The Longest Two Minutes of My Life!

[nhoover]

On the first or second flight of each new Phantom (I'm on #4 in 21 months), I test RTH to make sure it is working. First I test close by. Maybe 50' away hovering low with the RTH height set to something a little higher. I don't use any controller or app RTH function, just power off my controller to simulate something like what happened to you. Watch like a hawk to make sure it does the right thing and be prepared to take control if needed.Test at above and below the RTH height. Then test from further away. Get comfortable with the feature and you won't sweat so much. In dozens of tests I've never seen it fail - seems quite robust. Of course, don't take off until the lights tell you the home point has been recorded and you have good GPS.

Flytrex Live will be out for the P3 soon. Doing distance flights I've lost control far away and it's reassuring to see the point on the Flytrex map slowly but surely coming home. No pucker factor at all.

 

[Jesse_M]

Great help guys! I'll be a pro by the time I finally upgrade. Lol

 

[Sprague]

Thanks, rrmccabe! I think you just saved data me a lot of heart ache!

 

[Sprague]

Hi Nhoover.. Definitely going to look into Flytrex live… I can't take much more of that pain, mentally and physically!

 

[AndyK]

Hi tom, you nearly made me pmsl. Brilliant description and I'm really glad for you that your phantom came home. [emoji38]

 

[JohnK]

Your assumption about 200' - 100' equals a 300' rise is correct.

The point is to have a RTH height set for your surroundings. High enough to clear whatever you need. So if you have a mountain in your way or trees or a tall building then consider a height to go over them.

I fly distance all the time. Miles actually.. I have been known to get there and drop down to take a look. I know there is a good chance I will lose connectivity and trigger RTH when I drop. So I want to make sure that RTH height will clear everything that is in the "as the crow flies" path home.

Got it. I think I misread your earlier post. I am a safety nut by nature, and am happy to allow my confidence grow slowly as a RESULT of experience. I have not yet flown more than 2000' feet away (I only have 28 flights), and that was over open water where I could still "sort of" see my P3. I view this copter as a camera that can fly, not as a copter with a camera, so my focus is on the photo/video aspect rather than range/speed etc. Where I live it is very hilly and well-forested, so flying far is tricky/scary and not for me at this point.

Long story aside ... thanks for the helpful reply.

 

[RoyVa]

Been there and done the same on several occasions. Love that RTH either by loos of controler or by me going to Failsafe when I lose her in the air and get the pucker power and initiate the RTH myself.

 

[Petros5678]

Yesterday I flew my P3P out to around a mile, no big deal. But as I'm on a river it might have been near a marina where boats have strong VHF radios and radars… in any event I lost the signal very quickly. Before I knew what was happening "Signal Loss" in red was all I could see. I've read enough on these boards to know that this didn't mean the end of the world for I had plenty of battery power and wasn't in danger of hurting anybody if it fell from the sky. Yeah, I read all that, but when it happens to you for the first time... If I remembered correctly from what I read all I had to do was reboot everything, check the cables. I did just that but to no avail. There was simply no connection, my P3P was "out there" not under any control. My "pucker factor" was slowly going off the scale! I went through every emotion in the book and started working on my excuses as to why I was going to come home empty-handed. It had been over 90 seconds now with no indication or communication from it. If my pucker factor got any worse I was going to need the Jaws Of Life. At about the two minute mark my controller was soaking wet from the sweat pouring down from my face, I looked like the village idiot pathetically staring down and mumbling and incoherent babble at a dead, blank screen. And then it happened; a flicker of life. A few seconds later there was another flicker of life… Something on the screen somewhere flashed yellow, off in the distance I heard an alarm starting to beep… I then saw the most beautiful three letters I've ever seen in my life "R… T… H" Having had its fun and knowing that it tortured me close to death my P3P decided to come home on it's own! I broke into giddy laughter. I shamelessly looked over each shoulder to see if anyone had witnessed my near meltdown. My pucker factor was almost relaxing and I could actually move from below the waist. I had control again and I could now hear it! My P3P was coming home! Bless you DJI, bless you PhantomPilots... My P3P did as advertised and had decided to come home on it's own! The glories of modern technology! The beauty of our hobby! I was a very happy and relieved man whose only problem now was whether he was going to need a new O-Ring or not.

