So, my first week with the Mini 2 and THIS SHOT (with sound)



This happened right at sunset...

I very clearly miss judged the height of this one tree. Something of an optical illusion made me think it was no more than 30 feet tall… In reality it was closer to 80 feet tall. And I could not see the drone in it, not at all. I turned on beeping and flashing under find my drone, and I did eventually hear it, but I was unable to see the blinking lights as they are simply too dim on the Mini 2. After nightfall I was just able to make out the blinking lights way up in the tree and I was able to identify the approximate location.

iPhone 12 images:



To better see it, using my Nikon and 300mm lens:



I ran to Home Depot and Harbor Freght buying ladders and really long poles, twine and weights.. and... I don't know what I was thinking—that tree is way too tall for a ladder or even a 24 foot long pole… So by 2 AM I gave up and went home to get some rest, as the last photo I took showed it was pretty solidly in there and it wasn't gonna rain, so there wasn't a huge rush to try and get it down.
The next day I took a look again, and in daylight I realized how tall that tree really was.



And my DJI Mini 2 was still safely stuck!


But HOW am I going to get it??!!

So, crazy thing, immediately next door was a tree trimming service with guys scaling the trees with ropes, like Tarzan.



I was able to convince the foreman (with a wad of cash) to get his guys to retreive the drone...



You can see when there are these big guys there next to the tree, for scale, how really big this tree is...



It was a lot of work for them, probably over an hour... the drone was above any climbable branch, but he was able to pull the branch down and grab the drone.

He hoisted up my laptop case and used it for the drone while he climbed down. Mission Accomplished...

HAPPY ENDING

And the drone? NOT A SCRATCH. Still works perfectly... (well except for not avoiding obsticles as much as I'd like, LOL).

I am glad you got your drone back but would ask you to consider one thing, what if the tree hadn't caught the drone and it had come down into traffic?
Irrespective of whether or not it is legal to fly over the streets and traffic in that place, would you like the possible consequences of such a crash?
That's all I will say.

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 10-22 14:48
I am glad you got your drone back but would ask you to consider one thing, what if the tree hadn't caught the drone and it had come down into traffic?
Irrespective of whether or not it is legal to fly over the streets and traffic in that place, would you like the possible consequences of such a crash?
That's all I will say.

It's a Mini 2, it weighs HALF a pound and plastic, it would have no effect on traffic, and it didn't "come down" and it wasn't "the tree caught it" like seriously? It ran INTO the tree.

And there is no traffic IN a tree and there are no trees in the street, and it was not even "over traffic" so I really don't get your point?
But moreover, and what I think you might be implying: in the USA, flight over vehicles is allowed. What s NOT allowed is "sustained flight over vehicles" meaning that you do not just "hover over" vehicles or an open air assembly. But transiting over a street or people is allowed. The planned flight path in this video crosses over a rooftops of the buildings on the other side of the street. I hope that clarifies your questions. I also responded to your other recent post regarding US airspace. And this is all relating to part 107 FAA rules.


But under the congressional rule 44809, recreational flying, the rules are simpler—if you want to understand more about flying in the USA under the recreation provisions (for drones under 0.55 pound weight, like the Mni 2) see https://trust.modelaircraft.org or Pilot Institute

@Myndex  

I'm not sure if you're familiar with Ken Heron's https://www.youtube.com/c/KenHeron channel but you might be interested in one of his recent t-shirts
On a serious note.....glad you recovered your Mini 2

dnddad324 Posted at 10-22 17:59
I'm not sure if you're familiar with Ken Heron's YouTube channel but you might be interested in one of his recent t-shirts

That's awesome!

H there, Myndex. Thank you for reaching out and we're sorry for the incident that happened on your unit.  We're glad that there is no issue occurring on the unit after this unfortunate incident. Please don't hesitate to reach us if you have any inquiries or concerns. Thank you for your valued support.

DJI Paladin Posted at 10-22 19:32
H there, Myndex. Thank you for reaching out and we're sorry for the incident that happened on your unit.  We're glad that there is no issue occurring on the unit after this unfortunate incident. Please don't hesitate to reach us if you have any inquiries or concerns. Thank you for your valued support.

Thank you... Today I noticed the battery cover door is cracked (not sure when that happened) can I order parts to perform my own repairs?

Ouch!  A cautionary tale for us all. Pretty well documented too

That is an impressive story!

Not sure Id want something weighing 250 grams falling from the sky on my car or head,   Surely it would dent my car.    Just imaging if a bird strike had caused it to fall.

DJI Paladin Posted at 10-22 19:32
H there, Myndex. Thank you for reaching out and we're sorry for the incident that happened on your unit.  We're glad that there is no issue occurring on the unit after this unfortunate incident. Please don't hesitate to reach us if you have any inquiries or concerns. Thank you for your valued support.

You forgot to ask for a video of a blinking LED!

That's awesome that there was a tree service nearby, perfect timing to recover the drone!

NightFlightAlright Posted at 10-22 20:58
Thank you... Today I noticed the battery cover door is cracked (not sure when that happened) can I order parts to perform my own repairs?

Thank you for your response and we're deeply sorry for the trouble that this has caused. In this kind of situation, I'm afraid that you may consider sending the unit in for a proper diagnosis. You can contact our support team to start up a ticket at https://www.dji.com/support . Thank you for your kind and understanding.

DJI Paladin Posted at 10-24 01:54
Thank you for your response and we're deeply sorry for the trouble that this has caused. In this kind of situation, I'm afraid that you may consider sending the unit in for a proper diagnosis. You can contact our support team to start up a ticket at https://www.dji.com/support . Thank you for your kind and understanding.

I do not need a "proper diagnosis" to see that the door to the battery compartment is CRACKED.

I just need the PART, where do I order the part please?

It is my experience of seeking parts is that, the only parts that DJI or their authorised repairers will sell parts 'to pilots'  are those that DO NOT require dismantling the drone to fit.
If you want a battery door it is likely you will have to buy an after market one or parts removed from a dismantled drone via the likes ebay or scavenge one from another drone.

GLAD you got it back!  When mine went into a 50 fot high Palm Tree, I was lucky that the tree maintenance folks were there 11 days later and plucked it down and put in custody of the Race Track Security people, they called me, I slipped them a donation, and got back my Mini-2 with just a smudge on it - after 11 days in heavy rain for one day, and hot days for the other 10 days/evenings.  Looks like you and I got lucky - thank goodness.

NightFlightAlright Posted at 10-24 13:05
I do not need a "proper diagnosis" to see that the door to the battery compartment is CRACKED.

I just need the PART, where do I order the part please?

We totally understand your request. Unfortunately, we don't sell the specific part that you need to fix your battery compartment. We can only fix this by sending the unit to us. Thank you for your understanding and support.

Glad to see you were able to get it recovered.