Nearly lost my mini: what happened?

[Shane034]

Hey guys.

I'm a new pilot. This morning I had my mini on the sea shore over the water: about 10 meters away from me and about 2 storeys high. Wind was a very light westerly- coming from behind me. I had the prop guards on too.

Anyway when I tried to return it back it wouldn't come. I panicked a bit and ended up pressing RTH which then started landing it on the water. I freaked and jammed up on the stick and while it didn't seem too happy to be doing so, it started to climb and I managed to get it back over the beach.

I need to figure out what went wrong. Wind is the obvious one but it was very light.

Apart from wind, what are the other common offenders? And I assumed RTH was already set automatically?

Thanks

 

[bonzo]

Always fly into the wind, so you can make it home with the wind.
Especially with an under powered Mini/Mini2.

 

[vivalacoulter]

Likelihood is that it was caught in a gust. I'd try changing altitude first in future to see if that would help gaining back some control.

 

[Shane034]

How about calibration and stuff like that?

I'm sure I tried going up. It was just very unresponsive. I was flying on land yesterday in stronger wind to test it and it still always laboured back to me.

 

[old man mavic]

@Shane034 for a start having the prop guards on really reduces the drone ability to combat any sort of wind,
and because you were so close to yourself ,when you Pressed RTH that would cause the drone to land ,i hope you have read the manual that is available to download from the DJI web site that will tell you about the different RTH settings and how to access them

 

[Meta4]

I need to figure out what went wrong. Wind is the obvious one but it was very light.
Apart from wind, what are the other common offenders? And I assumed RTH was already set automatically?

There are a number of factors at play in your incident.
1. You flew outside with propguards.
This is like strapping on a set of wind-catching sails that will make dealing with wind a lot more difficult.
It's not clear whether you had the Mini 2 or the original Mini.
The original was quite underpowered and had trouble enough dealing with wind on its own.
Strapping sails to it outdoors was always asking for trouble.
The Mini 2 has more power but is still going to be handicapped dealing with wind if it's wearing propguards

2. Wind is always stronger up higher.
If you are having difficulty with wind, get down where the drone will have to deal with less wind less wind.

3. RTH
Your manual has a couple pages explaining RTH and they are the most important pages to understand.
Understanding how RTH works can be critical in a situation like yours.
Without seeing the recorded flight data, we can't be sure of distances etc, but the distance away from home when you initiate RTH is important.
If closer than 20 metres, the drone is likely to just land.
Check the RTH section of your manual.

Another problem is that you fought against the RTH action rather than cancelling it.
If you leave RTH active, it is still going to attempt to do what it's programmed to.
It's important to know how to cancell any automated flight mode when you need to resume control.

 

[Meta4]

How about calibration and stuff like that?

Irrelevant to your incident
If your drone flew properly yesterday, everything is calibrated properly and will be today

I tried going up.

Going up only makes things worse when pushing against a headwind

It was just very unresponsive. I was flying on land yesterday in stronger wind to test it and it still always laboured back to me.

Leave the propguards off if flying outside.
And pay attention to the direction of teh wind.
You don't want to end up way downwind and have a long slog home fighting a headwind.

 

[Shane034]

Irrelevant to your incident
If your drone flew properly yesterday, everything is calibrated properly and will be today

Going up only makes things worse when pushing against a headwind

Leave the propguards off if flying outside.
And pay attention to the direction of teh wind.
You don't want to end up way downwind and have a long slog home fighting a headwind.

Thanks for the detailed reply meta4. So I'm thinking next time instead of standing on the shore I should make sure I'm over 20 meters away up the beach in case I require the rth button again.
p.s it's a mini 1.

I just read also that you're supposed to have a payload button enabled when using prop guards outside. This might be my problem.

 

[Fun Flyer]

Hi Shane034, check out the attached picture of page 32 of the MM manual. Seems like payload mode automatically activates if a load is detected.

 

[hiflyer201]

I just read also that you're supposed to have a payload button enabled when using prop guards outside. This might be my problem.

the problem is the guards themselves. they catch a lot of air and it all works against control and performance.

 

[Shane034]

the problem is the guards themselves. they catch a lot of air and it all works against control and performance.

Yeah I'm tending to think that was the problem too. Was watching a guy on YouTube who had the same problem and it was the guards. He redid the experiment without them and had no problem.

 

[Flycaster]

With the mini 1 or 2, never use the prop guards outdoors, like above, wind sails...

And always, always, always, start your flights going upwind as a rule. Sometimes you can't, and in that situation, stay low, and close....

 

[Winston2021]

Hi,

@Shane034 : as u know, the Mavic mini is really light so at 1st, the prop's guard increase the weight = the batterie will decrease. At 2nd, the drone will have some differents reactions. Imagine, with the wind (even a light one) = the drone must fight ^^

 

[bigswifty]

Hey guys.

... about 10 meters away from me and about 2 storeys high ....

Stop baffling us with this technical talk

Seriously though, many many of us have lost, or thought we are were going to lose our drone for one reason or another. Glad your situation resulted in you getting your drone back.

I will say this, however, and I mean it more kindly than it may come across - we were all beginners at some point......

If you think your drone was "about 10 metres" from you and "about 2 storeys high" then I respectfully submit that a bit more mental preparation and practice/training would be beneficial before you fly again. The circumstances of your flight are totally as per the drone's design, and very well documented in the manual.

Good luck in your future flights, glad your drone is ok.