dobmatt
Captain
Flight distance : 1831050 ft
Canada
Offline
|
So, I meet this guy at the DJI dealership store, doesn't matter when and where. He was like 65, maybe older, replacing damaged parts on his bird. Apparently nothing critical, but something went wrong, no doubt. I couldn't help but asked him what's happen. "Oh, I was flying in Atti, forgot that the braking doesn't work the same way like in GPS mode and the bird hit the tree and, ya know...".
Meantime i was taking care of my business, evaluating the features of displayed Inspire 1 Pro before purchase and listening to salesman's explanations. With good intentions - I believe - both guys assumed my total ignorance in that matter and took the position of an veteran pilots with scars and wounds. When I raised a question " Was this accident avoidable?...", they sort of stared at me with this polite smile and only slightly ironic grimace. "When you crash your bird for the first time - and you will, sooner or later you will, my friend ..." - they replied - " than you'll know..."
This anegdotal opinion is chasing me since like a nightmare. Is crashing my $5K bird really unavoidable, a destiny embedded in my future, a sentence without chances for mercy? So far I did 25 hours on numerous machines without even a single close call, but that's perhaps because of my very cautious, laid back flying style. But they said "no matter what, you will crash!"...
Now, seriously. Of course my flying style is not determined by this obsessive vision of unavoidable and destructive crash. It's the kind of service the Inspire is providing me with as a stable and enormously high tripod for photo camera. That's all. Yet, I'm expecting my bird to go where I couldn't or can't otherwise. Therefore the possibility of something to go wrong is lurking from above. Always.
Statistically speaking, however, it'll be interesting to know what percentage of us suffered total loss of the bird caused by malfunctioning, piloting error, bad luck or God's will. Is there anybody with - say - 100 hours of flying and no "write-off" crash? Perhaps DJI people may know some statistics, comparing the sale and repairs volumes. For what one can see clearly, they're very busy fixing these fallen angels, and the cost of warranty fixes is reflected in the price tag. |
|