Serious question - is there any legitimate use for the RTH button on the controller?

If you're flying and your controller loses connection to the drone, pushing RTH isn't going to make it come back, the message won't get through.

If you're flying and have a yaw, compass, or GPS error you wont be able to use RTH either.

If you're flying in a strong headwind and not making progress, RTH won't magically help either. You'd be better off possibly dropping altitude or flying cross-wind like trying to swim out of a rip-tide.

So under what circumstances would you a) still have connection, and b) still have GPS, where you would ever have a necessity to press RTH?

Good point.  U have a fine mind.

One that comes to mind is that your phone becomes disconnected from the RC for some reason (app crashed, phone battery dies, connection just cuts out, etc, etc) and you are disoriented or can't see your aircraft in the sky.  As long as the aircraft still has a good GPS connection, pressing and holding the RTH on the RC to initiate seems like a reasonable situation to use it.

I'm sure there are other situations, but that is the first to come to mind.  I don't think that I personally have ever used it yet.  However, just because I haven't been in a situation yet where its been necessary, doesn't mean there won't be in the future.

If the app chrashes or the connection to the controller is gone, your button still works!

KlooGee Posted at 2018-6-19 06:15
One that comes to mind is that your phone becomes disconnected from the RC for some reason (app crashed, phone battery dies, connection just cuts out, etc, etc) and you are disoriented or can't see your aircraft in the sky.  As long as the aircraft still has a good GPS connection, pressing and holding the RTH on the RC to initiate seems like a reasonable situation to use it.

I'm sure there are other situations.  I don't think that I personally have every used it yet.  However, just because I haven't been in a situation yet where its been necessary, doesn't mean there won't be in the future.

Agree with KlooGee.

And if you want to RTH use always the button on the RC and not the soft button in the GoApp.
Why? beacuse its easy to make a mistake and choose the landing soft button.

Did happen to me twice in the beginning flying my Spark and happens to other forum member as well, sometimes leading the lost of their drone.

Another use ; when you too far and lost sight of your drone, press RTH. First Drone action is change heading towards HP. Cancel RTH and push fwd.... it will fly to you. (check distance decreasing in the app)

But its just my advice.

Cheers
JJB

KlooGee Posted at 2018-6-19 06:15
One that comes to mind is that your phone becomes disconnected from the RC for some reason (app crashed, phone battery dies, connection just cuts out, etc, etc) and you are disoriented or can't see your aircraft in the sky.  As long as the aircraft still has a good GPS connection, pressing and holding the RTH on the RC to initiate seems like a reasonable situation to use it.

I'm sure there are other situations.  I don't think that I personally have every used it yet.  However, just because I haven't been in a situation yet where its been necessary, doesn't mean there won't be in the future.

Okay, phone problems are a  legitimate reason. That hadn't occurred to me.

As far as getting it to point back to me so I can fly back, the one time I recall completely losing track of where I was was when I flew out over a lake. I kept a visual sighting on it as it went out, but then when I looked down at my phone to compose a picture, I couldn't find it again when I looked up (even had a spotter, but he lost it before I did). I used the icon in the bottom corner of the phone to point it toward me, then flew it back until I picked up sight of it again. At that point if the phone had problems the RTH would have saved the day.

MarkMN Posted at 2018-6-19 07:16
Okay, phone problems are a  legitimate reason. That hadn't occurred to me.

As far as getting it to point back to me so I can fly back, the one time I recall completely losing track of where I was was when I flew out over a lake. I kept a visual sighting on it as it went out, but then when I looked down at my phone to compose a picture, I couldn't find it again when I looked up (even had a spotter, but he lost it before I did). I used the icon in the bottom corner of the phone to point it toward me, then flew it back until I picked up sight of it again. At that point if the phone had problems the RTH would have saved the day.

Yep, your instance is a perfect example.  Imagine looking down for a brief second and noticing your phone is having problems.  That quick glance could lead to your eyes down on the phone for a longer than expected time trying to figure out what is going on.  When you look back up, you can't find your aircraft in the sky any more.  Without the extra helpers on the screen like you utilized to recover your aircraft, that RTH button would be a big relief to have available.  Cheers!

Just as a reminder for anybody reading this, the RTH button on the remote takes a long press to initiate RTH.  The short press won't work.  

