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Meeting the eagles ...

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Hi ensemble,

today was a pictures day. I decided then to load the car with the box filled with copter, batteries and enthusiasm.
Went for make a 3D model of a small mountain hamlet, but the road was closed: snow? landslide?
Well, just go a little bit more up toward a mountain pass.
At that place the TH went in fly and turned around or few minutes, recording video and taking pictures of the fog rising.
As a flight end I was putting the copter in a wide turn, diving slowly and approaching for a low pass.

But as soon as I started the maneuver I lost video link. Ok it's not the first time. Stop then and wait.
Then telemetry went black. Ok I was a little bit far, but not that much. What's happening?
Then RC link loss!
What? Never seen that.

I tried rising the TX and moving it around to help for polarization, nothing.
I guessed I had to walk then and started approaching the last known position of the copter, hoping to regain any radio link. Nothing ...

It was time to start using the technology available. First set an hot spot with the cellular phone and a very tiny data connection class E, switch on FlightCenter, wait an infinity to download the map and watch for the exact last position.

At first my thoughts were: finished with Yuneec! Enough!
During that time I started doing an analyze of what could be had happened.
Battery fail? Very low possibility. I take care of them and had voltage under control, plenty of juice to come home.
Battery disconnected? What?
Flight controller fail? Why?
Mhmm, pilot fail? Which one?
Was I not aware of the video loss and continued to fly into a rock or a tree? At the end did not think so, I was in the middle of the valley, well away from walls and trees and at three mistakes high... but who knows?

After some research I did remember I saw just after video loss an eagle crossing the valley at low altitude in full relax. Seemed satisfied.

At the end of a good hour walking around I found the camera and the gimbal. Ok, at least I have the footage, but where's the copter? Walked around another amount of time and finally discovered the copter at about 40m from the camera. Battery was missing. Another round around then and found the battery at another 30m between camera and copter.
At this moment I really started to focus what really happened: an eagle attack.

On the copter body there are two small holes, which very likely are where the eagle sunk its claws.
I'm pretty sure it grab the copter, shaken it so hardly that the gimbal broke away, or it ripped it off. Then it was able to rip off the battery and finally when the copter was finally dead it left it dive.
This could explain the video loss before telemetry and RC.

At that point I was almost sure, but would like to have a proof of that.
When I reached the car I first put the SD card into the ST16 to watch the video and surprise, no video, the card is broken.
No chance then?
I watched the video recorded by the ST16, but it stopped too much early to see any shake.

In the evening I watched the video again and after a couple of times I saw the eagle(s, there were two!).
I had some chicken skin seeing that.

That's not the first eagles experience I have, but I never thought they could come so low in the valley.

Now my TH is destroyed, I'm sad, I loved it.
Cheers, my beloved Typhoon = : (

8YEWzVibbT1pTBef48vv27XfNncPOoNaRWimqF7AphRY0ViFGyn5mk37KSMUICh4G51F-VgK_kkYnYNGeX3u214FamtHG167IfZwGxCsUlaDJoZ2cYff3TvztAiFUGzkIzoqVL6JqhnakIMEFvW1B5ZOZDGk7FL0pnPSyN5fXcF1_gQ0GQjeUZQMT3h15jfRMxiCW3qf37DGKxbSBeeSob0mneAvQ3dd_U92lu6SsgwXy299L-46z1H2dpizeT1rKAyjGR9CD3-anwZtK18Ng3EHyIRtumQNqXH2X5N7NVKfS4d0V4n1IZTVn-ylI4uOkqVTPtutcPt2eUz9P9NRCIxoWCASngxmUyhDRMCwFOUGd5DjmFbsMhj2S3RuitXX0ZKDm8bfHXGWmbfh6EGs6FlmSLYrRYjFg-Ws4Xwm_QQNjixSNvMbmq8g7_Y8GUbjegDG0zkQBme-f1h9YcUqHt1B_LFrMqYyme93il7M3IKZWtlSVizFiD4XGfDONg2cGJ5HjprBs-JYDMHAeLjDBSSfQvTQRZkLLrAKs8TA-6Q48htuapUw4xWw53h2kOzbnaCuG1t3B1QY3QI-AyLFAvcCk2IaSz3Vyp7VfUV4zpya-cTu=w686-h914-no


Sorry for long post, but maybe someone will enjoy the short tale.
Best regards,
Ric

P.s.: I have a debt with Tuna now. FlightCentre helped me finding the TH quicker. I was already very prone to buy the final release of the app, but now it's sure!
 
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Eagles are well noted for attacking RC aircraft. Hawks and Ospreys will do the same.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Eagles are well noted for attacking RC aircraft. Hawks and Ospreys will do the same.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
No they are not well noted for doing anything like that. I fly with the eagles in my home town all the time, never a problem.Where are you getting your info from??
 
