how do you override return to home
- Thread starter skinwalker
- Start date
RTH is programmable. First the spark will move to the preprogrammed altitude, then start flying a direct route back to the home point. So..... if the preset altitude was say 150 ft., it would have started descending... the rate of descent is slow in RTH mode, so it allowed the Spark to be stationary (or fighting a bad drift) through a long descent, that burned up more time/battery.
Here's MY take.
1) It seems your RTH altitude was 700 ft. Most cases, 120 ft will clear most trees and
typical obstacles. The lower the RTH, the less problems with prevailing wind.
2) You're flying too high. FAA caps UAS flight at 400 ft.
3) Technically, you're flying in controlled airspace (seaplane base about 4 miles away)
4) You're flying beyond VLOS. The Spark can not be seen at 1600 FT up.
All pilot errors.
If you were under 400 ft, and your RTH was about 150 ft, there would have been
a lot less drama. The RTH would have likely got your Spark home safely.
In the conditions you were in, paying closer attention to the map on your controller
would have shown drifting. At that point, the climb should have stopped, and
a descent to a less windy altitude would have minimized drift and power loss.
Don't fly so high. Learn how the Spark works. Learn how to fly it safely.
Here's MY take.
1) It seems your RTH altitude was 700 ft. Most cases, 120 ft will clear most trees and
typical obstacles. The lower the RTH, the less problems with prevailing wind.
2) You're flying too high. FAA caps UAS flight at 400 ft.
3) Technically, you're flying in controlled airspace (seaplane base about 4 miles away)
4) You're flying beyond VLOS. The Spark can not be seen at 1600 FT up.
All pilot errors.
If you were under 400 ft, and your RTH was about 150 ft, there would have been
a lot less drama. The RTH would have likely got your Spark home safely.
In the conditions you were in, paying closer attention to the map on your controller
would have shown drifting. At that point, the climb should have stopped, and
a descent to a less windy altitude would have minimized drift and power loss.
Don't fly so high. Learn how the Spark works. Learn how to fly it safely.
I didn't say it was your first time; I just made a general comment that before anyone's first time it's a good idea to read up as much as possible so you do not learn the lesson the hard way. As for what you could have done, I explained wind speed vs drone speed and what that means in terms of being able to get your drone back to the home point and I gave you my opinion about what to do. No need to get touchy.
If spark flies higher than the rth height, it will return in the current altitude. It will NOT descent to the rth altitude.
ohhhh really?? hmmm... that is very interesting to know. Is that programmable? Or just make it a point if ever in a situation like that to
Step 1. descend IMMEDIATELY to RTH height?
Step 2.Begin RTH programming...or manually sport mode it back on gps reroute path?
Step 3. Search for safe landing sites
also McFly does not know air space limits in teh US. above 500 feet AGL or 350 above the tallest structure is the limit for drones and where airspace classes begin. Was i above that legal limit? yes. Likewise is your recommendation of 400 feet 100 feet below that legal limt we are allowed to fly? yes too.
No disrespect intended, but I did answer this question already... you need to read carefully. Once I found that I was in distress at 55% I would have concentrated on getting the Spark down to a much lower altitude instead of trying to fight the wind, like Sport mode straight down to 100 feet, then attempted to fly back to my location, or, if it was not possible to reach back to the home point, I would have landed it somewhere safe and then go and get it as fast as possible.
Anyway, I am glad you learned from this experience, your sharing it with us may hopefully prevent some other person from falling into the same trap should they read this adventure. And I am glad you got your drone back, Seems it taught you a lesson you wont forget. And I think everyone else here would agree. Fly safe.
Appreciate the reply and looking at the data. Thanks! Yes absolutely a learning experience, glad it all worked out and will not make that misstep again. Think i might get a mini wind sock at my house lol.
I thought about the WindSock too but you'd really need one at about 400 feet to get the real story. Hook yourself up with those free apps, UAVForecast, Windy, they will give you up to date data about whats going on overhead. And, I will also suggest, seeing as you want to be a virtual astronaut
(please dont though, joking aside) that you install FlightRadar24 on your device, give it a quick look at your planned take off location, it will show you the air traffic above you. You can also look at that online, FlightRadar24.com ... its stunning how many planes are in the air at any given time over the USA, check it out. Thousands of passengers at any given moment. Be careful.No, it isn't programmable.
Another point is, if spark's distance is longer than 100m, and rth is initiated, it returns in full velocity (10 m/s), without obstacle avoidance.
So, it is important, to understand how rth works and what happens when rth is triggered automatically, or when user hits rth button.
In your case, you had connection with drone, so you could return it manually. You should descent to avoid strong wind, switch to sport mode and try to return quickly, before battery gets in critical level.
If this was impossible, you should find a place to land (auto land, slider is on go4 screen).
And something else. You can check high wind, if you hover in a height you want to fly, and check the little "radar" in the lower left side of your screen (attitude indicator).
I did. Pretty cool app.
It alerted me yesterday (October 11, 2018) of the world's longest flight was happening.
Darn near 16.5 hours in the air, non stop.
It'll have to be economy, though.Why stop there, get an A380 and the whole forum can go!
The maximum allowable altitude is 400 feet above the ground, higher if your drone remains within 400 feet of a structure. This is what the FAA says. So McFly does know the FAA rules for UAS operation.
Take off weight is more than .55 lbs.... unless you takethe battery off and throw it, it's a sUAV.
I will say the FAA is sketchy on this... The rules are unspecific, but if it ever becomes an issue
in the field, they'll weigh it with the battery... I'll bet on that.
Maybe they aren't... from the FAA Drone registration FAQ page:
"Unmanned aircraft weighing less than 55 pounds and more than 0.55 pounds (250 grams) on takeoff, including everything that is on board or otherwise attached to the aircraft and operated outdoors in the national airspace system must register."
FAA Drone Registration FAQ LINK
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