M3P wouldn't land

[JDubyaM]

Searched for this issue with the Mini3 Pro, but couldn't find anything. Flying this evening shooting a Hyperlapse and landing prior to the Civil twilight ending at my latitude, still had decent light and VLOS. I was hovering at 3.5' AGL over a concrete driveway with 21% ? battery and upon trying to manually land, the M3P stopped responding to down stick and a screen warning of "Area under aircraft unsuitable for landing. Control aircraft to land in safe area". I was hovering over the same flat, clear concrete driveway when I tried auto land and got the same warning.
I moved the drone to a couple of different areas, but same results and I was burning up battery trying to get it down on the ground.
I got the countdown to RTH at 15% and had to cancel that as it started to climb. ( odd in that I was within about 40' of my home point and thought it wouldn't climb to RTH, but I digress). I hovered toward a garage light and after canceling the RTH I finally could manually land at 14% battery.

My question is, if this drone can be used for low light operations, what can be done to assure it doesn't go into this " won't land mode" again?

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

With regards to the RTH climb, I would suggest you read or re-read the manual, in particular Straight Line RTH, section 3b.
With regards to the initial failure to land, it maybe that you are required to acknowledge that message by touching it, or its "OK", and then hold the throttle closed.

 

[rwilliam99]

With regards to the RTH climb, I would suggest you read or re-read the manual, in particular Straight Line RTH, section 3b.
With regards to the initial failure to land, it maybe that you are required to acknowledge that message by touching it, or its "OK", and then hold the throttle closed.

I know this wasn't directed to me, but thank you for this note/suggestion. I've read the RTH feature for both my mini 1 and the mini 3 and I thought I understood it, but in re-reading it again, I missed some things. I swear I'd read on the mini 1 that RTH didn't work unless you were more than 50m (or something like that) from the home point but for the mini 1 it is only 20m. For the mini 3 the RTH is a bit different - I had assumed they worked the same (bad assumption) - I'm glad I read that and I think I better understand it now.

 

[NOLADG]

My question is, if this drone can be used for low light operations, what can be done to assure it doesn't go into this " won't land mode" again?

First, I would shine a light on the ground as the drone landed, such as a flashlight or your phones light. Secondly, in some of my other drones, I had the option to check the landing zone in the settings. However I do not see that in the Mini 3 Pro. Possibly under settings - Safety - Obstacle Avoidance Action = Off might help. We will have to test to see. Thirdly and something I almost always do, is to hand catch my drone.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

I know this wasn't directed to me, but thank you for this note/suggestion. I've read the RTH feature for both my mini 1 and the mini 3 and I thought I understood it, but in re-reading it again, I missed some things. I swear I'd read on the mini 1 that RTH didn't work unless you were more than 50m (or something like that) from the home point but for the mini 1 it is only 20m. For the mini 3 the RTH is a bit different - I had assumed they worked the same (bad assumption) - I'm glad I read that and I think I better understand it now.

BE CAREFUL, you can not use understanding of how RTH works on/with one DJI drone model as the basis for predicting how a different model's RTH will behave.
Virtually ever DJI drone I have looked at has a different set of RTH behaviours, I suppose it's evolution but some of them seem stupid to me.
Even within one drone model, RTH behaviours can, I think, change with firmware update. I can never remember if it applies to the Mavic Mini but, from memory, one 'dangerous?' update changed what, and when, stick movements can cancel an RTH. Not good if you are used to the old system and missed the single? sentence in the manual that dealt with the change. From memory it has caught a few people out.

I would say that the changes also lead to confusion when pilots swap between drones, as quite a few do.
If you still use the Mavic Mini re read the manual and then check whether the current behaviour matches what you expect.

 

[JDubyaM]

With regards to the RTH climb, I would suggest you read or re-read the manual, in particular Straight Line RTH, section 3b.
With regards to the initial failure to land, it maybe that you are required to acknowledge that message by touching it, or its "OK", and then hold the throttle closed.

Will do on the reread on RTH, but my understanding is the same as @rwilliam99 that within a close proximity to the home point the drone would not climb to RTH altitude before landing at the home point. Hence the surprise when it started to climb.

I did indeed acknowledge the message and pressed OK. Are you suggesting I should have been pressing on the stick to land at the same time? I pressed on the stick to land, but not simultaneously with the OK screen acknowledgement.

As @NOLADG. Suggested, I did think of ( after the fact) of illuminating the LZ to help, but still my question remains, is this an anomaly as surely I can't be the first M3P pilot to land in fading light. Having to add a flashlight to my landing routine doesn't seem right.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

I don't want to spoil the surprise for so I won't quote the manual.
It is also the reason behind my saying, in post #5, "BE CAREFUL, you can not use understanding of how RTH works on/with one DJI drone model as the basis for predicting how a different model's RTH will behave.".
With regards to "Are you suggesting I should have been pressing on the stick to land at the same time?" I can't remember the precise procedure I follow when I get such a warning, (NOT with a Mini 3) but it is my recollection that it was necessary to touch the message or "OK" and close the throttle.
I do not remember if those actions were simultaneous or consecutive but I have never had trouble getting the drone concerned past that 'hurdle' so the procedure didn't register in my mind.

Not being awkward but the external illumination suggestion does help avoid the message, the Mavic 2 would give me a warning at dusk unless I either allow its landing light to be switched on or, if landing outside my house, have the house lights on.

