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591 8 2020-1-20
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Belette

United States
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Hi there,

I had my first flight with my mavic mini last weekend, and..... I got lost, but eventually I managed to fly back home without RTH. This may seem like a complete noob question, everyone online is talking about automatic return to home, but how do I find my way back by myself ? (I've got many hours of helicopter behind, but the mini is way smaller and obviously, goes beyond visual range)

I was in a big park in Canada, full of snow, and from above, it was not easy to find key features, and also, I realized some trees were higher than my RTH altitude so I didn't press the RTH.
I ended up flying around the park until I could hear it, and managed to get visual contact.
As the drone was flying back in straight line, I looked at my phone and the UI, I could not see anything telling me the drone was heading back home. I could see I was looking in the correct direction, but the arrow showing the drone was pointing somewhere else.
Am I missing something or is the compass not calibrated properly ?
A bit scary for a first flight


2020-1-20
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S-e-ven
Captain
Flight distance : 5910961 ft
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Germany
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You should see it in the map or radar view in the app
Also, if nothing helps, start RTH, and after 2 or 3 seconds, stop it again.
The bird will turn it`s nose into the direction to the home point.

Aside that a quick view from the top to the HP, before cruisin` around is a little help for the way back.
2020-1-20
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Belette

Canada
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Ah good point about checking the map view ! I forgot about that :p but I was expecting some kind of radar, or something to give me a bearing for the way back, seems odd.... or plan B is to use RTH, wait a bit for it to point at me, and cancel it. Alright thanks !
2020-1-20
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DJI Paladin
Administrator
Flight distance : 318 ft

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Hi. Thank you for reaching out and for sharing these information with us. The Mavic Mini supports Smart RTH, and the aircraft can return to the Home Point automatically. Before the flight, go to “Safety” and set the RTH altitude higher than that of the tallest building in the surrounding area. Users can set the RTH altitude from 15 m to the max flight altitude. The logic of Smart RTH is when the Home Point is recorded and the distance between the aircraft and Home Point is more than 20 meters, users can tap the icon shown on the left of DJI Fly to choose to land or initiate RTH. Press and hold the RTH button on DJI Fly, or press and hold the RTH button on the top left of the remote controller to initiate RTH. The remote controller will make beeping sounds(after the RTH triggered,can short press RTH button to stop the beeping sounds, the return will stop too.). When the GPS signal is strong, the aircraft will return to home. Note: ( If the GPS signal is weak, the aircraft will hover (if the GPS signal does not get stronger, the aircraft will hover for three seconds to prevent itself from drifting because of the poor GPS signal), and then the aircraft will land ). If the distance between the aircraft and Home Point is less than 20 meters, after users press the icon on the left of DJI Fly, only the landing option is available. In addition, If the aircraft’s current altitude is lower than the RTH altitude that has been set before, then the aircraft will rise from its current altitude to the previously set RTH altitude ( when the aircraft is rising, users can pull the control stick to make the aircraft stop rising, and then the aircraft will return to the Home Point at the current altitude ). Then the aircraft will return to the Home Point along a straight line. If the aircraft’s current altitude is higher than the RTH altitude that was previously set, then the aircraft will return to the Home Point along a straight line at the current altitude ( the left and right control sticks ,yaw axis are controllable, the roll axis are not controllable ). After the aircraft returns to the position above the Home Point, it will land onto the ground automatically and stop the motors. Note: ( Compared to other Mavic aircraft, the Mavic Mini’s aircraft rising logic during RTH has changed. The aircraft’s throttle control stick is still controllable when the aircraft is rising and its altitude is lower than 20 meters ). Finally please always pay attention to the aircraft flight screen image and aircraft position during the RTH to make sure the aircraft is safe. If something goes wrong, users can press the “X” icon on the left of DJI Fly, or press the RTH button on the top left of the remote controller to cancel RTH. After the RTH is canceled, the aircraft will hover at its current position. In this case, you can control the aircraft manually. Please fly carefully and do not initiate RTH again until the aircraft is in a safe environment. Thank you.
2020-1-21
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Dorset_Horn
First Officer
Flight distance : 93379 ft
United Kingdom
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"but the arrow showing the drone was pointing somewhere else."
From this I guess you were following the map view on your screen. If the arrow seemed to be pointing somewhere else then you were flying pointing sideways or backwards.
But that doesn't matter! You were correctly bringing the drone nearer by whatever way you could.

2020-1-26
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Dorset_Horn
First Officer
Flight distance : 93379 ft
United Kingdom
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S-e-ven Posted at 1-20 13:52
You should see it in the map or radar view in the app
Also, if nothing helps, start RTH, and after 2 or 3 seconds, stop it again.
The bird will turn it`s nose into the direction to the home point.

Brilliant and simple.
Simply brilliant.
2020-1-26
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Belette

Canada
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Dorset_Horn Posted at 1-26 04:26
"but the arrow showing the drone was pointing somewhere else."
From this I guess you were following the map view on your screen. If the arrow seemed to be pointing somewhere else then you were flying pointing sideways or backwards.
But that doesn't matter! You were correctly bringing the drone nearer by whatever way you could.

Well that's the thing, I wasn't flying sideways.  Is the arrow supposed to show where the drone is pointing ? Or which way it's flying ?
So from what everyone says, when you get lost, you press the RTH button simply because there is no way to find a bearing back home, despite the drone having a gps and compass, and being in live stream connection with the pilot, sharing with the drone its GPS location and compass as well.... Am I missing something ? That's something we had back in the days with old rc planes, just turn around, and a home point will show up on the HUD to tell you where is home, or at least an arrow to give you a bearing !
Well one could also use the map, I just find it really awkward to use the map for navigation (you have to fullscreen it in order to see something) while you lost visual contact with the drone..... it's like being lost while driving in a city, and putting a giant paper map on the windshield to find your way while driving in traffic :p
2020-1-26
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Belette

Canada
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Belette Posted at 1-26 04:48
Well that's the thing, I wasn't flying sideways.  Is the arrow supposed to show where the drone is pointing ? Or which way it's flying ?
So from what everyone says, when you get lost, you press the RTH button simply because there is no way to find a bearing back home, despite the drone having a gps and compass, and being in live stream connection with the pilot, sharing with the drone its GPS location and compass as well.... Am I missing something ? That's something we had back in the days with old rc planes, just turn around, and a home point will show up on the HUD to tell you where is home, or at least an arrow to give you a bearing !
Well one could also use the map, I just find it really awkward to use the map for navigation (you have to fullscreen it in order to see something) while you lost visual contact with the drone..... it's like being lost while driving in a city, and putting a giant paper map on the windshield to find your way while driving in traffic :p

I guess my main question is : on the radar, what  means the arrow on the drone ? Its actual direction or which way it's looking at ? If this is its direction, it was incorrect on my phone !
When I flew back straight to me (I could see the drone at this point, and yes it was flying straight) the arrow was pointing 45° from its current direction, what was it pointing at ??
2020-1-26
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Dorset_Horn
First Officer
Flight distance : 93379 ft
United Kingdom
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"Its actual direction or which way it's looking at ?"

On G**gle Maps on a phone,  your location is shown as a blue dot with a "headlight" pattern or ray indicating the direction in which the phone is pointing.
You can walk backward or sideways but the way the the top of the phone points is the same.

When flying, I suppose you rotate the AC till it lines up with the RTH track, then the camera should be of more use?
2020-1-28
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