For the Inspire, I have a Inspire Pro 1, you can calibrate the battery % display, there is a procedure for that.
For the question 2, I think I will test myself the MM2 battery autonomy at full load to have the answer

AdmBenson Posted at 11-19 04:06
I ask my question again: What is the supposed flight time of the Mini 2 at full speed in sport mode ?
I think it's good to know if it's less than 10 mn...
I mean. I got a P3P, an Inspire pro, a Mavic pro, I've never seen a so big difference of autonomy between min and max load

If you use S mode only for whole fly, you can "expect" about 12-15 minutes (depend of wind) . 31 minutes you have in windless condition and with fly speed about 5 m/s (sport mode is 16 m/s in windless condiotions).

3Km away with tailwind and then 3Km against the wind it's just not possible with this drone... If you are over land you'll have to search the drone on the floor but over water...

On windy conditions (when you get those "high wind warnings") never fly away more than 500-1000 meters or so, and never fly away with a tailwind or you won't return home... Fly against the wind and return with the wind on your back, and allways start the return on green, never wait till the battery gets orange, specially when far away.

Only once I waited for the orange, had to face a front wind and returned home at 12% or so, never again. Allways return on green, land on 30-40% battery, the batteries will last longer and you have that 30-40% extra time to face any possible problem (except being attacked by a bird or similar).

Normal mode is more efficient than sports, only use sports if the wind is so strong that you cant fly or when you know you are going to arrive home no matter what. I usually engage sport mode to do the last Km to home, but at 2Km or so I use normal and cine.

The max range for the mini 2 without wind is about 8Km (4 to go, 4 to return), but it's not safe, you'll use the entire battery. 3km is the top "safe" distance without wind, but with strong wind never go further than 1Km, just take off closer to the location where you want to take photos/videos and you can work even with wind quite safely and easily.

Also, dont believe all what says UAV forecast or simmilar apps, they can say there's no wind and it is. If you think there's a lot of wind or if the drone is telling you that there's strong wind, believe the drone, not the apps.

PS: Sorry for the loss.

The gimbal drop is so bad on the mini 2 watching that last video you posted. You had to keep correcting it while flying straight, crazy... I only had it a few times on the original mini although it happened every time on topdowns.

itsdavesdrone Posted at 12-3 15:42
The gimbal drop is so bad on the mini 2 watching that last video you posted. You had to keep correcting it while flying straight, crazy... I only had it a few times on the original mini although it happened every time on topdowns.

It only happens when flying on high winds and mostly in sports mode and with the gimbal at 0º or at 90º. Better to be able to fly on windy conditions if needed (sports mode)... than see the drone drifting away uncontrolled. With the gimball at -14º or so never happens, and you can allways use normal or cine, which pitch the drone much less.

Mini 1 only flies around 46Km/h, while mini 2 files at 58Km/h and you can even reach 63Km/h or so with the wind in your tail. Having that extra top speed makes the drone more versatile, and you can allways fly slower to prevent the gimball reaching the top.

Labroides Posted at 11-30 13:50
2/ Is there a way to calibrate the % displayed, as for example for the Inspire ?
No there isn't (and probably wasn't for the Inspire either)

Labroides you are a Captain, so I am curious as to how you have come to some of your conclusions.

"As it turned out, the wind estimate was probably close to the actual wind encountered."


"Some rough calculations on battery burn rate, speed and distance suggest that if you had persisted with flying straight back toward the homepoint, you might have just made it back safely."


"He flew out too far with a tailwind, wasn't able to make good speed directly into the headwind when out at sea, and then steered off where the drone was never going to reach land before the battery ran out."



#1 You pointed out the wind was close to the estimate, South South-east. Stronger futher out at sea.


#2 I flew out WEST. Then returned SOUTH EAST to maintain a better CROSSWIND.


#3 @11m 17s my speed lowers to 10.7 mph VS my adjusted angle and speed of 21 mph @ 11m 25s.


So my question is at what point did your "rough calculations" against a slight-headwind at (RED) 10mph check out VS a better-crosswind flying at (GREEN) 21mph seem better?

