Lost Mavic Pro 2

[DanMan32]

It would have to be able to go higher than RTH height, since RTH height is what it starts out when returning (assuming distance and not already above RTH height). Otherwise it could never go over obstacles. The question is, will it exceed max height. That I bet it will not.

 

[LarryM]

I'm not adding anything but an engrossing set of discussions. I just had a RC disconnect while in a wooded canyon, along with bad GPS coverage. I was very worried, turned off and restarted the RC. It was in RTH mode (which I stopped because I was not sure it had a correct home position recorded). Once the connection was reestablished I pointed the camera around trying to find out where I was then looked straight up in my narrow clearing and there it was, MP directly overhead. This flight did not record in the GO4 app, but I need to go back to see if there is any flight information left somewhere.

 

[dbherberg]

Congratulations!

That bears saying again: CONGRATULATIONS!!

 

[Wipster]

Hi!
Unfortunately, my first post in the forum will be in this section... Yesterday I lost my Mavic Pro 2.
After a while the connection with the RC was lost and I was not able to re-establish the connection.
I was calm at first, trusted it would return to RTH when the battery reached critic level.
But it didn't return...

I was out looking for a few hours, using Flight Recorder and Find my Drone, but no luck.
I searched around the area of last contact and I also walked from the RTH to the last location. No Mavic in sight.

If anyone is up for it, I would love to get some help retrieving my beloved drone.
Any tips on where to look would be very helpful.

I am planning to go back tomorrow, the surroundings is really harsh, with a lot of trees, hillsides and rocky ground.
DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

Looks like rth doesn’t work around mountains.

 

[Fiberjim]

Definitely need to buy and install a boosted antenna system from Tirran Drones. If you are going to be flying in wooded areas then this is a must have.

 

[Fiberjim]

Titan Drones

 

[Bledsoe1qb]

I really enjoy reading these stories we have some real talented people here willing to help.

 

[Rusty in Bend]

Congratulations on being reunited with your friend. The lesson learned here for me is the following equations:

RTH Setting = Highest Elevation + Highest Obstacle + 100 Feet

One thing I learned from another thread is that RTH calculates "0 Feet" from the takeoff point, meaning that any elevation could, in a worst case, cause a drone to hit the ground or an obstacle even if the RTH elevation is set to a reasonable return altitude.

A 200-foot hill could crash a 150 foot RTH, even if nothing at the takeoff point is over 100 feet high (just an example). I realize the sensors should prevent that, but just like "real" airplane pilots, there's a reason why flight paths identify "Minimum Safe Altitude" on all navigation charts.

Also, beware of "Meters vs. Feet". When I flew C-130's in the Marine Corps, we had to retrieve and return the bodies of an aircrew in Korea that tried to fly over a 1,200-Meter mountain (reading an international chart) at 3,500-feet during a training flight. That didn't work out so well for them. Flight recorders showed them "straight and level" at 3,500 feet with a panic pull-up, followed by a skid along a high tree-line, followed by engine failure from ingesting branches, followed by a visit from the Korean Air Force Chaplain to their next of kin.

Suggestion to DJI for future releases ... when you give us the setting for Feet vs. Meters ... please ripple that into setting where everything is logged as one or the other. Current settings for "Max Altitude", and "RTH", and others are all in Meters even if you select "Imperial" for your main display.

That would be a nice enhancement to prevent mistakes like the one committed by my Korean friends.

 

[maxv77]

Great news. Your one lucky chap.

 

[FLPilotshark]

Hi!
Unfortunately, my first post in the forum will be in this section... Yesterday I lost my Mavic Pro 2.
After a while the connection with the RC was lost and I was not able to re-establish the connection.
I was calm at first, trusted it would return to RTH when the battery reached critic level.
But it didn't return...

I was out looking for a few hours, using Flight Recorder and Find my Drone, but no luck.
I searched around the area of last contact and I also walked from the RTH to the last location. No Mavic in sight.

If anyone is up for it, I would love to get some help retrieving my beloved drone.
Any tips on where to look would be very helpful.

I am planning to go back tomorrow, the surroundings is really harsh, with a lot of trees, hillsides and rocky ground.
DJI Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I might not be able to help you get your drone back but I know what you can do to prevent this from ever happening again with a little tiny mini GPS called Trackimo or a knock off like the one I got have on mine - its called the RF-V16 but it works..

They were made for drones for lost and recovery! When I fly over any type of distance and wooded areas i always USE my mini RF -v16 and a 3d holder that I had made specially for the my Dji Mavic Pro. It has a sim card inside of the GPS which means it a two way communication device and has its own cell number that you can call on and receive text message automatically! Its pretty cool for 50 bucks , you it can send a text message of the exact location of the drone to your phone. The Battery life is 48 hrs. You're going to hear a lot of people saying that "hey it messes with the compass since it;s installed in the back of the plane.

Let's put it this way, Its awesome it's only like $0.05ea a text on your cell plan. The only Con is that a lot of carriers no longer carry the old school 2G network.


