Hi there,

I'm only new to this forum, and hope my simple query can be answered.

I have a new Phantom 4 pro and in setting it up, I'm trying to get used to the Return to Home (RTH) feature.

I am used to flying helicopters and planes (and on mode#1) so this (a self initiating quad copter that flies by itself) is really nice and a lot less stressful!!

At the moment, without venturing too far away from my home position, I am getting use to the inputs and movements of the aircraft in (albeit automatically) taking off, hovering at 1.2m, moving forward and backward, yawing and banking, ascending, descending back down to 1.2m, then manually landing then turn off. Its all smooth and good.

My query is as follows :

If I am hovering at say 3m and the RTH height is set at 50m, and if I push the RTH button, Will the aircraft ascend up to 50m (being the RTH height in the settings) before descending to the Home position? I would not want this to happen!!
or
Do I have to reduce the set RTH height in the settings prior to take off?

Hope this is clear and that an answer can be provided

Thanks

The RTH attitude is depending on where you fly your drone, if you fly on surrounding high building then you should set 50 or higher depending the building height to avoid crash your aircraft.

If you set 50m and you hovering around 3m when you hit RTH button then your aircraft will ascend up to 50m and landing.

To answer your question as put, yes. But I would consider 50 Metres as a minimum setting for RTH. When RTH is initiated, whether by you or the aircraft, it will climb to the RTH altitude you set before flying back to you. But you must take into account any obstacles between you and home, such as trees, building, power lines etc. If you set the RTH too low, it could collide with these things on the way home.

Also, beware that if RTH initiates within 20 Metres of your home point, it will not climb at all, but will land where it is currently located.

Geebax Posted at 2017-7-18 18:11
To answer your question as put, yes. But I would consider 50 Metres as a minimum setting for RTH. When RTH is initiated, whether by you or the aircraft, it will climb to the RTH altitude you set before flying back to you. But you must take into account any obstacles between you and home, such as trees, building, power lines etc. If you set the RTH too low, it could collide with these things on the way home.

Also, beware that if RTH initiates within 20 Metres of your home point, it will not climb at all, but will land where it is currently located.

Thank you Geebax,
To clarify, If RTH initiates within 20m (in close) of home point (me) then the aircraft will not ascend and land at home, meaning point RTH setting can stay at 50m height
Query answered

*WMB* Posted at 2017-7-18 18:27
Thank you Geebax,
To clarify, If RTH initiates within 20m (in close) of home point (me) then the aircraft will not ascend and land at home, meaning point RTH setting can stay at 50m height
Query answered

No, if within a 20 Metre radius of the home point, it simply lands where it is. This can be a bitch if it happens to be over a river, lake or offshore. The best method is to not rely on RTH to come home, experiment to find out how it works, but always fly your aircraft home manually, it is much safer.

It all depends where you are flying. I set mine at 60 M as most of my flying is around wooded areas. When close in RTH will not ascend the craft.  A good idea is to set the home point in an open area void of utilities such as power , telephone, and trees.  Use a minimum of  40 feet of clear space around the home point and always be ready to take control of the aircraft while descending.

I was going to write what Geebax wrote - he beat me to it!

The manual has some specific information about RTH. It's not quite as simple as many perceive it to be. It will be well worth your time to take a peek. I'll bet that more than one Phantom has landed in the water because the pilot wasn't aware of the "exceptions" involving RTH.

Art - N4PJ
Leesburg, FL

Art - N4PJ Posted at 2017-7-20 03:27
I was going to write what Geebax wrote - he beat me to it!

The manual has some specific information about RTH. It's not quite as simple as many perceive it to be. It will be well worth your time to take a peek. I'll bet that more than one Phantom has landed in the water because the pilot wasn't aware of the "exceptions" involving RTH.

I'll bet that more than one Phantom has landed in the water because the pilot wasn't aware of the "exceptions" involving RTH.
I doubt it.  
Who activates RTH when their Phantom is less than 60 feet away?
Anyone except a timid new flyer trying out RTH for the first time?

