Hello All!

I just got a Mavic. I LOVE it. I have a ton of DJI newbie questions. I tried searching but I thought this thread may help others as my questions are definitely geared for others whom are new to DJI products and their functions. Thanks in advance to all who take the time to help out. My main concern is risk of losing the drone.(As you see in my questions) How will I explain to my wife I lost my 1k drone by being an idiot when she said I was an idiot for spending that kind of money? You married guys will understand the grief that could cause a man.

Here goes:
1) So about 4.3 miles. I'm worried about going past 1500ft. Is 5280(1 mile) normal? When should I get worried?
2) If you get a weak signal do you immediately come closer? I get worried and turn around QUICK! Should I? If its VERY weak will the drone just return home? If not, what do I do?
3) What happens if my cell phone dies/turns off during flight? Similarly, what if my controller turns off mid-flight? Will it hover until the battery is low and return home? Does it know where "Home" is if the controller is off?
4) It's winter here. I get a strong winds warning often. I've flown through it but notice it flies slower up wind and flip sport on to power through it. Does strong wind stop you from flying or are you just more cautious and stay above tree lines at all times?
5) Do you fly if you have less than 10 satalites? I haven't seen less than 10 but read less than 10 was bad... What's your take on this one? Is my range just shorter or is my GPS just not as accurate?

As I said, I'm trying to feel out my risk levels and what should worry me and what shouldn't. I'd hate to lose it because my risk tolerance was too high due to stupidity.

Thank you!

Mike

1) It's like most RC stuff -- once you get used to it, you can stretch out a bit.  It'll easily do that range in a wide open area.  I've only taken it out around 10,000 feet on a lake, and while it went absolutely fine, there is still a bit of unease when it gets that far away.  Probably the oddest moment is when you can no longer hear it. That said, the signal strength was at full and the battery was at more then half left after returning, so it could have went way further.

2) Weak signal -- ya, I'd turn around.   I've not had a weak signal yet. I've got only 5 hours on this Mavic though, but so far, signal seems to be super.

3) I'm not 100% sure what happens when your phone battery dies, i'd assume the quad would just continue flying as normal, since you can control the quad just fine without using another device plugged into the controller.  If you turn off the controller, within about 3 seconds it turns around and comes home. Make sure you set your RTH before each flight, if your flying in a forest with 90 foot trees, its important to make sure that your return to home is higher than them! So many crashes you'll read about here are from folks who set their RTH incorrectly.  Always make sure your RTH is set to a height that is higher then _everything_ around you.

This is especially important if your maneuvering around stuff.  If the quad goes into RTH, it'll go to whatever height you set, and then head straight back.  Oh, and honestly -- don't rely on RTH.. It seems folks have been using RTH as a “ok I’m done flying, time to come back and land" feature.  I think its best used in an emergency / last resort situation, and even then depending on what the issue sometimes it’s safer to fly back manually.  In winds, putting it into sports mode and flying back as fast as you can might end up saving the drone, vs letting it fly with RTH slower and then running out of juice and landing in a puddle.   

4) I try to stay under 25 kph wind, some people fly in more, I personally don't like flying in anything over 25 .  Most of the planes I fly start to become a pain at 15kph. It's gusts that are a problem, if it’s just a "windy" day, I’m not really worried, it’s when gusts get added to the mix that I usually sit flying out.  DJI says try to fly in level 4 and under winds (so 18 mph/25kph)  

5) depends where I am.  I have no problem with flying with less satellites, since it'll switch to ATTI mode worst case.  The problem for new folks is you can't really practice flying in ATTI since DJI has decided that ATTI mode should only be available without a GPS connection (on other drones, its a switch or when GPS is out)  Also, sometimes it grabs more once it gets a few feet off the ground. For example, in my yard, due to structures, i get about 7 sats, once i'm 10 feet off the ground, I get 14-16.

DJI care has made flying the Mavic pretty stress free.  With the p3, I’d be watching it thinking "that's $1500 flying in the air” with the Mavic, I’ll get the video I want and land without freaking out about my "flying $1500”   - Just remember DJI care only works if you can return the aircraft ;)

Many thanks for ZeeinBC's answers.
When you get the weak signal warning, please try to adjust the antenna first to see if it will works.
And if the signal lost, please refer to the screenshot for the RTH information.
If your cell phone dies or turns off during flight, you can still control the aircraft by RC.
As for the wind warning, it will not stop you from flying, just remind you to be careful.
It's better to practice more in flight simulator. Hope you enjoy your flight.

Thanks!

So my risk is...My device goes off and I can't see my drone well enough to fly back to me. I guess RTH is the best thing in that situation. I tested RTH but I like flying so I always fly back and land on my own.

Thanks again!!!!

Mike

Be sure your AC setting for lost signal is set to RTH instead of hover.

One more comment: When the phone dies, the drone remains in its last mode of operation which can be e.g. POI. In this mode you can control the drone, but you cannot fly it as the sticks just change the behaviour of the drone in the current mode of operation.

When you hit "pause" on the RC, the drone stops but it is still in POI mode and you still cannot fly it home. Start RTH, "pause" and you have back control and you can fly it.

Dronoob Posted at 2017-1-4 11:53
One more comment: When the phone dies, the drone remains in its last mode of operation which can be e.g. POI. In this mode you can control the drone, but you cannot fly it as the sticks just change the behaviour of the drone in the current mode of operation.

When you hit "pause" on the RC, the drone stops but it is still in POI mode and you still cannot fly it home. Start RTH, "pause" and you have back control and you can fly it.

Noted! Thanks!

When you are flying and know you are going a mile out, what height are you flying at? I've never been over 150-160ft. Is that low for a long flight? My next weak signal I'm going to raise my altitude and see if that changes.

I have also another advice, when take off, hover for about 30 seconds and as a reassurance I always manually set the RTH location
For RTH set a good altitude ~80meters this so you can avoid any major obstacle, additionally this might clear out the obstruction between you and the drone and you could potentially reconnect to the drone quicker and get manual control of it.  However my best advice would be to always make sure to take off with a fully charged phone/tabled.