Yet another RTH question....

[netfolks2000]

If the drone can RTH using the same route it took to get to the end of its route, THAT is some amazing technology, because I assume it calculates the extra distance (as opposed to the shorter direct route) and knows how much battery is left to accomplish that trip. For the altitude in RTH I don't know how you can even come close to determining the exact height of something a far distance from the place where you launched to be able to set an RTH altitude. Thus, when you LOSE signal, the Failsafe method is probably much safer than the other options.

 

[msinger]

So, based on that information. If I have flown around a mountain, then loose connection (instigating Failsafe RTH), then the drone will simply fly back home using the same flight path to get where it is?

That's not correct. Please see post #2 above for the correct information.

 

[msinger]

How to use DJI’s Return to Home (RTH) Safely - DJI Guides

I am new at this so I am probably missing something but in this video the Failsafe RTH was initiated but it seems the drone climbed to what is probably his RTH height before zigzagging back, so the same route but higher.

FYI, the OP is flying a Mavic Pro Platinum (not a Mavic Air like in this video).

 

[JDawg]

FYI, the OP is flying a Mavic Pro Platinum (not a Mavic Air like in this video).

Here is the Air. So it does not exactly replicate the route, it goes to RTH altitude first.

 

[msinger]

So it does not exactly replicate the route

Right, the Mavic Air will only follow the last route for about 60 seconds. It does that to attempt to reestablish the remote controller connection. If it's not able to reconnect while retracing the last route, it will fly directly back to the home point.

 

[JDawg]

Right, the Mavic Air will only follow the last route for about 60 seconds. It does that to attempt to reestablish the remote controller connection. If it's not able to reconnect while retracing the last route, it will fly directly back to the home point.

I am not seeing the 60 second thingy in the owners manual on page 14 but I will take your word for it, I am very new at this.
https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/Mavic Air/Mavic Air User Manual v1.0.pdf
How to use DJI’s Return to Home (RTH) Safely - DJI Guides

** Jeeesus I just noticed I am in the Platinum Pro area, not Air, what a dumbchit and sorry to all.

 

[msinger]

I am not seeing the 60 second thingy in the owners manual

I've never seen it documented anywhere (just know from experience). You could recreate that scenario if you'd like to test it out.

 

[JY-tek]

That's not correct. Please see post #2 above for the correct information.

So now I'm back to where I was. I will just need to pre-think the RTH altitude and set/check it before each flight. In most cases, I know where I want to go and can get a decent idea of the altitude that I would need for a direct return to home. As long as I am fully aware of how it all works under all conditions, I can handle it just fine. Some times it really hard to get good accurate answers to some very basic questions. And the manual sure doesn't cover everything. Thanks for the info!

 

[Odoug04]

The drone will fly straight up to the RTH height you set then proceed to fly in a straight path to the home point if it senses an obstacle it will fly up more until it doesn’t sense an obstacle then continue. Then if you have precision landing on then it will find it using the vision cameras on the bottom.

 

[JY-tek]

The drone will fly straight up to the RTH height you set then proceed to fly in a straight path to the home point if it senses an obstacle it will fly up more until it doesn’t sense an obstacle then continue. Then if you have precision landing on then it will find it using the vision cameras on the bottom.

That's not what several others here have said.... hence my comment about conflicting information. Keep in mind that I have a Mavic Pro, if that matters.

 

[AClineman]

What a great video! Glad to see the drone sense the tree and go up and over! That's exactly my kind of problem. When the drone gets too far around these mountains, it looses connection and starts RTH. I've only been caught once, so far, but that's enough to cause pure panic.

If I set RTH height high enough to miss every mountain in the area, it would have to be at full max! Not sure how to handle that.

Not if you launch from the highest mountain

 

[chazzm]

I've never seen it documented anywhere (just know from experience). You could recreate that scenario if you'd like to test it out.

It’s true, I’ve tested this!

 

[gjmphoto]

The drone will fly straight up to the RTH height you set then proceed to fly in a straight path to the home point if it senses an obstacle it will fly up more until it doesn’t sense an obstacle then continue. Then if you have precision landing on then it will find it using the vision cameras on the bottom.

Will it exceed your max altitude in an attempt to clear an obstacle?

 

[jehou]

I actually had go in and reset the RTH altitude to get it to fly up and over the tree line mid flight before I could ascend.

Anything

Pretty simple question, but I can't find a definitive answer. I have seen conflicting written information about how the drone returns to home. Does the drone follow the flight path in reverse, or does it use straight line flight to home?? I live in a very mountainous area and if it uses "shortest path" method, then I need to consider that when I'm flying around these mountains. Thanks.

Remember, any object below your horizon you'll clear. Any object above your horizon you may hit.

 

[W2EJ]

" 1. "Smart RTH" flies directly to the Home Point based on preset altitude. 2. Failsafe RTH returns to Home Point flying back along flight route (FS RTH Overrides "Smart RTH"). 3. Low Battery RTH flies directly back to Home Point (Overrides FS RTH & Smart RTH). 4. Critical Battery Warning (Activates immediate landing.) Overrides all of the above. Seems to be the same for all the DJI Drones."

But which one do you get when you press the RTH button?

 

[Aerial West]

What a great video! Glad to see the drone sense the tree and go up and over! That's exactly my kind of problem. When the drone gets too far around these mountains, it looses connection and starts RTH. I've only been caught once, so far, but that's enough to cause pure panic.

If I set RTH height high enough to miss every mountain in the area, it would have to be at full max! Not sure how to handle that.

make sure you always have enougth power for it to do that. ands also remember, especially around mountains, that the wind in extremely different not to far from you, and wind shears, gusts travel up mountains and are strengthened by them. so when your drone is climbing hundreds of feet, it si experiencing potentially very different winds. give it battery life to get home in those cases by flying more conservatively.

 

[HighlandsVideo]

OK, so I'm a tad confused too.

What activates Fail Safe RTH as opposed to the 'Smart' direct path RTH? Would loss of RF signal initiate Fail Safe or Smart RTH Certainly not loss of video signal??

 

[JY-tek]

As I understand it, when you press the RTH button, it activated the Smart RTH. When connection to the drone is lost or battery reaches critical level, the Fail Safe RTH will be automatically activated.

 

[msinger]

What activates Fail Safe RTH as opposed to the 'Smart' direct path RTH?

Fail Safe RTH is only activated after the remote controller disconnects for 3+ seconds.

 

[mquinn1963]

Pretty simple question, but I can't find a definitive answer. I have seen conflicting written information about how the drone returns to home. Does the drone follow the flight path in reverse, or does it use straight line flight to home?? I live in a very mountainous area and if it uses "shortest path" method, then I need to consider that when I'm flying around these mountains. Thanks.

RTH will tell the drone to go to your SET RTH altitude and come in a straight line back and descend straight down. A coulple things to remember. Although we are required to fly below 400 feet ake offtyou must also remember that is 400 feet AGL about ground level. SO if you take of at the base of a mounatin your 400 foot starts there, say the mountain is 1000 feet higher than your take off location. IF you are flying on the other side of the mounatin and hit return to home and your RTH altitude is set for 200 feet you will run into the mountain 800 feet below the peek. Its ALWAYS related to your take off location Yes, you may be higher than 400 feet from where you took off but you also wont end up in a tree or the side of the mountain.