Coming Home To A Highrise

[Buzz*Bomb]

Greetings - Planning to purchase a MavicPro, but I'm on the 8th floor of a highrise. Can I program the RTH to hover at a certain location/elevation, without landing? if so, I can bring it to a point right outside my balcony, and manually fly it on to the deck. Is that possible??? -Buzz

 

[Buzz*Bomb]

I should have mentioned, the balcony has an overhang, so a vertical landing is not possible.

 

[msinger]

Can I program the RTH to hover at a certain location/elevation, without landing?

No. It'll descend until it reaches the ground.

While bringing it in manually would be possible, it would be safest to fly from the ground.

 

[Buzz*Bomb]

Thanks, that answers my question. Appreciate it very much!

 

[gjhick]

You can set the RTH altitude, and you can override RTH/landing at any point (except when battery is critical). So if you set RTH elevation above your building height, and are ready to override before it descends, flying it onto your balcony manually for the last few feet should be do-able.

 

[msinger]

Right, that could work. Things will get interesting though if RTH is automatically initiated and the remote controller is not able to reconnect before the Mavic descends.

 

[Lon Denard]

I wonder if it helps that he's taking off from there? As I understand it, the Mavic sets it's takeoff altitude to zero. I've launched mine from roofs and it's come right back and landed. The overhang is your primary problem, maybe make a landing platform that extends past your overhang?

 

[msinger]

As I understand it, the Mavic sets it's takeoff altitude to zero.

True. It doesn't rely on that data when landing though. It'll continue to descend until it reaches the ground (or some other solid obstacle).

 

[Lon Denard]

True. It doesn't rely on that data when landing though. It'll continue to descend until it reaches the ground (or some other solid obstacle).

Ah Arigatou Gozaimasu Sensei!

 

[msinger]

Doo itashimashite

 

[Buzz*Bomb]

I really appreciate all the feedback! This is the balcony I'm dealing with...



Is there any difference in the RTH functions of the DJI Go4 app, compared with Litchi? -Buzz

 

[Mossiback]

I see a lot of problems launching/landing from an eighth floor balcony.

• Magnetic interference
• Loss of satellite reception switching it from GPS to Atti mode causing drift at a critical time
• Neighbors upset about drone flying by their windows
• Wind turbulence around building
• You would need to reset the homepoint away from your balcony each time

Seriously, the risk does not seem worth it. Your pictures show you are on the water so if there were a mishap the odds are good that's where it will end up.

RTH works the same (or close enough) in Go 4 and Litchi, in that it would fly back to above the homepoint and then descend. I guess you could land it in a convenient spot, reset the homepoint there, and takeoff again.

If you go for it, get a set of prop guards and post the results.

 

[Buzz*Bomb]

Perfect response. You're right, the neighbors would not be happy campers. I have access to a large tennis court that's open above, so that will become my launch/land pad. THANKS!!

 

[Kingcoopa84]

I see a lot of problems launching/landing from an eighth floor balcony.

• Magnetic interference
• Loss of satellite reception switching it from GPS to Atti mode causing drift at a critical time
• Neighbors upset about drone flying by their windows
• Wind turbulence around building
• You would need to reset the homepoint away from your balcony each time

Seriously, the risk does not seem worth it. Your pictures show you are on the water so if there were a mishap the odds are good that's where it will end up.

RTH works the same (or close enough) in Go 4 and Litchi, in that it would fly back to above the homepoint and then descend. I guess you could land it in a convenient spot, reset the homepoint there, and takeoff again.

If you go for it, get a set of prop guards and post the results.

I am on the 10th floor with a similar balcony/overhang and have only launched there once because of your first and second points (and I have 25th floor roof access). I am in a large corner unit so can avoid flying by neighbors on either side and know the guy upstairs. On the rare occasion I do fly from the balcony I will have a friend take Mavic downstairs and take it off from the neighboring parking lot while controlling from the balcony.....then go fetch once I land. I assume you want to fly from there for the better range so this may be a viable option.