AdmBenson Posted at 11-30 08:03
1/ What is the discharge curve of a "good" battery for the Mini2 ? I mean , Volts = f(time) for different sink currents ?

2/ Is there a way to calibrate the % displayed, as for example for the Inspire ?

I also suspect an issue with the battery as I found out about a BATTERY FIRMWARE update the day after my flight.
I do assume some partial fault flying a small 249g drone on windy maui over the extra windy ocean. I tried to read the winds the best I could. Some of the wind seemed to change further out at sea which was EXPECTED but not the change closer to shore where I tested during the flight (so partial pilot, wind changes, and battery fault?).

I did open a case to inquire about any battery issues specifically which they ignored.
My result was that I "crashed with obstacles" as the DJI Data Analysis Team.... -_- (I guess a WHALE jumped up from the ocean and hit it XD)

I did upgrade to a Mavic Air 2 and am starting tests for max battery burn in sports mode. (no issues with the wind so far 20km distance tests and on windier days)

Chrismm Posted at 12-4 09:41
I also suspect an issue with the battery as I found out about a BATTERY FIRMWARE update the day after my flight.
I do assume some partial fault flying a small 249g drone on windy maui over the extra windy ocean. I tried to read the winds the best I could. Some of the wind seemed to change further out at sea which was EXPECTED but not the change closer to shore where I tested during the flight (so partial pilot, wind changes, and battery fault?).

Hi Chris,

Have many safe landings with your MA2, a great drone!

cheers
JJB

Chrismm Posted at 12-4 09:32
Labroides you are a Captain, so I am curious as to how you have come to some of your conclusions.

"As it turned out, the wind estimate was probably close to the actual wind encountered."

So my question is at what point did your "rough calculations" against a slight-headwind at (RED) 10mph check out VS a better-crosswind flying at (GREEN) 21mph seem better?
I can't properly understand your question.
When I suggested that the wind estimate was about right, I was referring to the wind speed only, not the direction.
My rough calculation was based on the speed your drone could achieve when flying directly into the wind.
The direction of the wind is easily seen by where the drone made the slowest progress when flying back.

You definitely flew too far out with a tailwind and might have made it back if you flew directly back home .. but only if the wind closer to shore was still less when you came back closer.
Steering off only made your problems worse.

Most of my flying is offshore and dealing with winds is a very important aspect of that, so I'm well aware of how it all works.
I also understand that you need to work with a comfortable safety margin in that environment to be able to deal with unexpected issues.

How your drone performed is completely normal and in trying to blame your equipment, you are fooling yourself.
The initial mistake of flying too far offshore was the cause of the loss of your drone.
Everything you did after that only made it worse.

Labroides Posted at 12-4 14:19
So my question is at what point did your "rough calculations" against a slight-headwind at (RED) 10mph check out VS a better-crosswind flying at (GREEN) 21mph seem better?
I can't properly understand your question.
When I suggested that the wind estimate was about right, I was referring to the wind speed only, not the direction.

I added the picture for clarification.


@11 minutes 17s my speed lowers to 10.7 mph and the RED LINE to the beach is what you think would have been best?


Why is cutting slightly south at 11M 25s and following the GREEN LINE gaining speed back up to 21mph not a better option?


A higher speed and CROSS WIND is better than fighting a slight-HEAD WIND that slows you down (not twice the distance but twice the speed).

Chrismm Posted at 12-4 15:20
I added the picture for clarification.

@11 minutes 17s my speed lowers to 10.7 mph and the RED LINE to the beach is what you think would have been best?
What would have been best  was not to fly 3 km offshore with a tailwind in a Mini 2 that has a top speed in Normal Mode of 10 metres/sec.
Once you were in that situation, you only had a slim chance of making it back, but only if you did everything right and had luck on your side.
Unfortunately for you, you didn't do everything right and that is why your drone is on the seafloor.

Flying well out to sea with a tailwind is risky and it's an unforgiving environment.
You cannot afford to make a single mistake out there.
You made several.

Why is cutting slightly south at 11M 25s and following the GREEN LINE gaining speed back up to 21mph not a better option?
Because it sank your Mini.

