RTH crash DJI say not under warrenty??
- Thread starter theghost
- Start date
Consider yourself extremely lucky my friend. GPS and VPS are rarely that accurate.
let me be clear on my statement! this is flying from the same Takeoff site! but when taking off from other locations have had no problems. 3+ years I am aware of errors with our GPS System here in the U.S. I was an Air Force and Navy Air to Ground Radio Operator during Vietnam......Yeah I am a 70 year old Pilot....
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Consider yourself extremely lucky my friend. GPS and VPS are rarely that accurate.
The precision landing function on the P4P is certainly good enough to return within inches of the takeoff point almost every time. It very rarely fails.
I agree, but every time is a bit of a stretch.....within a few feet or so certainly.
I'd have to "put two bob each way" on this one as far as RTH reliability and how it should be viewed.
I'me certified RePL with my own business so I'd be flying 95% plus of the time on the job, this means a lot of my flights are pre programmed and automated under Litchi or similar and I always set "RTH" as the final action. I would use Go 4 about 35% of the time if it's "high" risk environment or must meet perculiar videography requirements, I still usually use "RTH" then with an appropriate RTH Height.
The reason is mainly because automated or not I plan each flight carefully and re assess on the day taking wind into account and usually it'll be a complex flight route and even though it may have covered some kms distance at the end I'll still be within the limits of VLOS. So I like to be heading home @30-35% battery and on the ground @20% to maximise battery life. RTH gives me a straight line return at an economical battery use to a point over head. What I do then depends.
Let me first say I never lift the bird off the ground with less than 8 satellites showing, if I take off from an open area with no hazards within 15m in any direction I'll keep an eye on the aircraft and let it self land especially if I've been flying a long day and am fatigued. Like others here I've never had a variance of more than about 1m. (but I don't assume this will always be the case ... I watch carefully)
If on the other hand there are objects within 15m of the take off point I cancel RTH when over head and land manually because fatigued or not I can do a better job than the OFC.
While I'd never for a second argue the absolute need for every R.P.A. pilot to be able to fly, take over and land the aircraft manually under any circumstances in any mode including atti, I will say that I view RTH as more "risk mitigation" and "workload management" than for "emergencies only" and indeed for inexperienced pilots (who should never be flying from crowded locations to start with) RTH can often be a safer option that doing it manually especially for example if after take off you get a 10KT wind spring up or other conditional change.
Obviously my pilots don't get sent on a job until they're certified and can there for fly under any conditions but when I'm training pilots I tell them "If you have a doubt about the conditions or yourself, use RTH" ... but again I train new pilots from open areas only.
RTH is like autopilots in flight and glideslope approaches in manned aviation, a wonderful resource and when managed properly works 99% of the time and reduces risk ...presupposing, you know when to NOT use it and when you should and how to take over.
As far as this case goes ... If my take off was with 10M of a structure with a chimney I'd be using a RTH value of 50M and manually landing but it's easy to have 20/20 hindsight sitting here at the keyboard and I feel for the O.P. and wish him luck with DJI.
Regards
Dec
I'me certified RePL with my own business so I'd be flying 95% plus of the time on the job, this means a lot of my flights are pre programmed and automated under Litchi or similar and I always set "RTH" as the final action. I would use Go 4 about 35% of the time if it's "high" risk environment or must meet perculiar videography requirements, I still usually use "RTH" then with an appropriate RTH Height.
The reason is mainly because automated or not I plan each flight carefully and re assess on the day taking wind into account and usually it'll be a complex flight route and even though it may have covered some kms distance at the end I'll still be within the limits of VLOS. So I like to be heading home @30-35% battery and on the ground @20% to maximise battery life. RTH gives me a straight line return at an economical battery use to a point over head. What I do then depends.
Let me first say I never lift the bird off the ground with less than 8 satellites showing, if I take off from an open area with no hazards within 15m in any direction I'll keep an eye on the aircraft and let it self land especially if I've been flying a long day and am fatigued. Like others here I've never had a variance of more than about 1m. (but I don't assume this will always be the case ... I watch carefully)
If on the other hand there are objects within 15m of the take off point I cancel RTH when over head and land manually because fatigued or not I can do a better job than the OFC.
While I'd never for a second argue the absolute need for every R.P.A. pilot to be able to fly, take over and land the aircraft manually under any circumstances in any mode including atti, I will say that I view RTH as more "risk mitigation" and "workload management" than for "emergencies only" and indeed for inexperienced pilots (who should never be flying from crowded locations to start with) RTH can often be a safer option that doing it manually especially for example if after take off you get a 10KT wind spring up or other conditional change.
Obviously my pilots don't get sent on a job until they're certified and can there for fly under any conditions but when I'm training pilots I tell them "If you have a doubt about the conditions or yourself, use RTH" ... but again I train new pilots from open areas only.
