Two types of drone pilots

[Jal7884]

So I saw @Ty Pilot say this. So I now fall into the category of people who have crashed a drone.. I just smacked into a tree with my H+. It still seems to be ok. It fell out of the tree and the gimbal and camera popped off. The little cover on the side did come off and I lost the rubber band that held it on and the battery. Props are even still ok. Can I buy the parts from Vertigo Drones or do I need to call Yuneec. The gimbal is also looking kind of goofy. One of the little springs pulled out so I'm not sure about that. gonna look at it later. I'm too shaken now to mess with it. I got caught on the right stick with my coat sleeve and that quick it hit the tree. not the best of days but it could have been a lot worse. Live and learn

 

[Ty Pilot]

I have a friend (he is on this forum occasionally) who is a photographer and purchased a Plus last summer. He had a similar mishap and after looking at the damage he agreed that the best course of action was to send it to Yuneec for repair. I would add that this was a crash in which he wasn't trying to claim it was a defect, just a crash that needed repairs. This was early on in the Plus rollout and things may have changed but it took over four months, and end the end they just sent a whole new package as they did not have parts at the time.

My advice: Call Yuneec and see if they can give you an answer as to whether or not they have parts and can fix in a normal amount of time - perhaps they can offer an estimate of turn around time. If it were me, I would try to source the parts and fix it myself if at all possible.

BTW, welcome to the 'other' side.

 

[Jal7884]

I have a friend (he is on this forum occasionally) who is a photographer and purchased a Plus last summer. He had a similar mishap and after looking at the damage he agreed that the best course of action was to send it to Yuneec for repair. I would add that this was a crash in which he wasn't trying to claim it was a defect, just a crash that needed repairs. This was early on in the Plus rollout and things may have changed but it took over four months, and end the end they just sent a whole new package as they did not have parts at the time.

My advice: Call Yuneec and see if they can give you an answer as to whether or not they have parts and can fix in a normal amount of time - perhaps they can offer an estimate of turn around time. If it were me, I would try to source the parts and fix it myself if at all possible.

BTW, welcome to the 'other' side.

On the right side is a little round black circular cover with a battery inside. I just need the battery and the rubber band that holds it, I just put the Gimbal back together it seems ok. the camera was working when I snapped it back on. I also got the landing gear down. Thankfully it landed in mud. I was very lucky.

 

[Ty Pilot]

Sounds like you should be able to fix on your own, yeah very fortunate.

 

[Steve Carr]

On the right side is a little round black circular cover with a battery inside

Can you take a picture and post it here? I'm having difficulty visualizing what part this is.
If the camera seems to function properly I would not send it in to Yuneec. As @Ty Pilot indicates, it could take a very long time to get it back.

 

[Jal7884]

Can you take a picture and post it here? I'm having difficulty visualizing what part this is.
If the camera seems to function properly I would not send it in to Yuneec. As @Ty Pilot indicates, it could take a very long time to get it back.

I'll do that tonight Steve

 

[Halligan]

The guys at Terrestrial Imaging can help out as well.

 

[Jal7884]

So I've been maxed out at work but here is the rest of the story. After this initial post I looked the plus over and decided (like a moron) to see if the motors were ok. They worked fine. As the drone started to fly on its own. I tried to grab it as it was just hovering and rising slowly. I had no control. I tried the three tap kill on the red shut off switch. Nothing. It luckily got caught in a tree. My intention was to start it and shut it off. The best laid plans.
My friend came monday morning and got it down with his bucket truck. No visible damage except two broken Props. Knowing I needed to have it checked I called Yuneec. No response. Called again. Nothing. Then I called Vertigo Drones. They sent me a repair order. I filled it out and they sent me a Prepaid UPS shipping label. They wanted the drone controller and camera. I sent it off and three days later a very nice guy named Joe Emailed me that he was looking at it and sent me his Cell phone number. This was at 7:00 in the evening. I called him and he gave me the news. No major damage. He replaced the top and bottom cover and the module that was the reason for the fly away. The little round cover that came off. He also updated the software and tested it. Total with shipping was $144.00 I was amazed it was so cheap. I had him give me 6 new props and with all said and done total was $204.00 I think I got lucky.
Since then I fell 2 Sunday's ago going out to my garage and broke my Fibula. Hard cast and crutches till at least May first. I haven't even opened the drone yet as it arrived on Wednesday. Not the best March but it could be worse. Vertigo took excellent care of me in my opinion. They were courteous, friendly and extremely quick. I would highly recommend to people who aren't savvy enough to fix their own mistakes.

Jeff

 

[Mrgs1]

So I've been maxed out at work but here is the rest of the story. After this initial post I looked the plus over and decided (like a moron) to see if the motors were ok. They worked fine. As the drone started to fly on its own. I tried to grab it as it was just hovering and rising slowly. I had no control. I tried the three tap kill on the red shut off switch. Nothing. It luckily got caught in a tree. My intention was to start it and shut it off. The best laid plans.
My friend came monday morning and got it down with his bucket truck. No visible damage except two broken Props. Knowing I needed to have it checked I called Yuneec. No response. Called again. Nothing. Then I called Vertigo Drones. They sent me a repair order. I filled it out and they sent me a Prepaid UPS shipping label. They wanted the drone controller and camera. I sent it off and three days later a very nice guy named Joe Emailed me that he was looking at it and sent me his Cell phone number. This was at 7:00 in the evening. I called him and he gave me the news. No major damage. He replaced the top and bottom cover and the module that was the reason for the fly away. The little round cover that came off. He also updated the software and tested it. Total with shipping was $144.00 I was amazed it was so cheap. I had him give me 6 new props and with all said and done total was $204.00 I think I got lucky.
Since then I fell 2 Sunday's ago going out to my garage and broke my Fibula. Hard cast and crutches till at least May first. I haven't even opened the drone yet as it arrived on Wednesday. Not the best March but it could be worse. Vertigo took excellent care of me in my opinion. They were courteous, friendly and extremely quick. I would highly recommend to people who aren't savvy enough to fix their own mistakes.

Jeff

That's the Plus getting revenge for crashing it, wanted you to feel what it's like to have broken parts.

 

[PatR]

Sorry you broke yourself afterwards but it was good to confirm Vertigo was still handling service work with a quick turn around.