Course lock in Mavic 2 Pro found!

[kilomikebravo]

SAR: Many thanks. So it is in fact "course" lock, that's good to know.

In other words you can rotate the aircraft using the rudder as it moves but it will continue to fly that course.

Thanks amigo..it took me a couple seconds to answer my own question about the elevator. (too many years with elevators that make aircraft go up and down ) and I'm glad DJI got "course" correctly as that would be much more useful with an automated flight than heading hold.

 

[Phil Brinkman]

I'd be very careful with this mode - it looks like DJI purposefully disabled it, and most logical reason for that would be some kind of serious bug found during their testing.

Well, we never really know why DJI does what it does, do we? Maybe there's a bug, or maybe, for marketing reasons, they decided tap fly was sexier than course lock, so they pushed that instead. At any rate, I'd love it if someone here could replicate what I found, run it through its paces and see if you can identify any safety problems. Again, I know we can just use Litchi, but I prefer to use the native DJI app whenever possible.

 

[Boreynolds]

Like a lot of users here, I've been mystified and more than a little miffed at DJI for not including course lock on the Mavic 2 Pro (or rather, in the DJI GO 4 app, since it does exist in Litchi). If it was good enough for a Phantom 3 Standard, why on earth is it not standard with this model? Sure, there's Tap Fly, but you have to set the speed and glide path at the outset, and it kicks off before you can really plan your flight, so by the time I get my bearings and my camera where I want it, the drone is already under way.

Today I was playing around switching back and forth between the DJI GO 4 app and Litchi mid-flight, force-quitting each before starting the other. But one time I accidentally left LItchi running, with the course lock on, then switched to the DJI GO 4. When I did, the old-style course lock was running on that app, too. Not Tap Fly, but straight-up course lock, with all the stick controls still working. I could change the settings in the DJI app; that is, I wasn't locked into the settings I put into the Litchi app. The DJI app even had the window I remember from my old Phantom where you could select "hide" or "exit."

So clearly the Mavic 2 Pro has course lock functionality, and the DJI GO 4 app has the ability to tap into that. Which just again raises the question: Why is this not one of the native intelligent flight modes in the app?

I'm a bit confused. I've been using Course Lock since I bought my M2P inside Hyperlapse's
boreynoldsradio

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

I'm a bit confused. I've been using Course Lock since I bought my M2P inside Hyperlapse's

Most folk don't consider that a reasonable replacement for the video-centric course-lock we had in previous DJI ACs.

 

[Phil Brinkman]

I'm a bit confused. I've been using Course Lock since I bought my M2P inside Hyperlapse's
boreynoldsradio

Right, it’s there as part of hyperlapse. But in other DJI models it’s one of the intelligent flight modes in normal flight/video operations. Another reason it makes no sense that it’s not standard with the Mavic 2.

 

[Boreynolds]

Most folk don't consider that a reasonable replacement for the video-centric course-lock we had in previous DJI ACs.

Got it. Thanks.
boreynoldsradio

 

[HoozierDroneDaddy]

Since you can go into the code on DJI assistant and for example change your side switch to turn on ATTI mode vs Tripod mode, maybe their is a setting where you can turn on Course-Lock so it shows in the smart mode menu. Just a thought.

 

[paulatkin73]

Since you can go into the code on DJI assistant and for example change your side switch to turn on ATTI mode vs Tripod mode, maybe their is a setting where you can turn on Course-Lock so it shows in the smart mode menu. Just a thought.

i did not find it. it is what is also called 'headless' or a 'simple' mode where you can yaw drone around but if you pull stick toward you - it comes toward you no matter where it looks. it is pointless for long distance and FPV flights, but, when you film something at VLOS it actually can be quite usable, as you can fly side by side with something and rotate camera toward the subject without losing the sense of what is right and left.

dunno, did not see it. if it is in there - it sits in something that is not quite obvious, imho.
but, good to know it still exists.

 

[GadgetGuy]

i did not find it. it is what is also called 'headless' or a 'simple' mode where you can yaw drone around but if you pull stick toward you - it comes toward you no matter where it looks. it is pointless for long distance and FPV flights, but, when you film something at VLOS it actually can be quite usable, as you can fly side by side with something and rotate camera toward the subject without losing the sense of what is right and left.

dunno, did not see it. if it is in there - it sits in something that is not quite obvious, imho.
but, good to know it still exists.

You should be able to use RTH for this purpose, turning off obstacle avoidance, to allow you to yaw the drone during the return on that straight line. Just send the drone out to the point from which you wish the course lock to originate from and take off from the other point. At least it used to work that way.