No they are not well noted for doing anything like that. I fly with the eagles in my home town all the time, never a problem.Where are you getting your info from??
Yes they are = : D
Eagles are at the top of the food chain and, aside humans fighting them, they don't have predators. They control a territory by couple and don't allow other to come inside. The number of them is regulated by nature with a very clever behaviour, related to territory.
I'm pretty sure those two are the only present there and are the couple controlling that area.
Impressive attack technique, exactly how usually described: one coming to disturb and the other attacking. That's clearly visible in the video.
By the way there are videos around of people flying with eagles. I'm not an expert, but really think those are not eagles, more likely hawks or similar.
In my area there are reports of manned gliders attacked by eagles.
Ric
 
Like I said I fly in a area that has many eagles. The will circle far above but I have never seen one even try to come close. If they felt endangered then yes they will attack but its not a common thing for them to do.
 
I've had seagulls, eagles, turkey vultures, even small birds going after the H causing me to abort...lol.
I knew eagles would attack, but didn't think the others would.
Learn from the experience of others, and stay away from the eagles, the H doesn't descend fast enough, trust meo_O
 
I've had seagulls, eagles, turkey vultures, even small birds going after the H causing me to abort...lol.
I knew eagles would attack, but didn't think the others would.
Learn from the experience of others, and stay away from the eagles, the H doesn't descend fast enough, trust meo_O
I agree! Just read some literature and ask ornithologists.
Consider that eagles, like lions and sharks, are on top of food chain. They never feel endangered, they attack everyone intruding their territory.
They don't have predators and they consider themselves the absolute king. Well lions and sharks have enemies, which are crocodiles and dolphins respectively, while eagles don't have any.
By the way the only escape from eagles is climbing. Diving is their specialty, they can dive at 200km/h. They have to deal with their energy anyway, so climbing is a waste and they are not fast at all.
A friend had an eagle attack few month ago, with a fixed wing. First thing they ripped off motor cables, so no way to climb. They, those were two also, continued attacking the plane for a couple of km. My friend managed the plane until he was able to land in a remote spot.
I was there and lived that in real time.
Result: one of the two lipos went in flames. Eagles did seriously damage the battery. Fortunately the plane was equipped with a reliable battery redundance system. I can only imagine the smoke in flight = : D
Ric
 
Like I said I fly in a area that has many eagles. The will circle far above but I have never seen one even try to come close. If they felt endangered then yes they will attack but its not a common thing for them to do.

I think it's a territorial thing. If they're above you, they're in control. If your drone goes above them, then you're a threat and may be attacked?
 
Well I have seen 5-6 crows chase a bald eagle away by attacking it in all directions and working as a team so yes they do have enemies
 
Well I have seen 5-6 crows chase a bald eagle away by attacking it in all directions and working as a team so yes they do have enemies
Well, that's funny: when one wants to have reason at any cost. Ok I give you reason and sorry if I stick with literature and experience.
For those interested start from last line of this paragraph.
By the way what I met are golden eagles, but that changes nothing.
 
You would think that if an eagle or any bird that attacks the H it would be injured by the props. The props on my Q500 are 11" long, sharp and strong. The props on my H aren't as big or stiff/strong. If an eagle attacks the drone with it talons, like they do, I think it would be hurt pretty bad. Ok i just watched the video. 2 props are broken. I'm guessing the eagle might be hurt.
 
up above where we fly , eagles , hawks , buzzards and anything larger then your flying noise maker's fly , we all have to understand it is their world we just fly in it . the bird of pray mite be hurt by spinning props but your bird is coming down like a rock , most people don't realize how large and how fast an eagle is and can attack our slow moving intruders . know where you fly , the bird you save mite be you own .
fly safe
 
More than once I've seen a bald eagle attack an osprey to try and steal a fish that the osprey had caught from a lake. These "dog fights" in mid air are amazing. The eagle always attacks from the bottom and turns upside down at the last second to drive his talons into the fish. The osprey is smaller, a nimbler flier, and usually can outmaneuver the eagle and retain his prey. If the eagle attacked from the bottom maybe he was not injured. A couple of weeks ago a seagull began circling my H at about 100ft seagull.JPG and I brought it down quickly before a collision.
 
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More than once I've seen a bald eagle attack an osprey to try and steal a fish that the osprey had caught from a lake. These "dog fights" in mid air are amazing. The eagle always attacks from the bottom and turns upside down at the last second to drive his talons into the fish. The osprey is smaller, a nimbler flier, and usually can outmaneuver the eagle and retain his prey. If the eagle attacked from the bottom maybe he was not injured. A couple of weeks ago a seagull began circling my H at about 100ft View attachment 4217 and I brought it down quickly before a collision.
Great picture, thanks!
In the link I posted before they explain well what you describe, known as kleptoparasitism.
It's great watching those behaviours in reality.
Ric
 
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Wow, that eagle really killed your TH, sorry for your loss. I'm sure you've figured out that they have clearly marked their territory. I hope you don't risk it again after you repair your TH. Beautiful place you fly, where is that?
 
h.jpg I went to google images and searched for "osprey carrying a fish". Its amazing that the profile of these images resembles "Typhoon H carrying a camera". I'm thinking that, if you happen to see an eagle, that putting the landing gear down may reduce the possibility of getting attacked by changing the shape, or silhouette, of the H.
 
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