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I feel cheated....

Joined
Jan 5, 2017
Messages
362
Reaction score
264
Age
61
Location
Lethbridge, Alberta
I have waited for weeks for the weather to be safe for flying my Q500 4K. Yesterday it was supposed to be too windy to fly, so I did not charge my batteries to go out. Well... no wind all day! Today was supposed to has light winds of 10 to 15 K in the morning, so yesterday, I charged all four of my batteries, built a octagon launch pad and painted it. I went outside at 8:30, no wind... woohoo... I drove my son to work and headed out to where I can fly. It is a 15 minute drive outside of the city, so, 25 minutes from when I dropped him off. I was at the spot by 9:30, got out of the truck and was almost blown off my feet (Icy patch). Winds were at about 40K with gusts higher. I waited for 20 minutes, just in case the wind died, but no...... :(

Tomorrow, it states that the winds will be about 35K. Fool me once.....
 
I have waited for weeks for the weather to be safe for flying my Q500 4K. Yesterday it was supposed to be too windy to fly, so I did not charge my batteries to go out. Well... no wind all day! Today was supposed to has light winds of 10 to 15 K in the morning, so yesterday, I charged all four of my batteries, built a octagon launch pad and painted it. I went outside at 8:30, no wind... woohoo... I drove my son to work and headed out to where I can fly. It is a 15 minute drive outside of the city, so, 25 minutes from when I dropped him off. I was at the spot by 9:30, got out of the truck and was almost blown off my feet (Icy patch). Winds were at about 40K with gusts higher. I waited for 20 minutes, just in case the wind died, but no...... :(

Tomorrow, it states that the winds will be about 35K. Fool me once.....
That's never happened to me...................today.
 
I have waited for weeks for the weather to be safe for flying my Q500 4K. Yesterday it was supposed to be too windy to fly, so I did not charge my batteries to go out. Well... no wind all day! Today was supposed to has light winds of 10 to 15 K in the morning, so yesterday, I charged all four of my batteries, built a octagon launch pad and painted it. I went outside at 8:30, no wind... woohoo... I drove my son to work and headed out to where I can fly. It is a 15 minute drive outside of the city, so, 25 minutes from when I dropped him off. I was at the spot by 9:30, got out of the truck and was almost blown off my feet (Icy patch). Winds were at about 40K with gusts higher. I waited for 20 minutes, just in case the wind died, but no...... :(

Tomorrow, it states that the winds will be about 35K. Fool me once.....
That's a bummer.
Whenever I decide on a fly I charge up my batteries first thing in the morning shortly after getting up. So yesterday I felt like a fly but when I got up (about 06:30am) it was blowing a gale and looked to be set in for the day, so I didn't bother to charge batteries up. Anyroad, I took the dog for a wee, did other stuff and had a bath. but when I looked outside again it was as calm as a calm thing...perfect weather for a prop spin, but by that time it was too late to start charging batteries and the ST16 :(
 
Here in Southern Alberta, we are subject to Chinook Winds in the winter. For most of the time, a calm day means winds of 30+ K. The early mornings are about the only time we get a lull. I had my hopes up for today, but...... I guess I have to discharge my batteries as the next window is Sunday. On the plus side, it's Feb 15 and our high today is forecast to be 14C. 5 days ago, a foot of snow in the front yard. 2 days later, brown grass.
 
Here in Southern Alberta, we are subject to Chinook Winds in the winter. For most of the time, a calm day means winds of 30+ K. The early mornings are about the only time we get a lull. I had my hopes up for today, but...... I guess I have to discharge my batteries as the next window is Sunday. On the plus side, it's Feb 15 and our high today is forecast to be 14C. 5 days ago, a foot of snow in the front yard. 2 days later, brown grass.
I leave my batteries charged for several days with no problem.
 
I went out today to try again. Everything was great until I got about 30 M (100 ft) up, then hit the wind. My 4K started drifting downwind and it was hard to control. I lowered it to about 10 M, no problem. Chinook Winds! Bringing it back wasn't a problem at that height and landed on the ground as I was getting some gusts as ground level. At least I got to try out my launch pad I built. Below is a photo of the pad and a the box I built to hold the drone.
SG1L4426.JPG
 
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Reactions: Steve Carr
I got to fly all four of my batteries yesterday. I wanted to see how far I could go before the video disconnected. 827 ft. I figured this was as good as any time to try out Return To Home. Brought it right back, landed and shut down the props. Great. On another flight, my wife asked if I could land on the pad I built. I tried.... 2 props broken. Nope, can't land on the pad. Too much bouncing up and down. Almost made it though. Live and learn. Cheap lesson. My Springer Spaniel thinks I bought the 4K for her to chase. Easier than throwing a ball for her. This hobby is really addictive.
 
I got to fly all four of my batteries yesterday. I wanted to see how far I could go before the video disconnected. 827 ft. I figured this was as good as any time to try out Return To Home. Brought it right back, landed and shut down the props. Great. On another flight, my wife asked if I could land on the pad I built. I tried.... 2 props broken. Nope, can't land on the pad. Too much bouncing up and down. Almost made it though. Live and learn. Cheap lesson. My Springer Spaniel thinks I bought the 4K for her to chase. Easier than throwing a ball for her. This hobby is really addictive.
Hover about 8" off the ground and then press the red button. Makes a perfect landing every time with no broken props. I was out with 2 new Q500 pilots this morning and we practiced that technique. They were amazed at how easy it is.
 
I have made one of those Launch Pads. And mine is elevated off the ground about 8". Taking off is not a problem, trying to land it on the pad is not so easy. Landing on that pad will test your piloting skills for sure.
 
I was planning on using a simple 1m2 tarp with an "H" in the middle made of tape. Just stake the 4 corners and my guess is I will have a clean bit of ground to land on without the drone kicking up leaves, dirt or sand. Also it can be folded up and stuck into a side pocket of the backpack. Did I mention "quick build"?
 
I think if you want a raised landing pad (intent being that you are always landing on a level surface) you'd need to use small grating allowing for airflow that way you don't get so much back pressure/ up draft from the props. Just mho :)
 
And here we have it, the clamp of shame. Hard landing broke off the two back feet from the landing legs. 5 Minute epoxy, two clamps and an hour, good again.

upload_2017-4-2_13-52-45.png
 

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