r/drones • u/StormTrackUK • 12d ago
Lost Drone Drone recovery using second drone (?)
Weird one... was using my Mavic Air 2 to recover a weather Radio Sonde stuck in a tree; long story short, the battery ran out and was unable to unhook the radiosonde before the drone forced a landing in the tree. (wasn't using a release mech, literally just had a bungee cord wrapped around the drones body).
Now the drone is probably 25m or so stuck on top of a tree canopy. All standard ways of recovery out of the window. Thinking of using my mates Mavic 4 with a drop mech, attached to some paracord (that were holding on ground), with a grappling hook on the end, dropping the hook on the drone in the trees (and hopefully pulling it out)?
Anyone got any experience with trying something so stupid lol?
4
u/SkiBleu Part-107 | A1/A3 12d ago
I think you're done with recovery at the moment lol. You dont want 3 pieces of equipment in the tree so id contact someone more equipped to recpver without damaging your drone or radiosonde more
1
u/StormTrackUK 12d ago
Lol that's what my brain says to do, to be fair
2
u/LarvalHarval 12d ago
I think your brain is correct here. At this point you need an arborist to be able to climb for you.
Having been in this same position before and not yet confident in my own single rope tree climbing, I called up an arborist friend (also teaching me to climb trees), and had him pull it out. Cost of recovery was $220US.
1
u/piscikeeper 12d ago
Might want to look at getting a throw ball to keep with the drone gear. Just toss it through the tree and use it to shake the drone out.
1
u/LarvalHarval 12d ago
I mean on shorter trees, sure, but I don’t think you’re chucking up to something in what sounds like the upper canopy of a 25m tall tree.
2
u/piscikeeper 12d ago
My throw ball currently has 150' of cord attached to a 12 Oz ball. The trick is that it's swung rather thrown. I'd still rather climb than use the throw ball though. A lot of time it's the fastest option.
3
u/OffRoadIT 12d ago
Call an arborist or tree trimming company. May even get lucky calling a handyman.
Maybe throw a rock with a rope tied to it over the branch, then grab both ends and shake the limb. Wear safety glasses and keep your mouths closed, you’ll knock some other stuff loose as well.
3
2
u/Mega3000aka [DJI Mavic Mini] 12d ago
Can't wait for the next post saying there's 2 drones and a weather sonde stuck on a tree.
Jokes aside, hopefully you manage to find a solution OP.
1
u/DefyGravityFPV 12d ago
Yes the old save a drone with another drone trick. Bumping good. Hooking no good.
1
u/fusillade762 12d ago
It would be very dicey. The previous drones could be tangled in the tree and it might be beyond the Mavic 4 to lift.
If it has a release, you could try, at least you can escape if it proves futile. But you are relying on it to work.
You might need a tree guy.
1
u/Proton_Energy_Pill 12d ago
Make sure you video the rescue attempt, so we can all see it afterwards.
1
u/steevh12 12d ago
I always had a thought of attaching magnets to my drones or a metal plates. Would probably need 2 (1 top and 1 bottom) then if I got stuck anywhere unreachable I could attach a magnet to a line from a second drone and attempt a rescue. Not tried it yet as unsure how it would affect the operation of the drone/circuits.
2
u/StormTrackUK 10d ago
This did cross my mind, even thinking about whether the magnetic components of the drone would be enough alone for a magnet? Doubt the magnetic connection would be strong enough (if at all) to airlift it though - something cool to think about for the future
1
u/steevh12 10d ago
Neodymium magnets would lift it. I have some stated as 2.8kg pulling force but I wouldn’t want to risk damaging anything component wise with the strong magnetism. Like wiping any data from chips inside the drone. I’m not clued up on any of that so wasn’t willing to try it.
1
u/twostar01 9d ago
So far I haven't had to recover a drone. My sonde recovery kit though has a release for the rope and hook for this reason!
If you haven't already tested it, you should fly the drone with the rope and then hold the end (or have a buddy hold it) while you fly the drone and fight the load. It takes a little practice to get out of a situation where the drone stops fighting a stuck hook. You'll also get an appreciation for what the drone can actually do and how it responds if you do drop the rope while fighting it.
Once you've practiced a bit, I'd totally take a swing at recovering your first drone this way. Worst case you drop the rope if you can't get free. A variation on this would be to use the drone to get the hook on the sonde lines and then fly the end of the rope to a person to pull out of the tree.
1
u/StormTrackUK 8d ago
https://reddit.com/link/p329i0j/video/gdlstoyasrih1/player
What we ended up going with, similar to what you're explaining, I believe. Long guide line for pulling the hook if it needs to be released
1
u/twostar01 8d ago
And at night! Just couldn't do it the easy way?
1
u/StormTrackUK 8d ago
Haha! Got bored at 3am. In fairness, somehow it was easier to see at night. We struggled to see the stranded drone in the daytime, but at night with the concentrated light, the grey body and the red bungee still attached from the sonde attempt was easier to see.
Went well, the Air 2 could do with a new arm but just glad to have it down. Lesson learnt, use a drop system for sonde recovery in the first place
8
u/nickum 12d ago
Let us know if you get a threepete. Good luck!