A higher speed and CROSS WIND is better than fighting a slight-HEAD WIND that slows you down (not twice the distance but twice the speed).
A higher speed is only better if it's helping you get the drone back to safety.
How much better did it turn out for you?
What generally works out best is to choose the path that gets you to shore before the battery reaches 0%.

Labroides Posted at 12-4 17:48
@11 minutes 17s my speed lowers to 10.7 mph and the RED LINE to the beach is what you think would have been best?
What would have been best  was not to fly 3 km offshore with a tailwind in a Mini 2 that has a top speed in Normal Mode of 10 metres/sec.
Once you were in that situation, you only had a slim chance of making it back, but only if you did everything right and had luck on your side.

WHITE 3000M - @7m 43s Are you saying the drone can fly 3000m at 5.8mph?

RED 1050M - @ 12m 28s the speed was 17.2mph but drops to 6.4mph at 13m 7s.

YELLOW 780M - 13m 7s I am full throttle east. The wind is carrying it as you can see on the replay. : (

(I did fly as your 1050M RED LINE suggests. Look at the replay and drone heading.)

Chrismm Posted at 12-4 18:12
WHITE 3000M - @7m 43s Are you saying the drone can fly 3000m at 5.8mph?

RED 1050M - @ 12m 28s the speed was 17.2mph but drops to 6.4mph at 13m 7s.

WHITE 3000M - @7m 43s Are you saying the drone can fly 3000m at 5.8mph?
The white line shows that you flew a wandering path to a point that was 3000 metres downwind.
That was a big mistake and one that meant you were always going to have trouble getting back.
If you want to know your flight speed it's in the flight data and it's not 5.8 mph.

YELLOW 780M - 13m 7s I am full throttle east. The wind is carrying it as you can see on the replay. : (
I've looked deeply into the flight data - too much now.
You flew the yellow path which meant your drone was going to run out of battery before it could ever reach land.

I did fly as your 1050M RED LINE suggests. Look at the replay and drone heading.
If you'd continued flying the red line, the drone would have splashed down before reaching land anyway.
But you didn't.
For some unknown reason you turned to the south and went even further from the closest shore rather than flying towards it.
But in the end that didn't matter.
By taking the course you did from 60%, you set the drone on a path to sinking.
The only option which would have had any chance to getting to land was to have flown the shortest path to land (the white line).
That still wouldn't have guaranteed safe return, but if the wind slowed enough as you got closer to shore, it might have saved you.

Are we there yet?
There was nothing abnormal in the way your drone or battery performed.
The way it was flown was what caused the loss of the drone.
Try to learn something from the incident so you can avoid similar mistakes in future.

Labroides Posted at 12-4 19:33
WHITE 3000M - @7m 43s Are you saying the drone can fly 3000m at 5.8mph?
The white line shows that you flew a wandering path to a point that was 3000 metres downwind.
That was a big mistake and one that meant you were always going to have trouble getting back.

"If you want to know your flight speed it's in the flight data and it's not 5.8 mph."

https://app.airdata.com/share/UI ... ns&val=detailed
07m 42.5s        P-GPS        19        123.0ft        42.0ft        5.7mph        9809.9ft        60%


"I've looked deeply into the flight data - too much now."

Here is a picture showing my east heading at full stick forward, (the entire final drift south).



I feel your analysis has been incorrect almost since the begging. Atleast you were not the DJI Data Analysis team member that said I crashed into an object over the open ocean and the sensors could not avoid the obstacle.

Thank you for initially replying with insight on the first day.

Chrismm Posted at 12-4 19:52
"If you want to know your flight speed it's in the flight data and it's not 5.8 mph."

https://app.airdata.com/share/UIXaJX/GENERALNotifications&val=detailed

At least you were not the DJI Data Analysis team member that said I crashed into an object over the open ocean and the sensors could not avoid the obstacle.
Unfortunately DJI aren't very good with their communications.
They were definitely wrong with that and it's not the first time I've seen similar from their people.

Chrismm Posted at 12-4 19:52
"If you want to know your flight speed it's in the flight data and it's not 5.8 mph."

https://app.airdata.com/share/UIXaJX/GENERALNotifications&val=detailed

I've put in far too much effort on this already.
I've spelled out what happened several times already.
It's all there if you read it.

