Using camera while RTH

Grazuncle · May 27, 2021

I did my second real flight yesterday... got something useful but was also able to test out the movements suggested in the video on my Mini 2.

I did a deliberate RTH at some predetermined point and yes is was able to yaw, rise and fall and operte the gimbal whilst on a return.. I was amazed at it.

In fact (and i may be wrong with this due to inexperience) I suspect with this function you can do something you cannot do manually. At least I'm not aware. With RTH the Mini will sly a straight line and allow you to turn on the horizontal plane (Yaw), at the same time. I don't see how you can do that even with someone else operating the drone RC controls as well. Perhaps someone here does know?

This has some creative possibilities.. my mind is going into overdrive with what I'd considered an emergency facility. LOL

DJayI · May 27, 2021

Grazuncle said:
I don't see how you can do that even with someone else operating the drone RC controls as well.

Some drones have a mode called Headless mode. In that mode the drone orients the right stick(pitch and roll) to the direction the drone was in prior to take off. No matter which way the drone faces(Yaw), pushing the stick away will always cause the drone to fly away from the point of takeoff, pulling the stick will always cause the drone to fly towards the point of takeoff, pushing the stick left will always cause the drone to fly left of the takeoff point, pushing stick to the right will always cause the drone to fly to the right of the takeoff point. However, it would still take a skillful operator to fly line as smooth as RTH does. I imagine a very skillful operator might be able to do it without headless mode or RTH, but that would be a very skillful operator, in deed. Sometimes I try to manually fly point of interest(yaw and roll opposite), for instance, circling the house while keeping the house center frame. While the basic manuever is not particularly hard, doing it as well as the Mini 2 is a whole other story.?

Grazuncle · May 27, 2021

DJayI said:
Some drones have a mode called Headless mode. In that mode the drone orients the right stick(pitch and roll) to the direction the drone was in prior to take off. No matter which way the drone faces(Yaw), pushing the stick away will always cause the drone to fly away from the point of takeoff, pulling the stick will always cause the drone to fly towards the point of takeoff, pushing the stick left will always cause the drone to fly left of the takeoff point, pushing stick to the right will always cause the drone to fly to the right of the takeoff point. However, it would still take a skillful operator to fly line as smooth as RTH does. I imagine a very skillful operator might be able to do it without headless mode or RTH, but that would be a very skillful operator, in deed. Sometimes I try to manually fly point of interest(yaw and roll opposite), for instance, circling the house while keeping the house center frame. While the basic manuever is not particularly hard, doing it as well as the Mini 2 is a whole other story.?

A great insight. I had no idea.

If you could operate the controls in quick shots would be handy?

Repaid1 · May 27, 2021

The whole point and fact of this is RTH is a automated safety feature. Once you touch and input any stick you (the pilot in command!) are saying you have control of whatever function. So per that, it is not a danger to anything (you made that decision and choice)...if your not diligent/competent to know your surroundings and hazards in your area. Don't touch the sticks and let it do what it needs to do.

BTW when you move up to the higher tiers of DJI aircraft that feature is locked out if O/A is on in any capacity..took me 2 weeks to figure that out on a M2Z as I use it quite a bit to do a homemade zip line shot.

It seems on my aircraft I can shut off all sensors for flight, but they hid another toggle for O/A in RTH section that will over ride flight settings and turn O/A on RTH to avoid while flying home... I had to figure out that the hard way. A quick test video I made last year, right when I found out and shut O/A all down everywhere RTH engaged at 2:20:

DJayI · May 27, 2021

Grazuncle said:
operate the controls in quick shots

I agree. Would be neat if DJI added a headless mode option to the Mini 2, seems like it would be an easy do. However, headless mode is generally found on cheap toy drones, so could be beneath DJI.?
A course lock mode would be cool as well. But the Mini 2 offers so much already, I almost feel greedy wanting more.....but I am comfortable with that.?

DJayI · May 27, 2021

Repaid1 said:
Don't touch the sticks and let it do what it needs to do.

