Sorry about your loss, I have learned a lot here by seeing what people did to lose/crash their drones, IE reading posts on the DJI website. Something I try to do on any flight over water or rugged terrain. I like to start my return to home at 70%, as the autolanding starts at 20%. Also as some have alluded to, the battery lasts longer on normal mode than sport mode. Flying drones can be a lot of fun, but it can be a bit scary after you have crashed, enjoy flying. Another helpful hint is to have a spotter/ co-pilot, someone else keeping an eye on the drone, it's battery level, etc. !

Thank you all for your help, hindsight is a wonderful thing as we always say.  I am waiting for DJI to do their investigation and confirm its all my fault before I am allowed to pay the £219 to get a replacement drone, even though we all know it is.

Hopefully that process will be quick, I guess on a positive note,  following my posting, their has been allot of valuable feedback and I have been shown how wonderful the logging is and how many drone pros are out their, ready to help.  

Thank you all.

djiuser_kckWCyBAQAUu Posted at 10-16 07:16
Thank you all for your help, hindsight is a wonderful thing as we always say.  I am waiting for DJI to do their investigation and confirm its all my fault before I am allowed to pay the £220 to get a replacement drone, even though we all know it is.

Hopefully that process will be quick, I guess on a positive note,  following my posting, their has been allot of valuable feedback and I have been shown how wonderful the logging is and how many drone pros are out their, ready to help.  

Videoeditman does raise one very good point, reading threads about troubled flights can be a very good way of learning.
Your son IS NOT the first to lose a drone this way and he CERTAINLY WILL NOT be the last.

The good thing is the pair of you have accepted where the problem arose. Some of the others have sworn blind it was not their fault.

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 10-16 07:27
Videoeditman does raise one very good point, reading threads about troubled flights can be a very good way of learning.
Your son IS NOT the first to lose a drone this way and he CERTAINLY WILL NOT be the last.

How can someone say its not their fault when the logs are so detailed, lets face it, no good for bank robberies are they, your banged to rights

I think those people have been listening to much to the song 'it Wasn't Me by Shaggy'

djiuser_kckWCyBAQAUu Posted at 10-16 07:40
How can someone say its not their fault when the logs are so detailed, lets face it, no good for bank robberies are they, your banged to rights

I think those people have been listening to much to the song 'it Wasn't Me by Shaggy'

I know but it happens. It's quite comical at times.

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 10-16 06:20
Ahhh as I understand your answer you are thinking I meant flying INTO the head wind to try to make it back to the home point.
I wasn't, I was thinking of flying DOWNWIND to the southern shore at approx
51.4503759758, 0.4449873805

a oke....approx 700 meter to fly back...guess drone would have made a landing there.

cheers JJB*

Your not making me feel good guys, now I know it may have made it back to shore.  Makes me feel worse but I guess I know about things that could have been tried.  Lower the drone , put it in standard mode and point it so wind is behind it, too late now but I will drop some flowers into river and give it a good send of when I get replacement drone.

Guess the question is if dji covers stolen drones as it would have taken about 40 min minimum to drive to other side and that leaves a good time for a passer by to steal it.

djiuser_kckWCyBAQAUu Posted at 10-16 09:52
Your not making me feel good guys, now I know it may have made it back to shore.  Makes me feel worse but I guess I know about things that could have been tried.  Lower the drone , put it in standard mode and point it so wind is behind it, too late now but I will drop some flowers into river and give it a good send of when I get replacement drone.

Guess the question is if dji covers stolen drones as it would have taken about 40 min minimum to drive to other side and that leaves a good time for a passer by to steal it.

"Your not making me feel good guys," that's not the intention and in a panic I might not have thought of flying back to the leeward shore.
Rememeber, I had the benefit of looking at the log and the numbers in the csv.
Remember also that most of the people posting in this thread have experience and no one else raised the possibliltiy of flying down wind to get over dry land.
It is as you said, hindsight is a wonderful thing.
At what time, minutes and seconds, in the flight did you take command?

