Return to home or Dive to death

[RangerOne]

I have a friend that would like me to flight a mission over a mountain rig to see what is on the other side. I always have the return to home on my Mavic Air 2 to count on. I have the return altitude set to 300ft. If I fly over this rig that is 2200 ft in elevation and I loss signal, is my drone going to dive in to the ground trying to get to 300ft. return to home altitude or is it going to maintain 300ft above ground level?
Could a more experienced pilot give me some wise wisdom here?

 

[Juggler]

rth altitude will be 300 higher from where you t/o....if you lose signal pressing rth most prob wont work but after 11 sec rth initiated...it should climb if it senses an obsticle

 

[Juggler]

 

[RangerOne]

rth altitude will be 300 higher from where you t/o....if you lose signal pressing rth most prob wont work but after 11 sec rth initiated...it should climb if it senses an obsticle

Ok so I live by the ocean. So if I fly over this mountain rig that is 2200ft and loss signal I would need to set my return to home altitude to 23 or 2400 feet to clear the mountain rig?

 

[Meta4]

I have a friend that would like me to flight a mission over a mountain rig to see what is on the other side. I always have the return to home on my Mavic Air 2 to count on. I have the return altitude set to 300ft. If I fly over this rig that is 2200 ft in elevation and I loss signal, is my drone going to dive in to the ground trying to get to 300ft. return to home altitude or is it going to maintain 300ft above ground level?
Could a more experienced pilot give me some wise wisdom here?

In RTH your drone will rise to 300 ft (or whatever you set RTH height at) above the level of the launch point before heading for home.
If the drone is already higher than RTH height, it will come straight home.
It will never descend to RTH height.

 

[Meta4]

Ok so I live by the ocean. So if I fly over this mountain rig that is 2200ft and loss signal I would need to set my return to home altitude to 23 or 2400 feet to clear the mountain rig?

All heights are relative to the launch point, wherever that is.
Sea level and heights above sea level are irrelevant.

 

[RangerOne]

In RTH your drone will rise to 300 ft (or whatever you set RTH height at) above the level of the launch point before heading for home.
If the drone is already higher than RTH height, it will come straight home.
It will never descend to RTH height.

ok that is cool to know... This is my thought though... I climb the mountain I desend down the back side say half way and loss signal... what would happen in this case?

 

[Meta4]

This is my thought though... I climb the mountain I desend down the back side say half way and loss signal... what would happen in this case?

You would lose signal as soon as the mountain is blocking your view of the drone.
If the drone is already higher (above launch point) than your set RTH height, it would try to come home through the top of the mountain (if the drone was lower than the mountain top).
And you cannot set RTH height to more than 1640 ft.

I'd suggest gaining more experience before trying this flight idea for a friend.
With a little more experience, you know to tell him it's not possible.

 

[RangerOne]

All heights are relative to the launch point, wherever that is.
Sea level and heights above sea level are irrelevant.

accually sea level and ground level relative are totally different apple and oranges from one another... Three hunderd feet above sea level and 300ft above 2200ft ground level are the two different situations.

 

[Meta4]

accually sea level and ground level relative are totally different apple and oranges from one another... Three hunderd feet above sea level and 300ft above 2200ft ground level are the two different situations.

That's why I mentioned that heights relative to sea level are irrelevant.
The drone doesn't know where sea level is and it doesn't care.
All its heights are relative to the launch point.

 

[El Principio]

Dude, if you want to see the other side of the mountain, drive around and fly from there.
edit: Alaska, so hike around.

And also what Meta4 said, learn more before attempting longer flights with such obstacles.

Cheers!

 

[RangerOne]

You would lose signal as soon as the mountain is blocking your view of the drone.
If the drone is already higher (above launch point) than your set RTH height, it would try to come home through the top of the mountain (if the drone was lower than the mountain top).
And you cannot set RTH height to more than 1640 ft.

I'd suggest gaining more experience before trying this flight idea for a friend.
With a little more experience, you know to tell him it's not possible.

Thanks I keep seeing that but thought that was above ground level not sea level. I know a lot of people live at higher altitude places. Does this mean they can't drone in the Rockies?

 

[RangerOne]

Dude, if you want to see the other side of the mountain, drive around and fly from there.
edit: Alaska, so hike around.

And also what Meta4 said, learn more before attempting longer flights with such obstacles.

Cheers!

No roads in remote bush Alaska and the friend is 80 years old.....

 

[El Principio]

What is a mountain rig? Not familiar with this expression

 

[Meta4]

Thanks I keep seeing that but thought that was above ground level not sea level. I know a lot of people live at higher altitude places. Does this mean they can't drone in the Rockies?

Above ground is a different thing again.
Your drone has no way to tell how high it is above the ground below it.
If you are in a flat area, it will be the same as height above launch point, if you are in less flat country, the height AGL could be very different from height above launch point.
All heights for your drone are relative to the launch point and thinking of heights any other way will only confuse the issue.

 

[Juggler]

if you read the manual it tells you what it will do...
if you t/o at 0' then climb to 2200' the mount then descend to say 1900' you lose signal behind the mount
now after 11 secs the drone will return at 1900' cause it is higher then the set rth. once it detects the mount it will reverse and climb. then it will try again etc ect till it clears the mount or runs outta battery, then it should land where it is...

i think this task is a good way to lose a MA2

 

[RangerOne]

That's why I mentioned that heights relative to sea level are irrelevant.
The drone doesn't know where sea level is and it doesn't care.
All its heights are relative to the launch point.

I'm launching at see level at my friends home and there are no roads here in remote Bush Alaska to use to gain altitude...Also my friend is 80 years old...Lived here for nearly 30 years and always wanted to know and was hoping some how before he died if he could see what was on the other side of the ridge he had lived by for so long.

 

[El Principio]

Idea number 2: I looked up on Google Earth where Edna Bay is... lovely part of the world! Take a boat to the side of the mountain you want, and fly from there..keeping the drone in line of sight from the boat. With no Wi-Fi interference, if it's also not windy, you should be able to get maximum range.

 

[Meta4]

if you t/o at 0' then climb to 2200' the mount then descend to say 1900' you lose signal behind the mount

You cannot continue to fly after losing signal so you cannot descend far below the mountain top.
You also cannot climb to more than 1640 feet.

now after 11 secs the drone will return at 1900' cause it is higher then the set rth. once it detects the mount it will reverse and climb. then it will try again etc ect till it clears the mount or runs outta battery, then it should land where it is...

That's only correct if the drone had obstacle avoidance
Most DJI drones enter failsafe RTH sooner than 11 sec after losing signal.

i think this task is a good way to lose a MA2

That is correct

 

[RangerOne]

if you read the manual it tells you what it will do...
if you t/o at 0' then climb to 2200' the mount then descend to say 1900' you lose signal behind the mount
now after 11 secs the drone will return at 1900' cause it is higher then the set rth. once it detects the mount it will reverse and climb. then it will try again etc ect till it clears the mount or runs outta battery, then it should land where it is...

i think this task is a good way to lose a MA2

I think your right. That's why I was seeking wisdom from the wise....