RTH and low battery - issue

[fcefalu]

Hi all, back from a long easter weekend where i had the chance to cumulate 27 flights, about 60km and few hours of flight experience i want to share with you a small issue that i encountered on one of the flights.

i did fly the mavic far away, about 4k meters away from take off point, flew it back home, and had some spare battery level left (25%) so i decided to play around within line of sight. when i got to about 10%i decided that it was about time to land and initiated the RTH procedure...

With my biggest surprise the drone didn't start the standard procedure, was actually coming close to me, but instead of flight high on top of the landing point, it was actually drifting lower, hence i got back to manual controlling and even more surprising, the drone was not answering properly to my height stick control, i had to make a lot of efforts to fly it back safetely as the drone was getting slow like if the motors had lost power....

All good as i got my toy back but if you have any comment or advice feel free to talk to me!

CHEERS

 

[TimeIsMine]

This happened to me after being out for about 15k meters. The bird initiated its landing sequence and ignored all of my commands to maintain elevation. Im glad you were able to safely land your bird, my landing didnt go so well. Its currently with DJI Repair. It seems the low battery initiates a landing sequence that will allow you to control your roll and yaw, not altitude.

Lesson to be learned: return bird home sooner than the recommended alert.

 

[Davidss]

...
It seems the low battery initiates a landing sequence that will allow you to control your roll and yaw, not altitude.

Lesson to be learned: return bird home sooner than the recommended alert.

I think you might like to rephrase that.
There are TWO alerts.
The first is the low battery warning; by default this is 30%, but some set it lower, depending if you are flying local, or inter-state (as so many of you seem to do). The same 'brave' souls can ignore it and go for that last special video sequence, no problem. But if your timing isn't exact you run up to the second warning.

The second warning is critical, and by default that is 10%. When this goes off it means the aircraft is landing, period. Instead of a vertical descent you can 'request' it comes down at an angle (your roll and yaw), but down it will come.
I just hope the last 30 seconds of film are worth £1,000, or Dollars.

Regards.

 

[fcefalu]

glad to hear nothing wrong with my drone.... thanks for your inputs!

 

[Michael Ainsworth]

Not sure why you need to take it past the limit. First batt warning RTH unless there is an unforeseen problem.
Sooner or later it will drop out of the sky and you will wonder why.
If it was a cheap toy then ok but not a $2000AU drone.

 

[CyberNate]

The Mavic will initiate landing at 10%, but if you hold the elevator stick up, it will maintain altitude and you can continue flying toward home. If you are seeing something different, then perhaps the behavior has changed with the latest firmware, but in .400 it was that way. One trick you can do is to initiate RTH before 10%. The landing will be ignored at 10% if the RTH is already in progress. Only at 1% will a landing be forced, but not a good idea to push it that far.

 

[TimeIsMine]

The Mavic will initiate landing at 10%, but if you hold the elevator stick up, it will maintain altitude and you can continue flying toward home. If you are seeing something different, then perhaps the behavior has changed with the latest firmware, but in .400 it was that way. One trick you can do is to initiate RTH before 10%. The landing will be ignored at 10% if the RTH is already in progress. Only at 1% will a landing be forced, but not a good idea to push it that far.

Finally some constructive feedback! Thank you!

I will always push the limits to every one of my tools. It always teaches me what the true potential is, and the rewards..... the rewards always outweigh the risk. Also thats why I have DJI Refresh + private insurance policy on the Mav. The only downside is the wait for the replacement. I think it's time to pick up a 2nd MP!

 

[Gary cato]

Finally some constructive feedback! Thank you!

I will always push the limits to every one of my tools. It always teaches me what the true potential is, and the rewards..... the rewards always outweigh the risk. Also thats why I have DJI Refresh + private insurance policy on the Mav. The only downside is the wait for the replacement. I think it's time to pick up a 2nd MP!

I had two very close calks in 60 flights i now have a second Mavic just in case

 

[fcefalu]

The Mavic will initiate landing at 10%, but if you hold the elevator stick up, it will maintain altitude and you can continue flying toward home. If you are seeing something different, then perhaps the behavior has changed with the latest firmware, but in .400 it was that way. One trick you can do is to initiate RTH before 10%. The landing will be ignored at 10% if the RTH is already in progress. Only at 1% will a landing be forced, but not a good idea to push it that far.

exactly what happened... my bad for not knowing it.... certainly i will be more careful on the follow....

 

[BraamMavic]

@Davidss I like your explanation. But isn't there a 3rd warning that we are missing ? The one where the Mavic Calculates how much battery power is needed to get home & gives you a warning when you have JUST enough left ? And this can't be the first warning you speak of as it will never be a fixed % as it will depend on how far away the home point is from the drone.

 

[Coach D]

BraamMavic:
So I am correct in my understanding that the Mavic calculates how much battery it will need to return home, and it will notify you that you need to get your butt home.