When do YOU use Return to Home?

[loop]

When I do a hyperlapse,which often the case , after completing I just hit the RTH button as the battery level is usually quite low to capture anything else of value.

 

[funflyer]

Return to Home is a great feature! It's even nicer with the new Green Glide Slope on the Mini 4 Pro .

Since I started flying a number of years and several drones ago, I always thought of it as a last ditch savior. That I should improve my flying skills so I wouldn't need it.
A parachute -if you will - for when things go wrong like a dying battery, signal loss or when I can't find HOME.

But lately I'm wondering, "why not just use it to get back quicker and easier" instead of flying my way back home.

I'M CURIOUS... WHAT IS EVERYBODY ELSE DOING?

Most of the time. I return as slow as I can, then take some nice pics/video and concentrate more on the camera.

 

[GregS]

Let’s ask another question.
What is a high RTH altitude? I tend to add 100 feet to the drone grabbing obstacles that are in the flight area to help with the old eye syndrome that isn’t as good anymore for judging height at a distance. Fifty feet might cut it, but a hundred makes me feel better. Wind issues are verified prior to takeoff so I know what I may be up against in crisis mode. I have also stayed away from the mini line specifically for the wind issues that are somewhat difficult to predict at varying heights. I’ve always leaned towards more horsepower on anything I touch.

Agree...since I live in the flatlands of Illinois, I go 50' above the highest obstacle, which is usually a 150' RTH altitude.
What I do need to do is change the return to the point of T/O, to return to the controller. Walk about 100 yards to make sure it works.

 

[StantonZ]

I use RTH quite a lot...and it's very accurate (as long as you wait for the "homepoint updated" message).

 

[smbishop]

I have been using it frequently with my Mini Pro 4, never used it with my Mini two. Love the AR flight path! It works great at night as well!

 

[JimSteadman]

Return to Home is a great feature! It's even nicer with the new Green Glide Slope on the Mini 4 Pro .

Since I started flying a number of years and several drones ago, I always thought of it as a last ditch savior. That I should improve my flying skills so I wouldn't need it.
A parachute -if you will - for when things go wrong like a dying battery, signal loss or when I can't find HOME.

But lately I'm wondering, "why not just use it to get back quicker and easier" instead of flying my way back home.

I'M CURIOUS... WHAT IS EVERYBODY ELSE DOING?

I use it most of the time. To me it is just common sense. I have done the photos or videos I wanted to do and it is the quickest and easiest way to get the drone back home. I also use my GPS in the car instead of a map most of the time when I am looking for an address, and I do set my speed control (generally 5 - 7 mph above the speed limit). In all 3 cases, I cannot think of many good reasons not to use it.

 

[CJG]

Return to Home is a great feature! It's even nicer with the new Green Glide Slope on the Mini 4 Pro .

Since I started flying a number of years and several drones ago, I always thought of it as a last ditch savior. That I should improve my flying skills so I wouldn't need it.
A parachute -if you will - for when things go wrong like a dying battery, signal loss or when I can't find HOME.

But lately I'm wondering, "why not just use it to get back quicker and easier" instead of flying my way back home.

I'M CURIOUS... WHAT IS EVERYBODY ELSE DOING?

All the time, @Luckyguy9, every trip to bring my Mini 3 Pro/Mavic 2 Pro home! Well, why not (as @KBF says)

And "......it can be used repeatedly in a single flight for quick Orientation of the drone and than cancelled several times over." as @Phantomrain.org says

 

[Nanny Ogg]

Let’s ask another question.
What is a high RTH altitude? I tend to add 100 feet to the drone grabbing obstacles that are in the flight area to help with the old eye syndrome that isn’t as good anymore for judging height at a distance. Fifty feet might cut it, but a hundred makes me feel better. Wind issues are verified prior to takeoff so I know what I may be up against in crisis mode. I have also stayed away from the mini line specifically for the wind issues that are somewhat difficult to predict at varying heights. I’ve always leaned towards more horsepower on anything I touch.

My son has a drone stored 200ft up a fir tree since the RTH altitude was not set high enough.

 

[Zbip57]

I would go further and say it is essential to work through every aspect of ALL the RTH behaviours in practise before they are met for real. Especially as the available options and behaviours become more numerous and complicated.
This isn't helped by DJI messing with what should be standardised behaviours such as the dwell time before failsafe behaviour kicks in and what happens if you fiddle with the sticks during RTH.

Exactly!

The most important thing is that you understand how the RTH function behaves on your own drone, so that its behaviour doesn't come as a surprise when you need to rely on it in an emergency. Practise and experiment with the various functions, and especially familiarize yourself with how to cancel RTH if you find it isn't behaving as you expected it should.

