Precision Landing

[ufgatorvet]

Hi World -

Got the Air 3 in the air for the first time and had a quick question about PL.

A few of my lands were within a couple of feet of the bright orange take off pad that I use. A couple were right on the money. What causes the difference? A couple of the "hits" and "misses" were taking off from the same spot after battery change. The misses could be significant due to higher grass that could entangle the props.

I take off from a bright orange hello pad, had 30 satellites lock on, partly sunny day, no wind, mid afternoon so plenty of light, I take off and wait for "home point is updated", then go.

The only thing that I can think of is in the manual it says go up 7 m (21-ish feet) and hover, then go ... which I did not do. I let the drone go up to the height that it goes up on automatic take off. Is that what I am doing wrong?

For each take off, are we supposed to go to 21 feet straight up and hover, but for how long?

Thanks for any experience you can share regarding this.

Other than this, the Air 3 flew buttery smooth. I didn't get quite the range before dropping a bar as some of the videos I've seen, but admittedly I have a lot more dense forest and vegetation between me and the drone than some of the desert and high elevation videos I've watched ....

I appreciate your thoughts!

 

[Meta4]

A few of my lands were within a couple of feet of the bright orange take off pad that I use. A couple were right on the money. What causes the difference?

The difference is some (might have) used the Precision Landing feature and some didn't, so had to rely on GPS alone, which cannot get the drone as close as PL can.

I take off from a bright orange hello pad, had 30 satellites lock on, partly sunny day, no wind, mid afternoon so plenty of light, I take off and wait for "home point is updated", then go.

That isn't enough for PL to work.

The only thing that I can think of is in the manual it says go up 7 m (21-ish feet) and hover, then go ... which I did not do. I let the drone go up to the height that it goes up on automatic take off. Is that what I am doing wrong?

Yes ... if you want to use the PL feature, the manual tells you how to do it.

For each take off, are we supposed to go to 21 feet straight up and hover, but for how long?

There's no need to hover.
If there was the manual would say so.
But you need to go vertically before flying off to allow the PL feature to record the launch site from that height so it can use the images to optically position the drone on return.

 

[msinger]

You should follow this guidance from the Air 3 manual:

 

[Droning on and on...]

The only thing that I can think of is in the manual it says go up 7 m (21-ish feet) and hover, then go ... which I did not do. I let the drone go up to the height that it goes up on automatic take off. Is that what I am doing wrong?

You obviously read the manual – good – and need a little clarification from those of us with experience. Put succinctly, take off, climb straight up to about 20-25 ft, doesn't have to be precise, just close to 7m, count to 5, go have fun.

The 5 count is from me – ensures the drone gets the image. Even just pausing and taking a breath should work. 5 count is insurance.

The other critically important part of the procedure is do not move horizontally at all... any roll/pitch input ascending to 7m will cancel PL, and you'll have a less accurate GPS positioned landing.

There is no way to re-enable PL during that flight. The feature will not become available until you land and take off again.

 

[ufgatorvet]

You obviously read the manual – good – and need a little clarification from those of us with experience. Put succinctly, take off, climb straight up to about 20-25 ft, doesn't have to be precise, just close to 7m, count to 5, go have fun.

The 5 count is from me – ensures the drone gets the image.

The other critically important part of the procedure is do not move horizontally at all... any roll/pitch input ascending to 7m will cancel PL, and you'll have a less accurate GPS positioned landing.

There is no way to re-enable PL during that flight. The feature will not become available until you land and take off again.

Thank you, that helps. I appreciate your time.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Put succinctly, take off, climb straight up to about 20-25 ft, doesn't have to be precise, just close to 7m, count to 5, go have fun.

The 5 count is from me – ensures the drone gets the image.

In Go4, precison landing is set in a similar way with X m/feet elevation, but then the app gives you a confirmation, a text box on screen and voice alert, saying precision landing activated, or words to that effect.

Does Fly not do that (either option) ?

 

[Droning on and on...]

In Go4, precison landing is set in a similar way with X m/feet elevation, but then the app gives you a confirmation, a text box on screen and voice alert, saying precision landing activated, or words to that effect.

Does Fly not do that (either option) ?

No, and I know of at least 3 other people besides myself that have written DJI and requested they add it.

The latest version shows we're still being ignored

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

No, and I know of at least 3 other people besides myself that have written DJI and requested they add it.

The latest version shows we're still being ignored

Fly took some time to reintroduce many features / capabilities it initially didn’t have as Go4 did (does).
It seems very poor that one has to ‘guess’ if precision landing is on or not.
What’s the point of having it if you can’t know ?