More info on the GPS Tracker for the Phantom.
Click here -------RF-V16 GPS Tracker

 

[FMR]

Glory to the persistent!
View attachment 52515
I have retrieved the drone.. I can't really believe it, but it is saved.
When I was hiking up the hill to the presumed crash site and the nearby location where the suspected tree is lurking, I took a slightly different path than previous hikes.
About half way up the hill, I suddenly saw this sad little gizmo lying on the ground...
View attachment 52516
The location was not really on any of the routes or locations where I focused my search, I don't know where it was heading really.
Not a single scratch on the drone, not even the propellers were broken.
Of course I will let it dry and attend to it before I try flying again.

Here comes the bonus! When finding the drone, I also got the images and video from the incident.
HI hope this will shed more light on what happened.
In the the video you can see the drone suddenly stopping, turning around and on its way back to the RTH the way got blocked by the tree (Yes, I think its THE tree @sar104 ) . It hovered there for about 5 minutes before taking of in a direction pretty far from the route back to the RTH.
This is where I found the drone.
60.657022,15.033512
View attachment 52517

I hope the video and seeing what happened will help you in future hunts for lost drones.
At last, thank you for your great support. You are the best.

The video (The connection was lost at approx at 0.10 , just before it starts panning.) :

Man that is weird ** **
Pretty much hung around amongst trees until it brushed a few branches and dropped from branch to branch .
Lucky you found it definitely very lucky **

 

[damonha]

Well done, such a great find! That truly is an amazing piece of video too... in the end the poor little chap just got too confused.

 

[Jorgeo65]

seeing the joy on your face made me feel happy, looks like you have found a lost puppy.
very happy for you, by the way, hows the drone, all working, camera , gimble?

 

[Nosebump]

I'm very impressed with how obstacle avoidance kicked in earlier in the video, not just once, but several times! My only thought is what would've happened if RTH was set at, say, 370'? Would it have climbed and cleared all of the obstacles enough for a clear path to home?

 

[bluntnose]

I'm very impressed with how obstacle avoidance kicked in earlier in the video, not just once, but several times! My only thought is what would've happened if RTH was set at, say, 370'? Would it have climbed and cleared all of the obstacles enough for a clear path to home?

My question exactly, in mountainous wooded areas set Max alt at 400 ft, RTH at maybe 375 ft.?
Also thanks for the heads up on this: “. Current settings for "Max Altitude", and "RTH", and others are all in Meters even if you select "Imperial" for your main display. “

 

[2020HeinSite]

Happy endings are the best. Congrats on getting your bird back!

 

[bluntnose]

My question exactly, in mountainous wooded areas set Max alt at 400 ft, RTH at maybe 375 ft.?
Also thanks for the heads up on this: “. Current settings for "Max Altitude", and "RTH", and others are all in Meters even if you select "Imperial" for your main display. “

Whoa, weird, bluntnose responded to Nosebump (see above).

 

[robmulally]

Congratulations on being reunited with your friend. The lesson learned here for me is the following equations:

RTH Setting = Highest Elevation + Highest Obstacle + 100 Feet

One thing I learned from another thread is that RTH calculates "0 Feet" from the takeoff point, meaning that any elevation could, in a worst case, cause a drone to hit the ground or an obstacle even if the RTH elevation is set to a reasonable return altitude.

A 200-foot hill could crash a 150 foot RTH, even if nothing at the takeoff point is over 100 feet high (just an example). I realize the sensors should prevent that, but just like "real" airplane pilots, there's a reason why flight paths identify "Minimum Safe Altitude" on all navigation charts.

Also, beware of "Meters vs. Feet". When I flew C-130's in the Marine Corps, we had to retrieve and return the bodies of an aircrew in Korea that tried to fly over a 1,200-Meter mountain (reading an international chart) at 3,500-feet during a training flight. That didn't work out so well for them. Flight recorders showed them "straight and level" at 3,500 feet with a panic pull-up, followed by a skid along a high tree-line, followed by engine failure from ingesting branches, followed by a visit from the Korean Air Force Chaplain to their next of kin.

Suggestion to DJI for future releases ... when you give us the setting for Feet vs. Meters ... please ripple that into setting where everything is logged as one or the other. Current settings for "Max Altitude", and "RTH", and others are all in Meters even if you select "Imperial" for your main display.

That would be a nice enhancement to prevent mistakes like the one committed by my Korean friends.

Wow !

 

[robmulally]

What an amazing read! Like a crime novel.

The only thing that bugs me is that sharp right veer off . If it wasn't for that it would be almost exactly where sar104 predicted.

So I'm guessing to things.
One the option to go around obstacles on rth was turned off. And rth height was below Max Hight of obstacles so the poor little guy got trapped.

The fast right movement bugs me.

 

[dirktwa]

I would like a "Set return to home altitude to current altitude" button, which is very accessible somewhere on the controller. I would use it to fly the drone just over the tallest obstacle around and then press it.