Four flights again today with the Avata 2 and decided to come down below the tree lines and try low altitude flying in full manual at a relatively fast speed... I increased my overall gains to make the drone more responsive too.

I did have my first crash as I expected trying this out by stupidly messing up a flip near ground level rather than hitting anything head on... No harm done and took off from where I hit the ground as if it never happened! Didn't even lose a prop or the ND filter thanks to the grass below!

You're going to blame me for that, aren't you

Blériot53 Posted at 6-7 07:29
You're going to blame me for that, aren't you

You did cross my mind at the time mate LOL you can't write it can you! 56 flights crash free. Oh well, no harm done and it was amazing flying that low to be honest so it will happen again! If you ain't crashin' you ain't flyin' as they say!

A J Posted at 6-7 07:38
You did cross my mind at the time mate LOL you can't write it can you! 56 flights crash free. Oh well, no harm done and it was amazing flying that low to be honest so it will happen again! If you ain't crashin' you ain't flyin' as they say!

I'll carry on taking it gently and cautiously

Blériot53 Posted at 6-7 07:41
I'll carry on taking it gently and cautiously

It was just one daft and completely avoidable error on my part. I even increased my rates but - forget it - I messed up! We move on and it's all part of the learning process.

A J Posted at 6-7 07:45
It was just one daft and completely avoidable error on my part. I even increased my rates but - forget it - I messed up! We move on and it's all part of the learning process.

What doesn't kill ya makes ya stronger

Blériot53 Posted at 6-7 07:47
What doesn't kill ya makes ya stronger

Very true mate!
Funny though - I did chuckle to myself after I knew the drone was OK. The irony beggars belief!

A J Posted at 6-7 07:54
Very true mate!
Funny though - I did chuckle to myself after I knew the drone was OK. The irony beggars belief!

Maybe you subconsciously wanted to make your prediction come true

Blériot53 Posted at 6-7 07:57
Maybe you subconsciously wanted to make your prediction come true

May be LOL
There will be more crashes now I think. Flying low to the ground is the next step and great fun but with greater risks.

What happened?
Why did you not pull out of that flip?

Montfrooij Posted at 6-7 08:40
What happened?
Why did you not pull out of that flip?

I pulled back on the initial flip way too slow to start with as still getting use to my new rates that I set prior to flying today - ironically to increase the degrees per second of the pitch faster to 550. As I was compensating for that speed increase the flip was too slow for the limited altitude I was flying at and as the drone reached the horizon line I could see I didn't have enough altitude/time to roll out of it, panicked and foolishly yawed the drone rather than rolled it in error! That's why you see it spinning out of control! Absolutely no damage to anything though and took straight back off from that position to finish the flight and the next two with no issues.

A J Posted at 6-7 09:16
I pulled back on the initial flip way too slow to start with as still getting use to my new rates that I set prior to flying today - ironically to increase the degrees per second of the pitch faster to 550. As I was compensating for that speed increase the flip was too slow for the limited altitude I was flying at and as the drone reached the horizon line I could see I didn't have enough altitude/time to roll out of it, panicked and foolishly yawed the drone rather than rolled it in error! That's why you see it spinning out of control! Absolutely no damage to anything though and took straight back off from that position to finish the flight and the next two with no issues.

Learning the soft way

Montfrooij Posted at 6-7 10:49
Learning the soft way

That's the less expensive way to learn Great fun today though - ripping around at 40-50MPH 10 feet off the ground at some points lol Certainly getting the hang of manual flying now!

A J Posted at 6-7 11:48
That's the less expensive way to learn  Great fun today though - ripping around at 40-50MPH 10 feet off the ground at some points lol Certainly getting the hang of manual flying now!

That sounds good!

A J Posted at 6-7 11:48
That's the less expensive way to learn  Great fun today though - ripping around at 40-50MPH 10 feet off the ground at some points lol Certainly getting the hang of manual flying now!

I got my new iPhone today.
The old one broke down, so I had to get a new one.
Fortunately it is a company phone, so no cost to me, these things are way too expensive.

Montfrooij Posted at 6-7 13:04
That sounds good!

Montfrooij Posted at 6-7 13:05
I got my new iPhone today.
The old one broke down, so I had to get a new one.
Fortunately it is a company phone, so no cost to me, these things are way too expensive.

My iPhone pro max costs more than my entire Avata 2 set up - which is insane! Though mine is the 12 series which I've had since it's release in Nov 2020 - I stopped upgrading my iPhone annually a long time ago! I'll see what the 16 has to offer!

Wow, that was some amazing low flying in full manual mode, well all but the crash that is.  I'm super glad there were no damages.  Sometimes tall grass does come in handy.  Just a small lesson learned and keep on flying AJ.  

DowntownRDB Posted at 6-7 14:01
Wow, that was some amazing low flying in full manual mode, well all but the crash that is.  I'm super glad there were no damages.  Sometimes tall grass does come in handy.  Just a small lesson learned and keep on flying AJ.