I'm not going to waste any more time on a 2-time loser that doesn't want to learn from an incident.
You lost your drone and you lost again because you won't learn from the incident.
You are only interested in finding  excuses for your mistakes, but there aren't any.

I feel your analysis has been incorrect almost since the begging.
Do you?

I've safely flown >3000 miles at sea, plenty in stronger winds than in your incident.
I understand what's involved in ocean flying.
I do flight incident analysis to find lost drones all over the world (I found one in Norway last week).
I help flyers learn why they lost their drone.
I help flyers challenge DJI when it's wrong.

But in your expert opinion, you have a feeling that my analysis has been wrong from the beginning?
I don't think you have what it takes to venture an opinion.

Your poor flying was the reason you lost your drone.

"You are only interested in finding  excuses for your mistakes, but there aren't any."

Ain't that the truth in almost everything. Even our failed president is subject to that fault. We eventually have to come to grips with our own failures. It's not that hard unless your ego gets in the way ;-)

I have not follow this thread anymore.....but it got my interest again, reading what is written bu the OP and others.

Sometimes a picture does say more than 1000 words....

See the picture.

At craft position with 38% battery level left :  direct to home distance is 2325 meter.

Craft travelled from 38 to 35% batt level : 222 meter ; 44 meters per 1% battery level.
Craft travelled from 38 to 28% batt level : 472 meter ; 47 meter per 1% battery level. (dit travelled bit more, see the curve in the line)

If the wind did not change after the 38 to 28% period than....
Some benefit for this drone ; it will fly 50 meters per 1% battery level.
38% - 0% = 38 * 50 = 1900 meters.

And below about 10% batt level the forward speed (thus distance travelled) will decrease.

Conclusion : little chance for a dry feet landing.

cheers
JJB

Huginn Kenningar Posted at 12-3 15:58
It only happens when flying on high winds and mostly in sports mode and with the gimbal at 0º or at 90º. Better to be able to fly on windy conditions if needed (sports mode)... than see the drone drifting away uncontrolled. With the gimball at -14º or so never happens, and you can allways use normal or cine, which pitch the drone much less.

Mini 1 only flies around 46Km/h, while mini 2 files at 58Km/h and you can even reach 63Km/h or so with the wind in your tail. Having that extra top speed makes the drone more versatile, and you can allways fly slower to prevent the gimball reaching the top.

No, it's a design fault unfortunately. The mini 2 has a steeper flight pitch. I know on my mini it drives me crazy having to adjust the gimbal all the time when it changes automatically. It doesn't happen at all with my air 2. It's a bit of a problem with the mini 2 when you can't fly straight without it falling down.

itsdavesdrone Posted at 12-6 14:58
No, it's a design fault unfortunately. The mini 2 has a steeper flight pitch. I know on my mini it drives me crazy having to adjust the gimbal all the time when it changes automatically. It doesn't happen at all with my air 2. It's a bit of a problem with the mini 2 when you can't fly straight without it falling down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAMa_lfThQg

That was mostly what I was trying to say, if you want that little drone go fast, it'll have to pitch and then the gimball will bounce because it can't maintanin 0º at that angle of attack.

Mini 2 external design is mostly the same as the mini 1, but it's faster (more inclination) thus the jump happens more frequently. This isn't a thing that can be solved by software unless you make the drone slower and thus unable to flight in strong winds.

To prevent this from happening mini 3 should have the gimball just in the front (like some other drones from other companies).

PS: As for the topic, the principal error there was to fly in such conditions... It would be an error to go 3K away on a windy day over ground, but if you are flying over ground and you realise you can't return home you can just switch to cine mode and hower for 5 minutes or more, search a good spot (no people around that could steal it, no fences so you don't have to invade other peoples propierties, etc) and then simply land it properly and walk or drive 1 or 2 Km and retrieve it perfect state. But over water you were drowned the moment you hit 3Km with tailwind, there's simply no way you could have returned unless the wind suddenly stopped.

I've flown the mini 2 in the wind... and you don't want to go further away than 1Km with it or you'll have to walk... And never do it over water (you can clearly see by the waves is a very windy day).

