On the 3rd of June, I was flying\shooting videos at a mud bog near Jacksonville, North Carolina.
This was my first time at this location, however all was going well, aside from being hot.
This facility has 3 "lanes" that they run trucks through. I will designate lane "A" as the shorter and less demanding "hill and hole" lane. The middle lane "B" is a flat lane which is a very short, dirt drag strip. Lane "C" is a longer "hill and hole" that they run faster and stronger trucks.
I was taking off and landing beyond the finish line of lane "C", because it was the best place near my enclosed trailer (which I use as a small office). This spot allowed me to see the staging process and starting line of all 3 lanes.
I was expecting a truck to come through lane "A" and therefor, my attention was on the starting line of "A". I did not notice that a truck had staged in "C" and was about to launch. When I realized what had happened, it was too late to do anything, aside from turn my head and torso and dodge the onslaught of mud that was coming. My H was sitting about 15 feet to my right. Once the truck had passed, my back had several large (baseball to softball size) clods, the ST16 had some smaller chunks (since it was partially shielded by my body) and the H looked as though it had been held upside down and dunked in one of the mud holes.
All I could do was clean and wipe it down as best I could. I also got use of a blower and used it to blow everything out.
Once I had it looking like an H again, (although getting all of it was impossible), I put a fresh battery in and fired everything up. To my amazement, it worked perfectly and it even seemed the camera was booting faster than before.
So, all is good and I am back in business...until I got distracted and flew in to some power lines above lane "A". It was about 20 feet above the ground and I could see the wire on my ST16, as it was hung up briefly in the line. I killed the motors and it fell to the ground. The venue owner went and fetched it, and one of the landing gear was broken. Needless to say, I was done for the day.
Fast forward to Monday, the 5th. I called the fine folks at Carolina Dronz and, told them my sad story and asked if I could bring the H in and have it repaired, while I waited. Fortunately, the tech that works on Yuneec products did not have much else on his agenda, so they said I could. So, I made a mad dash from central North Carolina to Anderson, South Carolina on Tuesday the 6th. I picked up my H on Wednesday at about noon and it looked like a brand new one and works perfectly.
I should also mention that I did not get to meet Frank, however it was not a tremendous disappointment. I highly doubt he looks anywhere near as good as the three lovely, young ladies that he had slaving in that warehouse.
Please remember that Carolina Dronz is not a typical retail store, they will accept visitors by appointment only.
This was my first time at this location, however all was going well, aside from being hot.
This facility has 3 "lanes" that they run trucks through. I will designate lane "A" as the shorter and less demanding "hill and hole" lane. The middle lane "B" is a flat lane which is a very short, dirt drag strip. Lane "C" is a longer "hill and hole" that they run faster and stronger trucks.
I was taking off and landing beyond the finish line of lane "C", because it was the best place near my enclosed trailer (which I use as a small office). This spot allowed me to see the staging process and starting line of all 3 lanes.
I was expecting a truck to come through lane "A" and therefor, my attention was on the starting line of "A". I did not notice that a truck had staged in "C" and was about to launch. When I realized what had happened, it was too late to do anything, aside from turn my head and torso and dodge the onslaught of mud that was coming. My H was sitting about 15 feet to my right. Once the truck had passed, my back had several large (baseball to softball size) clods, the ST16 had some smaller chunks (since it was partially shielded by my body) and the H looked as though it had been held upside down and dunked in one of the mud holes.
All I could do was clean and wipe it down as best I could. I also got use of a blower and used it to blow everything out.
Once I had it looking like an H again, (although getting all of it was impossible), I put a fresh battery in and fired everything up. To my amazement, it worked perfectly and it even seemed the camera was booting faster than before.
So, all is good and I am back in business...until I got distracted and flew in to some power lines above lane "A". It was about 20 feet above the ground and I could see the wire on my ST16, as it was hung up briefly in the line. I killed the motors and it fell to the ground. The venue owner went and fetched it, and one of the landing gear was broken. Needless to say, I was done for the day.
Fast forward to Monday, the 5th. I called the fine folks at Carolina Dronz and, told them my sad story and asked if I could bring the H in and have it repaired, while I waited. Fortunately, the tech that works on Yuneec products did not have much else on his agenda, so they said I could. So, I made a mad dash from central North Carolina to Anderson, South Carolina on Tuesday the 6th. I picked up my H on Wednesday at about noon and it looked like a brand new one and works perfectly.
I should also mention that I did not get to meet Frank, however it was not a tremendous disappointment. I highly doubt he looks anywhere near as good as the three lovely, young ladies that he had slaving in that warehouse.
Please remember that Carolina Dronz is not a typical retail store, they will accept visitors by appointment only.
Last edited:
