$400 punishment for rookie mistake with happy ending ...

[Dobmatt]

Most common pilot's mistake? Not CSC, no RTH wrong settings ... Overconfidence, brothers, that's it! Long story short, I get too excited practicing routine figure 8 flying at low altitude and allow my Inspire 1 Pro too close to a tree ... 18 satellites couldn't brake fast enough, props trimmed bottom branch and she landed sideways from 56" height ... Bird survived without a bruise, but X5 gimbal didn't ... Yaw axis component cracked in typical Achilles heel spot at the motor shaft mount ... Crap ... Next day I've made a phone call to DJI Support center, get the ticket and sent the gimbal to CA via FedEx Friday noon ... Monday received confirmation e-mail ... Tuesday noon get the bill for approval, paid by PayPal and locked myself in a basement to heal my deeply wounded ego ...
2 days later (Thursday) my gimbal was fixed and sent back home! Package arrived at my door Monday afternoon, gimbal successfully tested same day ...
Despite well deserved penalty for my error, hats off for such phenomenal service! Bravo DJI NA!!!

 

[IrishSights]

Most common pilot's mistake? Not CSC, no RTH wrong settings ... Overconfidence, brothers, that's it! Long story short, I get too excited practicing routine figure 8 flying at low altitude and allow my Inspire 1 Pro too close to a tree ... 18 satellites couldn't brake fast enough, props trimmed bottom branch and she landed sideways from 56" height ... Bird survived without a bruise, but X5 gimbal didn't ... Yaw axis component cracked in typical Achilles heel spot at the motor shaft mount ... Crap ... Next day I've made a phone call to DJI Support center, get the ticket and sent the gimbal to CA via FedEx Friday noon ... Monday received confirmation e-mail ... Tuesday noon get the bill for approval, paid by PayPal and locked myself in a basement to heal my deeply wounded ego ...
2 days later (Thursday) my gimbal was fixed and sent back home! Package arrived at my door Monday afternoon, gimbal successfully tested same day ...
Despite well deserved penalty for my error, hats off for such phenomenal service! Bravo DJI NA!!!
View attachment 8055

Big change in turnaround times. Good to see. BTW 18 satellites had nothing whatsoever to do with braking.

 

[seanmclean]

Yeah, totally crap that your gimbal broke after crashing it into a tree.

 

[Dr. Ifly Drones]

Glad to hear about the rapid turn around on the part. Back to flying!

 

[Skynet1]

Most common pilot's mistake? Not CSC, no RTH wrong settings ... Overconfidence, brothers, that's it! Long story short, I get too excited practicing routine figure 8 flying at low altitude and allow my Inspire 1 Pro too close to a tree ... 18 satellites couldn't brake fast enough, props trimmed bottom branch and she landed sideways from 56" height ... Bird survived without a bruise, but X5 gimbal didn't ... Yaw axis component cracked in typical Achilles heel spot at the motor shaft mount ... Crap ... Next day I've made a phone call to DJI Support center, get the ticket and sent the gimbal to CA via FedEx Friday noon ... Monday received confirmation e-mail ... Tuesday noon get the bill for approval, paid by PayPal and locked myself in a basement to heal my deeply wounded ego ...
2 days later (Thursday) my gimbal was fixed and sent back home! Package arrived at my door Monday afternoon, gimbal successfully tested same day ...
Despite well deserved penalty for my error, hats off for such phenomenal service! Bravo DJI NA!!!
View attachment 8055

Great news, such turn around times have been reported from time to time, but not always expected. Such a short return in your case may also warrant a shot at the lottery I suppose. : )

 

[Janitha]

I'm glad to hear they repair the gimbal (without having to replace the entire X5/Gimbal assembly so fast), that's some unusually fast turn around times. I just sent mine in for repair after a crash last week, fingers crossed the turnaround times will be the same.

 

[Dobmatt]

...18 satellites had nothing whatsoever to do with braking.

I believe you're wrong. I recall Sexy Lady whispering "Atti mode!" seconds before drift with the wind gust into tree, therefore my bird was off the GPS leash. Lesson learned: tall tree may block satellite link. When you're flying in GPS mode and let the sticks reset themselves to center position, the DJI drones will brake, stop and hover automatically. In Atti mode, however, drone will maintain altitude, but remains at the mercy of breeze. And that's what happen to me ...

