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Got a new drone for site surveys and it almost flew into a crane
Bought a DJI Mini 4 Pro last week to do top-down photos of a framing job over on 5th Street. First flight was going fine until the wind gusted and it drifted right toward a tower crane that I totally forgot was on site. Lesson learned: always walk the whole perimeter before launch and check for overhead obstructions you can't see from the ground. Anyone else have a close call with a drone on a job?
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harperschmidt24d ago
Bro, sounds like you almost played a real-life game of "dodge the crane" and lost. That's a classic "oh crap I forgot that thing existed" moment we've all had at some point. Wind is the ultimate troll for drone pilots, especially on a jobsite where everything is moving around you. Good tip on walking the perimeter first, but honestly sometimes you just gotta accept the drone gods were testing you that day. Glad your Mini 4 Pro didn't become a tiny metal pancake on a crane hook.
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uma_baker8824d ago
Yo no kidding, the wind funneling off cranes and tall gear is way worse than people think. I had a similar scare with a job over by the river where the wind was bouncing off a concrete silo and sending my drone sideways like it was on ice. Ended up having to bring it down manually and lost a good battery just fighting the gusts. If you dont check the weather at different heights, youre basically flying blind. That wind meter idea from the other commenter sounds smart, I might grab one too.
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Have you read that FAA report from last year about drone incidents on construction sites? They found that wind-related drift was a factor in nearly 40 percent of near-miss reports. I picked up a little handheld wind meter after reading that, and it's saved me a few times already. Walking the perimeter is good, but checking weather conditions up high is just as important since cranes and other tall gear can funnel wind in weird ways.
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