LANDING!

[Squidinc]

I’ve only been flying my MA2 for a couple of months now. This is my first drone and I live in NSW Australia and fly mostly every day if the conditions tick the boxes in UAV forecast. (Excellent app btw) I am well & truly “hooked” now as a new pilot, and amazed at what the MA2 can do. I’m a big fan of using RTH on the majority of flights. Always where it’s new terrain! Sometimes I use RTH until I can get a visual on the drone & then manually land it. Other times I’ll bring it all the way home completely using RTH. There is nothing more comforting than hearing that beautiful word...... Landing!

 

[Nonprophet]

I'm a newbie too. That said, I rarely use RTH because I think it's much better to have full control and situational awareness of the drone that to just rely on pushing a button to get it back to me. A LOT of the crashes I hear about are because of RTH problems--usually involving not setting the altitude parameters properly for the situation. Just my $.02

 

[bmwbob]

Sometimes I hit RTH to set direction correctly, then fly home manually.

 

[lannes]

Aren't you supposed to be in lock down

 

[Brockrock]

I’ve only been flying my MA2 for a couple of months now. This is my first drone and I live in NSW Australia and fly mostly every day if the conditions tick the boxes in UAV forecast. (Excellent app btw) I am well & truly “hooked” now as a new pilot, and amazed at what the MA2 can do. I’m a big fan of using RTH on the majority of flights. Always where it’s new terrain! Sometimes I use RTH until I can get a visual on the drone & then manually land it. Other times I’ll bring it all the way home completely using RTH. There is nothing more comforting than hearing that beautiful word...... Landing!

I normally takeoff from the lid of my hard case or hand launch in order to avoid ground dust, and as far as landing goes, whether you use RTH and let it auto land or decide to land manually, you need to consider where it is going to land. Ground dust should be avoided at all costs when the props are spinning. I normally hand catch.

 

[Squidinc]

Aren't you supposed to be in lock down

Not in NSW.

 

[old man mavic]

for me RTH is a failsafe if a signal issue happens ,i prefer to fly manually back home ,i will use it now and then to see if it still works then cancel when it gets above me it is so easy to use the map to orientate the direction of the drone back home anyway,and i like to descend to home as i am coming back ,and the biggest plus, is you dont have to listen to the good old RTH bleep ,

 

[THE CYBORG]

As above ⬆

 

[PhantomFandom]

I’ve only been flying my MA2 for a couple of months now. This is my first drone and I live in NSW Australia and fly mostly every day if the conditions tick the boxes in UAV forecast. (Excellent app btw) I am well & truly “hooked” now as a new pilot, and amazed at what the MA2 can do. I’m a big fan of using RTH on the majority of flights. Always where it’s new terrain! Sometimes I use RTH until I can get a visual on the drone & then manually land it. Other times I’ll bring it all the way home completely using RTH. There is nothing more comforting than hearing that beautiful word...... Landing!

Totally agree with the others that in general RTH should not be your go-to method of returning home. It will make you a better pilot overall if you get used to navigating back on your own. Test RTH every so often just to make sure you remember how to check the parameters, activate it, and also deactivate it. However it is better to have RTH in an emergency when you are having issues with manual return, rather than always depending on it and not having the manual piloting skills when you eventually have an issue with RTH.

 

[Squidinc]

Totally agree with the others that in general RTH should not be your go-to method of returning home. It will make you a better pilot overall if you get used to navigating back on your own. Test RTH every so often just to make sure you remember how to check the parameters, activate it, and also deactivate it. However it is better to have RTH in an emergency when you are having issues with manual return, rather than always depending on it and not having the manual piloting skills when you eventually have an issue with RTH.

I tend to disagree. I can fly back manually in the majority of flights, however I don’t think RTH technology should just be used in an “emergency”? Each to their own, but personally I think it’s great, & makes most of my flights more safe & enjoyable. Important, though I agree that you need to be cognisant of adequate RTH altitudes for the terrain you’re in.

 

[THE CYBORG]

I like to fly for myself R,T,H takes the fun out of it.

 

[DavidT_ NZ]

I like to fly for myself R,T,H takes the fun out of it.

I enjoy high tech and watching the smarts of an Air 2 rotate, elevate, return via GPS positioning then orientate and descend on an updating correction path over a landing pad is simply brilliant! And when Fx1 turns the gimbal vertically down and I watch the crosshair carefully track on to the “H” then Fx2 puts the LED on, for late afternoon RTH landings, it is the icing on the cake. If darkness limits the optical comparisons, I manually tweak the landing in Tripod Mode as the LED is like a floodlight. And on launching, I check the surrounding obstructions with the gimbal set level, to confirm the RTH height setting. For flying practice, I get loads between launch and landing! Absolutely a great way to fly an Air 2. ????????

 

[PhantomFandom]

Each to their own, but personally I think it’s great, & makes most of my flights more safe

Yes it is just my opinion of course.

Think about this though...
If you are taking a commercial flight, would you rather have a pilot that always flies manually but knows how to use autopilot when needed, or would you rather fly with the pilot that always sets the autopilot for his flights and just watches?

 

[Bekanne]

I'm a newbie too. That said, I rarely use RTH because I think it's much better to have full control and situational awareness of the drone that to just rely on pushing a button to get it back to me. A LOT of the crashes I hear about are because of RTH problems--usually involving not setting the altitude parameters properly for the situation. Just my $.02

It depends on the location. I rarely use RTH because I often fly in a rural - suburban area, with trees and power lines. Where wide open, I'll use it. So I don't think there are any hard rules about what's best except safety.

 

[Squidinc]

Yes it is just my opinion of course.

Think about this though...
If you are taking a commercial flight, would you rather have a pilot that always flies manually but knows how to use autopilot when needed, or would you rather fly with the pilot that always sets the autopilot for his flights and just watches?

A drone pilot doesn’t have 300+ passengers to be concerned about. Hardly apples to apples.

 

[razoraerial]

Yes it is just my opinion of course.

Think about this though...
If you are taking a commercial flight, would you rather have a pilot that always flies manually but knows how to use autopilot when needed, or would you rather fly with the pilot that always sets the autopilot for his flights and just watches?

I am real sure that’s what they do almost all automatic and watch. Lol. Besides automation is consistent. Maybe not on the drones we fly but in general Well that’s what they tell us automation engineers

 

[Bekanne]

A drone pilot doesn’t have 300+ passengers to be concerned about. Hardly apples to apples.

True. There are people, lots of people, who fly drones without regard or understanding of the safety of others. That was my meaning. Safety first.
I'm sometimes shocked to learn how sometimes people do not understand how the drone can end up as a drone strike. I never fly that high so perhaps I didn't consider everything. : )

 

[snapdog]

I live in an area where there are lots of trees and wires. When I’m ready to go home I consult with my GPS and see exactly where it is then head home. I follow my return with the GPS screen which I find is accurate.

 

[Peterson]

Tomatoes tomotoes. To each his own. The highest obstruction I have in my normal flight area is 150 feet. I hit return to home and know that it will return and clear any obstructions and accurately land on my landing pad each and every time. Been flying for 10 months with hundreds of flights and have never had more then a six inch misalignment on landings with RTH feature. I keep an eye on battery life and when it hits 20 percent home she comes. For me it is more fun to watch the technology work on the landings then manually landing myself. Yes, I have done enough manual landings to feel comfortable with my abilities in that area. Just my personal preference.

 

[SkyeHigh]

‘Sometimes I use RTH until I can get a visual on the drone & then manually land it.’

Shouldn’t you have a visual on it at ALL times?