MAVIC 2 ZOOM FLY AWAY

[E90RAW]

First I will start out that this was COMPLETELY my fault. That said, I was at the beach recently, winds on the ground at 10-15MPH from the east, This was the speed up to 1000 feet. I had looked up the data and knew this ahead of time. Utilizing all the lessons from other pilots here(except for not flying at all), I started out into the wind(i thought) and placed the drone about 1/2 mile into the wind, adjacent to the water, but not over the water. Altitude 300feet. I planned on taking some hyperlapse of the clouds and surf. The sun was on the console and so I could see the drone, I could not see the console as well. After about 10 minutes, I decided to return home and not push it, but it did not want to come home. I was making no progress, and after another 5-7 minutes the battery was alarming. Now at this point I'm freaking out, as I cant determine where the drone is in reference to me. The sun is high in the sky, and with my anxiety I am not able to see the console well. I attempt sport mode and its not budging. I try tacking , and no help. I try lower altitude, no help. Well, the drone finally lands itself, but not at home point. The wind had blown it away. The beach is mostly empty with only a few individuals. I can see the drone on the console(map view) but the camera is black, and I can't see the drone visibly. I'm thinking it took a dunk. The map view doesn't show north-south direction, and it doesnt show the water line, and so I had to run around the beach (like an idiot) looking at the console until I was going in the direction of the drone. My wife is wondering what I'm doing, but I don't want to tell her I lost the drone. I finally found it, 5 feet from the water and 1/4 mile down the beach. Oh boy.
Hind site is always 20/20. The mistake I made was the following. The wind was coming from the north east. Most beaches are facing east(on the east coast), but on NC beaches, they are facing south. So my determination of the wind direction was incorrect at the outset. I just assumed the water was east. I flew the bird south west. So the drone was getting pushed away from me, not toward. The wind estimates higher up were likely higher than (kitty hawk) indicated, likely at 20-25 I would guess. Anyway, I lucked out. I could not find the "find my drone" button on the SC, but I got it back.

 

[OurAngryBadger]

I am glad everything turned out OK in the end and you got it back. Very scary situation I would have a heart attack.

 

[bumper]

Luck is right!

You might consider getting a hood for your screen. Also, I've found that "Transitions" - self darkening glasses, make the screen even more difficult to see.

 

[Meta4]

First of all, your drone did not fly away at all. You just lost track of where it was.

It sounds like there are a few things to learn about dealing with wind.
Here are some pointers from your incident.

winds on the ground at 10-15MPH from the east, This was the speed up to 1000 feet. I had looked up the data and knew this ahead of time.
I was making no progress,

You assumed that a forecast wind was the actual wind, but if your Mavic couldn't make headway , the wind was stronger than 15 mph
Forecasts can be quite different from the actual wind you will experience.
It's quite likely that the wind 300 feet up was stronger than the wind close to the ground.

Now at this point I'm freaking out, as I cant determine where the drone is in reference to me.
I attempt sport mode and its not budging. I try tacking , and no help.

It's important to be aware at all times where your drone is and what it is doing.
The radar display gives you all the information you need to know where your drone is.
Sport Mode will only help if the wind is well below Sport Mode speed.
Tacking will just ensure that your drone is exposed to the wind for even longer as you are trying to fly a much longer distance.

I try lower altitude, no help.

The wind is always stronger up higher.
If you find yourself battling a strong wind, getting down out of that wind is the most important thing to do.

 

[bigswifty]

Another takeaway from this is that windspeed charts for altitude are really estimates. Nobody is standing in the exact location of your drone with an anemometer on a 300 foot stick. Nobody is floating a balloon at your location and measuring it's ground speed. Wind measurements at altitude, particularly at low altitude where buildings, local topography and micro systems can play such a part can be very coarse extrapolations. Any hang glider pilot, window cleaner, inshore sailor or many other occupations can attest to what a difference localised features can make in both direction and speed.

Personally I don't place much store in what an app tells me about wind speeds at my location. At most it might prompt me to stay home and not fly. Otherwise I'd prefer to take the flight and monitor tilt angles and drone speeds to and from. This is even more important with wifi drones, since the window between diagnosing an over-wind situation and drifting out of control range and therefore being unable to do anything about it can be small.

 

[E90RAW]

Luck is right!

You might consider getting a hood for your screen. Also, I've found that "Transitions" - self darkening glasses, make the screen even more difficult to see.

Im wondering about the VR goggles? You are right about the sunglasses

 

[Jetdriver100]

check aviation weather at nearest airport. get the actual and terminal forecast and also, you can check the winds aloft and calculate almost exactly what the wind is doing from the surface up to as high as you are allowed to go.

 

[DanMan32]

For a minute I thought this was about a Mini. An M2 can handle winds as high as 25mph in normal mode and up to 40mph in sport mode. With winds predicted at 15mph max, I wouldn't expect winds to be a big issue for an M2.
You'd have to be flying manually to take advantage of sport mode. RTH flies slower than max normal mode in calm winds, but can still apply max attack tilt angle for normal mode.

Somehow I don't think wind was the issue unless winds were drastically higher at upper altitudes. Analysis of flight logs would tell for sure.

Now if this was a Mini, winds definitely could have been the cause.

 

[JAW]

The sailors in Pamlico Bay, which is the eastern side of the Outer Banks, like to say "if you don't like the winds, wait a minute."

 

[kidroc]

Likely a lot more than 20/25 if sport mode made no difference more like 50+!!! Glad you got her back be careful bro.