Can we use waypoints to create a one way mission to land at a location well beyond the range of the Mavic 2?

[Ken-Mav-Mtl]

I commented earlier today to a post in the DJI Smart Controller section (USING TWO CONTROLLERS FOR 7 MILE RIVER CROSSING). Perhaps this section is better suited?
The question is: Can one fly the Mavic to a point that is beyond the return to home (RTH) function (i.e. fly across a river 7 mile wide) by programming a mission using waypoints, and instructing the Mav to land at the last waypoint 7 miles away? Doing so would require that a suitable landing site be surveyed before making the flight.

 

[The Editor]

I commented earlier today to a post in the DJI Smart Controller section (USING TWO CONTROLLERS FOR 7 MILE RIVER CROSSING). Perhaps this section is better suited?
The question is: Can one fly the Mavic to a point that is beyond the return to home (RTH) function (i.e. fly across a river 7 mile wide) by programming a mission using waypoints, and instructing the Mav to land at the last waypoint 7 miles away? Doing so would require that a suitable landing site be surveyed before making the flight.

You give no indication what country you are in.
Without this, it's impossible to advise of the legality of your mission.

 

[Ken-Mav-Mtl]

In Canada, where I reside, this would be illegal (max distance is 500 meters) and foolish to fly beyond VLOS. But aside from that issue, could it be done, in theory?

The range of 7 miles or 11.265 kilometers is within the Mav 2 range since it should easily fly that distance based upon the RTH observed speed of 43.2 kilometers/hr in very light lateral winds [5 - 10km/hr] in a recent flight test. I estimate that it would not drain the battery by more than 50-60%, taking into account launch and landing.

I would not recommend doing such a mission, but my post was in reply to a post in the Smart Controller section.

 

[WithTheBirds]

You give no indication what country you are in.
Without this, it's impossible to advise of the legality of your mission.

OP didn't ask about legality. Do you know the answer? Whether it is legal should have no impact on if it might be possible.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

from my experience in remote landing Im pretty sure you cannot keep a signal 7 miles away, but in theory of course you can , but the reality is doom and gloom

Despite that negative energy , I would practice your remote landing ability as its not as easy as you would think and demands time from the battery to get it right.

Also remember that it only takes 1 miss step and your drone is landing anywhere it wants to land once that battery depletes.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly you Mavic in the rain
Coal

 

[53-63-6f-74-74]

I commented earlier today to a post in the DJI Smart Controller section (USING TWO CONTROLLERS FOR 7 MILE RIVER CROSSING). Perhaps this section is better suited?
The question is: Can one fly the Mavic to a point that is beyond the return to home (RTH) function (i.e. fly across a river 7 mile wide) by programming a mission using waypoints, and instructing the Mav to land at the last waypoint 7 miles away? Doing so would require that a suitable landing site be surveyed before making the flight.

Your question was already answered in the other thread. Yes, it will work fine if you turn off SMART return to home.

 

[GadgetGuy]

You give no indication what country you are in.
Without this, it's impossible to advise of the legality of your mission.

He wasn't asking for advice as to legality, but as to the technical capability.
Can, not may!

 

[Dan C]

I commented earlier today to a post in the DJI Smart Controller section (USING TWO CONTROLLERS FOR 7 MILE RIVER CROSSING). Perhaps this section is better suited?
The question is: Can one fly the Mavic to a point that is beyond the return to home (RTH) function (i.e. fly across a river 7 mile wide) by programming a mission using waypoints, and instructing the Mav to land at the last waypoint 7 miles away? Doing so would require that a suitable landing site be surveyed before making the flight.

The attempt is probably illegal.

Yes, at least theoretically. Depends on the type/capacity of your drone, but that should be the only barrier ( ignoring legal issues).

Disable anything on the drone that'll trigger auto-RTH. Set a waypoint near your launch point, set another on a flat place on the far bank, and set the action at the end of the mission to “land”.

If you push the battery too far, your drone may auto-land before reaching the far bank.

But in theory, you could do it.

If it doesn’t make it, your drone is gone.

 

[GFields]

This can be done using the Litchi app. The last waypoint set across the river and in settings under "Finish Action" select "Land" However, it is very important that the final waypoint is located where the drone can land unobstructed, otherwise the drone could be damaged. One thing I like about the Litchi app is that the mission will continue even if the signal is lost between the aircraft and remote. I cannot overemphasize the importance of WELL planning.

With that said, a question I have is, "then what?" Is there going to be someone on the other side to send it back?

 

[Cdcolt]

I commented earlier today to a post in the DJI Smart Controller section (USING TWO CONTROLLERS FOR 7 MILE RIVER CROSSING). Perhaps this section is better suited?
The question is: Can one fly the Mavic to a point that is beyond the return to home (RTH) function (i.e. fly across a river 7 mile wide) by programming a mission using waypoints, and instructing the Mav to land at the last waypoint 7 miles away? Doing so would require that a suitable landing site be surveyed before making the flight.

As someone already stated using the Litchi app will allow you to create a waypoint “mission” that the aircraft will follow without your intervention. This does not require a signal from the RC. It will complete the mission and take whatever finish action you’ve programmed in. The mission can also contain pauses for photos, POI focus stops, etc. It’s pretty comprehensive. The only things left to you are calculating the distance/time limits for your aircraft under the local conditions and making sure you’re landing spot is unobstructed. I know you’ve already talked about legality?

