Has the ability to pause your flight be discussed? One of my concerns is low flying helicopters. 300ft may be our ceiling but I have encountered helicopters that have been at that level.
We are considering it, but in that situation flipping the mode switch and taking manual control is the PIC’s (Pilot in Command’s) best option to avoid issues. Pausing may just leave it there in the path of the helicopter.
Yes, you can flip off P-mode then back on to take control. Once all is clear you can restart the app and mission. Only downside is that it will start at the last successful waypoint.
I really meant pause the mission, so I could then lower the drone and then resume the mission without having to first return home. I realize it is possible to pause/stop a mission but is it possible to resume while still in flight? This would be useful.
Yes, you can resume in flight, but not as elegantly as it sounds you expect. More of an unofficial function. Move to S-Mode (takes control), move to safe position and when all is clear go back to P-mode and restart to app and mission. It should ask you if you want to resume. If not just select the mission and continue. Like I said previously, it will begin at the last Waypoint that you successfully passed.
Interesting…I appreciate your response Michael.
I probably shouldn’t say it on the forum, so disclaimer… Use at your own risk. I routinely Setup a mapping flight, smaller structure flight and progress photo flight on our smaller jobs and run them all without landing. Just taking control and restarting the app between each one without any issues. With forethought you can begin the next mission where the last mission completed. Shhh.
Ahaaaaa you know i kind of experienced this when my iPad overheated. i wasn’t using my shade shield. and after putting it on my car a/c it came back and asked if i wanted to resume the flight in progress. I am amazed at the number of low flying helicopters i have experienced! i actually wanted to start a topic on this. Curious what the legal flying level is for a helicopter…if there is even one?
I believe helicopters are technically limited to 500ft from people and/or structures unless landing or over water, but I see the same thing. I also see many a single engine plane well below 500ft with no airport in range…
Yes i wonder about that often. I don’t think may pilots are aware of the number of drones flying. And unfortunately how many hobbyist are flying above the legal ceiling. i’m going to give your method a try for pausing a flight.
Do it all the time. 
Do you feel you need to be a certain distance to the drone? What drone are you using?
I’m using a Mavic Pro currently.
When a DD mission has reached its last waypoint and taken its last picture, I switch to Sport Mode on the controller to interrupt the ‘fly home’ part of the mission and close down DD. The drone will simply hover as I have effectively taken back control of the drone from DD and I am not moving the sticks.
I then switch the controller back to P-Mode and open DD up again, cancel the ‘resume mission’ feature (DD initially tries to resume the mission I didn’t allow to complete by landing) and then go to the next new mission in the Dashboard and fly.
As long as you are within range, and never should you not be, all of the above will work and I have found that it probably saves a good 10-15% battery in doing so.
All I would say in addition, is that by using a Mavic I also have to dive into Go4 between the two missions to reset the camera focus and exposure.
All’s the same except a P4P here and at least in VLOS.
That makes sense. That’s for the information.
Maybe it’s just me, but I find it difficult to ever need to fly beyond a VLOS or 500m - for work anyway.
With that drone being white it’s hard to see at 200 Feet. sometimes
Then 200 feet is the maximum you shall fly, sometimes.
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