Every new generation of DJI's drones comes with more complex and potentially confusing features. You don't want to be wasting time blindly fumbling with switches the first time you actually NEED to use RTH, or worse, blindly fumbling with switches and inadvertently cancelling RTH and then be left wondering why the drone never returned.

The original first generation DJI Phantom had a really dangerous quirk in its RTH behaviour. Loss of control signal would initiate the usual RTH function, climb to configured RTH height, head for Home, then land. That all made perfect sense. Except, if the drone was sitting on the ground with motors running and you inadvertently switched the controller off first, that would trigger loss-of-signal RTH. The drone, even though it was already sitting on the ground in its Home location, would suddenly climb straight up to RTH height, than come back down to land again at the same spot. That could cause some mayhem if you happened to be standing over it at the time, or if the drone was sitting on your kitchen table when this occurred!

The newest drones all have much safer and more complicated systems with object avoidence and other features like GEO-zones determining how the drone will behave under different RTH circumstances. Find a safe location to practise and experiment with that.

I used to do all sorts of tests in our local high school football field with my old Phantom, and then Phantom 3 Pro. The new drone regulations now prevent me from flying there as the field is just within the controlled airspace of Ottawa International Airport. I hold only a Basic Licence which makes it illegal to fly the Phantom within any controlled airspace.

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[Wild Drone Pilot]

Return to Home is a great feature! It's even nicer with the new Green Glide Slope on the Mini 4 Pro .

Since I started flying a number of years and several drones ago, I always thought of it as a last ditch savior. That I should improve my flying skills so I wouldn't need it.
A parachute -if you will - for when things go wrong like a dying battery, signal loss or when I can't find HOME.

But lately I'm wondering, "why not just use it to get back quicker and easier" instead of flying my way back home.

I'M CURIOUS... WHAT IS EVERYBODY ELSE DOING?

I fly until I hear low battery in 30 sec RTH will start
Then I get a cup of coffee and wait until it lands at my feet +- and inch or two.

 

[NMB_FreeBird]

RTH is more than a Parachute. Its more like a Drone self check that the GPS is working correctly and accuracy to check where it lands after a mission or flight experence. I also use to check after each Firmware update to test for improvements.

 

[Mrprop365]

the feature that disappeared from the Mavic I think it was called Course Lock or TapFly.

Theres no tap and fly on the mavic 3??!!??!!

 

[mavic3usa]

Theres no tap and fly on the mavic 3??!!??!!

Maybe. I believe I'm talking about Course Lock; yeah that's it.

 

[Dbez1]

I use it very often and it’s become something of a game to see how close to the take off point it lands. I fly VLOS and generally until 25% battery when the bird automatically heads home unless I’m doing a commercial job. If people or moving vehicles are in the proximity, I fly home manually to avoid them though.

 

[ryguy80]

I use RTH for all my landings for the precision. It's also a lot less stress/anxiety to land with RTH when you are dealing with a nearly depleted battery.

 

[Robert Prior]

I've never used RTH, at first because I wanted to practice landing myself and then it just because a habit. How I'm mostly flying a Mini 3 Pro (which doesn't have precision RTH, as far as a I can tell) I'm even less inclined to use it because a small GPS error would send my drone into the trees or rocks.

 

[Droning on and on...]

But lately I'm wondering, "why not just use it to get back quicker and easier" instead of flying my way back home.

Yes, why not?

'Been flying for 10 years starting with the P4. If I'm far enough away, it's just boring as watching paint dry flying back. I gain no useful "practice" doing so; I, at least, do not "hone my skills" flying straight back and landing. Not bragging, but at this point my flying skill is so advanced beyond this that I gain nothing doing it, and it's not even fun.

So I've been using RTH to return to home on sessions where I'm at max VLOS, the reason I'm there is the reason for the flight, and when I'm done I use RTH to come home.

 

[Droning on and on...]

Three reasons.

2. Easier? Easier than turning the drone for home and holding the right stick forward?

Yes.

1. You don't have to do that.
2. You don't have to adjust course on the way to make sure you arrive back at the HP.
3. Precision Landing is active, if the model has this feature, and was initialized on takeoff

Meets my idea of easier.

 

[Meta4]

I'm even less inclined to use it because a small GPS error would send my drone into the trees or rocks.

Whether you use the automated RTH feature or not, it's always a good practice to launch from an open area, well clear of trees or other obstacles.

 

[mobilehomer]

I've never used RTH, at first because I wanted to practice landing myself and then it just because a habit. How I'm mostly flying a Mini 3 Pro (which doesn't have precision RTH, as far as a I can tell) I'm even less inclined to use it because a small GPS error would send my drone into the trees or rocks.

Use it to bring it close, then manually land it.