 

[rwilliam99]

BE CAREFUL, you can not use understanding of how RTH works on/with one DJI drone model as the basis for predicting how a different model's RTH will behave.
Virtually ever DJI drone I have looked at has a different set of RTH behaviours, I suppose it's evolution but some of them seem stupid to me.
Even within one drone model, RTH behaviours can, I think, change with firmware update. I can never remember if it applies to the Mavic Mini but, from memory, one 'dangerous?' update changed what, and when, stick movements can cancel an RTH. Not good if you are used to the old system and missed the single? sentence in the manual that dealt with the change. From memory it has caught a few people out.

I would say that the changes also lead to confusion when pilots swap between drones, as quite a few do.
If you still use the Mavic Mini re read the manual and then check whether the current behaviour matches what you expect.

Yeah, I made an assumption (and I'm learning those are dangerous when it comes to these drones) that RTH worked the same between drones. I won't make that mistake again.

The only thing I'm using the old mini for now is flying practice since the gimbal is broken it isn't good for much else.

 

[JDubyaM]

Hah, rereading the manual the surprise was I was at 3.5' and the low battery RTH will climb to 2M within 50M of the home point. Check.

Regarding the acknowledgement of the OK and down stick, I too will have to make a mental note if that happens again.

On LZ illumination, not a big deal and easily done it's just not addressed in the manual that I can see. Thanks for the feedback, I'll have a headlamp handy for the next low light landing.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Yeah, I made an assumption (and I'm learning those are dangerous when it comes to these drones) that RTH worked the same between drones. I won't make that mistake again.

The only thing I'm using the old mini for now is flying practice since the gimbal is broken it isn't good for much else.

Oooooh do you fancy an experiment? but it might finish the destruction off the drone?

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

and the low battery RTH will climb to 2M within 50M of the home point. Check.

I think that is ANY close RTH from below a height of 2m, I don't particularly like the idea of such a low RTH but "our's is not reason why............."

 

[rwilliam99]

Oooooh do you fancy an experiment? but it might finish the destruction off the drone?

Maybe - depends on what it is - fire away.....

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Maybe - depends on what it is - fire away.....

I'll pm it since its off topic.

 

[JDubyaM]

MINI 3 PRO OWNERS MANUAL, Page 28, #2 states if over an unsuitable landing area, to force land, pull down on the throttle stick for 5 seconds and it will land without obstacle avoidance. Guess I only held it down for 4.5 seconds. Hindsight of the situation, I guess I could've turned off obstacle avoidance and landed it in that mode without all the drama.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Hindsight of the situation, I guess I could've turned off obstacle avoidance and landed it in that mode without all the drama.

As far as I know you can not turn the VPS sensors off. This is one of the backward steps of the FLY app.
Though I definitely would agree with turning OA off when landing.

 

[Droning on and on...]

MINI 3 PRO OWNERS MANUAL, Page 28, #2 states if over an unsuitable landing area, to force land, pull down on the throttle stick for 5 seconds and it will land without obstacle avoidance. Guess I only held it down for 4.5 seconds. Hindsight of the situation, I guess I could've turned off obstacle avoidance and landed it in that mode without all the drama.

There ya go!

When I first read this thread with all the RTH discussion, I thought, don't you just hold the stick down and it will force land? I must be missing something (all the RTH discussion) so I stayed mum.

Turns out all that discussion was irrelevant wandering around blind, as I thought. Should have spoke up.

I have a back deck that I fly from frequently, and for some reason almost always is unsuitable for landing (according to the aircraft), so forcing it is routine.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

There ya go!

When I first read this thread with all the RTH discussion, I thought, don't you just hold the stick down and it will force land? I must be missing something (all the RTH discussion) so I stayed mum.

Turns out all that discussion was irrelevant wandering around blind, as I thought. Should have spoke up.

I have a back deck that I fly from frequently, and for some reason almost always is unsuitable for landing (according to the aircraft), so forcing it is routine.

So, if a pilot is operating under a misunderstanding of how the drone behaves, are you saying we should not point out the errors in their understanding? Thereby leaving them with the misunderstanding and possibly costing them the drone at a later date.

 

[Droning on and on...]

So, if a pilot is operating under a misunderstanding of how the drone behaves, are you saying we should not point out the errors in their understanding? Thereby leaving them with the misunderstanding and possibly costing them the drone at a later date.

Where did I say anything like that?

RTH is completely irrelevant to the landing surface suitability check. It happens as a part of the landing algorithm, which is almost entirely automated, other than operator input saying "land".

Has the OP stimulated 12 posts discussing the particulars of Flysafe restrictions and operations, my criticism would have been the same.

Landing has nothing, nothing at all, to do with RTH. Hence the puzzlement at such an in-depth discussion of it when the issue was following the stick protocol to land.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Where did I say anything like that?

"Turns out all that discussion was irrelevant wandering around blind, as I thought. Should have spoke up."

 

[Droning on and on...]

"Turns out all that discussion was irrelevant wandering around blind, as I thought. Should have spoke up."

Hmmm... I'm having a devil of a time seeing it. Takes some very creative (very!) interpretation to read "don't help people" into "the help was irrelevant".

Closest I can get is, "don't offer irrelevant help, it's meaningless". But even that's quite a stretch.

I think you're just hurt I said you were wandering around blind – a metaphor – discussing RTH when the issue was the Landing Protection feature. Yet, The metaphor was descriptive, and in fact WRONG information isn't helpful at all, but potentially confusing.

It confused me, thinking there's some RTH connection to LP that I'd missed all these years.