{"id":2468,"date":"2018-05-30T09:32:12","date_gmt":"2018-05-30T09:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bestdroneforthejob.com\/?p=2468"},"modified":"2019-02-16T19:57:10","modified_gmt":"2019-02-16T19:57:10","slug":"how-prevent-drone-flyaway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestdroneforthejob.com\/blog\/how-prevent-drone-flyaway\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Prevent Drone Flyaways (and What to Do If You Have a Lost Drone)"},"content":{"rendered":"
Drone flyaways are more common than you think and can happen to anyone whether you are a beginner or an expert. Here are some tips for preventing a flyaway and how to recover your lost drone if it happens. <\/p>\n
But first, why do flyaways happen anyway? <\/p>\n
A drone flyaway happens when your controller’s link to the drone is interrupted or completely lost thus making it difficult or impossible to control the drone. <\/p>\n
The drone may either crash into a building, tree or ground or fly away out of your sight. <\/p>\n
There are several reasons why it can happen; some are your fault others are beyond your control. <\/p>\n
The most common is a malfunction that causes you to lose control of the drone. <\/p>\n
Maybe the motor fails or one of the propellers isn\u2019t working properly or the controller is unable to communicate with the drone. It can also be a software problem that causes the drone to take on a mind of its own. <\/p>\n
Electromagnetic interference can also make your drone go haywire. Avoid flying near high-voltage power lines, cell phone towers and commercial buildings with all kinds of antennas set up. <\/p>\n
Other common causes include low battery, flying in poor weather conditions and flying the drone too high or too far from your position. <\/p>\n
Prevention is better than, well, trying to locate a missing drone. So here are some tips for preventing flyaways that every drone owner should know.<\/p>\n
Never fly your drone without doing a pre-flight check<\/a>. Check that the batteries are fully charged, the controller is properly linking to the drone and all the components are working as expected. <\/p>\n Remember to also check the weather around the area you are flying. Sudden wind or rain can cause a flyaway or damage your drone. <\/p>\n Before taking off make sure you have set your home point<\/a>. This is the point where the drone will automatically fly back to if the batteries go low, it loses signal or you activate RTH (Return To Home). <\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you are on a moving object such as a boat set a dynamic home point. Otherwise the drone will land far away from where you\u2019ll be or even splash down into the water. <\/p>\n As you set a home point also specify an RTH altitude. Make sure it\u2019s higher than the highest trees, objects or buildings in the area. This ensures the drone doesn\u2019t bump into anything as it flies back. <\/p>\n Even if your drone has obstacle avoidance, as many new DJI camera drones<\/a> do, it\u2019s still a good idea to set an altitude. The sensors may not work in low light and can miss some obstacles such as thin branches or glass. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Don\u2019t just rely on your GPS to guide your drone. It also needs a compass to be able to orient itself properly in RTH mode. <\/p>\n For DJI drones you can check the status of the compass on the DJI GO app<\/a>. It will show you when the compass needs to be recalibrated. This is usually necessary when there is too much magnetic interference where you are flying. <\/p>\n2. Remember to Set a Home Point and RTH Altitude<\/h2>\n
3. Recalibrate Your Compass<\/h2>\n
4. Fly Within Line of Sight<\/h2>\n