Seriously.  I have a $50 drone and  $500 drone.  And this is the one that is destroyed upon a 15' fall?  Seriously, DJI?  

what drone do you have？ how come you broke it?

A 15' fall would probably break you. Why not a drone? Your $50 drone probably weighs very little and has low inertia on impact. A phantom is a different deal all together.

Rigworker Posted at 2015-7-30 12:41
A 15' fall would probably break you. Why not a drone? Your $50 drone probably weighs very little and ...

a 15' fall would not break me.  You're odd.

I understand you are an apologist as is the other poster.  It's whatever.  But if I pay $1500 I expect some modicum of stability.  I do not buy a car thinking I can never go over 15 miles per hour...I should have the same expectation of a flight vehicle.  

Drones are NOT meant to fall at all. Same with cars - they aren't meant to crash. When they do, things break.

As Rigworker said, your cheapie drones probably weigh almost nothing, so they don't have much inertia when hitting the ground. But the P3 (or any other 'proper' drone) weights substantially more. I can't imagine why you'd expect them to react in the same way. That's like saying: "I dropped a grape from 3 ft and it didn't break, why did my cantaloupe break when I dropped it from the same height?". So much of silliness...

Othan1 Posted at 2015-7-30 13:36
a 15' fall would not break me.  You're odd.

I understand you are an apologist as is the other pos ...

Odd? Fall 15' and let me know how it goes. In regards to the drone, it is heavy. Take anything breakable weighing a kilo and drop it 15'. Let me know how that goes.

I am apologist for no one. Just have some common sense that some others seem to lack.

The drone is not a toy. You messed up and crashed it. No hard to figure where the fault actually lies

Othan1 Posted at 2015-7-30 13:36
a 15' fall would not break me.  You're odd.

I understand you are an apologist as is the other pos ...

I am a paramedic. I know medical and the human body. A 15 foot fall can most definitely "break you." Been there and cleaned up the pieces.

Got a laugh out of this post it's just as bad as some peeps complaining about shell cracks then you view there youtube vids and there flying there p3p like an fpv racer

This is a silly thread. An object free falling from 15' would impact the ground at something like 21mph. Anything that is lightweight enough to fly, that is small enough to be carried with one hand, yet robust enough to mount an HD camera, gimbal and FPV system, and inexpensive enough to be purchased by most of us, will almost certainly be damaged by a 21mph impact. If you're disappointed by this, then I wonder if you live on the same planet as the rest of us, where Physics does not apply.

Of course my trainer drone (a Syma X4) has survived countless crashes into walls, floors, furniture, etc...but it weighs a fraction of what my Phantom 3 weighs, and mass/weight will absolutely effect impact force (kinetic energy) and the potential or even likelihood of incurring damage.

Apples and pears.

Yes, humans (or some animals for that matter) can fall/jump from a first floor (or second floor for our American cousins) window and if they're lucky and/or skillful be unharmed.

There are a few crucial differences though:
- humans have flexible limbs that to an extent can cushion the impact and also guide the fall, not a rigid brittle plastic shell that can't react to anything
- more importantly humans can land with a roll, largely dissipating the impact energy, not just landing flat and the only way to absorb the energy is by breaking bones (or a rigid brittle plastic shell)

A car will sustain many many thousands (sometimes it will be scrapped) from collisions at even 20MPH - even 15MPH.

The basic Phantom is pretty solid. But a $10,000 pro DSLR and a $500 gimbal/cam will probably sustain much damage if they hit something hard from 10 or 15 feet up.

Some people had had falls from 200 feet and still the drone survived (with some repairs, of course). Sometimes you just hit the wrong way and the wrong place.

If this concerns you, buy from B&H photo and get the extended ST warranty. Blaming DJI is just silly. They could make it a bit more robust for $500-$1000 more, but IMHO it would not be worth while.

Othan1 Posted at 2015-7-30 13:36
a 15' fall would not break me.  You're odd.

I understand you are an apologist as is the other pos ...

" I do not buy a car thinking I can never go over 15 miles per hour...I should have the same expectation of a flight vehicle. "

Seriously?  Somehow 15ft equals 15 mph?  

How about you drop your new car 15 feet?  Yeah, lets try that!

Or maybe your cell phone?

Drones are meant to fly, not fall. Stop dropping yours and learn to fly. And read the manual.

Deleted Post

Othan1 Posted at 2015-7-30 13:36
a 15' fall would not break me.  You're odd.

I understand you are an apologist as is the other pos ...

Can I toss you into the bushes, onto the roof of your house or onto the sidewalk?

Years ago I offered the same perspective about laptop computers. The data guy I was talking to was of the opinion that businessmen didn't want something really durable. They wanted something incredibly light that would run all day on a AAA battery.

Drones and bicycles are apparently in that same "category." I don't want to pay $10,000 for a 10-pound bike, but I don't want to ride one that weighs 50 pounds either.

Perhaps the case on the Phantom could be three times as thick/durable as it is currently. Would you be willing to accept such a bird that will fly with a camera for five minutes?

I just want something to be as sturdy as the other drones I fly.  Accidents happen and other drones have handled it much more admirably than this one.  

I really enjoy the attacks, though.  Humorous reading there.

Othan1 Posted at 2015-7-31 05:14
I just want something to be as sturdy as the other drones I fly.  Accidents happen and other drones  ...

