I flew today in strong wind (about 10 m/s) and only in sport mode Mavic could (easy) fight with the wind. So, when I pressed RTH (with disabled obstacle avoidance) it switched to slow mode, and just flew backward by wind with full thrust in p-mode.

Why Mavic firmaware don't use maximum sport thrust if it see that Mavic can't fight the wind? If we loose RC control in strong wind, then such stupid behaviour will lead to loss aircraft. I think that it need to be fixed ASAP.

Yes sir my brother!  Totally agree.  I almost lost mine because I'm so used to kicking my P4 into sport mode on a RTH and not worrying about it.  The aircraft should always auto switch on a RTH if required to fight wind.  I get a wind warning every 30 seconds (another annoying issue) so it's not like the bird doesn't know it's loosing ground.  

Max sport thrust in an automated flight home sounds pretty risky to me, but then flying in 10 m/s wind sounds pretty risky, too.

Maybe shouldn't fly in high wind if the pilot can't fly home without automation...

Cutaway Posted at 2017-3-2 15:22
Maybe shouldn't fly in high wind if the pilot can't fly home without automation...

The OP is talking about failsafe RTH cases, but I'm concerned about dropping into ATTI mode and being blown off course in higher winds, losing it that way.

About what risk and pilot skills you wrote?
What about RC signal loss and looking how your drone fly away by wind when it will be just 100 meters from home??

Why Mavic firmaware don't use maximum sport thrust if it see that Mavic can't fight the wind?

I believe it does depending upon your settings; by any chance did / do you have RTH Obstacle Check enabled?

If I recall correctly, enabling RTH Obstacle Check has the same effect during RTH that OA does during normal flight: it slows the Mavic down enough so that the sensors can detect obstacles in time to avoid them.

DroneFlying Posted at 2017-3-2 15:53
Why Mavic firmaware don't use maximum sport thrust if it see that Mavic can't fight the wind?

I believe it does depending upon your settings; by any chance did / do you have RTH Obstacle Check enabled?

It was off

rusm2 Posted at 2017-3-2 15:48
About what risk and pilot skills you wrote?
What about RC signal loss and looking how your drone fly away by wind when it will be just 100 meters from home??

Pilot in command must use sound judgment about all aspect about the planned flight.  Check the surface wind speed as well as the gust...and at planned altitude.  Use tools like this https://www.windytv.com/40.731/-73.987?40.274,-73.987,8,m:eM2ad5Q to check surface, gust, altitude.  

Wind is just one variable out of many to consider.  Making a judgment call to fly at 10 m/s surface wind and then rely on the failsafe RTH is not advisable.  But it's a free country.

Have fun.  Drone on!

You could always set the rth altitude really high, should be enough to get the craft back in rc range if you've lost los and connect. Then home lock and sports mode would do what you wanted. Just have to think about what could happen is all.

Wouldn't mind sports rth or while using smart modes, think the reason is because it seems the compass can go screwy at those speeds. It's really up to the programmers as the firmware is proprietary. I bet thier drones are pimped out though, do flips the whole bit lol I would like access to the firmware myself, even just the hex. Monitor memory for sports mode and flip it on during rth.

You can plan your flight long time and faced with a wrong weather forecast.
I fly in mountains, and there can be very big difference in wind speed on 100 meters distance.

Our equipment may work better, and it can help us in difficult situations. Will be nicely if DJI fix RTH algorithm or give us a choice (how it made with smart RTH, just one more checkbox "use sport mode in RTH")

I believe the drone operator algorithm may need reworking.  Put yourself in precarious situations with lack of common sense and this will probably occur often.

what i wanna know is why flyaways arent a thing of the past yet

hmm always thought RTH is my last resort, I always like to fly the drone manually home and land it myself.

I thought I'd read people talking about the Mavic performing RTH in Sport mode before. Pretty sure I read some accounts of people using RTH in Sport mode specifically in high-wind situations. I wonder if DJI has changed something. I'll definitely try to do some testing.

boostedford Posted at 2017-3-2 17:56
what i wanna know is why flyaways arent a thing of the past yet

They pretty much are now.

Darwinism is not !

The reason is pretty simple: Mavic has to avoid the obstacles in RTH mode, so the speed is limited by the maximum angle that obstacle avoidance sensors can work properly.

Jason Lane Posted at 2017-3-2 20:57
I thought I'd read people talking about the Mavic performing RTH in Sport mode before. Pretty sure I read some accounts of people using RTH in Sport mode specifically in high-wind situations. I wonder if DJI has changed something. I'll definitely try to do some testing.

I could have sworn that it used to work that way too, but I tried it yesterday after reading his response and got the same results he did: it only returned at the lower (non-Sport) speed, even with "RTH Obstacle Check" disabled.

Like you, I suspect that maybe they've changed the firmware, perhaps thinking that extending flight time during RTH is better than getting it home faster.

To me,Flying in high winds are the same as flying in the rain, I don't do it.

Jason Lane Posted at 2017-3-2 20:57
I thought I'd read people talking about the Mavic performing RTH in Sport mode before. Pretty sure I read some accounts of people using RTH in Sport mode specifically in high-wind situations. I wonder if DJI has changed something. I'll definitely try to do some testing.

Yes DJI implemented some changes.

