Flight Data Center question

tommytavor · Apr 8, 2022

I tried looking in the DJI instruction manual and didn't see anything.
I was recently flying in a valley surrounded by small mountains on a windy day. I had a visual sight on my mini 2 which was about 1500 feet away over the valley. Any direction that I turned I saw the mountains. I tried to bring it back to me, but ended up flying at a 90 degree angle for about 10 seconds. But I finally fought the wind and got it back. Being a new owner, I didn't think about the RTH button or using the compass on the bottom left, I was watching the mini. Could I have used my Flight Data Center to get the drone back to me or would I have to go out of the flight app to view it.

Thanks,
Tommy

fgurnee01 · Apr 8, 2022

I am no expert but if you tap the Compass you get the map. That is extremely useful in figuring out where the drone is and heading. It can also show the direct line to follow to fly home. When I “lost” my drone, above and behind trees, I of course was looking in the sky to figure it out. Had I looked at the map, panic would have subsided. You can touch the map and swap with the camera view to get the big picture. I also found my RTH attempt failed as I hit the button twice. I have practiced all of that stuff now.

tommytavor · Apr 9, 2022

Thank you for the response and common sense that I lost on that windy valley day.

Chaosrider · Apr 9, 2022

On the "Compass" view, which I now always have up in the lower left corner, it shows three locations, the drone, the homepoint, and the controller. If you rotate the display so that the drone icon is pointing directly toward you, just fly forward (right upstick) and the drone will come straight toward you.

I strongly recommend getting a strobe, either the regular Firehouse Arc strobe, or go for the max and get the Arc V. Strobes make an amazing difference in terms of being able to see the drone. They can also provide orientation information. I mount my strobes on the butts of my Minis, on the back of the battery cover.

If you then rotate the drone to maximize the intensity of the strobe, it's pointing directly away from you. Just back straight up from there, keep the strobe at it's max brightness, and the drone will be coming home.

I live and fly in a steep canyon in the Sierra Nevada, and I occasionally get the high wind warning. When that happens, Ms Fly will tell you to lower your altitude if safe to do so, and tells you that RTH won't work. I'm not quite sure how it detects high winds, perhaps it's based on the power required to remain its GPS position.

Fly safe! If you try new things incrementally, rather than going Buckaroo Banzai, you won't go far wrong!

;-)

MM