The intention was to place the idea in peoples' mind to consider alternatives.
At least two drones have been saved by diverting the drone of the RTH course to land on an island and I think one was landed on either a pier or a boat.
And you should note JJB" and I are speculating that it might have reached the leeward shore, it's not certain that it could have made it.

This might make you feel better

Great advise all and a great video, I took over when you see the massive upward thrust as thats the first thing I did, not sure if I thought that was forward or what, but total panic.  

My son saved up for a long time for the drone and given that it has been suggested that theirs a possibility I could have saved it on taking over, I will cover the cost of the insurance excess to make myself feel better .  

All I need DJI to do now is conclude we was plonkers and send me the invoice for £219 as my son asking me every hr if the replacement drone is on its way is driving me nuts,  together with the 10 second clip it took of its demise into the thames, the therapy  is going to cost more than the drone soon, lol.

djiuser_kckWCyBAQAUu Posted at 10-16 12:38
Great advise all and a great video, I took over when you see the massive upward thrust as thats the first thing I did, not sure if I thought that was forward or what, but total panic.  

My son saved up for a long time for the drone and given that it has been suggested that theirs a possibility I could have saved it on taking over, I will cover the cost of the insurance excess to make myself feel better .  

" I took over when you see the massive upward thrust as " .....that's around 17min 12sec I think. Leaving only 5% battery, the drone around 2,250ft from the south bankand very little height to play with.
So, I wouldn't feel too bad, I think at 17:12 it was pretty certain to be going for a swim.


The auto landing I asked JJB* about started at 16min 20 sec with 9% battery and 308ft of height to play-with/lose.

The drone wouldn't have been able to maintain a height of 308ft but the descent time from that height would have bought the drone time to fly horizontally and the additional battery would have helped keep the drone airborne.
I think the opportunity to save the drone disappeared between 16:20 and 17:12.

JJB* Posted at 10-16 01:23
Hi,

Don`t worry, your post and some reactions will not fire back to DJI at all.

"There are always members who act as moral rules law guys, even add pictures"

Better read the whole context first before writing such an accusation publicly

There is the possibility to address something like this via a private message

djiuser_kckWCyBAQAUu Posted at 10-16 12:38
Great advise all and a great video, I took over when you see the massive upward thrust as thats the first thing I did, not sure if I thought that was forward or what, but total panic.  

My son saved up for a long time for the drone and given that it has been suggested that theirs a possibility I could have saved it on taking over, I will cover the cost of the insurance excess to make myself feel better .  

Hopefully you'll get that sorted and be airborn again soon, and much better armed with info this time.

One last thing that will help you stay legal...

Check out the "Drone Assist" app. This app takes its information from.official CAA sources (it used to be directly endorsed by the CAA) and will show you where you can and cannot fly.

Your disaster flight took you over designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest and Nature Reserves both of which are likely to be no fly zones (you cannot rely on the DJI Fly map to tell you about no fly zones as that only really displays airports!).

SSSIs are a bit of a pain around the coast as they seem to be everywhere, but apparently Natural England can be quite amenable to authorising drone fligjts so long as animals etc are not going to be distirbed - you just need to check with thel for a specific SSSI at the specific time of year.

No Original Thought Posted at 10-16 23:56
Hopefully you'll get that sorted and be airborn again soon, and much better armed with info this time.

One last thing that will help you stay legal...

Thank you for this information, i was not aware, i keep a watchout for no fly zones etc on device but was not aware that this info was not totally accurate.

Mind you, now knowing about line of sight etc, it does not appear you can take your drone very far at all in the UK.

No Original Thought Posted at 10-16 23:56
Hopefully you'll get that sorted and be airborn again soon, and much better armed with info this time.

One last thing that will help you stay legal...

"You cannot rely on the DJI Fly map to tell you about no fly zones as that only really displays airports !"

I cannot confirm this in Germany. It may be that the DJI information is not as comprehensive as other sources,

but I have already received a lot of other information about flight zones besides only airfields.

Space Dream Posted at 10-17 01:00
"You cannot rely on the DJI Fly map to tell you about no fly zones as that only really displays airports !"