Another use is more of the psychological placebo kind of thing. People simply feel more comfortable having that RTH button in there. And a lot of crashes are caused by.... PANIC!
So, it should have some calming effect on people not knowing how things actually work.

KlooGee Posted at 2018-6-19 07:26
Yep, your instance is a perfect example.  Imagine looking down for a brief second and noticing your phone is having problems.  That quick glance could lead to your eyes down on the phone for a longer than expected time trying to figure out what is going on.  When you look back up, you can't find your aircraft in the sky any more.  Without the extra helpers on the screen like you utilized to recover your aircraft, that RTH button would be a big relief to have available.  Cheers!

Just as a reminder for anybody reading this, the RTH button on the remote takes a long press to initiate RTH.  The short press won't work.

"Just as a reminder for anybody reading this, the RTH button on the remote takes a long press to initiate RTH.  The short press won't work.  "

Yep, but in the moment you release that button to early for starting the RTH, the beeping stops, too.
So:
If you don't here your RC beeping, there is no RTH started from the RC or the Phone
The only RTH without this anoying beeping is when you lose the connection between the RC and the AC and the AC starts that RTH alone. You/we hope! ;-)

eYeSkYeYe Posted at 2018-6-19 08:17
Another use is more of the psychological placebo kind of thing. People simply feel more comfortable having that RTH button in there. And a lot of crashes are caused by.... PANIC!  
So, it should have some calming effect on people not knowing how things actually work.

But then again, that's what got me thinking of this in the first place. I've read far too many reports of fly aways where the drone went into ATTI mode, and in a panic the RTH was pressed, then they stood there watching the drone blow away on a breeze. I wondered if it doesn't cause more problems than it solves. I find the pause far more useful, and I wish beginners would pay more attention to it than to the RTH. Until this thread, I couldn't even think of a use for the RTH button, and the one circumstance that has been brought forward is such a rare circumstance I doubt if I will ever experience it.

eYeSkYeYe Posted at 2018-6-19 08:17
Another use is more of the psychological placebo kind of thing. People simply feel more comfortable having that RTH button in there. And a lot of crashes are caused by.... PANIC!  
So, it should have some calming effect on people not knowing how things actually work.

As MarkMN mentioned, I also have seen far too many people report unhappily that they hit the RTH button many times when they were in ATTI mode and upset that it didn't bring their drone back.

Unfortunately, there is no substitute for knowledge.  This is one of the main reasons I participate here is to try to learn as much as possible so that I can be better prepared if everything doesn't go as planned.  That and all the charming personalities here of course!  

MarkMN Posted at 2018-6-19 09:07
But then again, that's what got me thinking of this in the first place. I've read far too many reports of fly aways where the drone went into ATTI mode, and in a panic the RTH was pressed, then they stood there watching the drone blow away on a breeze. I wondered if it doesn't cause more problems than it solves. I find the pause far more useful, and I wish beginners would pay more attention to it than to the RTH. Until this thread, I couldn't even think of a use for the RTH button, and the one circumstance that has been brought forward is such a rare circumstance I doubt if I will ever experience it.

That can cause problems in a panic'd pilot.  They dive onto their fail safe when it is unavailable.  I think the RTH is more for unskilled pilots who lose their way in the video or lose video.  Lost while flying beyond their eyesight.  I have never used it.  But then I love diving full throttle at myself from far out and stopping smoothly in a hover right in front of me.  RTH home is more fun to fly myself.

I also don't use the tracking modes.  I tried them all but find it easier to just fly them manually.  Mostly crane and jib type moves with height changes while tracking the subject with gimbal pitch.

I think the RTH button on the controller is useful whenever you disconnect as it sends a beacon signal that intermittently can be recognized by the Spark. Obviously you need GPS, and when the Spark disconnects it enters RTH automatically after 3 second disconnect, but there's always a chance your RC disconnects but reconnects without one knowing it? The RTH is useful to press as soon as possible, mainly because the Spark has short flight time of less than 16 minutes and it's imperative to get back quickly when you're close to your battery limit, therefore how could the RTH button on the RC not be useful?

I've only ever used it once to test it works, i can't stand the annoying BEEEP BEEEP BEEEP of it!

You can use it to quickly stop RTH and to initiate RTH without signal loss if, for example, you lose orientation of the drone.