 

[IrishSights]

I believe you're wrong. I recall Sexy Lady whispering "Atti mode!" seconds before drift with the wind gust into tree, therefore my bird was off the GPS leash. Lesson learned: tall tree may block satellite link. When you're flying in GPS mode and let the sticks reset themselves to center position, the DJI drones will brake, stop and hover automatically. In Atti mode, however, drone will maintain altitude, but remains at the mercy of breeze. And that's what happen to me ...

We are good! I believe we are talking about two different aspects of braking. I was talking about the setting of Braking in Advanced settings, Sensitivity, Braking. The setting here of between 70 and 130 has nothing to do with the number of satellites.

You are talking about the braking that will not occur when falling back to atti and it doesn't 'brake' due to wind drift. It's not really braking as such just a function of atti, whether triggered by the aircraft dropping into atti or by the pilot. (I learned this lesson in the past too back in the heady days of the P2!)

 

[Patriot1776]

Most common pilot's mistake? Not CSC, no RTH wrong settings ... Overconfidence, brothers, that's it! Long story short, I get too excited practicing routine figure 8 flying at low altitude and allow my Inspire 1 Pro too close to a tree ... 18 satellites couldn't brake fast enough, props trimmed bottom branch and she landed sideways from 56" height ... Bird survived without a bruise, but X5 gimbal didn't ... Yaw axis component cracked in typical Achilles heel spot at the motor shaft mount ... Crap ... Next day I've made a phone call to DJI Support center, get the ticket and sent the gimbal to CA via FedEx Friday noon ... Monday received confirmation e-mail ... Tuesday noon get the bill for approval, paid by PayPal and locked myself in a basement to heal my deeply wounded ego ...
2 days later (Thursday) my gimbal was fixed and sent back home! Package arrived at my door Monday afternoon, gimbal successfully tested same day ...
Despite well deserved penalty for my error, hats off for such phenomenal service! Bravo DJI NA!!!
View attachment 8055

Thanks for the tips .
You mentioned atti mode then mercy to the wind advice well taken

Most common pilot's mistake? Not CSC, no RTH wrong settings ... Overconfidence, brothers, that's it! Long story short, I get too excited practicing routine figure 8 flying at low altitude and allow my Inspire 1 Pro too close to a tree ... 18 satellites couldn't brake fast enough, props trimmed bottom branch and she landed sideways from 56" height ... Bird survived without a bruise, but X5 gimbal didn't ... Yaw axis component cracked in typical Achilles heel spot at the motor shaft mount ... Crap ... Next day I've made a phone call to DJI Support center, get the ticket and sent the gimbal to CA via FedEx Friday noon ... Monday received confirmation e-mail ... Tuesday noon get the bill for approval, paid by PayPal and locked myself in a basement to heal my deeply wounded ego ...
2 days later (Thursday) my gimbal was fixed and sent back home! Package arrived at my door Monday afternoon, gimbal successfully tested same day ...
Despite well deserved penalty for my error, hats off for such phenomenal service! Bravo DJI NA!!!
View attachment 8055

We are good! I believe we are talking about two different aspects of braking. I was talking about the setting of Braking in Advanced settings, Sensitivity, Braking. The setting here of between 70 and 130 has nothing to do with the number of satellites.

You are talking about the braking that will not occur when falling back to atti and it doesn't 'brake' due to wind drift. It's not really braking as such just a function of atti, whether triggered by the aircraft dropping into atti or by the pilot. (I learned this lesson in the past too back in the heady days of the P2!)

Hi Irish sites ,
What's your opinion of advanced antenna systems not so much for distance but for the quality of a slight obstruction let's say tree branch or any object
I'm curious but also responsibility goes with more ability
I'm Steve from California I've been flying since November 2015

 

[IrishSights]

Hi Steve, I don't and won't use antenna mods. If the radio can't penetrate branches or objects neither can my eyes. You really should be maintaining unaided visual line of sight at all times. My opinion.

 

[CaptainBadge]

Not only opinion... on this side of the pond its the law!