Thanks mate - been looking through more footage from today and I missed some great turns and even lower flying from the video edit - I had 50 minutes of 4K/60 video to condense into a 3 minute video and was still in shock that I actually crashed after 7 weeks of being crash free with my first FPV drone. I've calibrated everything just to be safe and adjusted my rates again following a tip from a fellow FPV flyer on YT who recommended his gain settings to me in a reply. Ironically my being too cautious is what actually caused the crash - had I flipped in line with my new rates all would have been fine.

You reckless scoundrel!   No harm, no foul!  

Dirty Bird Posted at 6-7 14:55
You reckless scoundrel!   No harm, no foul!

I know mate - just missed Big Ben in that one LOL

At least you didnt have to walk to collect the wreckage.   

DAFlys Posted at 6-8 00:33
At least you didnt have to walk to collect the wreckage.

There is that - I didn't even have to use turtle mode! Amazing

A J Posted at 6-8 00:34
There is that - I didn't even have to use turtle mode! Amazing

That was very lucky,   how was the heart?

DAFlys Posted at 6-8 00:41
That was very lucky,   how was the heart?

Out of the mouth - complete and utter disbelief in what I just did hit me for six! Then I forgot I was flying an FPV drone over thick grass and have turtle mode (which I didn't need to use) so back in the air a minute later without walking a step.

A J Posted at 6-7 13:53
My iPhone pro max costs more than my entire Avata 2 set up - which is insane! Though mine is the 12 series which I've had since it's release in Nov 2020 - I stopped upgrading my iPhone annually a long time ago! I'll see what the 16 has to offer!

Yeah, I have the cheapest option, but still € 850,-

Montfrooij Posted at 6-8 02:07
Yeah, I have the cheapest option, but still € 850,-

So expensive isn't it - it's a phone at the end of the day! Yet I get worried if it's not near me lol. Crazy conditioning!

A J Posted at 6-8 00:52
Out of the mouth - complete and utter disbelief in what I just did hit me for six! Then I forgot I was flying an FPV drone over thick grass and have turtle mode (which I didn't need to use) so back in the air a minute later without walking a step.

Still,    that sinking feeling is something else.

DAFlys Posted at 6-8 03:28
Still,    that sinking feeling is something else.

Yep - the ego takes the biggest hit. Especially after a long chat on here with Roger the previous day boasting how I've never crashed LOL It had to happen! In a way I'm glad I have now as I kind of felt more confident after doing it knowing the drone can handle some knocks. It feels Christened now lol

A J Posted at 6-7 14:07
Thanks mate - been looking through more footage from today and I missed some great turns and even lower flying from the video edit - I had 50 minutes of 4K/60 video to condense into a 3 minute video and was still in shock that I actually crashed after 7 weeks of being crash free with my first FPV drone. I've calibrated everything just to be safe and adjusted my rates again following a tip from a fellow FPV flyer on YT who recommended his gain settings to me in a reply. Ironically my being too cautious is what actually caused the crash - had I flipped in line with my new rates all would have been fine.

Well at least you got the crash out of the way.  Good to hear you've decided on some better gain settings.  It's rare that you can be too cautious but that was one of those 1 in a million things.  

DowntownRDB Posted at 6-8 07:04
Well at least you got the crash out of the way.  Good to hear you've decided on some better gain settings.  It's rare that you can be too cautious but that was one of those 1 in a million things.

I'm sure more will follow but I don't care as much now - it's going to be part of it now that I've come down to flying low.

A J Posted at 6-8 02:35
So expensive isn't it - it's a phone at the end of the day! Yet I get worried if it's not near me lol. Crazy conditioning!

Yeah exactly. Same here.

Montfrooij Posted at 6-8 10:13
Yeah exactly. Same here.

I think most people have that attachment to their phone now - nearly everyone has one - it's practically cultural

A J Posted at 6-8 12:36
I think most people have that attachment to their phone now - nearly everyone has one - it's practically cultural

Unfortunately that is true.

Montfrooij Posted at 6-8 12:48
Unfortunately that is true.

A J Posted at 6-8 13:09

(and I'm just as guilty)

Montfrooij Posted at 6-8 13:45
(and I'm just as guilty)

Have you seen the new fly spot challenge? One of the prizes a P3...

A J Posted at 6-9 03:08
Have you seen the new fly spot challenge? One of the prizes a P3...

About the tiny world?

A J Posted at 6-9 03:08
Have you seen the new fly spot challenge? One of the prizes a P3...

Oh found it.
Nice one.
I'm curious if you can use older footage / images.

A J Posted at 6-8 03:49
Yep - the ego takes the biggest hit. Especially after a long chat on here with Roger the previous day boasting how I've never crashed LOL It had to happen! In a way I'm glad I have now as I kind of felt more confident after doing it knowing the drone can handle some knocks. It feels Christened now lol

I nearly crashed this morning,   spiral decent and just lost it,  (I later found the gimbal was turned to 72 degrees although Im not sure If I did that by accident or not). recovered 4ft from the ground with a huge sigh or relief.