RTH. Is this something you use?

[Dronin]

It's been awhile since I been on this board. Coincidentally, I looked at my account today and learned that I ordered my MP 1 year ago on this very day, so it's a birthday of sorts for me. Since I had to wait a bit for her to arrive, I wonder when's my official cut off date for DJI Care refresh. I'll soon be flying without a net. I wish I could "Re-Up" on that.

Anyway, I keep reading posts from people who have problems during RTH or get annoyed by the beeping sound of RTH. Is there a beeping sound? I wouldn't know. Why? Because I never use RTH. One time, early on, I pressed it, just to see what would happen, it appeared to be working, and I cancelled it. The other time, was when I lost contact with her, the Drone Gods took pity on me, and RTH kicked in, a few minutes later (although it felt like hours) she was back, hovering above me in all her glory.

Outside of those instances, I don't even think of using it. My prior drones were all very manual, I learned to fly by dead reckoning at the University of Crash. The thought of using RTH seems to foreign and kind of odd. In fact, I have never used the "auto-land" slide on the screen dealie either. My neighbor said his friend crashed his brand new Yuneec using that feature. My first thought was, "Who uses that anyway?

Am I alone on these things? It's ok if I am, I used to it

 

[dirkclod]

IMO yes you are fine as I fly a lot and make runs and have always used it with 0 issues . I always took it back before it does land as I hand catch .
You can read all day and see different opinions on this but this is just from me using it as much as I have .

 

[Callum]

IMO yes you are fine as I fly a lot and make runs and have always used it with 0 issues . I always took it back before it does land as I hand catch .
You can read all day and see different opinions on this but this is just from me using it as much as I have .

I don't use RTH or auto land out of habit. Coming from RC you never had the luxury of taking your hands of the sticks never mind it flying itself home.

Had I came into the hobby on a modern quad I'm sure I would use all those features a lot more.

 

[dirkclod]

Is what you are used to I guess . Have never flew anything but DJI stuff and just have used it since my P2 days . So I'm just used to it .

 

[AeroMirage]

I seldom use RTH but I think it needs to be tested out periodically.
I am glad it is there, as just the other evening I was flying and lost signal due to a lot of interference. RTH kicked in and brought her back.
I cancelled it as soon as I regained signal, but am glad it is there.
I never use auto land or auto take off.

 

[tcope]

This has been debated before.

Personally, I recommend using the Smart RTH feature (this is when you push the button to RTH... RTH is when you loose connection and it's done automatically). I'm not a believer that a person should ever give up control of the drone unless they need to. It simply opens the door for things to go wrong. I've _never_ read from anyone on this forum stating that they had 100% of the drone and somehow, it never came back. We have seen where people push the RTH button and something goes wrong. Is that often? No. Does Smart RTH work very well? Yes. But you simply never know and programming and electronics _can_ go wrong.

 

[Dronin]

I seldom use RTH but I think it needs to be tested out periodically.
I am glad it is there, as just the other evening I was flying and lost signal due to a lot of interference. RTH kicked in and brought her back.
I cancelled it as soon as I regained signal, but am glad it is there.
I never use auto land or auto take off.

I absolutely agree. Especially with the idea of testing it periodically because the one time I needed it it came through and I'd be screwed without it. It's just I never want to use it unless it's necessary because I enjoy flying it back home and the thought of putting on autopilot doesn't even occur to me.

I appreciate everybody's input, thank you.

 

[JoostGT3]

Normally, I don’t use too many of these things; I fire up the props, then take off manually. Fly around, then come back, rotate the drone around and land it flying backwards (so the object avoidance sensors dont freak out and I can land it right at my feet). However, I have had a couple of times where the gimball would freak out after switching between video and photo... if that happens, the camera will be going apeshit for about 30s... and when the drone is far out, it will make you feel real queesy in the stomach. So on these occasions, I have used RTH, and I was happy it is there. I’ll try/demonstrate it sometimes to friends and this makes me remember how it behaves, which gives me a good feeling.

Long story short; I don’t use it routinely, but every now and then I use it.

 

[LarryM]

I think you should test RTH to know what it does, and limitations - you don't want to fly UP into trees or wires. I usually fly in sight and fly back manually but nice to know MP will try to fly back if it loses contact. In a panic think a little before pushing the RTH button.

