AGL based on in-flight startup
Hi-
If I start my flight in the DJI GO app and fly to a location compose, meter, get all my camera setting correct, view photos to make sure they are good.....then open dronelink and start a mission while still in the air, how would it recognize the takeoff location and relative altitude? Does it pull the homepoint location/altitude info from DJI app or does it use its current in-air location as the takeoff location/altitude?
Thanks
Comments
6 comments
Altitude is always from take-off.
If you are using AGL, you will want to mark a pre-determined area to take off from, because all of the AGL data in the mission will be calculated from that location. In fact, if you set AGL and don't define a take-off area then DL will put up a warning that this creates a dangerous situation.
To set a take off restriction, you can do that by clicking on the marker icon and selecting specific area in the take-off restriction drop down
If you have a defined take-off area in the mission and take off from there, even if not at the start of the mission, you should be safe.
Note that if you have any doubt you can run missions in safety mode, where it will face forward all the time,.Do that the first time you run the mission and it should allow you to monitor for any problems.
Also note that altitudes are not totally accurate as they are based on barometric pressure which can change during flight, so you should build in a buffer to make sure you clear things. Otherwise, you might run the mission one day without a problem and another day clip the top of a tree.
Barry, thanks so much for the info. I am pretty clear on this functionality when initiating the flight from Dronelink. Just to clarify, if those steps are taken (set takeoff restriction, and actually take off from that location) but you took off in a different flight app, Dronelink will recognize those parameters when launching the app and mission when already in flight?
One more somewhat related question, when the return to home function initiates, does this honor the altitudes set in the DJI app or does it double back on the approach path/altitude set in Dronelink?
Also is it true that the smart return to home must be enabled in order for the return to home function to work?
Mike,
Yes, to your first part. I actually do that a lot - frequently running different missions one after the other. As long as I have a decent amount of battery left I will keep it going - changing batteries adds a lot of time on site.
It will honor the altitudes set in the DJI app, unless you have changed it in the mission,which you can do with this component.
I can't speak for all drones but my P4Ps and Mavic 2 will just fly home in a straight line.
I think RTH and smart RTH are separate - but it has been a long time since I messed with it.
Hope that helps.
very helpful, thanks!
I wonder if there is a way to stipulate the RTH follows the approach path set in Dronelink. The situation I am dealing with is flying my approach under a bridge, capturing lower support structures then ideally following the same path back to takeoff when RTH initiates. I suppose the approach could just as easy come from above, by trying to shorten missions and take the most direct path.
Flying under bridges is a tricky situation, so you need to be very careful there. There are a lot of things that can cause problems such as:
If flying under bridges I might be tempted to turn off the RTH, or at least set the RTH altitude low enough that it won't climb. Note that if it is already above the RTH altitude it will return at the current altitude, it will not decend.
Hi Mike.
Barry gave you great advise and knows more about DL then I do. I just have a couple suggestions to add which may help.
In answering your additional question about RTH at end of mission. The RTH will return the drone on a direct path back to the take-off location based on your RTH settings. It will not follow the approach or path which the drone flew. Just set the RTH altitude in the DJI app to higher then anything in the area to clear any obstacle. You can place a command as Barry stated in the Dronelink plan to a different RTH setting if you want to. Unless you specifically add a command in the DL app it will always use whatever is set in the DJI app. Camera settings, disconnect state, whether it’s set to hover, land or RTH, Max distance, Max altitude, RTH altitude etc. The settings in the DJI app Stick/ Carry Over to DL.
If you do start a mission from an area you are not located as you stated you can either RTH or just add a destination component or path directly back to your location and specify the altitude, speed etc. Then you can set it to clear anything in the area back to your location. When the mission says accomplished it will then RTH from that point close to you.
Also when using AGL you can adjust the Orange “Specific Area” take-off diameter which is set by default at 20’ to less or more. Just click on the 20’ setting and drag it in or out to make it a smaller or larger launch area. As long as the drone is within that Orange Specific Area on take-off it will launch. If it is outside of that area the app will notify you and not launch. Either move the drone to within the specific area or increase the diameter to cover the drones actual location.
One last suggestion. I’d run any mission on Goggle Earth prior to running it. The quality and accuracy is really good and will give you an idea of how it will fly the actual mission especially when flying at low altitudes or close to obstacles. Hope this helps and as always, enjoy.
Mike…….
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