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$15k Quadcopter and DSLR lost in Amazon Rainforest

PHugger

PHugger

Church Meal Expert
In a video shoot for Animal Planet a Quad got away from the pilot.
The frantic sprint through the rainforest is epic.
They eventually find it 60ft up in a tree.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCHPR031J9o
At the end he blames his Specktrum DX8 Transmitter which broke.
He should have had the Swede fly it FPV style!



PCH
 
Techno

Techno

Sunny Day Park Flyer
Oh man, that was epic. The view as it floated away was amazing. It would have been better if it was at sunset. (and if David flew it)
 
jhitesma

jhitesma

Some guy in the desert
Mentor
bicyclemonkey said:
$15k quad and they use Spektrum, lol
Click to expand...

Yeah, I don't get that. They put $15k of hardware in the air but then and then cheaped out on the RF link? I'm not saying Spektrum is "bad" but if I had that kind of money on the line I'd want something with a more reliable reputation. Even if LRS isn't an option (not sure what the legality of 440mhz is in Peru) I'd spring for a HiTec or Futaba with a more reliable RF system to control a rig like that!
 
PHugger

PHugger

Church Meal Expert
I was thinking about that broken transmitter....
In many of the cases where cars are claimed to experience 'sudden acceleration' investigators find that the driver had simply mistaken the gas pedal for the brake. Their evidence is that the gas pedal has been mashed down so hard it they become deformed and broken. Now back to the quad - it starts to fly away and maybe the panicked pilot mashes the sticks so hard (as he runs through the rainforest) that they break. He didn't seem to be under any undue stress when the doomed flight started and yet he still took off without a GPS sync. I don't fly quads, but that seems important. He appears to be in a clearing large enough to 'see' a few satellites (GPS has a hard time with trees). Can the GPS sync after you gain some altitude?

PCH
 
Andrew

Andrew

G'day Mate
I just watched the video and read the YT comments there is a lot that does not add-up

(QUOTE CineChopper
"$15K CAMERA DRONE HELICOPTER FLY AWAY CRASH")

It is a multi rotor/ octocopter not a helicopter!!!

(QUOTE CineChopper
"The fault was spektrum not dji on this one.We looked for a while before I realized I still had telemetry reading. At least I knew it was still connected and not in the water!")

WOW......they were looking for a while before they realized they still had telemetry reading, that's the first thing I would of checked. Did the alarm go off ???

Taking off with-out full GPS LOCK and no 'Fail-Safe' is asking for problems.

CineChopper also said in a post "the problem was a broken right transmitter stick"..... can this be blamed on Spektrum or there RF system???
Do DX8 have a history of weak gimbal-stick???
Did Spektrum sell them a Tx with a broken gimbal, or did some one some were drop/bump the Tx and to gutless to man-up to it.


(QUOTE CineChopper
"Yeah, 2 separate times I've had my wookong octos start up all by them selves while on the ground. It's happened in cold / snow conditions.")

So its not the first time something gone wrong.


Sorry for that "rant" but I hate seeing Spektrum getting blamed for operator error, poor/cheep power supplies,poorly installed receivers and antennas.
Do you ever wonder why some people hardly ever crash and some do all the time???
 
shortbus1989

shortbus1989

I do random gravitychecks
Why are some blaming the RF/Naza link when the video clearly states that the right gimbal in the TX failed. Probably due to being mishandled during shipping, I know DSM2 has had numerous brown out issues, but can someone please prove to me there is an issue with DSMX rather than just jumping to conclusions? I do agree that I would have gone with a different radio for a "15k" setup, though it doesn't look like a 15k setup to me...
 
FlyingMonkey

FlyingMonkey

Bought Another Trailer
Staff member
Admin
Because, you have to blame NAZA, no matter what.

Even if it doesn't have a NAZA system on it.
 
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