 

[FLDave]

I usually figure the landing area to be about a 25-foot diameter area; it's more then a simple distinct landing pad. The entire area must be distinct and easily recognizable by the drone when the descent begins. It also needs to be unchanged from takeoff--no people moving into or out of the area, no shadow changes, and nothing moving. I make sure I am not in the landing area, nor anyone else with me. I've seen precision landing fail to be precise then such changes occurred with my Air 2s.

 

[KLRSKIR]

I usually figure the landing area to be about a 25-foot diameter area; it's more then a simple distinct landing pad. The entire area must be distinct and easily recognizable by the drone when the descent begins. It also needs to be unchanged from takeoff--no people moving into or out of the area, no shadow changes, and nothing moving. I make sure I am not in the landing area, nor anyone else with me. I've seen precision landing fail to be precise then such changes occurred with my Air 2s.

Great points that are very important to successful PL scenarios.

 

[Joethedrone]

Hi World -

Got the Air 3 in the air for the first time and had a quick question about PL.

A few of my lands were within a couple of feet of the bright orange take off pad that I use. A couple were right on the money. What causes the difference? A couple of the "hits" and "misses" were taking off from the same spot after battery change. The misses could be significant due to higher grass that could entangle the props.

I take off from a bright orange hello pad, had 30 satellites lock on, partly sunny day, no wind, mid afternoon so plenty of light, I take off and wait for "home point is updated", then go.

The only thing that I can think of is in the manual it says go up 7 m (21-ish feet) and hover, then go ... which I did not do. I let the drone go up to the height that it goes up on automatic take off. Is that what I am doing wrong?

For each take off, are we supposed to go to 21 feet straight up and hover, but for how long?

Thanks for any experience you can share regarding this.

Other than this, the Air 3 flew buttery smooth. I didn't get quite the range before dropping a bar as some of the videos I've seen, but admittedly I have a lot more dense forest and vegetation between me and the drone than some of the desert and high elevation videos I've watched ....

I appreciate your thoughts!

Personally, I fly up to about twenty five feet, when the voice message says “home point has been activated, please check it on the map” I then point the gimbal straight down and reset the home point. I’ve never had any issues with PL.

 

[Meta4]

I then point the gimbal straight down and reset the home point.

Neither of those is necessary or would make any difference to Precision Landing.

 

[Mave76]

Hi World -

Got the Air 3 in the air for the first time and had a quick question about PL.

A few of my lands were within a couple of feet of the bright orange take off pad that I use. A couple were right on the money. What causes the difference? A couple of the "hits" and "misses" were taking off from the same spot after battery change. The misses could be significant due to higher grass that could entangle the props.

I take off from a bright orange hello pad, had 30 satellites lock on, partly sunny day, no wind, mid afternoon so plenty of light, I take off and wait for "home point is updated", then go.

The only thing that I can think of is in the manual it says go up 7 m (21-ish feet) and hover, then go ... which I did not do. I let the drone go up to the height that it goes up on automatic take off. Is that what I am doing wrong?

For each take off, are we supposed to go to 21 feet straight up and hover, but for how long?

Thanks for any experience you can share regarding this.

Other than this, the Air 3 flew buttery smooth. I didn't get quite the range before dropping a bar as some of the videos I've seen, but admittedly I have a lot more dense forest and vegetation between me and the drone than some of the desert and high elevation videos I've watched ....

I appreciate your thoughts!

If the landing is off the marked spot, manually land the drone to avoid the tall grasses mentioned.

 

[Melvoid]

The difference is some (might have) used the Precision Landing feature and some didn't, so had to rely on GPS alone, which cannot get the drone as close as PL can.


That isn't enough for PL to work.

Yes ... if you want to use the PL feature, the manual tells you how to do it.

There's no need to hover.
If there was the manual would say so.
But you need to go vertically before flying off to allow the PL feature to record the launch site from that height so it can use the images to optically position the drone on return.

My Air 2S says to hover, too. It's usually within a few inches of takeoff, but once in a while, it'll be more than a foot off target. I was wondering the same thing.

 

[Meta4]

My Air 2S says to hover, too.

P16 of the AIr2S manual says nothing about hovering:
The Precision Landing performance is subject to the following conditions:

a. The Home Point must be recorded upon takeoff and must not be changed during flight. Otherwise, the aircraft will have no record of the Home Point terrain features.​

b. During takeoff, the aircraft must ascend at least 7 m before flying horizontally​

It's usually within a few inches of takeoff, but once in a while, it'll be more than a foot off target. I was wondering the same thing.

If it's a foot or more out, the drone wasn't able to use the precision landing feature and had to rely on GPS alone.