Speed and distance record: 92 km/h, 4.5 km. One-way trip though...

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So I was flying and, while discussing with bystanders late evening, on my fourth battery, didn't notice that the bird was flying at 25 m/s. When I noticed, it was 4.5 km away, and I had crossed a lake. Only then the screen went off with poor reception. Having had the bird RTH by itself many times, I didn't worry, and of course, it came back online, happily returning home...

...or rather, trying hard to do so. Air speed's different from ground speed, of course. And while it had taken like 20 seconds to cross that lake, it now took like over 5 minutes. No way to see that bird back. So once the lake was crossed and some forest too, I was over open fields and started to descend to land it somewhere safely.

Needless to say, screen went off again. It's not a disc world after all... So we jumped into our car and gained higher ground and more proximity. The screen never came back online. Having written it off in my mind, I still kept the left control fully down to land, hoping it would at some point pass on signal, even if it didn't get anything back.

We ended up finding it. Happily sitting in the field, blinking its red lights frantically with low power, which helped us locating it as it was getting dark. Of course one of those flights I had been too lazy to put my trackimo on... When we picked it up, it did its last breath and switched off. As we controlled the recording later, it had been sitting there since 16 minutes. Also, from the video it appeared it had come down in several steps, like as if it was receiving at times my order to go lower - and at the end it very quickly and safely landed.

So question: I have RTH set. Would it anyway do a safe landing by itself, or was it my keeping the lever down all the time that made it land?

Thanks!

M
 
I don't really understand the need to push it like this, so I'll just say I'm happy you found it. Seems to be two groups of fliers out there: one group owns a copter with a camera on it, and the other owns a camera that flies. Best of luck to both, but count me among the latter.

If you want an RTH from faraway places, turn the controller off.
 
I can't beat the 56 MPH which is amazing, but I can beat the the 2.76 miles. I have made 3+ mile one way trips but have to admit I am a little modified with some home made curved foil amplification on both my antenna on the controller. And I always return with plenty of battery to make a nice clean manual landing.
 
I can count myself in the first group (copter with camera)... I made 75643 m of flight in few flights and days. I always count the wind and battery state to make sure i will return safely.

However i have tested RTH function and it functions ok. I think the aircraft will not land unless the RTH is set to land. It would be good to Know this information, i will even test it tomorrow.


It's wasted on me, amigo, but I wish you well. "Record" flights mean absolutely nothing to me. Your copter flew really far away? OK, great. One safe return per launch ... with the film and photos that go with it ... and I'm a happy camper. ;-)
 
Of course a bit of irony helps ;) My question rather is, will it land by itself if battery is low? Or did I do it? Don't know but was quite happy it did.
 
My question rather is, will it land by itself if battery is low? Or did I do it?
When in doubt, the manual is a good place to start.
i-mVDg2RH-L.jpg

If you want to keep your Phantom, it pays to be aware of winds and their effect on the Phantom.
It can make 15 m/sec in still air so if you are doing 25 m/sec going out you know speed home is going to take a hit.
You should have been able to fly home at about 5 m/sec but if the Phantom is using RTH it flies slower than you do when you're in control.
Coming home with a significant headwind is always something to be very conscious of.
 
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When in doubt, the manual is a good place to start.
i-mVDg2RH-L.jpg

If you want to keep your Phantom, it pays to be aware of winds and their effect on the Phantom.
It can make 15 m/sec in still air so if you are doing 25 m/sec going out you know speed home is going to take a hit.
You should have been able to fly home at about 5 m/sec but if the Phantom is using RTH it flies slower than you do when you're in control.
Coming home with a significant headwind is always something to be very conscious of.


My low battery warning tonight happened BEFORE the marker got to the H position. I know I can adjust the level ... my battery was at 24% when the low warning went off. Can I set it SAFELY lower than this, considering the marker hadn't hit the "H" when it went off?
 
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I can't beat the 56 MPH which is amazing, but I can beat the the 2.76 miles. I have made 3+ mile one way trips but have to admit I am a little modified with some home made curved foil amplification on both my antenna on the controller. And I always return with plenty of battery to make a nice clean manual landing.
You have to post pic of foil mods for us curious cats!!
 

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