Just for everyone's peace of mind and to protect our expensive hobby gear, I'd like a discussion on widely regarded safety practices for return to home/launch (RTH). Perhaps this could eventually get stickied by the mods once the content is reviewed by many seasoned Solo owners.
disclaimer: try everything here at your own risk...other members are not responsible for suggestions found within this thread.
Obviously this depends on flying style and locations (built-up areas vs wide open space). Let's establish some safety setting parameters for the average user flying line of sight (LoS) assuming a mix of both environment and will not be adjusting it pre-flight each time (set it and forget it).
Officially:
I believe RTH info from Solo's release is outdated, the best reference is in this link:
Return Home | 3DR | Drone & UAV Technology
Instead of giving absolute statements, they decide to go with different scenarios. I think this needs crystal clear explanation from the community.
If I understand correctly, before RTH your Solo will:
- climb 10m/34ft if above RTH altitude, regardless of cone zone?? (CZ is the radius around home/launch point which is 1/3 of your RTH altitude in length)
- climb a measely 2.5m/8ft if within CZ and below RTH altitude
- climb to RTH altitude or boundary of CZ (whichever happens first) if outside CZ and below RTH altitude
Considerations:
1. Increasing RTH altitude also increases CZ. This could be more ideal or less ideal. Ideal because there's more clearance height in general but at the expense of your now-wider CZ. I've set my RTH altitude at 40m/130ft so CZ radius is 13m/43ft. This RTH altitude should clear your average tree, powerline and 10 storey/level building.
2. in Orbit, fly a higher altitude than your target's height so there's enough clearance and your Solo won't slam into said target should your controller lose signal. This is assuming one isn't using Tower nor is able to walk around the target.
3. When taking off from on a cliff/hill/rooftop etc, always fly outside of CZ before decending below launch point so your Solo won't slam into the cliffside/hillside/building-side etc. should your controller lose signal.
4. Probably the most important: keep a constant watch on vital stats (duh) and always be prepared for wifi/GPS signal loss. clear obstacle path for wifi loss and assign fly:manual to a custom key for GPS loss and get comfortable flying in it with practice. Try not to panic!
all inputs welcome. I want to have a solid understand of this instead of just inefficient flying relatively high at all times.
disclaimer: try everything here at your own risk...other members are not responsible for suggestions found within this thread.
Obviously this depends on flying style and locations (built-up areas vs wide open space). Let's establish some safety setting parameters for the average user flying line of sight (LoS) assuming a mix of both environment and will not be adjusting it pre-flight each time (set it and forget it).
Officially:
I believe RTH info from Solo's release is outdated, the best reference is in this link:
Return Home | 3DR | Drone & UAV Technology
Instead of giving absolute statements, they decide to go with different scenarios. I think this needs crystal clear explanation from the community.
If I understand correctly, before RTH your Solo will:
- climb 10m/34ft if above RTH altitude, regardless of cone zone?? (CZ is the radius around home/launch point which is 1/3 of your RTH altitude in length)
- climb a measely 2.5m/8ft if within CZ and below RTH altitude
- climb to RTH altitude or boundary of CZ (whichever happens first) if outside CZ and below RTH altitude
Considerations:
1. Increasing RTH altitude also increases CZ. This could be more ideal or less ideal. Ideal because there's more clearance height in general but at the expense of your now-wider CZ. I've set my RTH altitude at 40m/130ft so CZ radius is 13m/43ft. This RTH altitude should clear your average tree, powerline and 10 storey/level building.
2. in Orbit, fly a higher altitude than your target's height so there's enough clearance and your Solo won't slam into said target should your controller lose signal. This is assuming one isn't using Tower nor is able to walk around the target.
3. When taking off from on a cliff/hill/rooftop etc, always fly outside of CZ before decending below launch point so your Solo won't slam into the cliffside/hillside/building-side etc. should your controller lose signal.
4. Probably the most important: keep a constant watch on vital stats (duh) and always be prepared for wifi/GPS signal loss. clear obstacle path for wifi loss and assign fly:manual to a custom key for GPS loss and get comfortable flying in it with practice. Try not to panic!
all inputs welcome. I want to have a solid understand of this instead of just inefficient flying relatively high at all times.
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