Welcome, Autel Pilots!
Join our free Autel drone community today!
Join Us

There are still honest folks in this world...

Bigbit

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2017
Messages
241
Reaction score
85
Age
69
I did not post about this before, mostly out of embarrassment, but I crashed one of my two XSP's last week when trying out the new beta FW. Worse yet, I crashed it at the very top of a 150' high rock cropping; one I am too old and disabled to climb. All I could do was hope that someone honest would find it, see my contact info on the drone, and return it to me.

Well, yesterday was the day. Late in the afternoon, I got a text from a gentleman who lives about 20 miles from me. He is a pilot, was out flying his drone on Sunday in the same spot, was filming the same rock formation, and spotted an orange object through his camera lens (see photo). He sent one of his kids up the rock cropping and the young man retrieved my XSP; they then contacted me.

I offered him a good reward and he wouldn't take it. During the conversation, it came up that they were heading to a charity event for their church, so I insisted that he take the money and give it to the church group. That gave him a huge smile - he stated that this was a great idea and he'd be happy to do it.

The XSP got pretty bruised. A couple of gashes and bends in the shell, and a good nick in the camera. The bird powers up, but the gimbal goes spastic and the bird won't connect with the R/C. I've sent an e-mail to AR, and am waiting to hear back from them. This will cost me a bit of change, but I'm happy knowing that there are still honest folks out there.

It's always a good idea to label your drone in case the worst happens. Mine had my name, cell phone number, FAA#, and the words "Reward Upon Return" on the quad's 4 arms.IMG_0008.JPG
 
I did not post about this before, mostly out of embarrassment, but I crashed one of my two XSP's last week when trying out the new beta FW. Worse yet, I crashed it at the very top of a 150' high rock cropping; one I am too old and disabled to climb. All I could do was hope that someone honest would find it, see my contact info on the drone, and return it to me.

Well, yesterday was the day. Late in the afternoon, I got a text from a gentleman who lives about 20 miles from me. He is a pilot, was out flying his drone on Sunday in the same spot, was filming the same rock formation, and spotted an orange object through his camera lens (see photo). He sent one of his kids up the rock cropping and the young man retrieved my XSP; they then contacted me.

I offered him a good reward and he wouldn't take it. During the conversation, it came up that they were heading to a charity event for their church, so I insisted that he take the money and give it to the church group. That gave him a huge smile - he stated that this was a great idea and he'd be happy to do it.

The XSP got pretty bruised. A couple of gashes and bends in the shell, and a good nick in the camera. The bird powers up, but the gimbal goes spastic and the bird won't connect with the R/C. I've sent an e-mail to AR, and am waiting to hear back from them. This will cost me a bit of change, but I'm happy knowing that there are still honest folks out there.

It's always a good idea to label your drone in case the worst happens. Mine had my name, cell phone number, FAA#, and the words "Reward Upon Return" on the quad's 4 arms.View attachment 823
On mine I have "If found in a tree please return to the old dummy"
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bigbit
Well, My drone is off to AR for a repair estimate. Something tells me this is going to be a replace and not a repair.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Squirrel!
I did not post about this before, mostly out of embarrassment, but I crashed one of my two XSP's last week when trying out the new beta FW. Worse yet, I crashed it at the very top of a 150' high rock cropping; one I am too old and disabled to climb. All I could do was hope that someone honest would find it, see my contact info on the drone, and return it to me.

Well, yesterday was the day. Late in the afternoon, I got a text from a gentleman who lives about 20 miles from me. He is a pilot, was out flying his drone on Sunday in the same spot, was filming the same rock formation, and spotted an orange object through his camera lens (see photo). He sent one of his kids up the rock cropping and the young man retrieved my XSP; they then contacted me.

I offered him a good reward and he wouldn't take it. During the conversation, it came up that they were heading to a charity event for their church, so I insisted that he take the money and give it to the church group. That gave him a huge smile - he stated that this was a great idea and he'd be happy to do it.

The XSP got pretty bruised. A couple of gashes and bends in the shell, and a good nick in the camera. The bird powers up, but the gimbal goes spastic and the bird won't connect with the R/C. I've sent an e-mail to AR, and am waiting to hear back from them. This will cost me a bit of change, but I'm happy knowing that there are still honest folks out there.

It's always a good idea to label your drone in case the worst happens. Mine had my name, cell phone number, FAA#, and the words "Reward Upon Return" on the quad's 4 arms.View attachment 823
Amen, to the Church donation.:)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bigbit and Arbaxter
I did not post about this before, mostly out of embarrassment, but I crashed one of my two XSP's last week when trying out the new beta FW. Worse yet, I crashed it at the very top of a 150' high rock cropping; one I am too old and disabled to climb. All I could do was hope that someone honest would find it, see my contact info on the drone, and return it to me.

Well, yesterday was the day. Late in the afternoon, I got a text from a gentleman who lives about 20 miles from me. He is a pilot, was out flying his drone on Sunday in the same spot, was filming the same rock formation, and spotted an orange object through his camera lens (see photo). He sent one of his kids up the rock cropping and the young man retrieved my XSP; they then contacted me.

I offered him a good reward and he wouldn't take it. During the conversation, it came up that they were heading to a charity event for their church, so I insisted that he take the money and give it to the church group. That gave him a huge smile - he stated that this was a great idea and he'd be happy to do it.

The XSP got pretty bruised. A couple of gashes and bends in the shell, and a good nick in the camera. The bird powers up, but the gimbal goes spastic and the bird won't connect with the R/C. I've sent an e-mail to AR, and am waiting to hear back from them. This will cost me a bit of change, but I'm happy knowing that there are still honest folks out there.

It's always a good idea to label your drone in case the worst happens. Mine had my name, cell phone number, FAA#, and the words "Reward Upon Return" on the quad's 4 arms.View attachment 823
Right on man.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bigbit
Glad you got your craft back, hopefully it's repairable. Very nice gesture donating to the fellas church too:)

That rock formation is amazing! Care to provide the location?

Thanks for the kind words.

Sure, the location is called the Mormon Rocks. It’s located in the Cajon Pass just north of San Bernardino, CA. It’s a formation created when the San Andreas fault thrust up layers of Rock over many eons. More info here: Cajon Pass - Wikipedia

Here’s a video that I took with the XSP back in May. The Cajon Pass is where I-15 and the main train routes take people and goods from L.A. to the rest of the USA.
 
Thanks. 10 years ago, I would have done it myself. Parkinson’s has taken that away, but that’s what the drone is for - to take me places I can no longer go...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Squirrel!
Well, my drone arrived at the AR drone hospital this afternoon. Waiting to hear on the assessment of damages...
 
Ya I'm thinking about driving to Washington when mines done. That would remove about a weeks transit. I could do it in one day
 
How long it take usually for them to check your quad out. And will they keep you updated. They want logs off mine plus fix the shell.
 
Dunno... This is my first time dealing with them. Getting initial response was fast and courteous. I’m about to find out more now that they’ve received the drone.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Arbaxter

Latest threads

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
11,226
Messages
102,644
Members
9,818
Latest member
redwingaerials