"Safe" distances with the Mini 2 are 3Km without wind and 1Km with wind, return before the green bar empties and just swap the battery for a fresh one.

As a relative noob I don't have practice doing all the voltage and battery duration calculations for drone flight (although I AM familiar with that stuff in other applications.)  Agree this is an operator error but I'd call it more of a learning experience than suggesting the OP should have known better.  Without the experience or foresight, turning around at 70% was not a terrible decision.  I would suggest that, as soon as the problem became obvious, dropping the altitude and switching to sport mode might well have got the drone home.  Sport mode might have sucked the battery down a lot faster but it would also have given an extra 7mph against the wind, that would have allowed the drone to make much better progress shoreward.

I was not aware of any wind but my Mini just did a 2-mile out, 2 mins of hovering while taking pics, 2-mile back, flight in Sport mode, full stick the entire way and arrived back with the battery at 45%.  Total flight time was almost exactly 10 minutes.  Making the (possibly dangerous) assumption that battery % is roughly linear/correct, I started back at 69% which seems to show that S-mode full-stick speed will consume around 6% of battery life per minute.  

Had the OP flown back in S-mode, the drone would have managed 12mph into the head-wind, rather than 5mph.  It would therefore have taken roughly 9 or 10 minutes (assuming constant wind speed) to get back to the beach.  This would correspond to 60% battery usage so reaching land with 10% remaining.  It would not have left much reserve but would have been a lot better than what was achieved in P-mode.  As there were times the wind dropped, most likely the return would have been achieved with more reserve than that.

Grumbleduke Posted at 12-6 20:01
As a relative noob I don't have practice doing all the voltage and battery duration calculations for drone flight (although I AM familiar with that stuff in other applications.)  Agree this is an operator error but I'd call it more of a learning experience than suggesting the OP should have known better.  Without the experience or foresight, turning around at 70% was not a terrible decision.  I would suggest that, as soon as the problem became obvious, dropping the altitude and switching to sport mode might well have got the drone home.  Sport mode might have sucked the battery down a lot faster but it would also have given an extra 7mph against the wind, that would have allowed the drone to make much better progress shoreward.

I was not aware of any wind but my Mini just did a 2-mile out, 2 mins of hovering while taking pics, 2-mile back, flight in Sport mode, full stick the entire way and arrived back with the battery at 45%.  Total flight time was almost exactly 10 minutes.  Making the (possibly dangerous) assumption that battery % is roughly linear/correct, I started back at 69% which seems to show that S-mode full-stick speed will consume around 6% of battery life per minute.  

Without the experience or foresight, turning around at 70% was not a terrible decision.
The OP stated his previous drone experience and did not turn around at 70%.
Apart from flying too far out with a tailwind, meaning a fight against a headwind to come home, he never made any attempt to come straight back to home.
Look at the wandering path he chose, making the distance to land further with each wandering turn.

Sport mode might have sucked the battery down a lot faster but it would also have given an extra 7mph against the wind, that would have allowed the drone to make much better progress shoreward.
Sport Mode would have given more speed but at a significant increase in battery burn rate.
It's a complex calculation to work out whether it would have got him back to shore, but generally for a long flight the faster speed doesn't compensate for the faster battery drain.

Hi,

Some flights do give inpiration to add functions to FRAP.
Added "Remaining distance battery use" to it, just click a button...  

cheers
JJB

Labroides Posted at 12-6 21:02
Without the experience or foresight, turning around at 70% was not a terrible decision.
The OP stated his previous drone experience and did not turn around at 70%.
Apart from flying too far out with a tailwind, meaning a fight against a headwind to come home, he never made any attempt to come straight back to home.

"The OP stated his previous drone experience and did not turn around at 70%."

Please stop stating incorrect information.

@ 6min 47s I was at 70% battery with ONLY 7m7s left. So I started my return.
@ 7m5s 67% battery I turned around heading eastish reaching 6mph.

I made my decision to turn around and in 13 seconds was heading east.

It is all TIMESTAMPED in the logs you said you looked at. LINK- https://app.airdata.com/share/UI ... ns&val=detailed


Thank you for your understanding.

