Does anybody else mistrust RTH?

[Donunder]

I must admit I have no reason to and the couple of times I have tested it it has worked flawlessly but I still find myself always flying home and landing manually. I just get very nervous letting the drone do it's own thing.

 

[MChittum]

It has always worked flawlessly for me! Just make sure you have the RTH altitude set high enough. When I have the opportunity to show someone how the RTH works, it amazes them every time. "Look no hands" and it returns and lands all by itself!

 

[Kate]

I find people either always use it, or never use it.
I used it this year for yuks once.
There was no way I was trusting a computer to land my 'unobtainable' last year.

 

[go fast]

I like to use it every once in a while just to make sure all is good , so far it's been flawless...

 

[Former Member]

I use return to home on every flight. I fly to my target, get the footage I need, then hit the RTH button. I want to make sure it works when I need it, climbs to and maintains correct predetermined altitude, increases speed, and flies straight back. and lands at the home point. The last thing I want to do is find out it isnt working when I have an emergency. Im also a private pilot, and my use of RTH comes from my private pilot habit of always looking for a place to land through the entire flight should the engine fail. RTH is just my insurance policy just in case of transmission failure. I want to know how the drone will respond.

 

[Jacknet007]

RTH works really well. Use it most of the time to build confidence that it will work in case of incident.

 

[SteelRain]

I also fly out do my thing and hit RTH and Mavic flies back like clock work around 60+ flights so far. I few times I lost signal the Mavic RTH also.

 

[dbyantis]

Pretty typical response to letting go of control.

Wait until driverless cars are rolled out.

I don't use RTH much and I prefer a manual transmission in my car.

 

[Boog0822]

Used RTH once just to see what would happen. It returned to home. I bought the drone to fly it, so I fly it home myself. For me more flying time = better pilot. I'll keep flying it myself.

 

[Kate]

I use return to home on every flight. I fly to my target, get the footage I need, then hit the RTH button. I want to make sure it works when I need it, climbs to and maintains correct predetermined altitude, increases speed, and flies straight back. and lands at the home point. The last thing I want to do is find out it isnt working when I have an emergency. Im also a private pilot, and my use of RTH comes from my private pilot habit of always looking for a place to land through the entire flight should the engine fail. RTH is just my insurance policy just in case of transmission failure. I want to know how the drone will respond.

I find that skewed logic.
Using it and making sure it are working are two different things.
It sounds like your relying on it more than anything.

As a pilot, your number one priority is "fly the plane" yes?
Anyone who is really flying their Mavic knows exactly where it is and don't need to use it.
It's not like it doesn't kick in automatically in any situation it is needed too.

If you like the novelty/convenience of not having to fly your drone home, that's fair enough.
But imho it's a good way to end up in a "it wasn't my fault" crashed thread

 

[Mako79]

I always manually fly home.
Makes you a better pilot. You have better orientation skills when navigating. You are always aware of the situation and have better reaction times.
With supersports, i fly back at twice the speed.

RTH button = last resort for me.

 

[Former Member]

I find that skewed logic.
Using it and making sure it are working are two different things.
It sounds like your relying on it more than anything.

Skewed logic would be to have the RTH feature, never familiarizing yourself with it, using it or testing it, and then complaining when you then tried to use it and it didnt do what you thought or assumed it was going to do. Thats where many people "end up in a "it wasn't my fault" crashed thread." I have seen and repaired enough of them to know. Hopefully in your case it will be there when you need it. Oh BTW, Im sure you make sure to check the RTH settings after every FW update right? (probably not as you evidently dont feel it necessary)

As a pilot, your number one priority is "fly the plane" yes?

No. #1 priority is to be safe. Anyone can fly.

Anyone who is really flying their Mavic knows exactly where it is and don't need to use it.
It's not like it doesn't kick in automatically in any situation it is needed too.

