Control link, lost link and failsafes — transcript

00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:02.673 Control link, lost link and failsafes.

00:00:05.400 --> 00:00:10.850 Your remote pilot station is part of the aircraft system: controller, antennas,

00:00:10.850 --> 00:00:15.619 app and batteries. The command and control link sends your inputs up.

00:00:15.619 --> 00:00:20.864 Telemetry and video come back down: battery, height, GPS, mode and warnings.

00:00:21.400 --> 00:00:26.025 Radio links work on line of sight. Fly too far and link quality fades.

00:00:26.025 --> 00:00:29.087 Fly behind a building, a tree line or a ridge,

00:00:29.087 --> 00:00:31.692 and the signal can drop out completely.

00:00:35.400 --> 00:00:39.519 Interference from powerlines, towers and other transmitters weakens it too.

00:00:39.519 --> 00:00:43.367 Controller antennas are directional: set them up as your manual shows,

00:00:43.367 --> 00:00:44.830 aimed toward the aircraft.

00:00:46.400 --> 00:00:52.950 The roof job runs long. The drone slips behind the shed, and the screen flashes:

00:00:52.950 --> 00:00:54.002 signal lost.

00:00:54.400 --> 00:00:59.973 Now the failsafe takes over. Depending on the aircraft and its settings,

00:00:59.973 --> 00:01:03.867 it may hover, land where it is, or return to home.

00:01:03.867 --> 00:01:08.219 Landing doesn't care what's below. Know what yours does.

00:01:10.400 --> 00:01:16.008 Return to home usually climbs to a set height, flies back, and lands.

00:01:16.008 --> 00:01:21.536 Set it too low, and it flies into the trees. The RePL Guide example:

00:01:21.536 --> 00:01:25.943 highest obstacle forty metres, so add at least twenty.

00:01:26.400 --> 00:01:30.083 Home is usually recorded when the aircraft gets a GPS fix.

00:01:30.083 --> 00:01:33.267 Recorded in the wrong spot? That's where it lands.

00:01:33.267 --> 00:01:36.327 Check the home point on the map before take-off.

00:01:39.400 --> 00:01:43.965 A failsafe that suits an open paddock can be wrong over water, beside a road,

00:01:43.965 --> 00:01:46.949 near a crowd or under wires. Match it to the site.

00:01:50.900 --> 00:01:55.080 Quick check. You're filming over a dam. Which lost-link setting would be worst?

00:01:57.000 --> 00:02:00.187 Land immediately. It would come down in the water.

00:02:01.400 --> 00:02:06.361 Brief it out loud. Lost link: return to home at sixty metres, above the trees.

00:02:06.361 --> 00:02:07.617 Home is on the pad.

00:02:10.400 --> 00:02:16.462 Before take-off: charge the controller and screen, check firmware and antennas,

00:02:16.462 --> 00:02:22.677 confirm the home point, RTH height and failsafe action, and brief who calls stop.

00:02:22.677 --> 00:02:25.708 Then hover close and check it responds.

00:02:26.058 --> 00:02:30.130 In flight, a link warning means recover, not press on.

00:02:30.130 --> 00:02:35.164 Turn back toward clear line of sight. If a failsafe runs, watch it,

00:02:35.164 --> 00:02:39.459 and be ready to pause or take over when the link returns.

00:02:41.058 --> 00:02:47.040 Recap: guard the link, know the failsafe, fit it to the site, and brief it.

00:02:48.058 --> 00:02:52.359 Final check. Return to home is set below the treeline, and the link drops.

00:02:52.359 --> 00:02:53.334 What's the risk?

00:02:55.058 --> 00:02:59.054 It flies into the trees. Set it above the highest obstacle, with a margin.