You are a dumb troll.
What drones do you have that survived a 15' fall?
Oh, and accidents happen when you are being stupid with your drone. Not surprised that it probably happen to you.

Othan1 Posted at 2015-7-31 05:14
I just want something to be as sturdy as the other drones I fly.  Accidents happen and other drones  ...

Othan1, you've got a good sense of humor, and glad you can roll with the punches.  It's a tough crowd, but a funny one.

HunterBrooks Posted at 2015-7-31 06:59
Othan1, you've got a good sense of humor, and glad you can roll with the punches.  It's a tough cr ...

My first Hubsan X4 broke the frame and a motor on a fall of about 20 feet. After that we started doing mods to them like earplugs for feet and the "straw" mod so the motors would not break.

I think it's time to roll out the "maybe you should not buy a drone" article again!

http://www.droneflyers.com/2015/06/reasons-to-not-buy-a-drone/

“I crashed (or lost) my Drone and I think it’s the fault of Company X – they should replace it or fix it quickly.”

“I spent $1K+ for this Quadcopter and it should just work no matter what.”

take the test...see if you fit in the "other than $30 drone" category!

Othan1,
I don't think anyone attacked you. Aside from a little poke in the tender ribs. You have to fly smarter is all. DJI never told you to fly into stuff.
In fact they have strongly suggested that We all fly in open spaces, until you are much more adept, not flying in places with obvious obstacles and intrusion from bystanders.

No, it's on your shoulders to do the right thing. No one here will babysit your drone copter for you..
I have sympathy for anyone who loses an expensive RC Model. Even if it's because of Hunan pilot error.
Just don't redirect the blame or fault, back to the original owner... Fly responsibly and fly again tomorrow.

Good luck in the future Man, I hope that you get a replacement soon, for your current wall hanger.

Have fun, fly responsibly and fly another day...

RedHotPoker

droneflyers.com Posted at 2015-7-31 07:28
My first Hubsan X4 broke the frame and a motor on a fall of about 20 feet. After that we started d ...

Great write-up!  It should pop-up online when someone goes to hit "Place Order" with a checkbox before the order is actually placed.

Sorry for this, but I noticed two easy typos in the same paragraph - see blue notes: "... people who take an active part in building, tuning and flying their aircraft. Manufacturers have catered to this type of person and now things have changed, but the manufacturers have not. Makers are scrambling ..."

I'm hoping you would rather know then not know.  : )

We need a ROFLQUAD....

jimcloud74@yaho Posted at 2015-7-30 22:05
I am a paramedic. I know medical and the human body. A 15 foot fall can most definitely "break you ...

I second that! A little known fact is that an average of 400 people die every year by simply falling out of bed...15ft pretty much sums up what can go wrong.

drone_lad Posted at 2015-7-31 09:45
I second that! A little known fact is that an average of 400 people die every year by simply falli ...

Maybe NERF should come out with one.  

droneflyers.com Posted at 2015-7-31 07:28
My first Hubsan X4 broke the frame and a motor on a fall of about 20 feet. After that we started d ...

That is a very clever reply. Ha!

Truth is, after having some very expensive experience with the RC Heli counterpart to this P3, I think it is fairly tough. The prior art - heli's - would cost you plenty, dropping from a height of only 3 feet (forget 15). Everything is relative.

As for multirotors, My little GAUI 330X-S, an XAircraft quad, and a DJI F550 hexacopter would each suffer GREATLY, falling from 15 feet. The NERF idea is a good one. :-)

Evanevery wrote: "Seriously?  Somehow 15ft equals 15 mph?  "

No, actually, a fall of 15 ft equals about 21mph. That's the law, man. The law of gravity.

Height = 1/2*a*t*t, where a=32ft/sec-squared (gravitational constant). This ends up with t=sqrt[(2*15)/32)]= 0.97 seconds.

Velocity at impact = a*t = 32f/s-squared*.97 s = 30.98 fps = 21.13 mph

That's THE LAW!

Never fight the law. 21 MPH will total most cars.

You can't even drop a cell phone from 5 feet and have it survive, why would something made of plastic and motors be any different? I have destroyed a 100 gram Syma x5c because of an impact, but have also had it drift down slowly many times without the motors on because the motors are weak enough to spin by the wind on the way down which generates lift and slows the process. A $0.0005 sheet of paper will also float down to the ground without damage to it while a paper-thin glass will not be as lucky.

The survival of a quadcopter seems to be heavily reliant on HOW it lands.  If you land straight down, you might break the landing gear or the camera/gimbal. If you land upside down, you might break a motor or a propeller (but is likely the least damaging way to crash land). If you land on an arm, that arm will take the brunt of the fall and crumple. The wonderful world of physics involving mass and energy comes into play here.

Othan1 Posted at 2015-7-30 13:36
a 15' fall would not break me.  You're odd.

I understand you are an apologist as is the other pos ...

Sounds to me the A10 Thunderbolt Warthog would be more to your liking. A flying tank

Your an idiot Othan1!

afponiky Posted at 2015-8-1 21:04
Your an idiot Othan1!

If you are going to call somebody an idiot, may I suggest you use proper spelling.

Try something like this...

You're an idiot afponiky.

You used "your" instead of you're...  This makes you look like a fool.