As many of you know, I tried to share on this forum only good news and helpful informations for this community.
Unfortunately today is my turn to report another Inspire crash, a serious one, as my bird looks beyond repair at this moment.
However, if you will have the patience to read this post, you may consider my crash good news for this community.
A friend of mine asked me to help him with aerial footage for the promotional video of a naval company, in the port of Burgas, Bulgaria.
I had to film the loading operations of 5 huge pipe connectors on to the ship owned by the company he works for.
The operations were scheduled for this Saturday at 8 A.M, so it was kind of tricky to get there.
On Friday evening I had a concert in very beautiful outdoor venue in Bucharest ( when I am not flying I am a musician) so straight after the concert I had to drive to Burgas, Bulgaria, to be there early in the morning.
The operations were delayed until 2 P.M, due to weather conditions (severe fog), as the ship could not enter the port for loading operations.
The filming conditions were not friendly at all, with rough winds at around 20-25 kph, we were surrounded by hundreds of huge shipping containers and I had to fly quite close to 2 giant cranes (around 100 meters height).
To be honest, once arrived there I was seriously thinking to cancel the flight, to inform my friends is too risky and complicated to fly.
But it was a long journey, a promise have been made and most of all, it was the best way to test my Inspire in a very complex situation.
So I decided to fly.
I had to choose very carefully a take off point, to keep my compass out of trouble ( we were in the middle of a shipyard, with hundreds of metal containers) the workers on the ground were informed about possible risks, and all of them were wearing protections helmets.
I had around 4 successful flights, and during the last one, actually during the last planned shot, the worst scenario happened.
I was flying very closely & slowly on the top of the both cranes, and due to a powerful wind gust, a propeller touched one of the cranes, game over.
The bird fell down from around 70-80 meters, and on its way down hit the arm crane and landed on the ship. No one was hurt, no damage except total damage for the Inspire, as the fall speed was attenuated by the crane's arm.
So here I am today, with my bird in pieces, beyond repair, as you can see in the photos attached.
Funny the way it is, on Friday I have purchased six 1345s propellers sets and a Landing mode case.
Definitely not happy times for me, as the purchase of my Inspire was a serious investment, made possible with a lot of efforts & sacrifices, I invested also a serious amount of money in gear & accessories, and last but not least next week I was about to start filming a very important project, which was about to cover the purchase of a Ronin M gimbal and a Phantom 3, in order to secure all the gear necessary for my efforts to raise awareness to the endangered architectural & cultural heritage of my home country.
I will contact DJI to see what can be done, but as I said before, it looks like a total damage and I am not in the position to purchase a new one in the near future.
Bottom line, not happy days for me, but this unfortunate incident is somehow good news for this community.
As this Saturday I was once again completely amazed by the possibilities offered by this amazing machine.
In a very complex scenario, with unfriendly weather conditions, Inspire 1 was outstanding, flying impeccable, smooth and steady.
If I would have the possibility, I would purchase a new one in this very second, as I am more convinced than ever that this is the most complex and sophisticated aerial platform available at the moment.
Chasing the perfect shot didn't ended well for me, but somehow I am pleased that I had the possibility to test my bird to the limit, and it was a real joy to see it fly in such a complex scenario.
Hope you'll enjoy your birds longer than I did, hopefully in the near future I will be up in the air again, best regards to all of you
Unfortunately today is my turn to report another Inspire crash, a serious one, as my bird looks beyond repair at this moment.
However, if you will have the patience to read this post, you may consider my crash good news for this community.
A friend of mine asked me to help him with aerial footage for the promotional video of a naval company, in the port of Burgas, Bulgaria.
I had to film the loading operations of 5 huge pipe connectors on to the ship owned by the company he works for.
The operations were scheduled for this Saturday at 8 A.M, so it was kind of tricky to get there.
On Friday evening I had a concert in very beautiful outdoor venue in Bucharest ( when I am not flying I am a musician) so straight after the concert I had to drive to Burgas, Bulgaria, to be there early in the morning.
The operations were delayed until 2 P.M, due to weather conditions (severe fog), as the ship could not enter the port for loading operations.
The filming conditions were not friendly at all, with rough winds at around 20-25 kph, we were surrounded by hundreds of huge shipping containers and I had to fly quite close to 2 giant cranes (around 100 meters height).
To be honest, once arrived there I was seriously thinking to cancel the flight, to inform my friends is too risky and complicated to fly.
But it was a long journey, a promise have been made and most of all, it was the best way to test my Inspire in a very complex situation.
So I decided to fly.
I had to choose very carefully a take off point, to keep my compass out of trouble ( we were in the middle of a shipyard, with hundreds of metal containers) the workers on the ground were informed about possible risks, and all of them were wearing protections helmets.
I had around 4 successful flights, and during the last one, actually during the last planned shot, the worst scenario happened.
I was flying very closely & slowly on the top of the both cranes, and due to a powerful wind gust, a propeller touched one of the cranes, game over.
The bird fell down from around 70-80 meters, and on its way down hit the arm crane and landed on the ship. No one was hurt, no damage except total damage for the Inspire, as the fall speed was attenuated by the crane's arm.
So here I am today, with my bird in pieces, beyond repair, as you can see in the photos attached.
Funny the way it is, on Friday I have purchased six 1345s propellers sets and a Landing mode case.
Definitely not happy times for me, as the purchase of my Inspire was a serious investment, made possible with a lot of efforts & sacrifices, I invested also a serious amount of money in gear & accessories, and last but not least next week I was about to start filming a very important project, which was about to cover the purchase of a Ronin M gimbal and a Phantom 3, in order to secure all the gear necessary for my efforts to raise awareness to the endangered architectural & cultural heritage of my home country.
I will contact DJI to see what can be done, but as I said before, it looks like a total damage and I am not in the position to purchase a new one in the near future.
Bottom line, not happy days for me, but this unfortunate incident is somehow good news for this community.
As this Saturday I was once again completely amazed by the possibilities offered by this amazing machine.
In a very complex scenario, with unfriendly weather conditions, Inspire 1 was outstanding, flying impeccable, smooth and steady.
If I would have the possibility, I would purchase a new one in this very second, as I am more convinced than ever that this is the most complex and sophisticated aerial platform available at the moment.
Chasing the perfect shot didn't ended well for me, but somehow I am pleased that I had the possibility to test my bird to the limit, and it was a real joy to see it fly in such a complex scenario.
Hope you'll enjoy your birds longer than I did, hopefully in the near future I will be up in the air again, best regards to all of you