Labroides Posted at 2017-7-20 03:35
I'll bet that more than one Phantom has landed in the water because the pilot wasn't aware of the "exceptions" involving RTH.
I doubt it.  
Who activates RTH when their Phantom is less than 60 feet away?

Who activates RTH when less than 60 feet away - beginners and other people who don't read *anything* in the manual. I've seen *many* posts here and on other forums where they engaged RTH and their Phantom immediately started landing.

Art - N4PJ Posted at 2017-7-20 03:39
Who activates RTH when less than 60 feet away - beginners and other people who don't read *anything* in the manual. I've seen *many* posts here and on other forums where they engaged RTH and their Phantom immediately started landing.

And it's always a beginner just trying RTH for the first time.
No-one is really using RTH when their Phantom is just a few steps away.

What happened to RETURN TO HOME in the last version of DJI GO 4.1.18?
It was changed. Now from 20 to 50m?
Is this correct?

Another problem.
The customization button setting is not saved.

Return to home is auto landing when the aircraft is close to the home point

Maxnew Posted at 2017-11-19 13:29
What happened to RETURN TO HOME in the last version of DJI GO 4.1.18?
It was changed. Now from 20 to 50m?
Is this correct?

Nothing changed for RTH in new firmware.

Yes it will just land so don’t bother just land it manually, if your hovering outside 20 metre it will climb to pre set height and RTH you will also have the option to cancel this at anytime. Enjoy the new drone.

And just a last note to fill out the wealth of knowledge above, be aware of what RTF does and how it's activated based on your settings - not just use of the button. For example, flying your P4P through a tunnel or heavily forested area with "Remote controller signal loss" set to RTH, and then losing connection, may not be a good thing.

In addition to the others, I would add that you should be aware, if the aircraft is already above your set rth height, it will NOT descend to rth height.  It will come home at whatever altitude it is at.  So, if a bridge, for example, is between the Phantom and home, the bridge better not be at the height your aircraft is at above  set rth height.

I’m talking about the altitude limit: 20 - 50m.

Maxnew Posted at 2017-11-19 19:02
[view_image]
I’m talking about the altitude limit: 20 - 50m.

If you are more than 20 meters from the home point, yes, it will ascend if RTH is activated.   If it is closer than 20 meters, it will land where it is.   You also have the option to set it to hover on signal loss.  That setting will just hover the aircraft at what height it is at.

I'm talking about the 50m limit in the app.
I cannot set the RTH altitude limit to 120m.

Maxnew Posted at 2017-11-20 06:56
I'm talking about the 50m limit in the app.
I cannot set the RTH altitude limit to 120m.

You are correct if you turn on your app in iOS it is showing 20-50 m , but if you power up your Aircraft this will change to 20- 500 m, it seems to be only like this in iOS as I have checked Android and when Aircraft is turned off and it shows 20-500.
So yes it could look like you are not going to be able to set height higher than 50m but once you fire up the Aircraft it works as normal.

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-11-20 08:10
You are correct if you turn on your app in iOS it is showing 20-50 m , but if you power up your Aircraft this will change to 20- 500 m, it seems to be only like this in iOS as I have checked Android and when Aircraft is turned off and it shows 20-500.
So yes it could look like you are not going to be able to set height higher than 50m but once you fire up the Aircraft it works as normal.

From the picture to judge, AC is on but might lack GEO information.

Didn't DJI recently change them max relative altitude to 120m from takeoff or did i have yet a nightmare? if so i guess the max RTH alt also would be 120m by now.

KedDK Posted at 2017-11-20 09:20
From the picture to judge, AC is on but might lack GEO information.

Didn't DJI recently change them max relative altitude to 120m from takeoff or did i have yet a nightmare? if so i guess the max RTH alt also would be 120m by now.

Nightmare me thinks, you can set RTH up to 500metres, if you set higher than 120metres you will have to check a box to except full responsibility.

I’m not sure if maxnew had Aircraft turned on , but when my Aircraft is off, in iOS app shows the Same as Maxnew but as soon as I turn on remote and Aircraft it reverts back to 20-500 m. This only happens with iOS on Android app without been connected shows normal 20-500 m , so I’m assuming glitch in iOS app.