Return To Home Altitude Change - Lost Drone

[Gonzoshots]

I lost my drone yesterday due to a lost connection so I am now trying to better understand the Return To Home sequence and specifically whether or not the altitude is adjusted once a RTH is initiated. I have been told that it will NOT descend to the RTH altitude set in the app and others say it will. Others say it only ascends to the RTH altitude ie. will go up to from a current position but not lower when an RTH is initiated. In any case I'd like to know more about this feature. I fly nearly the identical route the day before. I had 50% battery when connection was lost. I was only about 2,000 feet away from my hOme point but I may have fly slightly behind a ridge line and perhaps on RTH flew in a straight line back and clipped the ridge. Which also brings up the question of collision detection while in RTH mode. I'll be mounting a search party to go look for it sometime this week, I'm not sure I can make the 2,000 foot elevation change but someone a little younger than me can probably get up th side of this mountian! Thanks in advance for any info. This is my fourth Phantom, one P2 and (2) P3s and now I had the P4, never have lost one before, and have never even crashed a P3 or P4. PS. I upload a map of the flight from the flight log. Cheers

 

[Dirty Bird]

The RTH will ascend to your set RTH altitude. It will NOT descend if you are higher. OA is active during RTH on a P4 so long as you have it enabled.

 

[frands1]

I lost my drone yesterday due to a lost connection so I am now trying to better understand the Return To Home sequence and specifically whether or not the altitude is adjusted once a RTH is initiated. I have been told that it will NOT descend to the RTH altitude set in the app and others say it will. Others say it only ascends to the RTH altitude ie. will go up to from a current position but not lower when an RTH is initiated. In any case I'd like to know more about this feature. I fly nearly the identical route the day before. I had 50% battery when connection was lost. I was only about 2,000 feet away from my hOme point but I may have fly slightly behind a ridge line and perhaps on RTH flew in a straight line back and clipped the ridge. Which also brings up the question of collision detection while in RTH mode. I'll be mounting a search party to go look for it sometime this week, I'm not sure I can make the 2,000 foot elevation change but someone a little younger than me can probably get up th side of this mountian! Thanks in advance for any info. This is my fourth Phantom, one P2 and (2) P3s and now I had the P4, never have lost one before, and have never even crashed a P3 or P4. PS. I upload a map of the flight from the flight log. Cheers

This sound what it happened. Probably something that drone could not see (a tree branch?). Collision detection should work just fine while RTH.
The way I understand it works is:
If drone is below set altitude, it will climb to that value.
If it's above it, it will just fly back at whatever altitude it's flying at the time RTH activated.

 

[Gonzoshots]

This sound what it happened. Probably something that drone could not see (a tree branch?). Collision detection should work just fine while RTH.
The way I understand it works is:
If drone is below set altitude, it will climb to that value.
If it's above it, it will just fly back at whatever altitude it's flying at the time RTH activated.

Thanks for the feedback. That's what I've been told by everyone except DJI support, who told me it will go down to RTH altitude, which makes no sense to me what so ever. One dealer told me he know for sure that the P3's do not lower to return to home altitude but he wasn;t sue of the P4s? Time to get to the facts I'd say.

 

[GadgetGuy]

The RTH will ascend to your set RTH altitude. It will NOT descend if you are higher. OA is active during RTH on a P4 so long as you have it enabled.

Beware! OA should automatically be activated on the P4 during RTH, regardless of OA settings, as the RTH speed of 22 mph fully supports RTH, but, according to the manual, it is NOT! Fix this, DJI!

RTH's use of OA upon loss of signal requires that you have been in P or A mode with OA turned on to work. So RTH won't use OA during RTH if you were in Sport mode before Failsafe activation upon signal loss, or were using P mode, with OA turned off, when you lost signal! Can you say DUMB!?

Yeah, I really want to deliberately run into anything encountered along the way while RTH is in full control of the aircraft! Otherwise, I can never fly faster than 22mph while using my P4, for Failsafe RTH to properly use OA, which would be fully supported at the DJI set RTH speed of 22 mph!

 

[dguth66]

Its on page 13 of the manual guys ... three types of RTH ... P4 will avoid during smart RTH if OA is enabled.
The RTH alt should be checked before every flight IMHO and you should hear home point set/updated too just before taking off. This really sucks ... take from one who knows as I lost my P4 recently when RTH did not respond when commanded nor did it respond to failsafe RTH ... it's now at bottom of Porters lake
From the log you should be able to get a fairly good search location ... all the best in finding it.
Offer beer for reward to that search party

 

[Gonzoshots]

The search party was offered $100 reward and cold beer! Just had a support call with DJI and this time the guy said, the craft will only move to the RTH height if its BELOW the set RTH height and not descend if the carft is above the RTH height, which makes sense to be but still doesn't explain what must have happened..

 

[GadgetGuy]

The search party was offered $100 reward and cold beer! Just had a support call with DJI and this time the guy said, the craft will only move to the RTH height if its BELOW the set RTH height and not descend if the carft is above the RTH height, which makes sense to be but still doesn't explain what must have happened..

The tablet log file should tell you exactly where the aircraft went down, to focus the search, and maybe save you $100 if you retrieve it yourself, to be used for more cold beer at the celebration party after!

 

[Gonzoshots]

Yeah I have the last known long lat and the search party has the address and google maps should guide them to the spot, but it is a very steep rugged forest, and I am old and have bad knees so the youngsters will be doing the hiking! The last know long lat was 39.204472, -107.218054

 

[Justgregg]

you may want to slap a trackimo tracker on your p4 when you find it

 

[GadgetGuy]

Yeah I have the last known long lat and the search party has the address and google maps should guide them to the spot, but it is a very steep rugged forest, and I am old and have bad knees so the youngsters will be doing the hiking! The last know long lat was 39.204472, -107.218054

Sounds like you are all set for a great party celebration!

 

[Roadking]

I believe that the RTH altitude is reset when the P4 is updated. If you recently did an update and it reset to default maybe that's why it wasn't high enough.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I believe that the RTH altitude is reset when the P4 is updated. If you recently did an update and it reset to default maybe that's why it wasn't high enough.

Yes, always worth rechecking after any update on any DJI aircraft!

 

[isopro]

It is really important to check sensor values, and RTH altitude, motors for sand or rocks, blades for cracks, etc, before each take off... Else this kind of accident as a greater chance of happening...

 

[Fallguy]

Cant understand why everything sets back to default after a update. After flying today I noticed my RTH altutude was reset, multiple flight modes was unchecked, etc , etc , etc .

 

[Gonzoshots]

Search party found came up empty handed. It is a thicket up there on the side of that mountain. Maybe I can try and locate with another drone if I can launch closer to the last know location. I;ve attached a photo from near the last known location taken by the search crew.

 

[dguth66]

Hey Gonzoshots,
Maybe try using google earth before hand with the "party" present and the snapshot of the log map ... check your wind also from log as that may give away to possible drift while comming down. Using Google Earth will put everyones mind on same page.
Yea ... using another drone would be great ... I have a few here but your too far away from me my friend

 

[dguth66]

Another thought if you are in hilly tarrain ... can you get to a higher vantage point to maybe "look down" ?

 

[volace]

I set my Rth altitude to 60 meter
And I noticed it was changed after update . I usually fly sport mode so when I lose signal I assume that the aircraft stays on this mode that does not have object avoidance. Someone correct me if I am wrong in that

Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[dguth66]

Look up sport mode in manual and drop a line back please so we'll all know...