RTH from hilltop

Joined
Jul 8, 2017
Messages
37
Reaction score
5
Age
69
If I launch my P4 from atop large hill and go up 50 feet then start going out over a valley to film, then lose signal and rth kicks in does the rth altitude setting measure from launch point or contour of the land?
 
It's from the launch point.
 
If I launch my P4 from atop large hill and go up 50 feet then start going out over a valley to film, then lose signal and rth kicks in does the rth altitude setting measure from launch point or contour of the land?

From the launch point and never descends to the RTH.
 
If your higher then your set homepoint and you lose signal, it will fly back at the same height that it lost signal from. If your homepoint is at 200 ft and you lose signal at 300ft, it will come home at 300ft.
Got it. Thanks a bunch.
 
So it rises to set rth altitude from launch point so I don't have to worry about trees and terrain?
Depends on your surroundings. How tall are the trees? If your not sure, reset the RTH to a higher number. Also, if you do lose signal, do you get it come all way back home, or canel it out once you get signal back? I always cancel mine as soon as I see signal which only takes several seconds. Then I go higher to maintain signal. I had a RTH to where it put on a collision course with a mountain, Once I saw it, I steered around it. I had time to correct due to me canceling out as soon as I got signal back.
 
Depends on your surroundings. How tall are the trees? If your not sure, reset the RTH to a higher number. Also, if you do lose signal, do you get it come all way back home, or canel it out once you get signal back? I always cancel mine as soon as I see signal which only takes several seconds. Then I go higher to maintain signal. I had a RTH to where it put on a collision course with a mountain, Once I saw it, I steered around it. I had time to correct due to me canceling out as soon as I got signal back.
If I launch from above the treeline rth path should always be above those trees.right?
 
If I launch from above the treeline rth path should always be above those trees.right?
yea. Look at your altitude reading as you fly straight out from where you took off from. Level flight and out over a valley and see if the reading increases . If it DOES NOT then your question is answered. IF you decend into the valley your altitude reading should show a (-) in front of it since your below where you took off from. IF you go down -100 in altitude and you lose signal, it should climb to your set RTH setting +200 (example) above where you took off from. Test that reading before you actually fly for the photoshoot. Im just throwing that out there since I have never flown in that situation. But it should work that way. Im sure someone else will correct me if im wrong on this.
 
If I launch from above the treeline rth path should always be above those trees.right?

That is correct. As mentioned above, the recorded Home Point (HP) at takeoff is always considered 0' altitude to the copter. If you have say, 60 Meters (approx 200') set as your RTH altitude, and the copter is below this altitude when RTH is triggered, it will first climb to 60 Meters and then make its way back to the HP. If the copter is above 60 Meters when RTH is triggered, it will not descend to 60 Meters, but rather, it will just maintain its altitude and make its way back to the HP.

Even if you fly below your HP in the valley - which will give you a negative (-) altitude value as mentioned above - the copter will still climb to your set RTH altitude prior to returning home if RTH is triggered.

Also, keep in mind that if RTH is triggered while the copter is flying within 20 Meters of the recorded HP, it will descend and land right where it is rather than returning to the HP. I'm not sure why this is, but you need to be aware of this.
 
That is correct. As mentioned above, the recorded Home Point (HP) at takeoff is always considered 0' altitude to the copter. If you have say, 60 Meters (approx 200') set as your RTH altitude, and the copter is below this altitude when RTH is triggered, it will first climb to 60 Meters and then make its way back to the HP. If the copter is above 60 Meters when RTH is triggered, it will not descend to 60 Meters, but rather, it will just maintain its altitude and make its way back to the HP.

Even if you fly below your HP in the valley - which will give you a negative (-) altitude value as mentioned above - the copter will still climb to your set RTH altitude prior to returning home if RTH is triggered.

Also, keep in mind that if RTH is triggered while the copter is flying within 20 Meters of the recorded HP, it will descend and land right where it is rather than returning to the HP. I'm not sure why this is, but you need to be aware of this.
Thank you sir.
 
Also, keep in mind that if RTH is triggered while the copter is flying within 20 Meters of the recorded HP, it will descend and land right where it is rather than returning to the HP. I'm not sure why this is, but you need to be aware of this.

I wonder how many hundreds, (thousands?) of copters have been damaged, destroyed, or lost due to that?
 
I wonder how many hundreds, (thousands?) of copters have been damaged, destroyed, or lost due to that?

Good question. It's almost like a bad joke really.
 
And as far as I know it doesn't go forward and increase height.. I believe it stop, then goes high, then goes forward when it gets to the RTH height.
 
I wonder how many hundreds, (thousands?) of copters have been damaged, destroyed, or lost due to that?
Not many ... almost the only people ever to experience this are timid beginners trying out RTH the first time.
How often are you really going to use RTH when your Phantom is less than 20 metres away?
 
I think that is a valid point.

But a lost expensive quad is lost, regardless of experience.

Beginners in panic mode for whatever reasons? I can relate...

I'm trying to think of why that limitation is built in?

Just gotta be a reason, which I've not seen (Yet?)

Well, maybe... user hits RTH in close range, quad shoots up to RTH height for the very short lateral distance to home?

Just wondering..
 
Last edited:

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
143,066
Messages
1,467,358
Members
104,936
Latest member
hirehackers