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Proper procedure for Blow-Away event

bheiser1

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Premium Pilot
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Location
the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in California
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After reading yet another blow-away thread I would like to confirm my understanding of the proper procedure for handling this kind of “emergency” event. My standard practice is to avoid flying if it’s “windy” (more than “breezy”). But as I often fly in hilly terrains (in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada) there’s always the chance of hitting unexpected and sudden winds (e.g. fly up over a ridge, along a canyon, or above some tall trees).

At the first sign the aircraft is drifting away, do the following:

0. Remain calm & avoid panic.
1. Immediately switch to Sport mode.
2. If RTH had somehow been enabled (e.g. low battery or signal loss) cancel it if/when possible.
3. Descend as low as possible while remaining above any obstacles such as trees or terrain.
4. Fly towards “home” and land as soon as practical.

Is there consensus on this or am I missing anything? :)
 
I fly in the lee side (mostly) or the Sierra, Carson Range, with a steep escarpment (30 degrees to almost vertical in spots with the mountain up to 5,000' high) in my back yard. Wind and severe turbulence is a regular happening.

I carry an anemometer in my case, though it's not really needed. If it's windy, approach take off with caution. Keep an eye on the compass as it indicates the angle the drone assumes to counter the wind. Pay attention to high wind warning on the SC, climb slow and be ready to descend if the drone starts to move downwind. I initially, fly upwind only to test the waters. I'm flying the M2 with a max speed in Sport of 42 and a recommended do not exceed speed of 28 mph. "'Flying right now", is not nearly as important as keeping my M2.
 
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OK - wouldn’t Sport mode help enable a quicker descent though, or will that only enable faster horizontal flight?

The standard maximum descent speed is 3 m/s for all the Mavics. The Mini and the Air only achieve that in Sport mode though - they are limited to 1.8 and 1.5 m/s respectively in P mode. So for those aircraft it would help.
 
i think that the use of sport mode, has to be balanced against the remaining battery charge available at the time of the start of the blow away event,in some cases it may be better to stay in P mode, it all depends on the circumstances at the time ie distance from home point ,terrain ,and what obstacles are in the area
 
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i think that the use of sport mode, has to be balanced against the remaining battery charge available at the time of the start of the blow away event,in some cases it may be better to stay in P mode, it all depends on the circumstances at the time ie distance from home point ,terrain ,and what obstacles are in the area

Not sure I agree there - if it is already showing signs of being unable to cope with the wind then P-mode is not going to get it done, as Boris would say - it's just going to prolong the misery.
 
After reading yet another blow-away thread I would like to confirm my understanding of the proper procedure for handling this kind of “emergency” event. My standard practice is to avoid flying if it’s “windy”
You nailed it right there. It should be the first rule at the very top of any list. Especially so with a MM. Stay on the ground and come back another day.
If RTH had somehow been enabled (e.g. low battery or signal loss) cancel it if/when possible.
If the drone has enabled emergency RTH due to low battery AND you are in a windy (headwind) situation then you're probably not going to make it anyway. Look down and find the best emergency landing spot.
If the drone has enabled emergency RTH due to signal loss with controller then once again I think you're probably in big trouble. Following the thought process that you are already in a windy situation, and assuming a head wind on the way home, then as soon as RTH kicks in the MM will be fighting a losing battle. Especially true if the RTH altitude is above current altitude and it flies up into stronger headwinds.

Your list is a great start. In order to help prevent the situations in #3, I would add:
  • Always plan on landing with at least 30% battery left. That will give you some reserve to help in an emergency situation.
  • Always fly upwind on the outgoing leg. If the wind gets worse during the flight, it will make the return trip easy.
 
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Abolish number 0. as it has no place in the list.

#2. If a RTH situation has occurred via low battery, the camera should be directed down, and look for a good landing point to recover from !
A loss of signal RTH would not enable any control so trying to cancel there is not possible, it will auto RTH and struggle / likely be gone.
If you could cancel, then again it's gone.

Add to # 3 turn aircraft directly towards home asap as descending . . . . as a blow away would likely see the aircraft blowing directly away from the pilot, make a lower profile to the wind. Use the camera to safely guide flight.
Also, remember if a wifi drone (or even occusync) then as you descend you may lose signal !
Need to watch signal strength closely as descending.

A final point (touched on above) could be added, be prepared to choose a landing spot that looks clear and safe to land, preferably easy to recover from.
 
Absolutely. Let's not have any of that nonsense.

brilliant he would have been no good flying a drone that's for sure
 
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Absolutely. Let's not have any of that nonsense.


Ha loved Dads Army as a kid, my dad did too.
Jones character was one of the best.

I was actually referring to the numbering sequence, 0 is not a starting point, 1 is.

Don't panic is so very important in the #1 spot, but so hard to control, fingers seem to push sticks erratically etc, things get worse, a bit like runaway with lipos !!
Maybe best # 1 tip is to just hit pause, and monitor for a few seconds.
That shouldn't matter too much in the event too much, but give that vital short period to gain composure and think a bit straight.
 
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A final point (touched on above) could be added, be prepared to choose a landing spot that looks clear and safe to land, preferably easy to recover from.

