Air 2 and RTH: can it find its way back at night like it does during the day?

[Foxadriano]

Hi,
sorry for my stupid question, but I have no experience with night flights.I also know that drones don't have eyes and GPS. ajajaja
My question is this:
I have an Air 2. If I fly at night and then suddenly can't see it anymore, if I press the auto-return (RTH) button, will the drone return to the same place it took off, as if it were daytime?
Thanks

 

[MA2 317]

It has GPS.

If the homepoint was updated at launch, it will find it's way back.

 

[Cafguy]

YES it will BUT I dont recommend it. There should be no reason to need to use RTH especially at night ....using RTH usually means you cant see the Drone. Night or Day you should never let yourself get into a situation where you need to use RTH.

 

[Foxadriano]

Why do you think I don't know it?

 

[GadgetGuy]

Hi,
sorry for my stupid question, but I have no experience with night flights.I also know that drones don't have eyes and GPS. ajajaja
My question is this:
I have an Air 2. If I fly at night and then suddenly can't see it anymore, if I press the auto-return (RTH) button, will the drone return to the same place it took off, as if it were daytime?
Thanks

GPS does not depend upon light to function, so the drone will fly back, but it cannot see to avoid obstacles, so set your RTH altitude higher than any possible obstructions, and take over the landing manually for the final approach.

 

[slup]

For your specific question... see post #2.

But honestly, you should keep a cool head instead of just reverting to an automated flight mode if you lose track of your drone.

Just release the stick as a first step, then switch over to the DJI Fly app map view...

Read off the height the drone is on & decide if some more height can be good to have in order to avoid obstacles on the way back to HP... ascend up to your chosen height.

Look at the map view in the app & rotate the drone so it aligns with the line that is drawn on the map between your drone & HP.

Start to fly back along the line that's connected to the HP.

Once over your head, land the drone manually.

 

[hank970]

I've never flown in complete darkness but have used RTH to land my drone in twilight conditions long after sunset. No need to adjust RTH altitude if it's already set to clear local obstructions. Trees and powerlines don't get higher at night.

I always ascend straight up to 7 meters (about 23 feet) and let the drone hover briefly before sending it off on its mission. That gives the bottom sensors time to identify and memorize the visual characteristics of the launch point (in my case, a three-foot Hoodman pad). When it's time to terminate the flight, GPS brings the drone back and roughly positions it above the launch point, the descent commences as usual, and the landing light comes on to brightly illuminate the landing pad and environs so the bottom sensors can recognize it and the drone can make final landing adjustments. I use the joysticks to make lateral adjustments, as necessary, to ensure a safe landing.

If you've maintained VLOS, the green position lights on the front arms and auxiliary strobe(s) are very noticeable in the night sky. Rely on them and the compass or map on the controller display to bring your drone back if you're wary of RTH.