Flying indoor and low battery RTH

[BaNZ]

I just got the MA and live in NY Manhattan where it is a no fly zone so I'm learning it indoor. Read through the manual a couple of times. But still got some questions.

Been flying indoor with the following settings:

• App shows OPTI mode
• Turn on all lights indoor
• Set app for Failsafe RTH to hover.
• Tripod mode as soon as it hovers.
• Use propeller guards
• Sometimes I turn off obstacle detection because it is too annoying with the constant beeps and it also restrict the movements due to close objects (around 5ft).

My question is what would happen when it goes into low battery mode? From the manual it says if it is within 5m, RTH will just land at the current spot. I'm too scared to try that. I'm worried that it will ascend to the RTH altitude and hit the ceiling.

It also seems that many people was saying that if it pickup GPS, then it would also start behaving erratically. Since I'm living in a no fly zone, my guess is that it would force it to land immediately?

 

[Mossiback]

It looks like your settings are correct for inside flying. Downward positioning sensors sometimes causes it to rise up if it detects something (MP). I definitely turn off collision sensors indoors since they will constantly stop you if you don't.

You do mention "Tripod mode as soon as it hovers". I use Tripod mode only inside of a house. Also be aware that if you fly too close to the ceiling, it may suck itself to it.

...My question is what would happen when it goes into low battery mode? From the manual it says if it is within 5m, RTH will just land at the current spot. I'm too scared to try that. I'm worried that it will ascend to the RTH altitude and hit the ceiling....

I don't know about the MA but my MP gives me the option of cancelling low battery RTH.

...It also seems that many people was saying that if it pickup GPS, then it would also start behaving erratically...

Also regarding the MP; you can cover the top rear with alum foil held in place with rubber bands to prevent receiving GPS signal, forcing it into Atti mode. An earlier version of Go 4 showed inside my house a NFZ and the foil trick allowed me to fly. I don't know if this works on the Air.

 

[BaNZ]

Thanks, those tips are definitely very helpful and I'm going to try them out.

The aircraft will automatically return to the Home Point if no action is taken after a ten-second countdown. The user can cancel the RTH procedure by pressing the RTH button or Flight Pause button on the remote controller.

If the RTH procedure is cancelled following a low battery level warning the Intelligent Flight Battery may not have enough charge for the aircraft to land safely, which may lead to the aircraft crashing or being lost. The thresholds for the battery level warnings are automatically determined based on the aircraft’s current altitude and distance from the Home Point. Low Battery RTH will only be triggered one time during each ight.

The MA does give you the option of cancelling Low battery RTH but I'm wary of testing it indoor. Can't wait till I can go somewhere safe to test all the features out!

 

[Aerial-Pixel]

Flying the Mavic Air inside with the obstacle avoidance sensors on can be tricky. I flew mine inside the office and I wasn't able to do anything but go up or down as it sensed objects in front and behind.

 

[Travisimo]

The aircraft will only fly to the set RTH altitude if it is greater than 20m away, so you should be fine. In the advent that it mistakenly calculates your distance greater than 20m, it will give you a low-battery RTH warning and you have 10 seconds to cancel it. During the 10 second window, you can either cancel it in-app or just press the Pause button on the remote and that will also cancel it. Low-battery RTH will only initiate one time, so you don't have to worry about it doing it again during the same flight. When it gets to critical, it will just land. If you are very close to the aircraft, you could always just grab it (carefully) out of the air and tilt it sideways to turn off the motors (not recommended, but could be an emergency safeguard).

The aircraft flying to RTH altitude is a very small concern when flying close by indoors. You did the right thing by setting the fail-safe RTH to hover and turning the lights on so the vision system can work. I have not had any problems with GPS kicking in or out an causing the aircraft to behave erratically, but others have so it's definitely something to watch out for. Flying in tight quarters will definitely require turning off the obstacle avoidance if you actually want to move around. But as long as there is enough light, the aircraft should remain pretty stable indoors (and DJI even advertises it as having the ability to fly indoors).

DEFINITELY USE THE PROP GUARDS. I fly indoors in my house off and on, and I have bumped into a few walls with the prop guards on and it just bounces off. Without the guards, I would have had broken props, scuffed up walls, and possibly a damaged aircraft.