1st Time Drone Owners

[Draker1007]

i just have a suggestion for all you 1st time drone owners who jump right into a $1000 drone, Don't!!!

Take a little time and spend $40-100 on a smaller drone to practise?
Even though the Mavic is very easy to fly if you practise with a cheaper drone without all the gps features and fancy stuff, you will learn better control. It's also a lot easier to crash a $100 drone than a $1000 one! Usually the cheaper drones are more robust and sustain little damage when smashed into a tree or a wall!
I've been flying a traxxas Alias for a couple of years and it really helps to gain confidence.
Just my .02

 

[Bunny Too]

I concur.
Regards,
-d.

 

[skypros]

I totally disagree!!

My 1st drone was a Yuneec Q5004K and it was a great drone, I then Purchased a Cheap drone, and all that thing did was frustrate me!! and was a total WASTE of $

So if you are wanting something like a Mavic Pro, Don't waste your $ on a cheap toy.

If you are a newbie and take your time and don't do stupid things.... a hobby grade drone is a great for a 1st time drone owner.

 

[crock]

I totally disagree!!

My 1st drone was a Yuneec Q5004K and it was a great drone, I then Purchased a Cheap drone, and all that thing did was frustrate me!! and was a total WASTE of $

So if you are wanting something like a Mavic Pro, Don't waste your $ on a cheap toy.

If you are a newbie and take your time and don't do stupid things.... a hobby grade drone is a great for a 1st time drone owner.

I agree with skypros, I bought 2 cheap drones to prepare for the mavic and all they did was piss me off, the mavic is the best drone to start out on especially with the refresh program, I is so easy to fly and if you crash it is a small fee to replace.

 

[Drone Police]

The mavic is my first time drone. It is easy and holds position very well. There are a lot of automation and failsafes. It's as easy as flying the drone in Watchdogs 2. Just be careful, follow the rules and use common sense when flying and you will be fine.
My opinion is quite the opposite. Don't waste your money on cheap "learner" drones and get the MP.

 

[Stix]

I bought the mavic as my first drone and it flies like a dream and as long as you're not getting crazy or trying to maneuver tough spots and pay attention you will be fine. Never had a close call yet. I am sure I will but it will more than likely be my fault. I guess that's why they make DJI refresh for the first year......

 

[AlwaysAWOL]

I totally get where Draker1007 is coming from, but it's probably not so cut and dry. Just look at people driving cars, some people have no problems, a natural, and others just shouldn't be on the road, even after years of driving!

This is my first drone, and I'm still getting used to the controls. Not the basics, but the more complex shots, like a 'tornado spiral' while controlling the camera tilt. I have flown a 4 channel helicopter, though, now that was a challenge I wouldn't recommend stepping into as your first RC aircraft!

 

[Johnmcl7]

The Mavic is my first drone as well and it's something I gave a lot of thought to. My original choice was the GoPro Karma as I could use the gimbal and camera elsewhere if I trashed the done or upgraded plus GoPro were giving a free two year accidental warranty as well. Then when it turned out the drone had problems I lost all interest as I've been stung by problematic GoPro products before.

The Mavic at that point was not in stock for months and the high price was offputting as well bearing in mind I could crash it straight off and that would be a lot of money written off so I spent a lot of time researching cheap drones as a stopgap to see how I'd get on with a drone. I didn't find anything suitable though as the really cheap ones didn't seem to be that good and the ones I was looking at seemed too expensive as a stopgap drone.

I can see the logic in getting some practice on a more basic drone for the possible situation where the Mavic loses GPS and switches to ATTI mode but there's a lot of complaints on the main DJI forums that the Mavic has issues in ATTI mode (in particular the right stick not doing anything) and even experienced pilots have been unable to avoid crashes.

John

 

[Dspace]

I definitely agree with Draker. Got a little Syma XC5-1 with some extra batteries. Was really looking forward to some non-gps have-to-fly-it-all-the-time training. My only issue was that I decided to train in Mode-1 on the Mavic (I'm a lefty) and the Syma can't duplicate it.

Thought about forcing myself the use the more common Mode-2 but I am already doing way better with more aggressive low level flying in Mode-1 than Mode-2. It's that left sided brain thing. Oh well. Have a nice training field to ween myself off the GPS "vice" and get that old feel of always-on-the-sticks RC plane flying I did many moons ago

 

[Kestrel]

I agree, buy cheap, build your fundamentals and then move up. Seriously I don't understand most of these crashes, I understand the ones that are mechanical and need to be replaced by warranty but I don't understand all the other crashes, These drones fly themselves almost, with all the features and sensors these things got on them and people still crash them. Do the smart thing and start cheap. Buy an indoor drone fly it, move up to the syma X5C and then maybe something a little more expensive. By that time you will be ready to handle anything short of a mechanical failure which wouldn't be your fault. Honestly, I never crash, not trying to brag just trying to say with practice makes perfect and use common sense, don't try to be the cool guy and fit the drone where it wont fit..