RTH is like autopilots in flight and glideslope approaches in manned aviation, a wonderful resource and when managed properly works 99% of the time and reduces risk ...presupposing, you know when to NOT use it and when you should and how to take over.
As far as this case goes ... If my take off was with 10M of a structure with a chimney I'd be using a RTH value of 50M and manually landing but it's easy to have 20/20 hindsight sitting here at the keyboard and I feel for the O.P. and wish him luck with DJI.
Regards
Dec
I have not let any of my drones land automatically that's just asking for trouble.I have used rth but took over once it gets close to me.In fact I don't even land I hover grab hold and power down so no crashes.That's a bummer Dji will not fix it.
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I’ve never landed my phantom 4 on solid ground. Hand catching is my go to, as I want to be as safe as possible with my camera, and drone. I’ve seen countless ground landing problems in the past, and I myself had a lens scratched on a bebop drone (lens is part of the camera... enjoyed replacing the whole working camera). Obviously hand catching has it’s risks, but I’ve found the risks outweigh ground landings by a lot imho, and while hand catching isn’t for everyone, I’ve come to enjoy it.
I can understand your view, I use a large and thick (3m) custom landing pad which the RTH (or I) has never failed to hit and part of my pre landing check list is to level the camera because the possibility of camera damage did at first bother me but I really don't worry about that side of it any more with the precautions in place.
As far as hand landing goes. I've been a fingerstyle guitarist for 48 years and although not as active any more was nationally ranked with longarm and pistol for years and I've had two sets of micro surgery to put my left hand back together already (combat related nothing to do with hand catching). The rehab gets harder as I get older so while I can do it I'd just as rather not.
Also the business insurance would wipe me if I or one of the company pilots did hand land and got hurt so it's forbidden. It's always going to be the case that operating commercially and hobby wise have some differences in approach and procedural requirements (especially when you live in a nanny state like Australia)
While I too have seen quite a few ground landing incidents I've never had one myself ... must be a moral in there somewhere
.Regards
Ari
I hear you my friend...I also play on occasion, but sometimes find it more difficult at times to control the RC with my thumbs and push icons or buttons with my other fingers than finger pick.
I hear you my friend...I also play on occasion, but sometimes find it more difficult at times to control the RC with my thumbs and push icons or buttons with my other fingers than finger pick.
XD Yes you're right. Finger Picking is exactly like flying. Until you reach the point where it's totally automatic and you don't think about what you're doing anymore you have to be prepared to suck at it LOL
Seriously though, I used to find the controller more difficult before I got a full harness. Now with the controller totally supported and only having to operate the controls and not support the controller it made a huge difference ... I bit like using a strap on the Les Paul I guess!
For future endeavors...
Changing flight modes on your remote is, by far, the quickest way to exit intelligent flight modes. It's your panic button. Practice this technique a couple times so you're confident with it and you'll never be caught with your pants down again.
Good luck.
D
Changing flight modes on your remote is, by far, the quickest way to exit intelligent flight modes. It's your panic button. Practice this technique a couple times so you're confident with it and you'll never be caught with your pants down again.
Good luck.
D
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I LOVE the King School videos. VERY interesting tutorial on ground effects. Good to know if I ever need to land a plane in an emergency situation or if I ever start flying fixed wing RC's. HA!
I don't like the pause button because it feels too much like the photo button. The fact that I've accidentally hit the pause button while trying to take photos is testimonial of that. In a panic, I like the tactile feeling of a sliding, clicking switch. All one has to do is move it, and the bird immediately exits intelligent flight mode. YMMV.
D
EDIT: I had originally pointed to the "FlightLogs" directory/folder. This was incorrect. The correct files are in the "FlightRecords" directory/folder. I have updated the screen captures to reflect the corrected information.
Like I always tell my business partner; "Anyone who can hack past DJI and Apple shortcomings shall rule this industry." And rule, we do.
Upload the .txt files here:
DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help
NOTE: For MapPilot, the flight records are kept in the "SDK_Logs/FlightRecord" directory.
Before asking a bunch of questions, use your Google machine. All the information you need is in these photos.
Good luck!
D
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With one exception....these files are not the actual data files...you have to extract the FLYxxx.dat file from these.
Interesting. I live in the high desert, so "accidental triggering" is not an issue. Are the moisture indicators located where they can be seen without disassembling the bird?
A Google search came up with interesting results. If one fights fire with fire, does one repair water damage with water???? Hmmmm....
D
Touché. Wrong folder. It's the "FlightRecords" folder. And they're not .dat files. They're .txt files. My mistake.
I don't understand this sentence. What do you mean by "these?"
I have edited my original post to include the correct information. Thanx for the heads up.
D
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