When you lose signal with wind will it fight the wind to return home?
- Thread starter Atom1234
- Start date
Obviously she will take longer to return fighting a 15-20 mph headwind. I recommend whenever possible try to begin your flight into the wind.
RTH speed is only 22 mph, so it will only be able to make progress in winds less than 22 mph
Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app
Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app
Ok that's what I was wondering, if the wind got upto 25 if it would make it home or just hover there
I have heard this also & tested this last week with my P3 Standard. Applying full forward stick made no difference in return speed (there was virtually no wind when I tested). Haven't tested yet with my Pro or Advanced.
alokbhargava
Premium Pilot
I'd like to see this tested personally. Because RTH is 22mph that doesn't mean the machine isn't able to compensate higher. I don't know the answer either but I find this entire thread very suspect and would like to see a more reliable source.
I know when it's windy the bird seems to lean forward and work harder.
I know when it's windy the bird seems to lean forward and work harder.
Meta4
Premium Pilot
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2014
- Messages
- 15,300
- Reaction score
- 9,242
RTH is a slow and gentle driver - it cruises along at 10 m/s in still air.
You can drive yourself 50% faster at 15 m/s
There's no need to let RTH do the driving and take the slow way home.
It's always important to consider winds and how they may affect any proposed flight.
If you find yourself in a tricky wind/RTH situation it would make sense to take over and do the driving and come down when/if appropriate to try to reduce the wind strength your Phantom has to deal with.
You can drive yourself 50% faster at 15 m/s
There's no need to let RTH do the driving and take the slow way home.
It's always important to consider winds and how they may affect any proposed flight.
If you find yourself in a tricky wind/RTH situation it would make sense to take over and do the driving and come down when/if appropriate to try to reduce the wind strength your Phantom has to deal with.
I can't test. I am not risky enough to take off in 22mph winds period. It'd be nice to know in event of a sudden wind change though.
Above 20km/h winds the craft becomes unstable in gusts. The android app 'uav report' allows for settings that help with this decision.
Best I can suggest is atti mode goes much faster but in high wind that could be just as disastrous if you aren't comfortable with flying in that mode.
Above 20km/h winds the craft becomes unstable in gusts. The android app 'uav report' allows for settings that help with this decision.
Best I can suggest is atti mode goes much faster but in high wind that could be just as disastrous if you aren't comfortable with flying in that mode.
Last edited:
So if you were out and the wind picked up to 25 mph and you lose RC signal then RTH kicks in do you say goodbye to your phantom?
No personally, I'd switch to atti and hit the throttle hard away from any obstacle in an effort to create space to land after the same attempt in gps mode didn't appear safe. Either way, land immediately in the safest possible manner is my personal solution.
If I had no control and the phantom didn't RTH then probably yes it would be a sad day.
This is my personal response. If you aren't completely comfortable with your skill level in atti mode use caution. Everyone should practice this before it happens imo.
Thank god I won't find myself in that situation. Weather conditions should be the first thing on any pilots mind regardless of what they fly.
If I had no control and the phantom didn't RTH then probably yes it would be a sad day.
This is my personal response. If you aren't completely comfortable with your skill level in atti mode use caution. Everyone should practice this before it happens imo.
Thank god I won't find myself in that situation. Weather conditions should be the first thing on any pilots mind regardless of what they fly.
Last edited:
I would say you're in dire straits at the very least.
Let's assume the RTH speed is the most efficient speed.
Let's say in no wind RTH speed is 22 mph but the craft is capable of 30 mph manually. So the craft goes into RTH and after half a minute or so, it does not make adequate headway. Instead of moving at 22 mph towards home, it's moving backwards at 3 mph due to head winds. Seems to me the math is pretty straight forward. Why not write into the program to increase speed in this situation? I think the answer is because the engineers at DJI know the battery will deplete so much faster trying to push max speed that it would have a worse effect than traveling at 3 mph backwards. It's not going to make it back anyway and it's going to auto-land so much sooner if it pushes speed. Hence, the best case is to keep the RTH "speed" where it is - and hope the pilot can get within range and land it in a safe spot before it begins to land on its own...
My humble speculation...
I bet that's exactly what happens mark. I'd be afraid to test that theory though haha
Thinking of canopy piloting, you aren't allowed to leave the ground without equipment capable of handling a speed that is able to penetrate and that is governed by the license level of the pilot. Ie. Without a B license (the same one that allows for an elliptical canopy) you are grounded above certain wind thresholds.
All that aside, the phantom without interchangeable parts to increase penetration, stay on the ground.
Thinking of canopy piloting, you aren't allowed to leave the ground without equipment capable of handling a speed that is able to penetrate and that is governed by the license level of the pilot. Ie. Without a B license (the same one that allows for an elliptical canopy) you are grounded above certain wind thresholds.
All that aside, the phantom without interchangeable parts to increase penetration, stay on the ground.
Last edited:
I don't this that makes sense. If the RTH speed is indeed 22mph, then the phantom probably/should fight the wind as much as possible such that it's actual net air speed is 22mph even against a strong head wind. I think a phantom is smart enough to to know if it's actually moving or not at a certain speed rather than assuming that it's travelling at 22mph while going backwards at 3mph in a 25mph wind....if a phantoms normal top speed is let's say 40mph, it should be able to fly against winds up to that speed such that it can fight its way to 22mph or some positive travel for RTH.