 

[Stix]

Having a cheap drone does not hone your skill any better than being more careful with an expensive one. I suggest ya buy what ya want and enjoy it. Be careful and fly within your limits and expand as ya go. You don't need a cheap drone to fly without gps.

 

[pgitug]

Having a cheap drone does not hone your skill any better than being more careful with an expensive one. I suggest ya buy what ya want and enjoy it. Be careful and fly within your limits and expand as ya go. You don't need a cheap drone to fly without gps.

I agree. My Mavic is my third drone and it should have been my first. It is fantastic for Range, Stability, Features and Price.
HERE IS THE THING
Study the YouTube flight videos and the set up videos. Spend the time while you wait for your Mavic to arrive.
THEN MAKE THE ADJUSTMENTS you learned on YouTube BEFORE Your first launch.
Then Always Follow Your Preflight List Before Each Launch.
Don't have a preflight list? Your nuts.


Sent from my iPhone using MavicPilots

 

[jareed85]

I think Mavic can be a great first drone, but really people need to exercise common sense and read the instructions. With both of those things accomplished the Mavic is a great machine that is easy to fly. I'm sure there are more advance techniques that could be learned by flying less expensive (disposable) drones, but if you don't push your limits too far too fast with the Mavic you should be fine.

 

[Kestrel]

Having a cheap drone does not hone your skill any better than being more careful with an expensive one. I suggest ya buy what ya want and enjoy it. Be careful and fly within your limits and expand as ya go. You don't need a cheap drone to fly without gps.

Yes it does, it teaches you how to actually fly, Cheap drones don't have all the bells and whistles like DJI products do, which means YOU have to fly the thing instead of the drone.. If you never flew a cheap drone before then you'll be afraid of things like ATTI mode. DJI products have altitude hold, cheap drones dont, if you fly a cheap drone you have to feather the throttle to keep the drone in the air which means you get more experience and learn to actually fly a drone. DJI products while they are awesome they are basically quadcopters with training wheels which means you don't actually learn to fly because its doing it for you.

At the end of the day Noobs will buy DJI products and crash them and nothing will stop them but if some sound advice would be given then some might not crash.

 

[Bzzz]

I started with $100 drone and did learn real piloting skills which transferred into having confidence with the mavic on day one. But I regret wasting money. You can easily learn on the mavic. I paid $100 for confidence. Could have spent $100 on insurance which is a better way to have confidence. I think private insurance on drone is better than dji refresh. Private is for damage or loss. Dji refresh is only damage because you need to return the drone to make a claim. Private is also cheaper


Sent from my iPhone using MavicPilots

 

[Kestrel]

I started with $100 drone and did learn real piloting skills which transferred into having confidence with the mavic on day one. But I regret wasting money. You can easily learn on the mavic. I paid $100 for confidence. Could have spent $100 on insurance which is a better way to have confidence. I think private insurance on drone is better than dji refresh. Private is for damage or loss. Dji refresh is only damage because you need to return the drone to make a claim. Private is also cheaper


Sent from my iPhone using MavicPilots

You learned to fly that's the difference, if you bought a Mavic first you wouldn't experience real flight because it does it for you, all you do is move the sticks..

 

[Bzzz]

You learned to fly that's the difference, if you bought a Mavic first you wouldn't experience real flight because it does it for you, all you do is move the sticks..

That is very true. And crashing never left me with anxiety


Sent from my iPhone using MavicPilots

 

[bsshog40]

I had bought a cheap $100 drone before the mp. I really just aggravated me. The longest I was able to keep it in the air was about a minute before it would crash. Found myself fighting with it the whole time with the sticks just to try to steady it. I've flown my mp about 4 times soo far and enjoyed every minute of it. I just take my time with it, and fly slow. I keep it in a wide open space so I can concentrate on the app more to learn all the options and functions without being worried about crashing into something. Its an awesome drone for beginner like me!

 

[Stix]

Yes it does, it teaches you how to actually fly, Cheap drones don't have all the bells and whistles like DJI products do, which means YOU have to fly the thing instead of the drone.. If you never flew a cheap drone before then you'll be afraid of things like ATTI mode. DJI products have altitude hold, cheap drones dont, if you fly a cheap drone you have to feather the throttle to keep the drone in the air which means you get more experience and learn to actually fly a drone. DJI products while they are awesome they are basically quadcopters with training wheels which means you don't actually learn to fly because its doing it for you.

At the end of the day Noobs will buy DJI products and crash them and nothing will stop them but if some sound advice would be given then some might not crash.

Uhh sport mode

 

[Kestrel]

Uhh sport mode

Which still uses GPS, and still not a true representation of being able to control the drone fully.