How I Lost My Mavic 2 Zoom

[JimP Florida]

All good info , thanks to all.

 

[Altaman]

Rule number 1 that I go by is until I feel comfortable I will not fly outside my comfort zone.

Rule 2 is if you don't have complete confidence, don't do it.

Rule 3 Is these are electronic devices and as such if you don't want to lose it don't take chances.

 

[charliesRig]

I don't understand..??
...................................... So many question..??

I get it you crashed your MP2
So you given all hope locating and possibly retrieving it.?

I fly the MP1 and I don't think your going to be happy with the MP1 after Flying a MP2
Your flying buddy has a Mavic.?
MP1 or MP2.?

On my MP1 if it loses signal with controller It will RTH
if My battery level gets below 20% (programable) it will RTH

if your buddy has a MP I think you might be able to View the Crash sight
if you can find it.... you might be able to lift it out with another MP1 they are a Beast
and have been known to lift another MP1
the MP1 will lift 2.5 lb
the MP1 weight is slightly over 2.lb
......LIftable.!
.
Maximum Lifting force?
.

.....cR

 

[atis]

One week ago today, on October 13th, I flew into this gulch called "Buzzard's Roost." A friend took this photo of the ravine with his drone - but he was smarter than I and did not attempt to fly as far into the gulch as I did. I have added text and arrows to his photo to explain what happened.
View attachment 50875

Can't understand why ten minutes into flight the battery level drops way down? Why is this?

 

[Ian in London]

So reading this forms a key question in my mind. I have my max-altitude set at the 400-foot limit. Should I say "Rules be damned" and set it much higher to avoid this error, and just make sure when I'm manually controlling my drone that I stay below 400 feet? I mean, RTH is usually the result of a loss of signal or some other issue that I wouldn't reasonably expect. If max flight height isn't restricted systemically, but rather managed during flight ... is that a way to prevent this from ever happening to me?

I'm a "techno-geek" and one of the teams I manage does "Closed Loop Corrective Action work. Is "Reset Max Height to, say, 800 feet" the answer here?

Thoughts?

It's hard when flying in hilly terrain. Remember the RTH altitude is the height above take off point that the drone will rise to when it loses signal, irrespective of the actual terrain height below its current position. As others have mentioned, the 400' limit applies to the drone's current position, but it will always rise to whatever height you've set in RTH mode. Making it rise up 500 metres is a mighty high climb if the battery is getting low. I would defo have it higher than 400', but precisely how high should really be based on how high the hills are around you.
One final point to note, if you're already flying higher than the preset RTH altitude and lose signal, it won't descend to the RTH altitude; it heads back at the current altitude at the time of signal loss. (equally it won't rise up either)
Cheers
Ian

 

[Kilrah]

Can't understand why ten minutes into flight the battery level drops way down? Why is this?

You don't always take off with a full battery.

 

[kilomikebravo]

PS I'm patiently waiting for DJI to come out with a radar altimeter.

A radio altimeter sure would be helpful.

 

[Meta4]

A radio altimeter sure would be helpful.

For this kind of price, I think I can manage without it
μLanding™ Lite Microwave Radar Altimeter Introduction Package - Aerotenna

 

[Fly_Boy]

Change your max altitude to 500 meters. I fly in the mountains and it is surprising how fast the terrain rises going up hill. This means YOU must monitor the altitude above ground of the aircraft to maintain the 400 foot ceiling. I have been 1500 feet above takeoff, yet flying only 100 feet above the terrain. Sometimes the only way to do that is check the camera looking down and judge by the scale of known objects, like a road.

If you landed near the 500m your recorded takeoff point would be at that altitude. And yes I realize that if you rely on the automated return to home function that it would want to land there! But could get to top of 3000’ Mountain!

 

[Fly_Boy]

Can't understand why ten minutes into flight the battery level drops way down? Why is this?

Bad battery!

 

[Flynz]

Hey Hermitdog, sorry for your loss. Great to see a 76 YO out with the latest tech. I’m 61.

you can change your max altitude during a flight and should do so when you get around higher ground. So if flying towards a ridge (and before going behind it) eyeball the top, guess the height and add it to 400 ft. You can set max height at 1000 ft but you do not have to fly that high. Also reset the RTH altitude to clear the ridge That way if you lose signal the Mavic will return.

The key learning is to think dynamically. I just stop for a bit, maybe do a 360 and think about my surroundings, objects and my key settings. Think about wind and time. Reflect on the rest of the flight and any changes I might need to make to settings or my plans.

By way of example I flew VLOS amongst hills and could see the area where the drone was but not the actual drone itself. So I popped up till the top of the ridge was on the horizon, added 400ft to that altitude in max altitude and RTH and then dropped back down and kept flying low and slow.

Dont worry about breaking FAA rules when you clear the ridge. You should have signal and be able to go manual again.

The final lesson was battery. Maybe you loitered too much on the way out hence the low battery?
Cheers
Flynz

 

[Flynz]

So reading this forms a key question in my mind. I have my max-altitude set at the 400-foot limit. Should I say "Rules be damned" and set it much higher to avoid this error, and just make sure when I'm manually controlling my drone that I stay below 400 feet? I mean, RTH is usually the result of a loss of signal or some other issue that I wouldn't reasonably expect. If max flight height isn't restricted systemically, but rather managed during flight ... is that a way to prevent this from ever happening to me?

I'm a "techno-geek" and one of the teams I manage does "Closed Loop Corrective Action work. Is "Reset Max Height to, say, 800 feet" the answer here?

Thoughts?

Yep. If you are near anything high then set height above it and watch the altitude. I make changes on the fly. See my full response.

The exception would be if you are in a sesnsitive area, perhaps there are aircraft around or a zone and you are relying on sheltered flying (same height as an object within 100m). In that case don’t go behind anything. Stay close. But you literally can not fly up a ridge without changing the settings.

 

[Tffd27]

A key point is that the 400’ FAA limit is AGL not above launch point. If you launch and fly to a 100’ ridge you can legally fly 400’ above that ridge or 500’ above launch point when above ridge.