I cannot confirm this in Germany. It may be that the DJI information is not as comprehensive as other sources,

The Flysafe database used by DJI Fly contains only a tiny fraction of airspace restrictions.

True, it's not /just/ airfields, but when compared to the actual restricted areas out there airfields are the only category that are covered anywhere near 100%.

I'm looking at the Devon area of the UK at the moment. FlySafe is missing ALL SSSIs along the Devon coast, the military firing ranges/exercise areas, the Dartmoor national park restrictions. The only areas shown in the map here are airports/heliports and their manoeuvring zones and prisons. (One military range IS shown, but none of the others which ARE shown on Drone Assist)

Drone Assist also shows temporary airspace restrictions and NOTAMs so is invaluable really - though still not a cast iron guarantee that you are good to fly, unfortunately.

Bottom line is that if you rely on the DJI Fly app to tell you were you can fly then you will fly somewhere you shouldn't.

A great discussion here all.  How many on here have licences to use their drones for commercial purposes ?.  From what i am reading, you cannot make money directly or in directly from your drone without such, which i am not sure if that means you cannot even do YouTube / tiktok video's etc ?.  £1000 per year for the licence also, or perhaps i am reading it all wrong ?.

Thank you

djiuser_kckWCyBAQAUu Posted at 10-17 02:12
A great discussion here all.  How many on here have licences to use their drones for commercial purposes ?.  From what i am reading, you cannot make money directly or in directly from your drone without such, which i am not sure if that means you cannot even do YouTube / tiktok video's etc ?.  £1000 per year for the licence also, or perhaps i am reading it all wrong ?.

Thank you

Not sure the cost in the UK, I have my part 107 which allows commercial flight here in the US. In the USA some have been warned/fined for Youtube videos posted and not having a part 107 certification. Hopefully the cost is not so prohibitive in the UK.

No Original Thought Posted at 10-17 01:57
The Flysafe database used by DJI Fly contains only a tiny fraction of airspace restrictions.

True, it's not /just/ airfields, but when compared to the actual restricted areas out there airfields are the only category that are covered anywhere near 100%.

I found this good Drone map for Germany

https://dronemaps24.org/?lang=en

djiuser_kckWCyBAQAUu Posted at 10-17 00:36
Thank you for this information, i was not aware, i keep a watchout for no fly zones etc on device but was not aware that this info was not totally accurate.

Mind you, now knowing about line of sight etc, it does not appear you can take your drone very far at all in the UK.

Have you considered something like a Mavic 2 Pro/Zoom with  master/slave or Primary/Secondary controllers?
Because of the weight 'you'd' be more restricted in where the pair of you could fly but if you used the master-primary controller it would allow you to oversee your son's flying and take command if they were doing something 'unwise'.

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 10-17 09:50
Have you considered something like a Mavic 2 Pro/Zoom with  master/slave or Primary/Secondary controllers?
Because of the weight 'you'd' be more restricted in where the pair of you could fly but if you used the master-primary controller it would allow you to oversee your son's flying and take command if they were doing something 'unwise'.

Hi Sean-Bumble-Bee

No i have not, i will check it out, but sounds expensive.  I am thinking of getting my own mini 4 pro as they are so good.  Also as a update, i have just had notification the replacement drone will be with me tomorrow.  DJI's support and this forums has been overwhelming.  I am off to Yorkshire for a mini break next week, so i am hoping to put the drone to full use and before anyone says it, yes, i will make sure it stays away from water on a low battery .

Second hand Mavic 2 prices have fallen recently I think and the second controller might be around £80 to £100. If you take it further try to get at least one controller with the model number RC1A rather than RC1B. The former record DAT flight logs on the phone when the master/primary, the latter do not.
The slave/secondary controller does to record logs at all.
I haven't tried a smart controller.

Good news about the replacement drone.

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 10-17 10:16
Second hand Mavic 2 prices have fallen recently I think and the second controller might be around £80 to £100. If you take it further try to get at least one controller with the model number RC1A rather than RC1B. The former record DAT flight logs on the phone when the master/primary, the latter do not.
The slave/secondary controller does to record logs at all.
I haven't tried a smart controller.

