I ordered another Mavic.   I thought about getting a Spark or Air, but I just have so many supplies for the MP (batteries, chargers, and now an extra remote) that I decided to just stick with the MP.   No care refresh this time.   Seems like a complete waste of money given that most of the ways for me to lose my Mavic seem to result in just that - LOSING the Mavic.  I'll let you all know how/if the retrieval goes....I have a little over a month to get it done!

Thanks,
LP

hallmark007 Posted at 2018-5-15 01:44
You could use a shotgun, it doesn’t really matter how many bits it arrives back to dji in. ;-).."

LeafPeeper Posted at 2018-5-15 09:16
Thanks guys.   I think the FD is out because there's just no way they'd get their equipment back there without a TON of work - and I'd be embarrassed to ask for that much effort.   The shotgun is out too.   The care refresh terms clearly state the damage cannot be obviously intentional, and I'd have a hard time proving that if the thing was all shot up...that and my neighbors probably wouldn't like me shooting into the air around their houses.  I thought about maybe a bow and arrow with a line to shake the branch - and I like the golf ball idea too.  I may try that, but I think I may try the arborist idea first.   I'm going to have to talk to my neighbor first since the tree is right on the edge of the common land -I'm not sure if it's common, or on his property.   Once I have his permission, I'll take some additional steps.   

In the mean time I ordered another Mavic.   I thought about getting a Spark or Air, but I just have so many supplies for the MP (batteries, chargers, and now an extra remote) that I decided to just stick with the MP.   No care refresh this time.   Seems like a complete waste of money given that most of the ways for me to lose my Mavic seem to result in just that - LOSING the Mavic.  I'll let you all know how/if the retrieval goes....I have a little over a month to get it done!

OK you've ruled out the shotgun......here's another idea, buy an axe and chop the bl**dy tree down.... result

Ok guys - I get it.   I can think of a ton of ways to get it down with weapons.  My goal is to do this without damaging anything else. ;)

I'll let you know how it goes.
LP

LeafPeeper Posted at 2018-5-15 16:25
Ok guys - I get it.   I can think of a ton of ways to get it down with weapons.  My goal is to do this without damaging anything else. ;)

I'll let you know how it goes.

You'll find we were all joking and all have sympathy you lost your drone, seriously I hope it is dislodged by the wind and you get it back, preferably unharmed.  I would be inclined to ask the Fire Dept on the off chance they would step in if only to treat it as a training exercise. You never know until you ask. Good luck and I hope it resolves itself in your favour.

M2Wair Posted at 2018-5-15 16:36
You'll find we were all joking and all have sympathy you lost your drone, seriously I hope it is dislodged by the wind and you get it back, preferably unharmed.  I would be inclined to ask the Fire Dept on the off chance they would step in if only to treat it as a training exercise. You never know until you ask. Good luck and I hope it resolves itself in your favour.

LOL!  Thanks M2 - I knew everyone was joking.  I took it that way all along - and my replies didn't exactly make that obvious.     Losing my drone still smarts....and I'm still kicking myself for not being more careful.

I believe I'll get it back at some point.   I was just hoping it would be before my care refresh contract expires.   There's a sticker in the battery compartment with my registration number, name and phone number.  Once it comes down, the only way I wouldn't get it back is if someone was intent on stealing it...

Thanks again,
LP

Wow sorry to hear that seriously.  I would post an add on CG for someone to come out and get it down for you I can guarantee someone can climb that bloody try and get it.  Offer Pizza and

And yeah the good thing about Litchi is being able to plan your missions without needing to run it before hand.  Well the bad thing about Litchi is being able to plan your missions without needing to run it before hand lol.  This is why DJI requires you to run the mission first.  I almost made the same mistake(almost).  

It's about 50-60 feet up at the very top of the tree, with a leg (and extender) hanging over a pretty solid branch.

That's a fair distance up.  Can you post a couple of pictures showing drone in tree?  Might help with ideas to get drone down, without using a Stinger missle.

Couple of friends, working together cut one limb down from a 40-foot tall tree using a Rope-and-Chain Saw.  Trick was getting rope up and over limb to where thrown end drops back down to ground clear.

SparksBird Posted at 2018-5-15 18:51
Wow sorry to hear that seriously.  I would post an add on CG for someone to come out and get it down for you I can guarantee someone can climb that bloody try and get it.  Offer Pizza and

  I can guarantee someone can climb  that bloody try and get it.  

I hope if someone does, they have proper safety harness, loop around straps & D-Rings, and belay line (or what ever safety line is called).

I'll try to post a few pics this weekend.   I still need to find my neighbor and ask him if I can spend some time in his yard trying to get it down (his yard is more open than the common area).   The other idea I had is possibly using a fishing rod and a sinker to throw a line over the branch as a way to pull up a rope...but I'm just not sure if I can toss it that high...

LP