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Its every drone owner’s worst nightmare — the batteries going flat over the ocean.

Posted by Simon on April 22, 2015 at 4:30am
  • TREVOR PADDENBURG
  • PERTHNOW
  • APRIL 21, 2015 7:30PM

IT is every drone owner’s worst nightmare — the batteries going flat over the ocean.

http://www.perthnow.com.au/technology/techknow/perth-photographers-beach-sprint-to-catch-falling-drone-caught-on-camera/story-fnjwuhqu-1227314074211

But Doubleview filmmaker Ryan Chatfield’s extraordinary sprint to catch his remote controlled gadget before it plunged into the ocean is becoming the stuff of legend on YouTube.

The 34-year-old was filming the hazy sunset over Floreat beach on Monday night when disaster struck and the batteries died.

But he sprinted 200m along the beach, clambered over rocks and put his body on the line to snatch his drone to safety just 30cm before it hit the water.

“I’ve only had the drone for a couple of weeks and it was probably a rookie error, but I checked the battery and thought I’d have enough for the shot,” he said.

“Once the battery gets to a certain point it goes into reserve mode and you lose all control.

It goes up 15m and then begins to come down at a designated descend rate.

“I stood there dumbfounded and then I realised what was going to happen and I thought, “I better have a crack at this. This is do or die’.”

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Comments

  • Rob_Lefebvre April 22, 2015 at 2:01pm

    @kolin, I'm pretty sure that's a Phantom.

  • Justin H. April 22, 2015 at 12:00pm

    Applied Crossfit, nice save!

  • Jonathan Hair April 22, 2015 at 11:55am
    I tend to agree, auto land is foolish. Much rather destroy a battery than lose an aircraft. Return to home makes sense, though.
  • kolin April 22, 2015 at 11:15am

    Very funny, but hey! What controller or RTF product has such stupid low battery scenario? Please answer, I really want to know. I rather destroy 30$ LiPo by deep discharge, than crash/lost 600$ copter. You can maneuver even when battery voltage is so low, that copter descend even on full throttle. Do not ask how I know that.... :)

  • Gary McCray April 22, 2015 at 10:17am

    Nothing motivates you like watching your thousand dollar drone falling into the ocean.

    Truly great save by the way.

  • Developer
    leonardthall April 22, 2015 at 7:56am

    That is the second video I have seen like that. The first had a bloke jumping into a channel or something similar.

    Nice save on both accounts :)

  • Darrell Burkey April 22, 2015 at 7:06am

    He's lucky he caught it instead of being cut up by the props. 

  • Rob_Lefebvre April 22, 2015 at 6:45am

    Yeah, I don't get it.  You can't switch out of auto-land mode, or control the flight at all?  Seriously?  Or is that just a secondary rookie mistake?

  • zoom April 22, 2015 at 6:08am

    Good one - I like happy ending....It might be an Olympic sport one day

  • naish April 22, 2015 at 5:23am

    Phantom + low battery = no directional control! what a clever engineering 

This reply was deleted.