RTH "rules" if near a NFZ

[jimlips]

I was discussing the following scenario with a friend who is also a Mavic Pro owner. Please see my attached drawing (sorry for the poor drawing, it was the best I could do and post here).

Let's assume your RTH altitude is set higher than the building in the drawing.

Let's say you flew your aircraft around the building, then lost signal. We all know it would revert to RTH mode, rise above the building, and come back to launch point (if set to RTH).

Now, let's say the building is in a NFZ, and you have flown around the NFZ. Would the same rules apply? Or would the aircraft try and actually go around the building, keeping out of the NFZ?

I have a feeling it would fly up to the building, stop, and hover until the battery reached "aircraft must land now due to low battery mode", then land behind the building.

Does anyone have personal experience with this?

Thanks in advance.

Jim

 

[brett8883]

I was discussing the following scenario with a friend who is also a Mavic Pro owner. Please see my attached drawing (sorry for the poor drawing, it was the best I could do and post here).

Let's assume your RTH altitude is set higher than the building in the drawing.

Let's say you flew your aircraft around the building, then lost signal. We all know it would revert to RTH mode, rise above the building, and come back to launch point (if set to RTH).

Now, let's say the building is in a NFZ, and you have flown around the NFZ. Would the same rules apply? Or would the aircraft try and actually go around the building, keeping out of the NFZ?

I have a feeling it would fly up to the building, stop, and hover until the battery reached "aircraft must land now due to low battery mode", then land behind the building.

Does anyone have personal experience with this?View attachment 71800View attachment 71800

Thanks in advance.

Jim

It’s a good question Jim that I could look into tonight but I think the building part is irrelevant. If the drone sees an obstacle in its way on the way home it will rise above the obstacle well before its near it.

To simplify the question lets change it to “what happens when the drone fly’s around a NFZ and the NFZ is directly in the path of a RTH route?”

A realistic example would be a prison since they are a red NFZ but only directly above the prison grounds. I’m not sure on the Mavic Pro right now.

I can try it out in the simulator tonight to find out.

 

[sar104]

It will stop, and eventually autoland.

 

[msinger]

Now, let's say the building is in a NFZ, and you have flown around the NFZ. Would the same rules apply? Or would the aircraft try and actually go around the building, keeping out of the NFZ?

The aircraft would fly to the NFZ and land since it's not allowed to enter that location.

 

[brett8883]

Glad you guys knew because I realized I can’t do it in the SIM since I changed all the firmware around

 

[fellersk]

I had personal experience with this type of situation while flying around the Statue of Liberty. There is a NFZ 400' out and around Liberty Island. I was aware of that and planned my flight accordingly using Litchi.

I flew from Jersey City around and to the other side of the Statue of Liberty with less than a full battery (1st teachable moment).

When I got to the other side of Liberty Island the battery got to 20% and tried to RTH. RTH is a direct line. But now I've got a NFZ between me and my Mavic 2 Pro. (2nd teachable moment)

It took me a while to realize what was happening since my controller announced that she was returning home, but instead of heading around the NFZ, the shortest route, she just hovered. Once I realized what was happening at about 15% battery, I cancelled RTH, took control, and started to fly back to Jersey City. At 10% battery over the Hudson River, she started to Autoland. (3rd teachable moment)

Thanks to reading way too many posts on this forum, I realized what was happening, and when she was about 10' above the Hudson River, I was able to cancel Autoland, regain control, and bring her back at full speed, while my heart beat was at about 200 bpm. Although I had control and regained altitude, she continued to descend while enroute to Jersey City, presumably to try to land. (4th teachable moment)

With much thanks to the Drone Gods, I recovered my prized Mavic 2 Pro, by hand catching, with 1% battery remaining.

This event was about a month ago, and my heart races every time I think about it...like right now.

 

[brett8883]

I had personal experience with this type of situation while flying around the Statue of Liberty. There is a NFZ 400' out and around Liberty Island. I was aware of that and planned my flight accordingly using Litchi.

I flew from Jersey City around and to the other side of the Statue of Liberty with less than a full battery (1st teachable moment).

When I got to the other side of Liberty Island the battery got to 20% and tried to RTH. RTH is a direct line. But now I've got a NFZ between me and my Mavic 2 Pro. (2nd teachable moment)

It took me a while to realize what was happening since my controller announced that she was returning home, but instead of heading around the NFZ, the shortest route, she just hovered. Once I realized what was happening at about 15% battery, I cancelled RTH, took control, and started to fly back to Jersey City. At 10% battery over the Hudson River, she started to Autoland. (3rd teachable moment)

Thanks to reading way too many posts on this forum, I realized what was happening, and when she was about 10' above the Hudson River, I was able to cancel Autoland, regain control, and bring her back at full speed, while my heart beat was at about 200 bpm. Although I had control and regained altitude, she continued to descend while enroute to Jersey City, presumably to try to land. (4th teachable moment)

With much thanks to the Drone Gods, I recovered my prized Mavic 2 Pro, by hand catching, with 1% battery remaining.

This event was about a month ago, and my heart races every time I think about it...like right now.

That’s enough to make anybody’s heart race. I’ve had some close calls myself and your story gives me flash backs.

Well done though you handled it like a pro.