Thank you, i will do some research.

djiuser_kckWCyBAQAUu Posted at 10-17 02:12
A great discussion here all.  How many on here have licences to use their drones for commercial purposes ?.  From what i am reading, you cannot make money directly or in directly from your drone without such, which i am not sure if that means you cannot even do YouTube / tiktok video's etc ?.  £1000 per year for the licence also, or perhaps i am reading it all wrong ?.

Thank you

In the UK all you need to use a sub 250g drone for commercial use is insurance - no specific registration or license required other than the same as for recreational use.

The freedom and limitations even remain the same as they are attached to the sub 250g category.

There are reports of YouTube users being contacted by the FAA in the US for monetising their videos. I've not heard of the same on the UK, but I believe the Grey Arrows Drone Club insurance might even be enough for commercial use - you'd need to check that though as I'm not sure if that includes any public liability insurance.

No Original Thought Posted at 10-17 11:24
In the UK all you need to use a sub 250g drone for commercial use is insurance - no specific registration or license required other than the same as for recreational use.

The freedom and limitations even remain the same as they are attached to the sub 250g category.

Thank you, i have been googling for ages, nothing seems simple, i thought i read because the drone had a camera i needed a flyer id and operator id, which i have now but guess i even got that wrong, but it is good to do anyway.

I will check out that insurance, i doubt i will ever make any money from the drone, but i seem to be the one that always gets caught out, so no harm getting some insurance if that gives me a bit of freedom should some pennies come my way from anything i do with the drone.

Check out these people, they do a good drone insurance package.
Also a helpful site:
British Model Flying Association

Thank you.

djiuser_kckWCyBAQAUu Posted at 10-17 11:48
Thank you, i have been googling for ages, nothing seems simple, i thought i read because the drone had a camera i needed a flyer id and operator id, which i have now but guess i even got that wrong, but it is good to do anyway.

I will check out that insurance, i doubt i will ever make any money from the drone, but i seem to be the one that always gets caught out, so no harm getting some insurance if that gives me a bit of freedom should some pennies come my way from anything i do with the drone.

You must register before flying most drones or model aircraft outdoors in the UK.

There are two requirements and you may need to meet both:

if you’ll fly, you must pass a theory test to get a flyer ID
if you’re responsible for a drone or model aircraft, you must register for an operator ID

But you do not need any further license or registration for commercial usage unless youre wanting to fly a legacy drone

No Original Thought Posted at 10-17 11:24
In the UK all you need to use a sub 250g drone for commercial use is insurance - no specific registration or license required other than the same as for recreational use.

The freedom and limitations even remain the same as they are attached to the sub 250g category.

1st off you need to read the 1st part of this
https://register-drones.caa.co.uk/individual

I edited the above as i think you were only referring to commercial usage

Secondly, one would probably require "commercial" drone insurance if monetising from it, I am not 100% sure on that part but i do know one would definitely need it if flying under the A2 CofC and it's for commercial usage.

videoeditman Posted at 10-17 08:17
Not sure the cost in the UK, I have my part 107 which allows commercial flight here in the US. In the USA some have been warned/fined for Youtube videos posted and not having a part 107 certification. Hopefully the cost is not so prohibitive in the UK.

I thought Youtube posting was OK without a Part 107 license if monetization is turned off. I do have some videos on Youtube, but the videos are private thus they can't be found via a search. I just store them there so I can bring them up on a cellphone or laptop if I'm away from home.

djiuser_kckWCyBAQAUu Posted at 10-17 11:48
Thank you, i have been googling for ages, nothing seems simple, i thought i read because the drone had a camera i needed a flyer id and operator id, which i have now but guess i even got that wrong, but it is good to do anyway.

I will check out that insurance, i doubt i will ever make any money from the drone, but i seem to be the one that always gets caught out, so no harm getting some insurance if that gives me a bit of freedom should some pennies come my way from anything i do with the drone.

