Again, such a fine little machine...

[edfrombama]

Good morning to all-
So, I had all of my garden work done- planted green beans today- potatoes are up and looking nice, by the way.
I looked about, and the wind was low- practically no wind at all. I trotted myself inside, grabbed up my flight bag and landing platform and phone and headed out to the big field behind the house. Truly lovely day.
I set the little Mini 2 up and launched it, and took it up on one of my usual flight paths. It is such a pleasure to fly a drone which lets me know just how far away it is, its height, and its orientation. And I am everyday in everyway more impressed with the optics on this drone. I flew out- no, I won't ruffle any feathers by telling how far- and I got a good video of a freight train going through town.
Then I turned the little bird around and pointed the arrow toward me and just a few minutes later, the drone was there hovering above me- didn't even have to use RTH. And I had found a nice comfortable piece of ground to sit on and be in the shade while flying. Pretty nice, I'd say.
I generally find something to complain about with most tools and technology, but brothers, I have not found anything to whine about yet- just a great little piece of engineering and build.
Just too nice a day to fret about what anyone else thinks about me and my flying.

you all be safe and keep well- Ed

 

[diablo2112]

I share in your joy here. The technology has come a long way, to the point you can focus on the experience without a lot of anxiety. Hope you don't mind my adding to your story. I started flying RC Helicopters in the late 1970s, long before we had any type of stabilization systems (mechanical or electronic). It took hours just to learn to hover these things. I recall strapping dowel rods with whiffle-ball ends to the landing gear (e.g., training wheels), and chasing these things around the grass learning how to hover them. You used all 4 control inputs, constantly. If you could hover nose-in, you were really accomplished.

The hardest was the rudder. The tail just went everywhere. You really had to stay on top of the rudder control to keep things stable. Adding to this, the cyclic control (pitch/roll) was also in need of constant input to keep things level. This control was often compared to balancing a broomstick on your finger - in a stiff wind! When the craft yawed, it meant you had to adjust cyclic from the position of the helicopter. This "control reversal" also took hours to master.

When the first mechanical rudder gyros came out in the early 80s, it was a godsend, and you could begin to attempt more advanced stuff. The advent of collective pitch in the mid-80s also was a game changer. Now, you could go inverted if you had the skill and the guts. Those "grass cutter" pictures of GMP Cobras upside down, 6" off the lawn, mesmorized me. The skill required to hover these beasts in those orientations was off-the-charts. We didn't have simulators, you learned by doing and crashing. A lot. Curtis Youngblood is the pioneer that mastered 3D flight, long before electronic stabilization came along. I vividly recall watching his acrobatic performances at the 1987 and 1988 Vegas TOC (tournament of champions) at Circus Circus Flying field. Now, this stuff is done by everyone!

The drones today couldn't be more different. All of the details of keeping a complex rotary craft in the air and stable are handled on-board with sophisticated electronics and computations we couldn't image 40 years ago. You can literally hover a quad 5 minutes after you take it from the box, and safely, with full HD video feeds and 4K recording. Amazing, really.

 

[vindibona1]

The Mini 2 is quite the mini-miracle. To pack so much into such a small package and price it reasonably makes it something that so many of us like. I have a Mavic 2 pro, but often like to just grab my Mini 2 because of it's size and weight.

 

[Faster]

I love my Mini 2. It's able to do 90% of what my Air 2S do but at 50% of the price.

 

[vindibona1]

I love my Mini 2. It's able to do 90% of what my Air 2S do but at 50% of the price.

The Air2S is just about anything most of us need... Had they put a variable aperture on it, it would have been game-over for 70% of the prosumer drones on the (US)market. Variable aperture is one of the two reasons I have a Mavic 2 Pro, but the Air2S has some amazing features that DJI hasn't programmed for the Go4 app and M2 firmware.

 

[edfrombama]

Good evening to all-
Brothers, what do you think about the soon to be released- or that's what I hear- Mini 3? I don't mind a bigger/better camera, and I'm indifferent to obstacle avoidance. And I don't like the sound of the prices I'm hearing put forth on the internet.
To be honest, what I'm hoping for is that with the release of the Mini 3, the price for Mini 2 will go even lower and I'll buy another one.
We'll see what comes down the road to bark at us, I guess.

you all be safe and keep well- Ed

 

[footfly]

Yep, I remember when I was a kid with my older brother in the '80's. Made paper airplanes and flew them. Made parachutes out of lego weights and plastic bags and strings and rolled into compact balls and threw them up and watch them "open up" and "parachute down". Help my brother make balsam airplanes with "rubber bands" and plastic propellars and thin paper to wrap around the wing frames and flew these.

Oh boy, and now compare with the Mini 1 and Mini 2 and flying miles away and still able to see on a screen. Who would have imagine this in the '80s. Gosh, technology and the imagination and ingenuity has come a long way!

 

[db4476]

I love my Mini 2. It's able to do 90% of what my Air 2S do but at 50% of the price.

Exactly! Best bang for the $$$ IMO.

Cheers!

 

[Chaosrider]

This is probably a dumb question, but are there RC planes that have video cameras?

Thx,

TCS

 

[vsasolutions]

The Mini 2 is quite the mini-miracle. To pack so much into such a small package and price it reasonably makes it something that so many of us like. I have a Mavic 2 pro, but often like to just grab my Mini 2 because of it's size and weight.

I just got the mini 2 because I think with all the turmoil it could be a while before we see the mini 3, DJI is still performing updates, and good price for what you get. I bought it for the size, no sensors so I can fly easily indoors, and can pretty much take it anywhere. The M3 is just a beast and not near as portable. Plus I reserve that for work purpose.

 

[Chaosrider]

I just got the mini 2 because I think with all the turmoil it could be a while before we see the mini 3, DJI is still performing updates, and good price for what you get. I bought it for the size, no sensors so I can fly easily indoors, and can pretty much take it anywhere. The M3 is just a beast and not near as portable. Plus I reserve that for work purpose.

Speaking from a position of zero inside information, I think the notion of a near-term Mini-3, is a myth.

I'd be very surprised if we see it any time this year. Maybe early 2023.

TCS