Chrismm Posted at 12-7 08:30
"The OP stated his previous drone experience and did not turn around at 70%."

Please stop stating incorrect information.

Please stop stating incorrect information.
What incorrect information?

@ 6min 47s I was at 70% battery with ONLY 7m7s left. So I started my return.
@ 7m5s 67% battery I turned around heading eastish reaching 6mph.
It is all TIMESTAMPED in the logs you said you looked at.
You say that like you think you can actually read flight data and I can't.
Well Bozo, here's what your flight data actually shows.

You flew out at full stick until 6:57.4
From 6:57.4 you left the drone hovering and rotated the drone (taking photos perhaps?) until 7:14.4.
While the drone was hovering, it was having trouble holding position, indicating that the wind speed was at or about the max speed of your drone in Normal Mode.

At 7:14.4 you started flying on a heading of 52°, later trying a heading of 72°.
At 7:48.6, with the battery now showing 59% you finally turned the drone but put it on a course of 144°.
The course to the home point was 99°
Your drone was still ~3000 metres from home and had made no progress toward home.

From there you flew a wandering course, around 117° taking the drone further from home and dooming it to a watery grave.
And to put the icing on the cake, at 12:57.8 you made a completely futile course change to put your drone on a heading of 160°.

Thank you for your understanding.
Yeah .. I understand, a whole lot better than you do.

Labroides Posted at 12-7 14:36
Please stop stating incorrect information.
What incorrect information?

Please no more insults. This is a forum.
Thank you.

dronesinairs Posted at 12-7 15:17
Please no more insults. This is a forum.
Thank you.

Factual information = insults ??

Labroides Posted at 12-6 21:02
Without the experience or foresight, turning around at 70% was not a terrible decision.
The OP stated his previous drone experience and did not turn around at 70%.
Apart from flying too far out with a tailwind, meaning a fight against a headwind to come home, he never made any attempt to come straight back to home.

Complex calculation for sure - especially in the real world with constantly changing conditions - although I showed my back-of-the envelope math that seems reasonably conclusive.

I would not generalize that S-mode is good or bad as it would seem to be situation dependent.  If the wind was a steady 21 mph, the drone could be 100 feet from shore and never made it back in P-mode.  Full stick would have the drone just able to hold it's position, but in S-mode it would be back in a few seconds.  For flights in still air, not fighting a head-wind, I'm perfectly willing to agree that range in P-mode is greater.
In this instance, I think the more rapid progress toward shore would have trumped the faster battery drain.  It would have been seeing far LESS drain per thousand feet of progress, despite faster drain per minute.  

Not making a bee-line for shore is another issue entirely.  Without a clear understanding of the sitation or the optimal solution, the OP was not able to make the best decisions - but if he had done, he would not have been in such circumstances to begin with.

Grumbleduke Posted at 12-7 19:09
Complex calculation for sure - especially in the real world with constantly changing conditions - although I showed my back-of-the envelope math that seems reasonably conclusive.

I would not generalize that S-mode is good or bad as it would seem to be situation dependent.  If the wind was a steady 21 mph, the drone could be 100 feet from shore and never made it back in P-mode.  Full stick would have the drone just able to hold it's position, but in S-mode it would be back in a few seconds.  For flights in still air, not fighting a head-wind, I'm perfectly willing to agree that range in P-mode is greater.

I would not generalize that S-mode is good or bad as it would seem to be situation dependent.  If the wind was a steady 21 mph, the drone could be 100 feet from shore and never made it back in P-mode.  
It is situation dependent and you've described a special situation.
For short distances the poor fuel economy of Sport mode is no problem.
But over long distances, miles/battery is what matters and for a 3 km flight, when the battery is already significantly depleted, it would be a poor choice.

Grumbleduke Posted at 12-7 19:09
Complex calculation for sure - especially in the real world with constantly changing conditions - although I showed my back-of-the envelope math that seems reasonably conclusive.