In the UK

Only the Operator ID is compulsory.

A Flyer ID is optional for sub 250g but recommended as the training and test are very useful learning exercises and it costs nothing but 15 minutes of your time.

agia57 Posted at 10-17 19:59
I thought Youtube posting was OK without a Part 107 license if monetization is turned off. I do have some videos on Youtube, but the videos are private thus they can't be found via a search. I just store them there so I can bring them up on a cellphone or laptop if I'm away from home.

agia57, yes you are OK, as you have your videos in private mode. There have been some people that have been contacted by the FAA to remove their videos, and stop adding more or they would be fined.

djiuser_kckWCyBAQAUu Posted at 10-17 12:41
Thank you.

Did the replacement turn up etc. ?

Some good advice has been offered to avoid battery depletion but batteries do fail for no predictable reason.
I was lucky to recover my Mavic 3 pro and proved the battery had a fault by testing flight duration.
Wise users should carry out a simple flight duration test to check for degraded batteries. Set the drone in a low altitude POI flight and time the flight time until you reach a low %. I use 30%.
There is no way to accurately calculate the charge capacity of an old or defective battery, The way it is done is comparing the battery voltage with that of a perfect battery. A defective battery has different discharge characteristics and the remaining time will suddenly plummet.

Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 10-22 07:45
Did the replacement turn up etc. ?

Hello, yes, arrived quickly, i took drone for a test drive, all ok.  I am of to yorkshire on holiday next week, so labelled drone up with operator id and hopeing to find some nice places to use it.

My son and me are a bit more hesitant now, so a lesson learned i guess .

Great, enjoy the trip.

No Original Thought Posted at 10-17 11:24
In the UK all you need to use a sub 250g drone for commercial use is insurance - no specific registration or license required other than the same as for recreational use.

The freedom and limitations even remain the same as they are attached to the sub 250g category.

I will add this, if you are looking to do some commercial work with the drone, whilst you do not need a license as far as the CAA are concerned, you will need insurance but not just public liability either, you will need commercial drone insurance, there is also one caveat that may prevent you getting commercial insurance, the underwriter for the insurance may require you to at the very least have the A2 CofC.

The A2 CofC is a very easy test to take, with the ones i did mine with, the actual course itself is free, you have to watch ALL the videos, you can then take as many mock exams as needed and when you think youre ready, you then pay for the exam and cert from the CAA. I got 100% in under 5 minutes.

how many kms away you were when you initiated RTH?

Bashy Posted at 10-22 14:02
I will add this, if you are looking to do some commercial work with the drone, whilst you do not need a license as far as the CAA are concerned, you will need insurance but not just public liability either, you will need commercial drone insurance, there is also one caveat that may prevent you getting commercial insurance, the underwriter for the insurance may require you to at the very least have the A2 CofC.

The A2 CofC is a very easy test to take, with the ones i did mine with, the actual course itself is free, you have to watch ALL the videos, you can then take as many mock exams as needed and when you think youre ready, you then pay for the exam and cert from the CAA. I got 100% in under 5 minutes.

Is the "commercial" insurance part of the CAA regs or a stipulation by the insurance company (like with car insurance).

I could be wrong, but I don't remember the CAA saying the insurance has to be specifically for commercial work, I though it simply said you must be insured.

However I can imagine the insurers saying that the cover they provide is NOT for commercial work and directing you to their more expensive specific products.

I've not researched this much as I hadn't planned on monetising my droning - it's just for fun. But I am interested to know what would be involved.

The A2CofC has also interested me in the past, but im very time poor these days so haven't pursued that either (and with a sub 250 it seems less important).

I'd be interested to know who you did the course with, though, as that sounds like a good deal that could be done as a background task.

I had a very similar situation happen with my M4P. Sent it out with 40% battery and mid flight the battery went from 20% down to 3% within 2 seconds. The drone did an emergency landing causing it to fall out of the sky, It did not attempt to return to home or give me any warnings so that I could bring it back. The drone has been sent in to DJI for evaluation / repair under warranty. z