In these times the only thing to fear is

On the first or second flight of each new Phantom (I'm on #4 in 21 months), I test RTH to make sure it is working. First I test close by. Maybe 50' away hovering low with the RTH height set to something a little higher. I don't use any controller or app RTH function, just power off my controller to simulate something like what happened to you. Watch like a hawk to make sure it does the right thing and be prepared to take control if needed.Test at above and below the RTH height. Then test from further away. Get comfortable with the feature and you won't sweat so much. In dozens of tests I've never seen it fail - seems quite robust. Of course, don't take off until the lights tell you the home point has been recorded and you have good GPS.

Flytrex Live will be out for the P3 soon. Doing distance flights I've lost control far away and it's reassuring to see the point on the Flytrex map slowly but surely coming home. No pucker factor at all.

Reminds me of the time my drone took too long to cone back but eventually did. The strange laughs and scared giggles from everybody present is unnerving. My motto. "The only thing to fear is fear itself"

 

[BenDronePilot]

Help me out guys. So the OP had the 'lost connection' issue which seems quite common. This is a lost connection with the device you use for FPV correct (tablet or phone)?

Unlike my P1, there is no switch on the controller for a HL?

You have to wait for the P3 to initiate a RTH on its own?

Yes it's quite common to have a "lost connection" when you fly beyond radio control range, line of sight or through strong interference which would temporarily block your signal from the phantom. His is not an "issue" this is normal. He was just descriptive his nervousness waiting for the connection to be re established.

 

[Sprague]

Petros5678... Beyond thankful that I was alone! The only nervous giggling was mine!

 

[JohnK]

All of this makes me feel better. Going to pick up a friend later for a sunset flight out over the river and the Walkway Bridge. Best-case scenario: RTH not required, but waiting patiently if called upon. ;-)

 

[Fourprops]

Bonding moments with the P3P.

 

[Sprague]

Yeah, after my little bonding experience today I put it through its paces and initiated RTH any way I could. I have much more confidence now that it will actually come home… maybe.

 

[VenomX15301]

I just set my RTH as the max height.
Any problems doing that?

 

[rrmccabe]

I just set my RTH as the max height.
Any problems doing that?

Possibly. The bird goes up and down slower than it goes horizontal. So if you are low on battery and you have one come back to you and the low battery is honking as its taking for what seems like forever to come down you might wish it was so high.

So depends what you have as max height set.

In most cases I always try to regain control on way back and scrub off as much altitude as possible while coming home.

 

[VenomX15301]

Possibly. The bird goes up and down slower than it goes horizontal. So if you are low on battery and you have one come back to you and the low battery is honking as its taking for what seems like forever to come down you might wish it was so high.

So depends what you have as max height set.

In most cases I always try to regain control on way back and scrub off as much altitude as possible while coming home.

Same here. I just want it that high because of the trees and buildings around here. If the RC fails then I want to be 95% sure it will return lol

 

[rrmccabe]

I am with you on that Venom !

 

[BenDronePilot]

I just set my RTH as the max height.
Any problems doing that?

I'd say common sense would dictate it may not be appropriate to have your Phantom fly to 1,640 feet every time it does an RTH. Local air traffic being one thing not to mention battery.

 

[D4T_PoM]

Happened to me just about 30mins ago lol

When it came back to range it connected back again and said coming home (or something like that) on my Note 4 and visual was back again, cancelled it and brought it back on my own and landed it.

Lost signal due to the tree's.

 

[VenomX15301]

I'd say common sense would dictate it may not be appropriate to have your Phantom fly to 1,640 feet every time it does an RTH. Local air traffic being one thing not to mention battery.

You and everyone else knows what I mean. The max allowed by the FAA and the FW/DJI Go app.