I have read that the Phantom 4 visually remembers the take off spot. Then upon auto landing, with the help of GPS, attempt to land on the same spot using the images from take off.
1. Is this accurate?
2. Does it make sense to use a landing pad with a pattern on it?
I have only used the autoland once. It lands way too rough for my comfort level. I land it manually either on clean pavement or I hand catch it to avoid dust and debris from hitting the camera or getting sucked in by the cooling fans.
It only uses the GPS when return home is pressed , NO photos are taken . Most times if I use return to home it lands with in 3ft of taking off . Which I am very happy with sometimes even more accurate with a few inches .
Sounds like the P4 pro is even more accurate with landing on spot it took off from. Not sure why this is a big deal though. My Phantom 4 has only landed on the ground maybe twice in it's 9 month old life. I hand catch every single time to avoid any wind tipping and dust and dirt from the ground.
I see your question was in regards to the Phantom 4.
The Phantom 4 will return to the GPS position that was saved when it took off. GPS precision is usually around a meter (3 feet)..
If the Phantom 4 RTH is activated when the craft is within 60 feet of it's takeoff point, it will land wherever it is without returning to the takeoff point.
The Phantom 4 Pro has the extra features described above.
Now I am confused. I have a phantom 4. Not the PRO. When I take off using the GPS and the auto take off feature and then fly around and then use the Smart Return to Home, does it just fly to the GPS location or is it assisted by the pattern on the ground?
If it is just a P4Pro feature, I wonder why a firmware upgrade isnt issues for the P4. They have the same down pointing cameras.
I'm not a new quad pilot by any means, just new to DJI. I read in this thread about people hand catching to prevent dust kick up on the camera and fan. Are you doing this to prevent half the dust, because you are kicking it up on take off?
I'm not a new cap pilot by any means, just new to DJI. I read in this thread about people hand catching to prevent dust kick up on the camera and fan. Are you doing this to prevent half the dust, because you are kicking it up on take off?
I always use a 30" plastic landing pad, that I purchased, for all takeoff's from dirt or grass. Landing is always hand catch, every time I fly!
I have a full size wheel case and that also makes a good takeoff platform. As does the hood or trunk of the car, when at a remote location.
At home I use the front or back porch!
Don't think there is ever a need to take off anywhere that debris may be sucked toward the P4.
I've used RTH many times including Auto Landing. I've never had a rough landing and unlike my P3 my P4 has always landed within an inch or two from its takeoff spot. I also manually land it when it returns from a normal flight. My P3P would also Auto Land softly but usually a foot or two from it's takeoff spot. I have a 30" heavy rubber round landing pad that I try to use but don't always bring it with me. The very tall pine trees surrounding my Takeoff/Landing spot cause a signal loss quite often and my first real RTH and Auto Land with my P4 amazed me when I finally saw it approaching high up and stopping in a momentary hover at 400' AGL followed up with a vertical descent within 10' from the trees right onto my landing pad. I advise those of you that haven't used their RTH to try it every so often to gain confidence in the auto capabilities.
I'm not a new quad pilot by any means, just new to DJI. I read in this thread about people hand catching to prevent dust kick up on the camera and fan. Are you doing this to prevent half the dust, because you are kicking it up on take off?
FAA Part 101 requires adhering to a set of "community-based set of safety guidelines", which is the AMA Safety Code, which states "Under no circumstances may a pilot or other person touch an outdoor model aircraft in flight while it is still under power, except to divert it from striking an individual."
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