 

[motopokep]

agree with the majority, have only used it 2-3 times. Once out of the box, to see if it works, and couple times when it flew out too far and lost signal and would not regain. I've had an UpAir One fall out of the sky once I activated RTH, so I'm not comfortable using that feature after that experience. Though the Mavic is a much better drone, we've all read about the few RTH flyawas even with the Mavic. If you're going to use RTH, calibrate the compass before the flight, and stay away from metal objects during calibration and take off, and record the home point manually. GPS drones are fairly new technology, and until this technology is perfected, best to think of RTH as a last resort option to bring your drone back.

 

[nemeroff]

I use it all the time. I will fly out a mile or so and look at things until I get down on battery then hit rth and let it fly back. I always land it my self. I usually get back with about 40% battery so I will fly close then land. I never have had problems with rth

 

[laurens23]

never use it. for me it is a safety feature not a flight mode.

I tested it once on the 2nd or 3rd flight. It saved me once when I misjudged my position and flew behind a hill. RTH kicked in and after 20 sec I had my manual control back.

 

[Grantt]

This has been debated before.

Personally, I recommend using the Smart RTH feature (this is when you push the button to RTH... RTH is when you loose connection and it's done automatically). I'm not a believer that a person should ever give up control of the drone unless they need to. It simply opens the door for things to go wrong. I've _never_ read from anyone on this forum stating that they had 100% of the drone and somehow, it never came back. We have seen where people push the RTH button and something goes wrong. Is that often? No. Does Smart RTH work very well? Yes. But you simply never know and programming and electronics _can_ go wrong.

Can you provide a link to the thread with the debate? I tried to search but couldn't find thread that was obvious. Looking for a discussion presenting both sides of the debate.

I understand and agree with the argument that one should not rely on the RTH to bring the drone back. However, that being said, I do believe the future of drones in the near future (5 to 10 years) will be much more autonomous, which means RTH will have to be the standard method for the drone to return home. For example, while driving, you can deploy the drone from your vehicle with voice commands to check out whats up ahead that is causing the traffic to be slow. Or I believe there will be a day when your drone would be able to fly from your vehicle, fetch a drink, and bring it back to you without you even stopping. If these are future drone scenarios, then I view using the RTH command today as more like a child just learning to walk. Testing RTH should be encouraged as a research and development type of activity to flush out problematic scenarios and make a more robust/intelligent system in the future.

 

[Clinton1]

I am with the OP. I think i tested maybe 2-3 times just to see how it works. The rest of the time i fly manually, old habit from my heli days

 

[Rnl]

I use it daily, I film whitetail deer so I stay airborne till battery level brings it home.

 

[Rnl]

I watch all data including the camera not one time out of hundred has it not worked

 

[msinger]

I film whitetail deer so I stay airborne till battery level brings it home.

Be careful with this one if you're ever flying in windy conditions. If the Mavic will be flying into the wind on the way back to the home point, it might not be able to make it back in time. That'll cause it to auto land at its current location when the battery reaches the critically low level.

 

[Rnl]

I fly same fields daily, have a couple emergency landing spots already picked if need be, I have used them a few times.

 

[Dronin]

This has been debated before.

Personally, I recommend using the Smart RTH feature (this is when you push the button to RTH... RTH is when you loose connection and it's done automatically). I'm not a believer that a person should ever give up control of the drone unless they need to. It simply opens the door for things to go wrong. I've _never_ read from anyone on this forum stating that they had 100% of the drone and somehow, it never came back. We have seen where people push the RTH button and something goes wrong. Is that often? No. Does Smart RTH work very well? Yes. But you simply never know and programming and electronics _can_ go wrong.

If I understand you correctly, I think you're saying what I tend to believe. RTH, whether using the Smart RTH or lost connection/depleted battery RTH, is adding another link of complexity in the chain of trouble. Why use it unless circumstances call for it.

This is anecdotal, but the only people I know, which is just a couple, who had catastrophic mysterious "the thing had a mind of its own..." type events occurred during a "machine take the wheel" moment. I just can't imagine flying a mile out on my own, and then pressing RTH, putting my feet up, and waiting for it to come back.

 

[BossBob]

I’ve never used RTH, smart RTH or autoland. I gave up on landing protection not long after my first flight. I’ve never flown any rc aircraft previously though I’ve a couple of electric buggies and I do like realistic rather than game style flight simulators.
It’s odd that I own a 450 rc heli that I built but have never flown but am happy flying a £1000 drone.