Hi amazing people, i am enjoying the Avata using the motion controller so much!! There is one question i have though..

Is it normal for the Avata to be able to ascend way quicker then to descend while flying forward (chasing subject)

So when I chase these amazing people on their mtb, everything works GREAT apart from when they descend quite rapidly due to the terrain / slope down, the avata seems to be very slow in catching up to lower terrain.

Is this normal?



Thank you everyone in advance for your time and kind advices

Info can be found here:
https://forum.dji.com/thread-226833-1-1.html

BadBert Posted at 1-17 02:35
Info can be found here:
https://forum.dji.com/thread-226833-1-1.html

Dear BadBert, first of all, thank you and much appreciate your reply

The thing is, the drone discussed in the link is Phantom, while Dji Avata (i believe) is FPV Drone, won't they behave differently?

thank you ^^

Hi there. Thank you for notifying us about this concern. The Max Ascent and Descent Speed of the DJI Avata is 6 m/s (N and S mode). We will forward this to our related team for confirmation. We'll let you know if we need more details from you. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation. Thank you, and have a nice day.

The only way to get quicker descend, is flying manual, as for the motion controller, send it down more aggressively by pointing it more down then you think... and go in sport mode.

Hi there. We have received feedback from our related team. Please note that this behavior is normal. The reason is the downward sensors will detect obstacles below. Therefore, it performs like that to ensure flight safety. Should you have further concerns, please reach back here at DJI Forum. Thank you, and have a nice day!

chiang__1 Posted at 1-17 04:03
Dear BadBert, first of all, thank you and much appreciate your reply

The thing is, the drone discussed in the link is Phantom, while Dji Avata (i believe) is FPV Drone, won't they behave differently?

this goes for all drones

going down (just letting of the throttle or having the stick down in N or S mode), the drone has more issues keeping stable and level, so it needs a bigger motor speed to keep stable / level (due to propwash etc, discussed in the link i posted).

also, if you go down with propellors (hanging on the prop) the aircraft always slows down due to the fact the wind over the props.... going up, this is not an issue because the motors want to spin faster than the air going over them.

I don't know if this makes sense... it's hard to explain....

but do you know auto-rotation on helicopters? It's the same principal.
this also applies when going forward, but less.
Try flying manual mode, in N and S mode it uses the bottom sensors

Nees Posted at 1-17 22:37
The only way to get quicker descend, is flying manual, as for the motion controller, send it down more aggressively by pointing it more down then you think... and go in sport mode.

Hi Nees

I was already in Sports mode, and i already pointed the motion controller downwards as much as i can

BadBert Posted at 1-17 23:26
this goes for all drones  

going down (just letting of the throttle or having the stick down in N or S mode), the drone has more issues keeping stable and level, so it needs a bigger motor speed to keep stable / level (due to propwash etc, discussed in the link i posted).

Hi BadBert,

I think i understand what you mean, so Manual mode is the way to go if i were to try to point the nose down and perform steeper dive

Thank you BadBert

DJI Tony Posted at 1-17 23:18
Hi there. We have received feedback from our related team. Please note that this behavior is normal. The reason is the downward sensors will detect obstacles below. Therefore, it performs like that to ensure flight safety. Should you have further concerns, please reach back here at DJI Forum. Thank you, and have a nice day!

Hi DJI Tony,

I have a feeling that this would be the case, thank you for confirming my suspicion, at least i am 100% certain that there is nothing wrong with the Dji Avata

I love the Avata very much!!

I'm a MTB'r myself and have also ran into that issue before when trying to chase a MTB going down hill. It is purely to do with the downward sensors seeing the ground under it and intervening. The sensors face straight down so it does not take into account that the ground in front of you is actually on a decline. It's unfortunate that there is no option to turn off the downward sensors for situations like these. The only way to overcome this is to use the FPV controller 2 and fly in Manual mode currently.

I'll ask DJI again to maybe consider the ability to optionally turn off downward sensors. There are a couple of scenarios including this one where the ability to turn off downward sensors can be highly annoying.

Big Fil Posted at 1-18 15:33
I'm a MTB'r myself and have also ran into that issue before when trying to chase a MTB going down hill. It is purely to do with the downward sensors seeing the ground under it and intervening. The sensors face straight down so it does not take into account that the ground in front of you is actually on a decline. It's unfortunate that there is no option to turn off the downward sensors for situations like these. The only way to overcome this is to use the FPV controller 2 and fly in Manual mode currently.

I'll ask DJI again to maybe consider the ability to optionally turn off downward sensors. There are a couple of scenarios including this one where the ability to turn off downward sensors can be highly annoying.

