Who has has the guts to take it to the max.

[787steve]

I have an honest question - how can one say they can keep their drone in sight when flying 3,000' away from the operator? I can only legitimately see my MP when it's a couple hundred feet away max in perfect conditions. I'm curious how people can honestly say they're obeying VLOS when the drone is so small. Are people using something to spot it like binoculars? I'm genuinely curious as most of my flights so far have merely been for fun in the mountains in very remote areas, and I'd like to stretch my range a bit.

Good question. Spotters are allowed, but they cannot use binoculars either. I am getting up in years and vision has deteriorated with age. The farthest I have kept it in sight so far was around 700', using my glasses. I am sure a young person could do better. The distance could also vary greatly depending on sky conditions, angle to the sun, etc., as well as any modifications to the color of the Mavic. With a stock gray Mavic, the sun behind me, and good visibility with a high cirrus layer as a backdrop, I suspect I could see it further away. But on a clear blue sky day, it would be tough.
It seems that many feel that the Mavic's long range capability excuses their choice to ignore the law. But the law doesn't say if your drone can fly x miles away, you are exempt from this paragraph. The thing that amazes me, with my aviation background, is how people have designated boards bragging about how far they have flown their Mavic. It almost seems that they think have displayed some great skills of airmanship. And GUTS. "Who has had the guts to take it to the max"? I have a 5 year old grandson, and I am quite sure that I could teach him how to hold back on the left stick, then push forward on the right stick and hold it in that position for long enough to take it to the max. As an ex fighter pilot, ex carrier pilot, and ex airline pilot, let me tell you right now, this does not take skill. And it certainly does not take guts. But resisting the urge to push it to it's max takes character, maturity, and a willingness to put other's well being above your own desires. It is looking like those traits are undervalued by some here.

 

[DenverFlyer]

You need binoculars to see that far. I can see mine about 1000 feet. But I put the yellow skin on mine just for that reason so I could see it much further away now. But when you are getting the distances like that it has to be completely wide open and. You use a spotter.

I think I may need to put a bright skin on mine then because with the conditions I fly I cannot see much greater than a few hundred feet. I've had Lasik and see 20/20, but it's pretty easy to lose it when I'm going from looking down at the controller then back up, etc. 99% I'm out by myself when I fly because I'm typically up in the mountains off road deep down a trail which for the most part I do solo (wife loves it for the first hour or so only lol).

 

[DenverFlyer]

Good question. Spotters are allowed, but they cannot use binoculars either. I am getting up in years and vision has deteriorated with age. The farthest I have kept it in sight so far was around 700', using my glasses. I am sure a young person could do better. The distance could also vary greatly depending on sky conditions, angle to the sun, etc., as well as any modifications to the color of the Mavic. With a stock gray Mavic, the sun behind me, and good visibility with a high cirrus layer as a backdrop, I suspect I could see it further away. But on a clear blue sky day, it would be tough.
It seems that many feel that the Mavic's long range capability excuses their choice to ignore the law. But the law doesn't say if your drone can fly x miles away, you are exempt from this paragraph. The thing that amazes me, with my aviation background, is how people have designated boards bragging about how far they have flown their Mavic. It almost seems that they think have displayed some great skills of airmanship. And GUTS. "Who has had the guts to take it to the max"? I have a 5 year old grandson, and I am quite sure that I could teach him how to hold back on the left stick, then push forward on the right stick and hold it in that position for long enough to take it to the max. As an ex fighter pilot, ex carrier pilot, and ex airline pilot, let me tell you right now, this does not take skill. And it certainly does not take guts. But resisting the urge to push it to it's max takes character, maturity, and a willingness to put other's well being above your own desires. It is looking like those traits are undervalued by some here.

Thanks for the reply. I am not a pilot, but I engage in activities most could consider dangerous - off road driving, dirt biking (motorized kind), street motorcycle riding, snowboarding, etc. - and it never ceases to surprise me how many people subscribe to the idea it takes "guts" to do stupid things in those activities. I think it takes a lack of duty/care/concern not guts, so I want to understand better how people are able to fly great distances away where they clearly cannot see the drone. I get fudging distances a little bit when you're in the middle of nowhere with no people or aircraft around, but as a general rule it seems like asking for trouble otherwise to max out distances and heights.

