I had posted this in the multi-rotor forums as "Your most intense flight experience" but I decided it would fit my blog better.

I think I just had mine today...I took my Lama V3 to my condo's rooftop for my daily practice, and drove it around the various obstacles found there (pipes, antennas, solar panels etc.)

At some point, I decided to fly over a certain pipe placed at about a 2 m height from the floor. Note that my condo's rooftop is at about 15m. Anyway, I passed over it, and then decided to bring it back the same way, but somehow felt it would not be so easy.

In fact, the wind started blowing just a little harder or I caught a weird air current...in any case the little heli started gaining height, and soon it was over the penthouse (not a good place to land, unless you like clinging to roof tiles afterwards).

I corrected the yaw to bring it towards me, gave some forward cyclic, but this had the effect of driving it farther AWAY and HIGHER!

"Oh great" I thought, "this is where I lose it for good". In the mean it had went at maybe 10-12 meters of altitude compared to the rooftop, and drifted some 15 meters away horizontally (enough to take it outside the boundaries of my rooftop).

Trying to stay cool, I corrected the yaw once more, facing the heli drifting away, and started reducing throttle....I swear, a throttle settling which wouldn't have allowed for the heli to stop shaking on the ground, was enough to keep it in the air! I then started bringing it towards me with controlled forward cyclic inputs, everything complicated by the fact that I was facing it, and reducing the throttle as it approached.

I finally managed to get it not only in the general whereabouts of the rooftop, but practically bring it to me, passing over the penthouse. The throttle must have been about 1/3-1/4 when it was definitively within reach, so little was required to keep it airborne, and I made one of the smoothest landings ever...and one of the most satisfactory ones, dead-center on the area before the penthouse's door.

This must have been one of the most intense experiences I've had in a while, and I almost couldn't believe I actually managed to bring it back

There aren't many accounts of bringing back wind-castaway coaxials, but I feel that I learned something from this story. It's really surprising how much ETL (Effective Translational Lift) can be provided by the most imperceptible gust of wind of thermal, and at how little throttle you can hover and control the bird.

When being carried away by the wind, don't be afraid to cut down on the throttle, else you'll experience a way too rapid climb rate. It was actually harder to get it to LOSE height than to keep it up.

Ask me if I would do it again though...nope (at least not unless really needed)

WOW---nice read