DJI Phantom 4 - My Experience

[Andre]

Well I took the plunge.
After months of debate and discussion.
I purchased a DJI Phantom 4.

Initially I had been searching for a nice deal on a P3 Advanced but that never materialized.
The price difference between the P3 Pro and P4 is small enough that I decided to just get the 4.

I was actually able to purchase my whole setup locally from Great Hobbies here in Ottawa. Which was nice. I was not comfortable with any of the Amazon offers and Gary Stephen from GH was super handy to talk with.

So here we go. Tag along for the adventure.

We discuss the P4 on our recent podcast.

 

[Andre]

Brrr

 

[makattack]

Very cool, and I like the local hobby shop support, which I guess explains where Gary moved to. Ottawa. Too bad you couldn't have made a road trip to the maritimes area to help him clean out his basement. "Help" ... Lol

 

[Andre]

Very cool, and I like the local hobby shop support, which I guess explains where Gary moved to. Ottawa. Too bad you couldn't have made a road trip to the maritimes area to help him clean out his basement. "Help" ... Lol

I can drive to Ohio quicker than PEI.

 

[Andre]

Darn it was cold.

 

[Andre]

Last weekend I spotted something in the trees...



The other weekend I was cruising around with the Phantom when I spotted something in the trees.
It was far to cold and windy to really focus in on the object..



Sunday after the Podcast the P4 and I went out on a mission.
It was actually to help search for another lost plane (we never did find) but while I was in the area I decided to zero in on the previous object.



Sure looks like a plane to me

I returned home, downloaded the details onto my phone and went for a hike.
It didn't take us long to find the poor downed Radian Pro.



Looks like it has been there for a while, couldn't find the battery or canopy so I suspect they ejected in flight and that is why the plane went down.

Editing the video and will link it up later on.

Now the search for the owner begins. We thought it might be one of the pilots from our small group but he confirmed his Pro is safe at home.

 

[Andre]

 

[Snarls]

Nice find Andre! I can see a new TV show now called 'Drone Treasure Hunters' , which is just people searching hard to get to areas from above.

 

[Andre]

Nice find Andre! I can see a new TV show now called 'Drone Treasure Hunters' , which is just people searching hard to get to areas from above.

Is it bad I want to make super heavy lift drone that comes in to pick up the item?

 

[Andre]

Hah the video worked!
The owner has come forward

 

[Snarls]

Is it bad I want to make super heavy lift drone that comes in to pick up the item?

Who said more drones was a bad thing?

Nice to see the owner found your video and his plane. Maybe you guys will get out and see it fly again.

 

[Andre]

Nothing wrong with the technology or the use of it. It is up to the pilots to be responsible.

And yes I'm hoping Chris restores the Pro

 

[Andre]

The Pro has gone home.

 

[Andre]

SunSet

On Saturday after working my tail off to deal with a lot of house hold jobs I managed to get to the field.

Naturally the P4 came out with me and I was very happy to run 3 batteries through it.

Right when I was packing up to get home the sunset broke through the clouds.

 

[hotbrass2005]

Really good stuff. I've been watching this stuff on Instagram. I think building a heavy lift recovery copter would be awesome! I have a 3d printed claw that mounts under my modified electrohub with the idea being to pickup aircraft or drop a hook and line for retrieving airplanes and other quads from trees and rooftops. I'll be on the lookout for a build!

 

[Andre]

Really good stuff. I've been watching this stuff on Instagram. I think building a heavy lift recovery copter would be awesome! I have a 3d printed claw that mounts under my modified electrohub with the idea being to pickup aircraft or drop a hook and line for retrieving airplanes and other quads from trees and rooftops. I'll be on the lookout for a build!

That sounds like fun but how would you manage the prop wash?

 

[hotbrass2005]

That sounds like fun but how would you manage the prop wash?

A long line and a weighted hook would work. I guess for foam airplanes it would be a lot of prop wash to use the claw. You would need some distance from the props. The claw does work okay for grabbing mini quads though. They're dense enough to not get blown around. The hard part is landing right on top of one.

 

[Andre]

It was a cold day but even then the sky looks so impressive.