Strong Wind Warning -- scary situation

[Ian in London]

I believe the concern isn't if it will respond to rth button, but will it automatically go into rth after losing signal

Fair point; tho I see the concern being if it could enter RTH mode with that error message.... I'd think that pressing the button or losing signal is ultimately the same command: Attempt to enter RTH mode.

 

[OneQuickSix]

I believe the concern isn't if it will respond to rth button, but will it automatically go into rth after losing signal

Ok, so I can confirm two things (with the Mini at least, haven't tested with Air2) ...

1. There is definitely "reserve battery". I let the Mini go down to 0% and it stayed on (not spun up, but recording ... which draws a bit more power) for 10 minutes. If the rotors were going, I'm sure it would be considerably less time. Never going to rely on that, of course, but it is reassuring to know if it has to emergency land, goes down, etc., and I'm not quite sure where it is, the "find my drone" feature will be useful for a decent amount of time.
   
   
2. The RTH worked while disconnected from the controller in high winds despite the DJI Fly warning me about it every other second. So also good news. (On a separate note, I think I might have a Mini that's wind detection is over-sensitive/broken or something.)

I'll try it with my Air 2 next time I have a chance, but that will require a REALLY windy day, so it might be a while.

 

[Oakley75]

The reassurance is invaluable, thank you Ian & OneQuickSix. Can't really trust DJI as they have become extra "cover our butts from liability" lately.

Miss the simple ole P2V+ days...

 

[sar104]

The reassurance is invaluable, thank you Ian & OneQuickSix. Can't really trust DJI as they have become extra "cover our butts from liability" lately.

Miss the simple ole P2V+ days...

Based on all the lost Mavics due to high winds, I'd argue that DJI is mostly trying to save users from their own ignorance rather than exercising CYA.

 

[TerryToast]

For a simple solution, DJI should allow users to set their “Return to Home Flight Mode” as:
- Normal mode: or
- Sports mode

On flights where Pilots can set their “Return to Home” height with sufficient elevation to clear all possible obstacles (which happens frequently), obstacle avoidance is not required and the proposed RTH Flight Mode = Sports would stop many flyaways.

 

[Meta4]

On flights where Pilots can set their “Return to Home” height with sufficient elevation to clear all possible obstacles (which happens frequently), obstacle avoidance is not required and the proposed RTH Flight Mode = Sports would stop many flyaways.

If a flyer puts his drone in a situation it can't return from, the drone doesn't "fly away".

The other thing that could reduce the number of drones lost to strong winds is a bit complicated.
For it to work you have to avoid flying off downwind in strong wind situations.

 

[TerryToast]

If a flyer puts his drone in a situation it can't return from, the drone doesn't "fly away".

The other thing that could reduce the number of drones lost to strong winds is a bit complicated.
For it to work you have to avoid flying off downwind in strong wind situations.

If filming boats, whales, etc, a pilot has no choice re “downwind“, he/she simply has to start by flying out to sea.

 

[Sandman3769]

Yesterday, I was out looking for whales, dolphins, sharks, etc, and I came across this boat out in the ocean. Judging by the response, I don't think fishermen have the same enthusiasm for drones that we do.


While I am on the subject, is it common for drones to miscalculate the altitude when flying over the water? Even when mine was at 70 feet, if I tried to bring it down a few feet, it would say that it is not an appropriate place to land, and it would not go down any lower. While I don't disagree with the sentiment, I was nowhere near landing altitude. Then other times, I could fly at 20 feet and it was fine. But sometimes, it said I was at -15 feet, when I was reasonably high in the air.

 

[SkyeHigh]

I came across this boat out in the ocean. Judging by the response, I don't think fishermen have the same enthusiasm for drones that we do.

He’d probably told his wife he was just popping down to the shops.

 

[Meta4]

If filming boats, whales, etc, a pilot has no choice re “downwind“, he/she simply has to start by flying out to sea.

Before you launch, you have lots of choice.
If you fly a mile downwind and offshore before thinking about wind, you might have no choice.

The common blow away scenario seen on the forum is flyers that end up a long way downwind from home before finding out that their drone can't make enough speed against the wind to get home.
If you fly out to sea, it's even more important to carefully consider the wind, speed and direction and how it will impact on your return flight.

 

[Meta4]

While I am on the subject, is it common for drones to miscalculate the altitude when flying over the water? Even when mine was at 70 feet, if I tried to bring it down a few feet, it would say that it is not an appropriate place to land, and it would not go down any lower. While I don't disagree with the sentiment, I was nowhere near landing altitude. Then other times, I could fly at 20 feet and it was fine. But sometimes, it said I was at -15 feet, when I was reasonably high in the air.

Small variations in altitude displayed by the app are common but what you describe seems more than normal.
You might be able to improve the accuracy of your altitude readings by recalibrating your IMU.

 

[TxArch DroneGuy]

Just put the controller in sport mode and fly it home manually. No one should solely rely on auto return to home.

 

[Ian in London]

Prepare to be surprised.
I'm surprised that you haven't encountered this issue before.
It's been a factor in the loss of many drones and the subject of many complaints to DJI.
Especially with the Mini that has an RTH speed of only 8 m/s.

Do a still air test first to establish what speed DJI have set for RTH Mode.
I'm not certain it is 12 m/s, just that it won't be more than 12 m/s.

How accurate are the wind speeds you use for those calculations?