Actually the FINAL point could be . . .

Upload Flight logs for the analysts here to decipher, drone recovery IS possible !!
 
I was actually referring to the numbering sequence, 0 is not a starting point, 1 is.
Actually it depends on your background and frame of reference.

Yes in society the number zero generally means very little. It is perceived as meaningless, nothing, not important.

However in the scientific, mathematical, and computer communities then number zero is just as important as any other. In the context presented by the OP it means that it comes even before 1; it is more important than even number 1; it is so important that it even precedes the numbers that most people hold of any value. If you can't do ZERO correctly then don't even bother with the rest. I see what he intended there.
 
After reading yet another blow-away thread I would like to confirm my understanding of the proper procedure for handling this kind of “emergency” event. My standard practice is to avoid flying if it’s “windy” (more than “breezy”). But as I often fly in hilly terrains (in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada) there’s always the chance of hitting unexpected and sudden winds (e.g. fly up over a ridge, along a canyon, or above some tall trees).

At the first sign the aircraft is drifting away, do the following:

0. Remain calm & avoid panic.
1. Immediately switch to Sport mode.
2. If RTH had somehow been enabled (e.g. low battery or signal loss) cancel it if/when possible.
3. Descend as low as possible while remaining above any obstacles such as trees or terrain.
4. Fly towards “home” and land as soon as practical.

Is there consensus on this or am I missing anything? :)
Maybe add, if you're not going to make it back, point the camera down and look for a decent spot to land and take it down. Even if it is auto landing you can maybe steer it to an open spot. Hopefully it's in a spot you recognize and can go get. Otherwise open the flight log and find the last GPS coordinates. This is all assuming you weren't over water of course.
 
Actually the FINAL point could be . . .

Upload Flight logs for the analysts here to decipher, drone recovery IS possible !!
Or if you have internet access and use an Android phone the flight log can be immmediatly converted. I use the app Back Country Navigator for this. I can also use this app to get me to the last known location. I prefer navigating with my hiking gps which is why I need a gpx file but KLM will work for Back Country Navigator. These are the instructions I put together for me just in case I need them.

Converting Mavic Flight Path to a GPX file

Locate the flight path from the phone Main-DJI-dji.go.v5-Flightrecord. The file will be named something like DJIFlightRecord_2020-01-09_[16-44-55].txt
On the phone go to DJI Phantom Accessories & Tips | Phantom Help
Press the Browse button and click on the flight path file that was located above. Then click on Upload Log.
A chart of information will appear and at the top is download KML, CSV, Flight Log. Click on KML
The downloaded file can be found in Main-Download. Open BackCountryNavigator then Import the downloaded KMZ or KML file.
Click on the filer again and select share as a GPX file. This file can be loaded into GPS.
 
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Or if you have internet access and use an Android phone the flight log can be immmediatly converted. I use the app Back Country Navigator for this. I can also use this app to get me to the last known location. I prefer navigating with my hiking gps which is why I need a gpx file but KLM will work for Back Country Navigator. These are the instructions I put together for me just in case I need them.

Converting Mavic Flight Path to a GPX file

Locate the flight path from the phone Main-DJI-dji.go.v5-Flightrecord. The file will be named something like DJIFlightRecord_2020-01-09_[16-44-55].txt
On the phone go to DJI Phantom Accessories & Tips | Phantom Help
Press the Browse button and click on the flight path file that was located above. Then click on Upload Log.
A chart of information will appear and at the top is download KML, CSV, Flight Log. Click on KML
The downloaded file can be found in Main-Download. Open BackCountryNavigator then Import the downloaded KMZ or KML file.
Click on the filer again and select share as a GPX file. This file can be loaded into GPS.
Hello, I only have the smart controller since I bought my M2Z with it. So I can't speak as to if other controllers work the same. On my smart controller if you turn it on and then hit "Go", once go 4 opens to the first screen, hit the 3 little dashes in the upper right corner of the screen. After that the 3rd choice down is "Flight Record", after you hit that the top one on the list is your last flight. Select it and then hit the play indicator in the middle of the screen. Once the flight starts playing you can drag the progress indicator to the end of the flight, and it should display your last GPS coordinates on the lower left side of the screen. Actually your flight coordinates will be displayed continuously while the flight is playing. I have no idea if this is the same on all dji products, but this is the way it is on my M2Z with smart controller.
 
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Hello, I only have the smart controller since I bought my M2Z with it. So I can't speak as to if other controllers work the same. On my smart controller if you turn it on and then hit "Go", once go 4 opens to the first screen, hit the 3 little dashes in the upper right corner of the screen. After that the 3rd choice down is "Flight Record", after you hit that the top one on the list is your last flight. Select it and then hit the play indicator in the middle of the screen. Once the flight starts playing you can drag the progress indicator to the end of the flight, and it should display your last GPS coordinates on the lower left side of the screen. Actually your flight coordinates will be displayed continuously while the flight is playing. I have no idea if this is the same on all dji products, but this is the way it is on my M2Z with smart controller.
I like your solution much better than mine but I don't seem to have that option. Mavic Mini using the Fly app.
 
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