I finally got around to flying the Flying Monkey 03 in sport mode for the first time this past Tuesday. Everything was going well. Did a fast pass down the length of the canal then stopped and turned around to come back. Got everything lined up and pushed up on the stick to accelerate. Only one small issue: the wind was gusting a bit that day ahead of a massive storm front that was rolling in and, not thinking about it all, that was the direction that I was flying back in.
Everything was going smoothly until I glanced over to check where some people were walking by. I looked back at the video feed and saw this:
As soon as I saw that I knew it was in the drink. A split second later, the feed died. I tried to use the locate feature built into the app, but it was already underwater when I tried, no luck there. I searched the area on both sides of the canal for the next hour in the hopes that what was left of the airframe might still be buoyant enough to wash ashore. No luck there either. Dismayed, I got in my car and drove away with no idea of what had happened.
Upon checking the DJI Fly app later that night, I discovered that the app records all incoming video feeds and flight telemetry in real-time, so I have some semblance of what happened. It appears that while going down the canal on the first pass (approximately 5 meters up), everything was fine. Part way back down the canal it suddenly began to lose altitude. A split-second before the final pic above, the aircraft canted to the left a bit. I believe that it was hit by a strong burst of wind and that with it being angled forward in flight, that the wind pushed the aircraft downward. The final turn to the left was probably the ground detection sensors detecting the water as the aircraft had also begun to slow down at that point.
The aircraft has been deemed destroyed, along with the flight battery and micro SD card holding 2 flights worth of imagery (always back up your data between outings).
A replacement drone is on its way and should arrive within the next few days. The flight battery and micro SD card have already been replaced.
A hard lesson learned. Always test out new flight modes/options at altitude and never above water. Replacing a busted arm or two is always cheaper than replacing an entire drone.
R.I.P. FMUAV03 – 9 months, 30 flights.
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