Do you really own a DJI product? You're saying that you always know where your Mavic is 100% of the time? You always know your attitude, altitude, orientation? No firmware or software glitches? Never a blank screen? You must be only hovering a few feet away, that would explain your hesitance and resistance to test and use one of the most important features of the Mavic. The ability to return to home in case it is experiencing a problem.

If you like the novelty/convenience of not having to fly your drone home, that's fair enough.

The novelty of my Mavic has long since worn away. Safety will always take left seat to novelty.

I hope that if you own any fire extinguishers, you test them every so often. Or maybe that's skewed logic too. "Ah it's there, I don't need to test it. Let's wait till the house is burning, it will be fine"

 

[Former Member]

@Kate, this response you made in a different thread about RTH shows your careless method of flying and and failure to exercise good judgement and safety. Have you really never pressed the RTH button on your controller?

"Ive yet to press the RTH button on my controller
I just wait for the signal to die, and let it do it.
If you just fly stick (ie: "Straight up"), and dont use all the "modes";
it's hard to have an incident that wasn't due to carelessness.
So i would relax and stop talking to yourself

 

[Kate]

No, hey, hey, Thunderdrones. No, come on.
You're a bro, man. Stick around

 

[mavic6611]

I must admit I have no reason to and the couple of times I have tested it it has worked flawlessly but I still find myself always flying home and landing manually. I just get very nervous letting the drone do it's own thing.

I frequently rth, it's nothing to worry about. just be aware that it won't always return home on the same path it you flew to the location. It will Always take the shortest flight path back. Ensure your RTH altitude is above and and beyond any possible obstructions. 340ft is pretty much a safe bet.

 

[SteelRain]

RTH is just a computer controller function that DJI built into their models for safety so many,many,many drones weren't lost in fly always. It's auto assisted flying mode that rises to the point you set and then flyies straight home and lands. I believe it's a pretty well tested and important feature at this point.

You also have assisted GPS flying mode and ground sensors/cameras that help hold position of the craft when in GPS modes ( Computer assisted feature also). You also have sensors on many models that keep you from running into stuff ( Computer assisted feature also)

You have several computer assisted modes on DJI models such as tap fly, draw, active track and etc etc also. Many apps have waypoints control also a computer assisted flying mode.

I'm not sure why using RTH is bad or makes you a bad pilot and everything else is ok? Sure turn everything else off fly 100% manual if that's your deal makes me no difference it's your craft. Personally, I like having the auto features they are there for a reason.

Safety wise, I always check the RTH before I take off making sure to match the location I'm flying. While in RTH I always monitor the craftt returning (can stop RTH if needed) I don't just walk away and stop paying attention that isn't smart by any means to do while craft is still in the air.

In the end it's whatever makes a person feel safe and happy. My only advice is learn and test all the modes on your drone so your familiar with them. And never leave/walk away from your controller while the drone is still in flight.

 

[Sevier456]

RTH is for emergency use only

I like to return and descend at the same to

I also hate listening to that beep I have a bebop and is return home just blinks on the screen not like a fire alarm

 

[SteelRain]

RTH is for emergency use only

I like to return and descend at the same to

I also hate listening to that beep I have a bebop and is return home just blinks on the screen not like a fire alarm

Yes the beep is annoying! Wish it could be turned off some how.

 

[snipealot]

I use RTH every single time, then I take manual control when it is descending. I don't need the practice, I fly RC 3D helicopters so in comparison the Mavic practically flies itself. Outside of equipment malfunction I don't really see how folks crash these things.

 

[Kate]

It can be done.

All you need to do is pull apart the controller, & stick some blue tak (or anything) in the speaker to dull, or mute it completely.
The trick is it's super hard to pull apart the controller, and not many people (including me) can do it.

From the videos i've seen, it looks easier to pull your Mavic apart.

edit:

I use RTH every single time, then I take manual control when it is descending. I don't need the practice, I fly RC 3D helicopters so in comparison the Mavic practically flies itself. Outside of equipment malfunction I don't really see how folks crash these things.

If you come from a R/C background (planes especially), it's like Controlling Valium huh