Being new to the MA I wanted to share an experience that might save save someone with similar level of experience from a costly mistake.  Today I was flying in a very large field at about 25 ft above the field.  I looked down to check the display, then looked up and was not able to spot the MA where I thought it was.  It was blending too well with the surround. The image from the camera gave me little clue since one part of this field looked like every other location. I even had an drone pilor observer with me who also lost sight of the drone.  I felt apprehensive because I have frequently gotten strong EM interference in this location.  Fearing that I might have a fly away I hit what I thought was the RTH on my phone display, but still couldn't see the MA in the air.  With the bright sunlight it was difficult to see the iPhone 6 display even though I use a sunshield. If I had, I could have seen that I had hit the auto-land rather than the RTH located right above it.  I finally realized that I heard an audio indication that the MA had landed, so I simply took off and pushed it up high enough for me to spot.  If I had hit RTH at that point it wouldnot have come back, but would have landed where it acquired a new home point, so I simply flew it back manually.

The lessons learned are:

1.  Look at the  displayed velocity to see if it is moving and check the altitude to better know where to look (before looking for the arrow on the map).
2.  Move the gimbal to find a image of the horizon then rotate on its axis get your


bearings.
2.  Always use the button on the controller to RTH rather than the soft button on the screen to avoid this silly mistake.
3.  Don't panic if you lose sight, just take hands off the controls and let it hover, then take it up or down in altitude to localize the search.

I guess I am glad that I didn't autoland this into a less friendly location for a soft landing.

You can also use the map or compass views to re-orient the AC so it points to home, then fly straight forward to bring it back.

An important thing to remember is to not fly backwards or sideways if you are not certain about your AC's surroundings or orientation since you only have sensors in the front. It's safest to fly straight forward in P-mode (assuming you enabled your sensors).

I use compass view to turn the head of drone to home and fly babck if lost sight. Monitor the distance and high of drone and try to spot it during return. Funny thing is the noisy MA always become quiet when lost sight. It's often appear higher on the sky than where I am looking.

I think if I were to acquire a larger and brighter display than my iPhone6 flying by the nav might be easier.  Too bad there is no reflective display available for this. So far I have a tough time seeing the map display well enough in the bright ambient to actually use it for navigation even with the brightness at max.  

Have to agree with GDL, that this is plenty noisy until one tries to find it from the sound. In my case it was too low in the sky to spot and there were half a dozen vultures circling in the same general direction which initially fooled me into thinking I was seeing the MA.

Unless I was flying this indoors I cannot imagine a reason to disable the sensors.  Only this week have I had the confidence to fly without propeller guards.  That said, I left the stakes sticking out of the ground too high on my landing pad the props touched one of them, but to no ill effect.

Still, I would have had no issue if I had used the RTH button on the controller rather than trying to find that on the phone display.

Put a firehouse strobe on it can be seen for about a mile or so and is self powered.
I never leave home without it.

Your not the first and won’t be the last, I think maybe they should change that swipe on the app, it’s such an easy mistake to make. Good luck.

I'm really glad you were able to re-launch and bring it home.   Thanks for sharing your story.  Things like this are always a good lesson for new pilots.

sky6105 Posted at 2018-5-21 00:34
Put a firehouse strobe on it can be seen for about a mile or so and is self powered.
I never leave home without it.

Thanks sky6105  for that recommendation on the strobe to use.  I just ordered this on Amazon. A bright white, rechargeable LED is just what I need  

BTW I personally dislike red/yellow/green LEDs.  So many of us are red/green colorblind making this indicator next to useless. I am actually a dichromat, and am blind to red (630nm) LEDs.

Just follow the path on your map in the corner of your screen. If I get turned around, I just follow the path I flew out on. Easy peasy.

Suncruiser Posted at 2018-5-20 20:32
I think if I were to acquire a larger and brighter display than my iPhone6 flying by the nav might be easier.  Too bad there is no reflective display available for this. So far I have a tough time seeing the map display well enough in the bright ambient to actually use it for navigation even with the brightness at max.  

Have to agree with GDL, that this is plenty noisy until one tries to find it from the sound. In my case it was too low in the sky to spot and there were half a dozen vultures circling in the same general direction which initially fooled me into thinking I was seeing the MA.

Get an ipad mini 4- It fits right into your controller

Yes, iPad mini 4 is my near term target. I plan to first take one into the sun to see how well it performs. Certainly a larger screen than iPhone 6 would help. Perhaps a large black cloth would also help.

Suncruiser Posted at 2018-5-20 20:32
I think if I were to acquire a larger and brighter display than my iPhone6 flying by the nav might be easier.  Too bad there is no reflective display available for this. So far I have a tough time seeing the map display well enough in the bright ambient to actually use it for navigation even with the brightness at max.  

Have to agree with GDL, that this is plenty noisy until one tries to find it from the sound. In my case it was too low in the sky to spot and there were half a dozen vultures circling in the same general direction which initially fooled me into thinking I was seeing the MA.

I hear you and agree I also have an iPhone 6 and the display sucks in the bright sun even with a SunShade.  I really want to get the crystal sky for this as it would be no issue seeing the display with that.  Big $$ though so have to save.  Many times I know not always an option but I will find shade if it gets unbearable and cannot see crap.  Remember also I NEVER use the RTH button on the phone but use the RTH button on the controller.  And I also think DJI should move the land button to the oposite side of the phone screen as you are not the first and will not be the last to hit that button instead of RTH and think it may help a bit if that is on the oposite side of the screen.

And what is worse with my iPhone 6 is when it gets hot whether it be from the sun shining on it or just working to hard it dims the display even more to protect itself making it near impossible to see.  In that case I will hit the RTH button on the controller.  And this is why it is so important to ALWAYS ensure your home point has been updated before taking off.  

Suncruiser Posted at 2018-5-21 12:24
Yes, iPad mini 4 is my near term target. I plan to first take one into the sun to see how well it performs. Certainly a larger screen than iPhone 6 would help. Perhaps a large black cloth would also help.

Put a sun screen on it and your good to go

Did that- not good enough for California sunshine.

iPad mini 4 with a hoodman sun hood from mavmount, you won't have any issues seeing the screen in any lighting conditions.

M2Wair Posted at 2018-5-21 17:06
iPad mini 4 with a hoodman sun hood from mavmount, you won't have any issues seeing the screen in any lighting conditions.

Thanks M2Wair - Sounds like a good idea for my father's day  wish list.

Good day. Thank you for sharing your experience.