 

[v10tdi]

Your question was already answered in the other thread. Yes, it will work fine if you turn off SMART return to home.

Does anyone know this other thread or if the Land action at the end of a Litchi mission will work with the Phantom 4 Pro that is disconnected from the radio? No matter what configurations I've tried, the Phantom will RTH instead of "Land" at the last waypoint IF the drone is disconnected from the radio. Essentially, the behavior I'm experiencing is described in this older (P3) thread.

Edit: and just to be clear, I did confirm that "Smart RTH" setting is disabled in both Litchi and DJI apps. If you cut the radio, the P4P will execute the RTH sequence after the mission is complete - even if signal is disconnect while executing the Land after mission action.

 

[AMann]

I commented earlier today to a post in the DJI Smart Controller section (USING TWO CONTROLLERS FOR 7 MILE RIVER CROSSING). Perhaps this section is better suited?
The question is: Can one fly the Mavic to a point that is beyond the return to home (RTH) function (i.e. fly across a river 7 mile wide) by programming a mission using waypoints, and instructing the Mav to land at the last waypoint 7 miles away? Doing so would require that a suitable landing site be surveyed before making the flight.

Why? ?

 

[Dan C]

I’m just thinking you could have safely tested all of this over land somewhere by now.

It’s a great idea to check stuff in this forum, but sometimes the best thing is to Suck it and See.

Grab your drone, and maybe a patient friend, and drive out of the city/town you live in.

Prepare your setup for flight. Mark a waypoint in Litchi.

Drive to a point that represents the distance across the river you want to cross. Mark the waypoint, give your friend a camping chair, and leave them there (to ensure your drone doesn’t get stolen). Optional of course.

Drive back to your starting point.

Make sure you set the mission to “land” when it finishes.

Disable Smart RTH. Disable any setting you have that triggers RTH, or set it to something suitable if “off” is not an option. An example would be low battery behavior.

Launch the mission, and stay put till your friend calls you to say it’s landed. Or, maybe try turning off your controller to test the drone’a behavior; now you can follow it if you wish.

Very soon, you will know the answers to all questions.

In theory, if anything goes amiss, one way or another, it should end up simply landing somewhere.

You minimize risk to your drone, and you have real answers.

Enjoy.

 

[v10tdi]

I’m just thinking you could have safely tested all of this over land somewhere by now...

I like your advice. I'm not sure about the OP, but I did test my P4P and the Phantom will RTH instead of "Land" at the last waypoint IF the drone is disconnected from the radio. It will even execute a RTH and abort a "Land" after-mission action that is already underway if the radio is disconnected before touch-down is complete. As I noted above, the behavior I'm experiencing with Litchi "Land" after-mission action and the P4P is described in this older (P3) thread. Smart RTH is disabled (both Litchi and DJI) and makes no difference in the P4P behavior.

Since the Mavic will apparently execute the "Land" after-mission action while disconnected from the radio, I was hoping someone might be able to shed additional light or a known (tested) workaround. I think the best I could probably do to workaround the P4P behavior in this circumstance is to set enough waypoints at the destination that are low enough that an assistant can grab the drone mid-air or fly until auto-land is triggered when the battery is exhausted (something like move forward+ascend, move backward+descend, repeat). There are perhaps some other workarounds, thus my question here (and other places). I'd rather it not land just randomly...

 

[Dan C]

There are a lot of places that I find things that will trigger RTH.

I'm wondering... I assume you have Litchi set to "Continue mission" on loss of signal.

But what behavior do you have set for loss of signal while manually flying? If that is set to RTH, then it could be that this is kicking in once the mission is ended. Litchi says, "Mission over, land". But if the mission is over, does it consider you are now in manual control? And if it does, well hey, no signal! Better RTH.

In the DJI app, I see lots of things that can trigger RTH. Loss of signal is of course one -- can you set the action to "None" on the Phantom?

I'd fire up DJI 4 Go, and carefully and thoroughly go through everything, looking for anything that might trigger an RTH. Turn them off, or set to the lowest trigger point (like low battery).

Then kill it, and load Litchi. Repeat.

If it still interrupts the landing with an RTH (which suggests Litchi considers it is in some manual/limbo mode) then I have a Plan B for you.

---

This will shorten your range some, but no programming needed, and behavior problems will disappear ...

Go to your landing spot. Do your "thing" with the joysticks to start the motors, but do not push up on the joystick to engage hover mode.

Unless I'm mistaken, this is sufficient to set the Home Point? This is the one point I'm not certain of... But if I'm correct...

Now hare off to the distant "start" point. Cross the river by a fast boat, or hightail it over a bridge, whatever. You'll need help -- your drone's props will be on low speed idle, so you can't just set it down. Or maybe you can... On low idle, it shouldn't use too much battery.

If this half-cocked, ridiculous scheme of mine actually works, when you get to the other side of the river, just take out your drone, push up to make it hover, then trigger RTH.

If the Home Point did in fact get set when you engaged the motors, it should return there and land, and every single safety feature that triggers RTH will merely confirm what it is already doing. Returning to home point, and landing. If I'm wrong, it will set a Home Point when you engage hover, and RTH will land it right at your feet. No harm, no foul.

But maybe, it will do what you want.

Unless it runs out of battery mid stream!

Okay. I'm ready for incoming pie in the face.