 

[Simonjamesalec]

Most common pilot's mistake? Not CSC, no RTH wrong settings ... Overconfidence, brothers, that's it! Long story short, I get too excited practicing routine figure 8 flying at low altitude and allow my Inspire 1 Pro too close to a tree ... 18 satellites couldn't brake fast enough, props trimmed bottom branch and she landed sideways from 56" height ... Bird survived without a bruise, but X5 gimbal didn't ... Yaw axis component cracked in typical Achilles heel spot at the motor shaft mount ... Crap ... Next day I've made a phone call to DJI Support center, get the ticket and sent the gimbal to CA via FedEx Friday noon ... Monday received confirmation e-mail ... Tuesday noon get the bill for approval, paid by PayPal and locked myself in a basement to heal my deeply wounded ego ...
2 days later (Thursday) my gimbal was fixed and sent back home! Package arrived at my door Monday afternoon, gimbal successfully tested same day ...
Despite well deserved penalty for my error, hats off for such phenomenal service! Bravo DJI NA!!!
View attachment 8055

No way!! I've done exactly the same thing. Carbon copy. And am going through the same process. Hopefully I will get the same happy ending.

 

[Dobmatt]

What's your opinion of advanced antenna systems not so much for distance but for the quality of a slight obstruction let's say tree branch or any object
I'm curious but also responsibility goes with more ability

Steve, I'm afraid you're confusing two different communication protocols. One is a GPS link between satellites and the antenna at the top of the bird (later transferred to a RC), another is a 2-way communication between RC and the bird. Either link can be obstructed by any body - solid or liquid - located between the bird, satellites and RC. That's why indoor the drones rely mostly on your Atti Mode flying skills, having no access to protective satellites umbrella. Vegetation - due to a moisture content - may abuse RC communication for change. The same applies to rain, fog, even clouds, not to mention rock solid objects. That's why maintaining LOS is so crucial, even if you'll probably not be able to see your bird from several hundred feet away. Bottom line: RC transmission boosters may reinforce communication, but it's within "pushing the limits" category. With DJI advanced RC technology it's an overkill, attractive perhaps to distance challengers within us, IMHO...

 

[gregdd]

Most common pilot's mistake? Not CSC, no RTH wrong settings ... Overconfidence, brothers, that's it! Long story short, I get too excited practicing routine figure 8 flying at low altitude and allow my Inspire 1 Pro too close to a tree ... 18 satellites couldn't brake fast enough, props trimmed bottom branch and she landed sideways from 56" height ... Bird survived without a bruise, but X5 gimbal didn't ... Yaw axis component cracked in typical Achilles heel spot at the motor shaft mount ... Crap ... Next day I've made a phone call to DJI Support center, get the ticket and sent the gimbal to CA via FedEx Friday noon ... Monday received confirmation e-mail ... Tuesday noon get the bill for approval, paid by PayPal and locked myself in a basement to heal my deeply wounded ego ...
2 days later (Thursday) my gimbal was fixed and sent back home! Package arrived at my door Monday afternoon, gimbal successfully tested same day ...
Despite well deserved penalty for my error, hats off for such phenomenal service! Bravo DJI NA!!!
View attachment 8055

Great news about faster turn around times.

My 2 cents worth about the accident: I always have the attitude while flying to minimize my risk. So for example, in the case where you are practising i would have had gear down and further to that i wouldnt have had camera even connected. I also minimize time flying over water (i fly directly back to shore rather than flying a direct line back to me). When flying over a canyon i always analyze if i would have access to the area below the bird and if not i will consider returning along an area more easily accessed.

 

[Dobmatt]

Great news about faster turn around times.

My 2 cents worth about the accident: I always have the attitude while flying to minimize my risk. So for example, in the case where you are practising i would have had gear down and further to that i wouldnt have had camera even connected. I also minimize time flying over water (i fly directly back to shore rather than flying a direct line back to me). When flying over a canyon i always analyze if i would have access to the area below the bird and if not i will consider returning along an area more easily accessed.

Totally agree, although the idea was to practice low flying ... I have absolutely no excuse for several mistakes I did, senselessly leaving expensive camera on being the first mistake. Allowing my bird too close to a tree and loosing GPS safety features (auto-brake at zeroed sticks) was a second mistake. Painful and expensive lesson learned ... Thanks for tips anyway.

 

[Patriot1776]

Totally agree, although the idea was to practice low flying ... I have absolutely no excuse for several mistakes I did, senselessly leaving expensive camera on being the first mistake. Allowing my bird too close to a tree and loosing GPS safety features (auto-brake at zeroed sticks) was a second mistake. Painful and expensive lesson learned ... Thanks for tips anyway.

I Appreciate all the feedback valuable information
Great description "pushing the limits" all great info that can extend your birds life span with some caution , common sense and know how !
And thank you Irish sights for the reply
Happy flights