Hi Big Fil,

Im sure glad i am not the only one (knowing nothing's wrong with the drone / flying the drone)

Here on the Reels i have made, on the 17th second, i had to cut and stitch with another footage because the drone cannot chase down

https://www.instagram.com/p/CnUgKgYhCZm/

Big Fil Posted at 1-18 15:33
I'm a MTB'r myself and have also ran into that issue before when trying to chase a MTB going down hill. It is purely to do with the downward sensors seeing the ground under it and intervening. The sensors face straight down so it does not take into account that the ground in front of you is actually on a decline. It's unfortunate that there is no option to turn off the downward sensors for situations like these. The only way to overcome this is to use the FPV controller 2 and fly in Manual mode currently.

I'll ask DJI again to maybe consider the ability to optionally turn off downward sensors. There are a couple of scenarios including this one where the ability to turn off downward sensors can be highly annoying.

I just wonder, why the downward sensor slows the drone down, even when it is that high

chiang__1 Posted at 1-18 04:58
Hi DJI Tony,

I have a feeling that this would be the case, thank you for confirming my suspicion, at least i am 100% certain that there is nothing wrong with the Dji Avata

We're glad to be of help. And we are pleased to know that you are enjoying your DJI Avata. Happy flying!

DJI Tony Posted at 1-18 22:56
We're glad to be of help. And we are pleased to know that you are enjoying your DJI Avata. Happy flying!

Thank you DJI Tony, i enjoy the Avata so much!!

chiang__1 Posted at 1-18 23:04
Thank you DJI Tony, i enjoy the Avata so much!!

That's great to know. Take care!

I think the problem is that with the MC, the Avata doesn't really "dive." It just kinda descends mostly straight down with a slight forward tilt and not much else. Even if you fly in manual mode, the default setting for the Avata is to limit its attitude. I'm not sure what the limit is, but I seem to remember reading it was 30 degrees, so you can't even dive in manual mode without disabling the attitude limiter. And that's where you CAN get the Avata to truly dive (or roll), which I think is the move you're thinking of when you talk about following MTBers.

2wheeledphotog Posted at 1-19 05:15
I think the problem is that with the MC, the Avata doesn't really "dive." It just kinda descends mostly straight down with a slight forward tilt and not much else. Even if you fly in manual mode, the default setting for the Avata is to limit its attitude. I'm not sure what the limit is, but I seem to remember reading it was 30 degrees, so you can't even dive in manual mode without disabling the attitude limiter. And that's where you CAN get the Avata to truly dive (or roll), which I think is the move you're thinking of when you talk about following MTBers.

Yes! I shared this before to another person above, but if you look at this reels, at the 17th seconds, I was unable to dive down fast enough to catch up.

Luckily with a little editing, i manage to make the footage looks "deliberate"

https://www.instagram.com/p/CnUgKgYhCZm/

Maybe one day i will try using controller and Manual Mode, but for now, all i want and need to know is that i am not doing anything wrong, and there is nothing wrong with the drone itself (just for now, while learning) hehehe

Thank you for your reply

2wheeledphotog Posted at 1-19 05:15
I think the problem is that with the MC, the Avata doesn't really "dive." It just kinda descends mostly straight down with a slight forward tilt and not much else. Even if you fly in manual mode, the default setting for the Avata is to limit its attitude. I'm not sure what the limit is, but I seem to remember reading it was 30 degrees, so you can't even dive in manual mode without disabling the attitude limiter. And that's where you CAN get the Avata to truly dive (or roll), which I think is the move you're thinking of when you talk about following MTBers.

In the situation I am referring to it's not trying to a dive but rather to follow a rider down maybe a 10% downward grade while going forward but also at a few feet off the ground to start with. The Avata with motion controller can fly at higher altitudes and that downward speed/slope when up higher, but it doesn't want to do it that low to the ground. It is definitely the Avata sensing the ground and not allowing the continue on a gentle downward slope.

this goes for all drones

Big Fil Posted at 1-19 16:03
In the situation I am referring to it's not trying to a dive but rather to follow a rider down maybe a 10% downward grade while going forward but also at a few feet off the ground to start with. The Avata with motion controller can fly at higher altitudes and that downward speed/slope when up higher, but it doesn't want to do it that low to the ground. It is definitely the Avata sensing the ground and not allowing the continue on a gentle downward slope.

Yeah, I've been experiencing the same thing and following mountain bikers. It seems like something should be able to be disabled to make this possible. Is there some sort of "hidden" mode that you can do the full dives? I've been trying to follow riders down a steep roll down and I couldn't get it to do it, to descend fast enough to follow them. If I go to 100/200 feet, it seems to descend a lot quicker than when it's near the ground. Just today I was following two casual riders and I was starting up on a hillside above them, trying to descend to the trail and then follow them. It just wouldn't go down hill enough quick enough and I had to stop the flight to avoid hitting some branches above that I was trying to go under. I have the FPV controller 2 and was in M. I tried all modes, M, S and regular. Video link attached Video sample