Hey guys,
I'm planning to go up a 4 storey building and try having the mavic mini take off and land on top of it for an aerial shoot I'm planning. I'm just worried if there are any concerns like when it takes off and moves forward out of the top floor, will it then see the sudden drop and abruptly descend to compensate or maintain its altitude? Likewise if I'm having it come back for a landing, will it then ascend abruptly upon seeing the transition from ground to the top floor? The top floor btw is open air but has a roof held on by 4 pillars, so I'm more worried if it comes back, it might suddenly ascend and hit the roof.

If you cannot answer these simple questions yourself....than do not fly this flight!  

It will maintain altitude. It sees the point of takeoff as height 0. That means if you takeoff from the roof and descend to a floor below, your height meter will display a negative value.

Just be careful if there is a rooftop above the point of takeoff. If you loose signal it will then return and land on top of the rooftop, where it might be hard to get it.

JJB* Posted at 3-18 04:35
If you cannot answer these simple questions yourself....than do not fly this flight!

Then can you answer it? Look, I'm just a beginner just asking advice from experienced users, alright. I've encountered other drones with flying algorithms that do what I described wherein they abruptly rise and drop in response to change in the terrain. But I'm asking because I'm not familiar with the mavic mini's flying algorithm and I'm not going to risk it just to find out. And yes I've had it flown over buildings multiple times but it was flying way higher than them and hence wasn't using the downward proximity sensors and flew by barometer sensors, unlike if it is approaching to land on a building where its downward sensors would be in range and I'm not sure if the mini will react to it even just before it is told to land. Please understand and know about the full background before proceeding to judge someone. Btw it's "then" not "than", if you're going to criticize somebody, please do it right and make sure it is somehow helpful.

Tuxtard Posted at 3-18 04:44
It will maintain altitude. It sees the point of takeoff as height 0. That means if you takeoff from the roof and descend to a floor below, your height meter will display a negative value.

Just be careful if there is a rooftop above the point of takeoff. If you loose signal it will then return and land on top of the rooftop, where it might be hard to get it.

Thanks for the info and tip! I'll take note of the distance and try to keep it within in range, or keep an eye on it if it goes to auto RTH and quickly cancel it once signal is restored.

ranrick Posted at 3-18 04:52
Thanks for the info and tip! I'll take note of the distance and try to keep it within in range, or keep an eye on it if it goes to auto RTH and quickly cancel it once signal is restored.

Another thing you can do is to manually set homepoint to a place near by where you can safely retrieve your drone in case of a total signal loss and RTH.

Tuxtard Posted at 3-18 05:58
Another thing you can do is to manually set homepoint to a place near by where you can safely retrieve your drone in case of a total signal loss and RTH.

Yeah that should work too. Though I probably have to do it anyways maybe since I don't think the gps signal can get through the roof above it so yeah necessary eitherways I guess. Thanks!

JJB* certainly didn't mean it that way, otherwise he always gives helpful suggestions and flight log analyzes. To your question: nothing happens if you fly over the "cliff" or come back. You can also fly out the window in a skyscraper. Alternative regarding RTH : If you lose the signal and RTH is initiated, then it is advisable to cancel the RTH as soon as the drone is nearby and land manually.

jonny007 Posted at 3-18 07:08
JJB* certainly didn't mean it that way, otherwise he always gives helpful suggestions and flight log analyzes. To your question: nothing happens if you fly over the "cliff" or come back. You can also fly out the window in a skyscraper. Alternative regarding RTH : If you lose the signal and RTH is initiated, then it is advisable to cancel the RTH as soon as the drone is nearby and land manually.

In that case I'm sorry if I took it in in a bad way, but the way it was worded was really condescending when read out loud.

Yeah I've observed that myself when I fly over tall buildings and terrain as well, the mini maintains its altitude. Then again, the mini doesn't really detect the terrain at that height anymore since it will use its barometers to check altitude. My concern is regarding the moments after take off and after landing, since the mini will just be a few feet above the floor and will use its visions system within range of a few feet, since it is the same way when you put your hand a few feet beneath the mini and it will suddenly ascend abruptly. And I've had other drones before unfortunately that has the same logic, it will use its vision and proximty systems for a while after take off and when close to landing and suddenly fall or rise too abruptly, but they do not get affected by the terrain like cliffs and buildings and etc when they have flown high enough and switched to barometer altitude sensing, which is like the mini. So naturally I'm curious if the mini will be smarter than that or not.  

jonny007 Posted at 3-18 07:08
JJB* certainly didn't mean it that way, otherwise he always gives helpful suggestions and flight log analyzes. To your question: nothing happens if you fly over the "cliff" or come back. You can also fly out the window in a skyscraper. Alternative regarding RTH : If you lose the signal and RTH is initiated, then it is advisable to cancel the RTH as soon as the drone is nearby and land manually.

And yeah, thanks for the tip regarding the RTH as well. Same thoughts in the reply I gave to Tuxtard

ranrick Posted at 2021-3-18 04:46
Then can you answer it? Look, I'm just a beginner just asking advice from experienced users, alright. I've encountered other drones with flying algorithms that do what I described wherein they abruptly rise and drop in response to change in the terrain. But I'm asking because I'm not familiar with the mavic mini's flying algorithm and I'm not going to risk it just to find out. And yes I've had it flown over buildings multiple times but it was flying way higher than them and hence wasn't using the downward proximity sensors and flew by barometer sensors, unlike if it is approaching to land on a building where its downward sensors would be in range and I'm not sure if the mini will react to it even just before it is told to land. Please understand and know about the full background before proceeding to judge someone. Btw it's "then" not "than", if you're going to criticize somebody, please do it right and make sure it is somehow helpful.

Don't worry about that guy. Most people here are helpful. That guy was a dick! Lol