There is now a toggle for a "super smart RTH" that will enable the Obstacle Avoidance even if you had it disabled prior (such as SPORT MODE also).  So if that toggle is now enabled, the Mavic will RTH at a maximum speed of 22.1MPH.  If this is toggled, YOU (the drone operator) have COMMANDED the Mavic to do this.  It clearly says this.  (I'm not saying YOU, Jason, just a Mavic operator in general).  Either way, the Mavic has always RTH at P-Mode speeds.  I was sure to test this when there was no hurricane locally.

So when a person slams on the brakes on an icy road & wonders why the car crashes, I guess the braking algorithm of the vehicle is stupid.  Or at least that's my perception...

DRONE-flies-YOU Posted at 2017-3-3 05:52
Yes DJI implemented some changes.

There is now a toggle for a "super smart RTH" that will enable the Obstacle Avoidance even if you had it disabled prior (such as SPORT MODE also).  So if that toggle is now enabled, the Mavic will RTH at a maximum speed of 22.1MPH.  If this is toggled, YOU (the drone operator) have COMMANDED the Mavic to do this.  It clearly says this.  (I'm not saying YOU, Jason, just a Mavic operator in general).  Either way, the Mavic has always RTH at P-Mode speeds.  I was sure to test this when there was no hurricane locally.

What do you mean by "super smart RTH" toggle? I'm aware of the Smart RTH (RTH Obstacle Check) option, which does say that it will enable OA during RTH even if it's disabled elsewhere. However, the OP says he/she had that option disabled. So, unless he/she's mistaken, it sounds like they had OA properly disabled for RTH. With RTH OA disabled, I would expect the Mavic to be capable of flying more than 22 mph.

R&L Aerial  Posted at 2017-3-3 05:18
To me,Flying in high winds are the same as flying in the rain, I don't do it.

I agree but there are circumstances (especially in the mountains) where high winds appear unexpectedly.  Since the Mavic has GPS, it can detect if its ground speed is not what it wants in RTH mode and should increase it's airspeed to compensate.  

DJI, please consider adding this to the RTH algorithm. Thanks!

I suspect DJI may not see my comment....is there a formal way to request firmware changes?

WolfgangStiller Posted at 2017-3-3 06:43
I suspect DJI may not see my comment....is there a formal way to request firmware changes?

I believe the preferred way to make feature requests is within the GO app, under Me => More => Feedback

WolfgangStiller Posted at 2017-3-3 06:43
I suspect DJI may not see my comment....is there a formal way to request firmware changes?

Apparently the official way to provide feedback is via the Go 4 app > Me > Feedback. If you get a blank screen just wait for a while, it'll eventually populate with feedback options.

Jason Lane Posted at 2017-3-3 06:20
What do you mean by "super smart RTH" toggle? I'm aware of the Smart RTH (RTH Obstacle Check) option, which does say that it will enable OA during RTH even if it's disabled elsewhere. However, the OP says he/she had that option disabled. So, unless he/she's mistaken, it sounds like they had OA properly disabled for RTH. With RTH OA disabled, I would expect the Mavic to be capable of flying more than 22 mph.

Yes, haha, that's the NEW toggle name.  But yea, just like the manual states, you may increase the speed by pushing forward and can increase the descent by pulling down on the throttle.  SO COMMON SENSE would dictate giving it some more umpf since you're a responsible drone operator & you're seeing that it is not progressing.  This isn't tough stuff and the design is sound.

Ex Machina Posted at 2017-3-2 15:41
The OP is talking about failsafe RTH cases, but I'm concerned about dropping into ATTI mode and being blown off course in higher winds, losing it that way.

Why?? You still have control of the aircraft you just have to compensate for drifting, its not that hard.

Quadcoptercrazy Posted at 2017-3-3 08:08
Why?? You still have control of the aircraft you just have to compensate for drifting, its not that hard.

We're talking about winds of 10 m/s where It's going to be a lot harder, and it's definitely a lot harder if the Mavic is out of or quickly becomes out of line of sight.

Jason Lane Posted at 2017-3-3 07:16
I believe the preferred way to make feature requests is within the GO app, under Me => More => Feedback

Thanks! I missed that option.

Ex Machina Posted at 2017-3-3 09:19
We're talking about winds of 10 m/s where It's going to be a lot harder, and it's definitely a lot harder if the Mavic is out of or quickly becomes out of line of sight.

That's why theres an app to view whats going on, have you ever flown anything other than a DJI product?

Quadcoptercrazy Posted at 2017-3-3 09:49
That's why theres an app to view whats going on, have you ever flown anything other than a DJI product?

I went through about four first-gen Microdrone 3.0s before I got a handle on flying w/o crashing, and then a giant crow stole it out of the sky. ;)

We're talking edge cases of losing RC signal, video feed, or GPS positioning, and how all that makes it much more difficult to bring her home in 10 m/s winds, and whether full-thrust sport mode in an failsafe or automatic RTH is a reasonable feature to have.

Tharg (from the Posted at 2017-3-3 01:38
They pretty much are now.

Darwinism is not !

ive seen plenty of flyaway threads on here

yes if i loose video signal on out of  sight drone or totally loose remote signal I want that the drone to detect slow speed or negative speed in the rth home direction and compensate until the maximum motor power to be able to return home....other way it is just stupid to have the power but not be used and resulting in an lost drone....

So, seems that RTH algorithm has seriuos issue and should be improved asap.  New firmware did not help.

What's next, how to push this case into dev team? DJI monitoring such forum threads or this forum just for bla-bla-bla?

Obstacle avoidance doesn't work in sports mode.. that must be why and it makes sense since it takes much longer to break