The one time I "needed" to initiate RTH, after having lost sight of the drone, that is exactly what I did. I only touched the sticks after regaining site if the Mini 2.?
However, if all is well and under control, I see no harm using RTH as an autopilot.

Grazuncle · May 27, 2021

Repaid1 said:
The whole point and fact of this is RTH is a automated safety feature. Once you touch and input any stick you (the pilot in command!) are saying you have control of whatever function. So per that, it is not a danger to anything (you made that decision and choice)...if your not diligent/competent to know your surroundings and hazards in your area. Don't touch the sticks and let it do what it needs to do.

I'm not exactly sure of your comment.. 'it is not a danger'

Say the drone is in a situation where the set RTH height is dangerous and you need to interrupt the flight to avoid something, you should still leave the sticks alone? We're obliged, according to my CAA test, to get out of the way of manned aircraft for example

I don't understand why it should 'just' be a safety feature? Dronie flight are pre-programmed too aren't they. that doesn't guarantee success or lack of potential damage either.

It has a useful function if used intelligently.. like any other function. In your opinion - why do you think DJI have enabled this on the newer firmware?

just curious.. each to his own.

Repaid1 · May 27, 2021

Grazuncle said:
I'm not exactly sure of your comment.. 'it is not a danger'

Say the drone is in a situation where the set RTH height is dangerous and you need to interrupt the flight to avoid something, you should still leave the sticks alone? We're obliged, according to my CAA test, to get out of the way of manned aircraft for example

I don't understand why it should 'just' be a safety feature? Dronie flight are pre-programmed too aren't they. that doesn't guarantee success or lack of potential damage either.

It has a useful function if used intelligently.. like any other function. In your opinion - why do you think DJI have enabled this on the newer firmware?

just curious.. each to his own.

RTH is set by the operator and is site specific, it should be set to clear tallest obstacle in your area with a slight margin. There shouldn't be, in 99% of the time, any need to adjust that flight. While plausible of the avoid question, again simply RTH is a safety function and made for when the aircraft loses signal or only has enough juice to get back home safely. If you don't have signal...you can't adjust that flight path anyway...and if you lose orientation same thing, one needs to be aware of what is around and below them. IF you don't know those things you certainly can't avoid any other aircraft.

Understanding how RTH works would help you understand and answer your own questions and concerns. So let's go with the one you do have control of. A manual RTH...say you lost it in the sky/orientation. When you engage RTH the first part of the sequence is the aircraft will yaw to face shortest possible nose direction to flight path home..it will then climb out to your set height. So in this instance if you lost your bird and hear a aircraft approaching (Sans ADS-B) you simply engage the RTH, count to say 5, and cancel it. Pull down stick if need be and hover till aircraft clears. From there snap camera from the down view that you used a "C" button programed to do so, and hit it again for forward view, if nothing is in front of you, push right stick forward and waalaa..it's home and land normally.

The autonomous flights of the newer DJI are done within radio range and will cancel if signal is lost, not so with mine, it will continue mission and as such if I sent it into a autonomous flight of a hazardous area that is on me as I cannot cancel or alter flight. I program on a mission hub on my computer, I test fly that mission online and always program higher than anything around...I then will go back and adjust altitudes if I wish.

As to why DJI added this feature in a later firmware....as mentioned they have always had it and probably missed it in the release of this aircraft. People began whining about the lost feature set and they enabled it again for said aircraft. They do silly stuff like that all the time.

As I mentioned I use RTH almost every flight to do special tricks/shots...it's much easier for me to do a quick RTH adjustment to get a cable cam shot than to try and program one on sight and waste flight time adjusting a mission. I have been doing this with DJI for right over 6 years now, something I got used to doing....but yes I have Litchi if I want to program as well.

BTW when I used the word Dangerous, I was referring to the drone itself as to hitting a wire or going to low below what was deemed a safe flight path...which BTW is always going to vary depending on where you are in relationship to the Drone. So if you had one 100 ft tree out there and set RTH to 125 Ft...the chance of you engaging RTH or RTH engaging itself and hitting that tree are not even a fraction of a chance in real world conditions..possible yes...plausible not really.