Hello again
I was thinking of our discussion here when I was filming this latest wind test video and tested this scenario specifically. It was a very windy day and I flew downwind to ensure the RTH would have to fly directly into the wind.
At 3:19 on the video, the RTH speed is 5 m/s, yet the AIrData.com flight analytics show the wind speed to be around 13-15 m/s at this point of the flight, showing the aircraft will indeed overcome some of the headwind, but not all. I was flying directly into the wind for RTH and as the wind was greater than 12 m/s, the only way it could make any head way was to make use of additional thrust capacity that, in a still air environment, would have exceeded 12 m/s. Similarly (but not shown in the video) when I was flying with the wind, the AirData showed many instances of "Flight Speed Limited to 12 m/s" messages where it literally puts the brakes on to ensure the normal P mode speed isn't exceeded when flying downwind in very strong wind.
Either way, as I say at the end, it tries but isn't invincible. But A, it will definitely go into RTH mode despite that warning, and B, it can still make some headway when the wind is stronger than the defined max speed.
Cheers, Ian

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[Meta4]

At 3:19 on the video, the RTH speed is 5 m/s, yet the AIrData.com flight analytics show the wind speed to be around 13-15 m/s at this point of the flight, showing the aircraft will indeed overcome some of the headwind, but not all.
Either way, as I say at the end, it tries but isn't invincible. But A, it will definately go into RTH mode dspite that warning, and B, it can still make some headway when the wind is stronger than the defined max speed.

This sounds like you've uncovered the Air 2's new trick.
Max Tilt Angle - 35° (S Mode) .. 20° (N Mode) .. 35° (N Mode under strong wind)
DJI haven't used this in any previous drones and I haven't seen much in the way of advertising the new feature.

 

[OneQuickSix]

... Either way, as I say at the end, it tries but isn't invincible. But A, it will definitely go into RTH mode despite that warning, and B, it can still make some headway when the wind is stronger than the defined max speed.
Cheers, Ian

Ian, I don't suppose there is any way to "snooze" that warning, or any possibly to do so in the future, perhaps with the release of the SDK? With the Mini especially, sometimes it is almost constantly going off, which as you might imagine, is REALLY distracting.

I think they need to at least re-calibrate it to that the SUSTAINED wind is taken into account ... not just a 1-second "blast". And/or a built-in timeout period between alerts.

 

[Ian in London]

Ian, I don't suppose there is any way to "snooze" that warning, or any possibly to do so in the future, perhaps with the release of the SDK? With the Mini especially, sometimes it is almost constantly going off, which as you might imagine, is REALLY distracting.

I think they need to at least re-calibrate it to that the SUSTAINED wind is taken into account ... not just a 1-second "blast". And/or a built-in timeout period between alerts.

It does indeed go off frequently with the Mini but, especially with the Mini, it's probably needed as the Mini can easily get into difficulties in strong wind.... Defo no way to snooze or mute it tho....

 

[OneQuickSix]

It does indeed go off frequently with the Mini but, especially with the Mini, it's probably needed as the Mini can easily get into difficulties in strong wind.... Defo no way to snooze or mute it tho....

Oh, it's definitely good to know, especially with the Mini, as you said. But there needs to be a timeout interval programmed in or better detection involving longer gusts vs a split second of gust.

 

[skyskidoo]

I'm guessing a switch to sport mode to get home in this situation might help. Heavier battery use but much less time in the headwind. This is how airlines flight plan. Should be the same. No?

 

[TJFly]

I flew my MA2 out over water about 3,900' to video a sailboat cooking along on spinnaker only. It does incredibly well in high wind (white caps on the water).

However, on the way back I got the following warning:

Strong wind warning. Aircraft unable to return to home automatically. Lower altitude immediately and return to home manually(Code: 30149)

It makes sense that it didn't want to ascend to the RTH altitude (65') because the wind might be even greater. However, it begs the question -- what would have happened if signal was lost and it couldn't "return to home automatically"?

It was flying fine. The video was smooth and the gimbal was never maxed out. It was about 25' above the water.

By coincidence the battery on my tablet died when I was almost home and the drone was visible. But I wouldn't have been able to manually retrieve the drone if that had happened earlier, assuming the message is accurate.

Has anyone had a similar experience? Or know anything more about this condition? If the message is accurate that's not a good thing. It should at least attempt to RTH.

I flew my MA2 out over water about 3,900' to video a sailboat cooking along on spinnaker only. It does incredibly well in high wind (white caps on the water).

However, on the way back I got the following warning:

Strong wind warning. Aircraft unable to return to home automatically. Lower altitude immediately and return to home manually(Code: 30149)

It makes sense that it didn't want to ascend to the RTH altitude (65') because the wind might be even greater. However, it begs the question -- what would have happened if signal was lost and it couldn't "return to home automatically"?

It was flying fine. The video was smooth and the gimbal was never maxed out. It was about 25' above the water.

By coincidence the battery on my tablet died when I was almost home and the drone was visible. But I wouldn't have been able to manually retrieve the drone if that had happened earlier, assuming the message is accurate.

Has anyone had a similar experience? Or know anything more about this condition? If the message is accurate that's not a good thing. It should at least attempt to RTH.

you were chasing a sailboat with spinnaker up, so you were flying downwind and needed to fly upwind to get back. 1) switch to SPORT mode to get more power. 2) "tack" back and forth at 35 degrees or so to the wind, as not to take on the wind head on.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

"Tacking" is of no use unless it moves you into slower wind.
If, for instance, the drone is only able to hold its own against the wind. i.e. when its maximum air speed matches the wind speed then flying at an angle to the wind does not miraculously produce more air speed. It means less of that maximum airspeed it used to fight the wind which results in the drone being blown down wind i.e. it is blown away.