Second flight - 4900 feet!!

[Bad Santa]

So, I guess I have a lot more learning to be done.
I went for my second flight, this time out of the neighborhood and away from the ceiling regulations of being near an airport.
For whatever reason, I had a few issues that I'm sure are operator error.

My phone records when you push the record button. The DJI stops recording when you push the record button.
Needless to say, I got a good video if it sitting on the ground before takeoff.

I flew for about 15 minutes and managed to get an elevation of 4900 feet!! WOW!!

I was also horizontal about 200 feet. I wanted to test the TRH but pushing the button didn't seem to do anything. About a minute later the controller displayed "Return to home transmission failed".
So I panicked a little.

Then it didn't want to respond much. I was able to maneuver it closer to straight above and then decrease the altitude.

I was able to get it to landing mode a few feet off the ground and landed it (manually) within a 12" circle from where it took off.

Somewhat relieved as there were many inaccessible areas all around. I wish I had not fudged the video recording. The area was spectacular. What I saw on the screen was awesome.

Before I get too many comments about being irresponsible to not know everything before I flew, I'm learning. This was, for all purposes, a learning flight. Tells me where I need to learn more.

I need to do some take-off and record flights.
I need to get the RTH controls ironed out.
I need to improve my startup routine.
I need to practice with the controls more to get muscle memory.
I need to find out why the zoom wasn't working (I didn't mention that above)
I need to get a landing pad. Doesn't take much for a prop to hit something on the ground. Had a hard time finding a perfectly flat spot without vegetation.

Oh, and I probably should have mentioned that the 4900 foot was ASL, but the flight itself was only 55M AGL. I was on Mt Hood at coordinates 45°18'23.0"N 121°42'06.9"W which is a little over 4700ft ASL in elevation.

 

[DoomMeister]

Be sure to read the post entirely before posting a reply. This borders on trolling

 

[AeroJ]

I flew for about 15 minutes and managed to get an elevation of 4900 feet!! WOW!!

Not sure why that gets a wow if it was only <200 ft AGL... but it is otherwise unremarkable that this sort of craft can fly at that sort of ASL altitude.

I was also horizontal about 200 feet. I wanted to test the TRH but pushing the button didn't seem to do anything. About a minute later the controller displayed "Return to home transmission failed".
So I panicked a little.

Then it didn't want to respond much. I was able to maneuver it closer to straight above and then decrease the altitude.

I would say THIS is the more interesting part of the post. I have never had an RTH command fail myself, so curious what could cause this. The fact that you got an error message about it would suggest there was no user error in calling the command.

And then it 'didn't want to respond much' ? What does that mean exactly ?! What were conditions on the mountain like ? Was there anything physical between you and the craft when you had these control difficulties ? What was your signal strength / GPS sats doing for the duration of this flight ? Were your aerials extended properly and facing the craft when RTH failed to send ?

I think it would be quite helpful to see the flight log for this session.

And if you did lose the footage / not record the flight, you can probably get the 1080P version of your screen recording off your controller, which captures what the camera saw at the time even if not recording there.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

I flew for about 15 minutes and managed to get an elevation of 4900 feet!! WOW!! ,...,........., but the flight itself was only 55M AGL.

I think you should edit both the title and post to make it IMMEDIATELY clear that the AGL was only 55m.

The altitude your drone reached is, I think, quite conservative.
If you read the drone's manual you will probably find its maximum ASL ceiling LISTED in that manual.
I wouldn't be surprised if it is in excess of 4000m, i.e. three times higher than your maximum height.
In addition, if you google the subject, I think you will find several threads that state DJI drones tend to warn the pilot that the drone is at high altitude and therefore near its absolute ceiling. Since you make no mention of such a warning I assume none was issued, which reinforces my suspicion that your drone's ASL ceiling is far above the height your drone reached.
I think I have seen a ceiling of 6000m for some models. If correct then the ASL reached should not have surprised you, especially since you took off from only 55m lower.

In fact I have seen a thread in which the drone has been flown from high up on Everest.

It is generally advised that practise/learning flights should be performed in wide open areas devoid of trees, buildigs, mountains and people. Learn how the drone behaves in a safe area before going for real flights.

As your post currently stands and in light of having seen your "news recording" thread I am inclined to agree with DoomMeister's assessment and think the current title and wording of your post looks like click baiting or trolling.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

I was also horizontal about 200 feet.

Since this is an approximate distance I again suggest that you read the drone's manual, where I am sure that you will find that there are distance thresholds which modify RTH behaviour.
I wouldn't be surprised if one of those thresholds is 50m which is close enough to your approximate 200ft that it is quite feasible that the drone was within the threshold.
The point of this post is that YOU NEED TO KNOW THESE THRESHOLDS, not knowing them could cost you the drone.
Being new to the drone is no excuse, physics and gravity give no quarter to inexperienced and uniformed pilots.

IMO working through, in a safe place, ALL the RTH behaviours that are described in the manual is ABSOLUTELY VITAL to the preservation of your drone.
You may have only seconds to save a drone if you make a mistake in relation to RTH behaviour. BEEN THERE, DONE THAT, so I speak from experience. Fortunately I knew enough to save the drone, I suspect you might not have known enough to save that drone.
Even then a mavic 2 managed to scare the crap out of me because an additional option/parameter modified the RTH behaviour.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

If the above posts seem harsh. think of it this way.
Physics and gravity are harsher still, they will give you absolutely no quarter.
My posts at least give you the opportunity to learn, which is, in part, their intent.