 

[787steve]

Thanks for the reply. I am not a pilot, but I engage in activities most could consider dangerous - off road driving, dirt biking (motorized kind), street motorcycle riding, snowboarding, etc. - and it never ceases to surprise me how many people subscribe to the idea it takes "guts" to do stupid things in those activities. I think it takes a lack of duty/care/concern not guts, so I want to understand better how people are able to fly great distances away where they clearly cannot see the drone. I get fudging distances a little bit when you're in the middle of nowhere with no people or aircraft around, but as a general rule it seems like asking for trouble otherwise to max out distances and heights.

Agreed. There are plenty of activities to push yourself. But when you are exposing everyone except yourself to danger, that is not gutsy. It is reckless, and selfish. Good luck with all of your adventurous activities, but it sounds as if you are conscientious enough to not lean too much on luck.

 

[SteveM]

Just test it in a safe environment. Turn off the controller (as if it has flown out of range) and see if it RTHs. I have done this and it works fine.

 

[m0j0]

The guy forgot to open the antennas and configures the craft to return at 400m altitude, which is WAY out of range with the antennas folded down. And yet it WASN'T a flyway after all. I'd say the RTH did a very good job.

It did return.. but if it had not that would have been his fault because he failed to properly setup his bird. When that happens I call it a give-away..

 

[m0j0]

You cant use binoculars to satisfy VLOS. Unless the rules changed since I took my test. If you fly beyond VLOS you are flying contrary to the rules in the US. Does it happen... probably as frequently as people exceed the speed limit.

Back to the OP question and back on task.. The Mavic is incredibly capable. It absolutely will RTH without issues every time if you set it up properly and don't fly in bad conditions. I have over 300flights on DJI and only one time have I had a problem .. 100% my fault. I think you should read the manual cover to cover and practice all the emergency situations before they happen. That way when you have an in-flight emergency you know how the Mavic will react.

 

[borislip]

There ARE some marginal cases RTH is definitely going to fail. Examples? Flying under a low bridge, losing signal and crashing into that bridge while Mavic attempt to ascend to the set RTH altitude. Flying with the wind, ending up RTH-ing against the wind and running out of power. Flying abobe a mountain in the dark, descending on the other side, losing signal and not having high enough RTH altitude. Etc. But all those can be counted as pilot errors.

 

[Ken Nash]

RTH button = lazy man's way to call the quad back.
Trust in the RTH button.

You are so Rambo

 

[djaco]

It was supposed to say who had HAD the guts. Anyways, Curious how many guys on here have had the guts to Purposely try the failsafe and fly you MP far enough out of range of the controller to where it automatically goes into RTH. I haven’t yet. Every time I see the “ signal weak” warning come on I always jump into survival, mode and turn around and bump up the altitude.

I recently had the experience of losing all contact with my MP. I flew it to the edge of a lake for shots of the shoreline. I was using Litchi, flying a mission uploaded prior to takeoff. With houses, and terrain blocking the signal, the screen froze, RTH did nothing, I had that sick feeling, I ran to my car to head towards the MP, but there was the sound only a quad makes. It was completing the pre-planned mission and was returning home. Just make sure you set the RTH altitude high enough to clear buildings and/or trees, make sure you don't have it set to stop and land when loses signal. Also, I think if you press the return to home button, and the MP is getting closer (as it flies a mission) the signal will eventually be received, the same is true if it is hovering and you move closer to the MP, once received it will stop, climb to the pre-set RTH altitude, and head home.

 

[m0j0]

I have yet to use Litchi with my Mavic. I did frequently with the Phantoms .. I was camping in a remote area the last time I lost signal (P3p). When it lost signal, I set the controller down. Went to cooler, got a soda (don't drink and drone), sent a text to my wife, emailed my sister about her home owners insurance, went to my truck to get a battery, fumbled through my backpack for a loose battery, found it and then returned to the controller. I just looked at the display and saw that it reconnected. Never touched the controls just watched the P3 land about 6 inches from where it launched. Have flown close to 40 automated flights. As long as you don't set the thing to fly into something or fly out with the wind and under estimate the amount of battery required it is coming back. Sure if you fly lower than an obstacle you run the risk of needing a search party. But if you are conservative in your altitude calculations and are cognizant of current wind conditions you should have no problems. Do keep in mind though that the forward facing sensors can get confused when flying toward the sun. Again my counter to that is to leave them off and ensure that i am clear of obstacles.