I would not generalize that S-mode is good or bad as it would seem to be situation dependent.  If the wind was a steady 21 mph, the drone could be 100 feet from shore and never made it back in P-mode.  Full stick would have the drone just able to hold it's position, but in S-mode it would be back in a few seconds.  For flights in still air, not fighting a head-wind, I'm perfectly willing to agree that range in P-mode is greater.

Hi,

Indeed a complex calculation, nor only for 'pilots' but for DJI engineers as well!

Mayby good to realize that the DJI sofware doesn`t take wind (head wind - tail wind) in their RTH calculations!

In this flight at 7m56s the RTH counntdown was started. BUT at this point this Mini2 was already virtually wet.

See the chart for flightlog data.
The black line is representing the time in seconds to reach HP.
The purple line represents the time to zero % battery level.
Green line is the batt level line in %.

The green triangle is the start of the RTH countdown....
But the countdown had to start earlier ofcourse, just before (some safety margin) the point where the purple line drops below the black line.

So this did not help the OP to make a correct decision....having said that ; flying so far out above water with this wind direction is never a good idea.

So my lesson learned is (well i was aware of this) that the green-yellow-red batt indicator value in the FlyApp works only good in less wind situations.
Flying 100% forward only with tailwind and wait for the app to countdown for a RTH is recipe for loosing your craft flying back home against head wind.


cheers
JJB

Mini 1 was a disappointment, mini2 was a good upgrade but there is still design issues. Mini3 will be a nice shot. But till that Air2 is the best drone on consumer product range of DJI. M3 will be sure highest advanced device but DJI working on some smart/autonomous functions and seems it'll take some time.

Since making my (largely theoretical) posts, stating my belief that the drone could probably have made it back to shore in sport mode, I have put a lot of flight miles on my Mini.  I have done quite a lot of flying in windy conditions and have tried out endurance flights at normal and sport-mode speeds.  In P-mode I can get about 25 minutes of full-stick flat-out flight before 10% battery life is reached.  In S-mode, this is reduced to about 18 minutes.  Based upon this and my previous calculations, I am certain the drone could have made it back easily when turned around at 70% battery life if the operator had flown straight for shore in sport mode - especially if he had reduced the altitude.

Now I have not found myself in an identical situation but I have had a reverse - where I was trying to get my drone out to an island on a frozen lake in Colorado, into a strong headwind.  What was a painfully slow struggle in P-mode, where it probably would never have made it 1/2 mile away on the available charge, became pretty easy to get 1 mile away when S-mode was used.  The reduction in flying time was irrelevant in this case as I wasn't pushing it but I turned the drone around when battery life reached 40% and the return flight was made very quickly (50+ mph, with the tail-wind) for a landing with almost 30% remaining.

The biggest lesson I took from this thread was NEVER to fly more than a few hundred feet away at most, when there is a strong tail-wind.  I flew the mini around a mountain top in Colombia at about 13,500 feet.  It wasn't very happy with the thin air or strong winds, giving constant warnings and got blown backwards quite a few times.  Whenever it started losing the battle with the strong wind, I just dropped it closer to the ground, easily regaining stability and control.

Labroides Posted at 2020-12-4 20:58
I've put in far too much effort on this already.
I've spelled out what happened several times already.
It's all there if you read it.

such a normal thing for most people - blaming everything else except themselves for a thing that didn't went well, simply because it feels so good not to blame ourselves for negative outcomes and it feels much better to blame others/other things instead!

Sorry for your loss Sir Chrismm (though your case is already a few years back, it still provides valuable lesson specially for us newbies).

Fly safe everyone!

Have you looked at your flight data?

USER001 Posted at 4-4 01:38
Have you looked at your flight data?

Have you looked at the dates ?
Last 2 posts : july 2022 and june 2023.

Would be better if you reply next month on this old post.   7-22, 6-23, 5-24   nice sequence...   ;-)

cheers
JJB

JJB* Posted at 4-4 03:30
Have you looked at the dates ?
Last 2 posts : july 2022 and june 2023.

And then June next year JJB?

yogi053 Posted at 4-5 02:42
And then June next year JJB?

no   to keep the sequence   APRIL next year  

JJB* Posted at 4-5 02:44
no   to keep the sequence   APRIL next year

Yep! As usual, you are correct and I got it wrong.