Mavic Fly-Away

[Logger]

I tested that feature yesterday. When I was in sports mode, initiated RTH and it was in P mode; or should I say, the speed was P-mode related.

So what you saying is RTH behaves the same in both modes P and Sports mode. Correct? That is certainly what I would expect it to do.

 

[blenderpilot]

What I'm saying is, in sports mode, when u use RTH, it won't fly at sports mode speed.

 

[Logger]

...
Oh and very important so not to drain the battery too much if even in sports mode you can see that its not covering enough distance then do zig-zags and lower the altitude. Not straight line to return home but left and right for some distance 20-30 degrees away from you and when it gains more speed as its not flying against the wind then try and move towards home position untill you fill it you have too much resistance so then do a zig zag away from you and on on...
This is like sailing techniques which they do that all the time to go against the wind.

Hi Spy_Corfu, Sorry to digress the thread for a moment - Excellent idea to descend and avoid the wind.
However I cannot let the zig zag suggestion and analogy to tacking a sailboat upwind go unanswered. It will not work, dont do it and the comparison is not valid. I am hopeless at mathematical explanations, so perhaps someone else around here can give one. What I can say is (all other variables remaining constant), an aircraft will always make best progress to windward if its vector to windward directly opposes the wind. The moment you zig zag, the windward vector will reduce to allow the lateral movement, thereby reducing windward progress. The only possible benefit I can envisage from a zig or a zag is to move laterally across the air mass, in the unlikely hope of coming across lighter winds (behind a building or hill might work). It could also assist to simply move an otherwise stationery drone making zero windward progress, laterally but slightly downwind to a more suitable location. It might allow you get back over land for example. But it will not improve your progress into a headwind.

A far better analogy than your sailboat would be to envisage asking two swimmers to swim upstream into a 2 mph current towards a Home Point. Provided the Zig Zagger does not get to the side, climb out and walk, it is pretty obvious who will get upstream first

So great idea to descend out of the wind - but don't zig zag in the hope that it will help get you upwind better.

 

[Logger]

What I'm saying is, in sports mode, when u use RTH, it won't fly at sports mode speed.

Yep that makes sense. There is no reason for it to behave any differently.

 

[darren6270]

I am not disagreeing with you Logger but if you are a swimmer caught in a rip tide taking you further out to sea the advice is to swim back to the shore in a zig zag

 

[blenderpilot]

From an actual pilot; don't zig-zag. Straight line, lower height.

 

[darren6270]

Agreed, lower height must be the best course of action if possible.

 

[Logger]

I am not disagreeing with you Logger but if you are a swimmer caught in a rip tide taking you further out to sea the advice is to swim back to the shore in a zig zag

Correct. The rip is analogous to an aircraft flying into a jet stream with lighter winds outside the core. You zig laterally to avoid the jet stream or swim across the beach to get out of the rip, so that you can hopefully swim ashore.
However getting our drones to windward is like neither of these examples, because the airmass has no lateral gradient. Therefore there is no benefit in doing so and it is detrimental to do so.