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This is not how you want your video to end

LivinLarge

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Lost sight of the tiny Anafi flying over a river and backed it into tree. Motors shut off but power was still on the processor and camera. It was about 300 feet away and 40 feet up in the top of a tree. using the distance display on the tablet, I was able to get close to it, scrambling over rocks on the riverbank. I was unable to see it so I tried starting the motors. I heard them spin up, thrashing leaves and then saw it tumble down. It hit a few branches on the way and landed in some soft brush. I picked it up and saw that nothing was broken, not even a prop. All the arms had folded up and there was not a scratch on it to be seen.
I decided to head home and not fly it again over the water until I had checked it out thoroughly and recalibrated everything. Happy to say it works fine now as if it never happened. I got lucky and it's a tough little bird.in a tree.jpg
 
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LUCKY!!! In an obstacle rich environment like that the rule of thumb is to hover immediately if you lose sight of it until you can see it again.
 
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LUCKY!!! In an obstacle rich environment like that the rule of thumb is to hover immediately if you lose sight of it until you can see it again.
It was too far away to see or hear over the noise of the rapids. I did hover and then tried different altitudes and moving from side to side. At one point, I saw two wires across the river which were part of an old cable bridge. I was lucky I had not hit them on the way out. I have kayaked and rafted this river many times, but had forgotten that these cables were there.
As I was pulling back, I had drifted too close to the right, so I rotated to get away from the trees on that side and backed into one on the other side.
I would like to go back and map out a waypoint mission that stays in the center away from the trees. I also want to shoot video of the next rapid down river (Kuntz Flume.)
 
Extremely good save, boy you were so lucky and no damage to boot!

Congratulations pulling off a remarkable recovery.

Paul

Lost sight of the tiny Anafi flying over a river and backed it into tree. Motors shut off but power was still on the processor and camera. It was about 300 feet away and 40 feet up in the top of a tree. using the distance display on the tablet, I was able to get close to it, scrambling over rocks on the riverbank. I was unable to see it so I tried starting the motors. I heard them spin up, thrashing leaves and then saw it tumble down. It hit a few branches on the way and landed in some soft brush. I picked it up and saw that nothing was broken, not even a prop. All the arms had folded up and there was not a scratch on it to be seen.
I decided to head home and not fly it again over the water until I had checked it out thoroughly and recalibrated everything. Happy to say it works fine now as if it never happened. I got lucky and it's a tough little bird.View attachment 2545
 
....I would like to go back and map out a waypoint mission that stays in the center away from the trees. ....
Yeah, Flight Plan is excellent for that type of flight provided Google Earth has adequate resolution in the area. I use it a lot.
 

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