Brand new Mavic 2 Pro owner

[Mgugs46]

Hello from Bordentown/Chesterfield NJ. I am an avid amateur photography enthusiast and just picked up my first ever drone this morning at Best Buy, complete with the fly more package and then a polar pro ND filter kit (8/16/32).

Haven't even gone home yet to set everything up, but what are some tips for 1st time drone flyers?

Planned to charge it up, and go practice at the local county park; ie a place with some wide open spaces so as to not crash.

Also, when they say that you need to have line of site of your drone, I'm assuming that when you're flying using the phone or iPad mini 4 that that counts? Because otherwise, who flies just a few yards from yourself?

Also I downloaded the Mavic app and the air map app, and was curious regarding which restrictions I need to really follow? The air map has restrictions over schools for example (not that I want to fly there) whereas the mavic maps don't seem to put restrictions there?

Thanks for any tips in advance. Very excited to get started and add aerial photos to my repertoire.

 

[msinger]

Welcome to the forum!

what are some tips for 1st time drone flyers?

I have a lot of useful things in the Must-Haves section at MavicHelp.com (and elsewhere on my site).

when they say that you need to have line of site of your drone, I'm assuming that when you're flying using the phone or iPad mini 4 that that counts? Because otherwise, who flies just a few yards from yourself?

Line of sight means the path between the remote controller and drone is clear of all obstacles (like trees). Anything that blocks that path will most likely make the remote controller disconnect from the drone.

In the US (and many other locations), you also must (per the law) fly within visual line of sight (VLOS). That means you can clearly see the drone with your eyes at all times.

Also I downloaded the Mavic app and the air map app, and was curious regarding which restrictions I need to really follow? The air map has restrictions over schools for example (not that I want to fly there) whereas the mavic maps don't seem to put restrictions there?

You need to follow the FAA's rules. If you're flying as a hobbyist (just for fun), then check out this page.

 

[Starz]

Park yourself in a comfy chair for 1/2 a battery and go through all the settings.
When you’re ready to fly, don’t unless you hear the message
“home point recorded”
Then go have a little fun with the new air cam.

 

[Mgugs46]

Welcome to the forum!


I have a lot of useful things in the Must-Haves section at MavicHelp.com (and elsewhere on my site).


Line of sight means the path between the remote controller and drone is clear of all obstacles (like trees). Anything that blocks that path will most likely make the remote controller disconnect from the drone.

In the US (and many other locations), you also must (per the law) fly within visual line of sight (VLOS). That means you can clearly see the drone with your eyes at all times.


You need to follow the FAA's rules. If you're flying as a hobbyist (just for fun), then check out this page.

Definitely will only be using as a hobbyist. VLOS confuses me though as I see tons of videos of guys flying the drone literally multiple miles away from them. So unless they've got great vision.... so I'm guessing many just don't follow the rules.

 

[msinger]

so I'm guessing many just don't follow the rules

Some don't know the laws. Others don't care to follow them.

 

[Top Hat]

WELCOME!
If you haven't red the MANUAL....read it then read it again, take note of all the setups specially RTH!

 

[Mgugs46]

Regarding the within 5 miles from any airport or helipad, if you're flying within the mileage, but are literally going up and within a very small radius that is nowhere near where any actual planes takeoff/land, do you still call the airports? How do you get proof they OK it if so? I see the Mavic maps have actual gray flight path markers vs air map with orange blobs everywhere.

 

[Mgugs46]

One other question...for now.

If you're taking off in a clearing, but there are trees around you, can you not fly above the trees for fear of losing signal connection and having the drone be lost?

 

[Starz]

Altitude is your friend

 

[dirkclod]

Hello from Bordentown/Chesterfield NJ. I am an avid amateur photography enthusiast and just picked up my first ever drone this morning at Best Buy, complete with the fly more package and then a polar pro ND filter kit (8/16/32).

.

Welcome to the forum . .
I hope you will find our site helpful and look forward to any input , photo's/video's you might post .
Don't be shy and ask anything if you can't find it by searching .

 

[msinger]

Regarding the within 5 miles from any airport or helipad, if you're flying within the mileage, but are literally going up and within a very small radius that is nowhere near where any actual planes takeoff/land, do you still call the airports? How do you get proof they OK it if so?

You're just contacting the airport to notify them that you're going to fly. You don't need their permission to fly. See more details here:

Best practices for flying your drone near an airport

 

[BD0G]

One other question...for now.

If you're taking off in a clearing, but there are trees around you, can you not fly above the trees for fear of losing signal connection and having the drone be lost?

Draw a mental angle between you and the location that you plan to fly the Mavic and ask yourself does this mental line intersect with the Mavic and the Remote Controllers antenna without being blocked by tree's or other obstructions.

If there are trees at say 100 feet then you CAN fly above them and continue flying away from yourself as long as that imaginary mental angle will continue to intersect with the Mavic and the Remote Control.

Also, take your time and dont rush yourself or panic. Remember there is no time limit to accomplish your flight beyond battery capacity. So just take small steps and if you get into a panic state just remember to breathe and you can take you fingers of the sticks and "park" the Mavic in the sky while you contemplate your next move.

Getting panicked and thinking the Mavic always has to be moving can get one into trouble. Actually as a practice drill take off and find a place in the sky that you want to park and just fly there and stop all stick inputs for a moment.

 

[FormerMember07122019_2]

Draw a mental angle between you and the location that you plan to fly the Mavic and ask yourself does this mental line intersect with the Mavic and the Remote Controllers antenna without being blocked by tree's or other obstructions.

If there are trees at say 100 feet then you CAN fly above them and continue flying away from yourself as long as that imaginary mental angle will continue to intersect with the Mavic and the Remote Control.

Also, take your time and dont rush yourself or panic. Remember there is no time limit to accomplish your flight beyond battery capacity. So just take small steps and if you get into a panic state just remember to breathe and you can take you fingers of the sticks and "park" the Mavic in the sky while you contemplate your next move.

Getting panicked and thinking the Mavic always has to be moving can get one into trouble. Actually as a practice drill take off and find a place in the sky that you want to park and just fly there and stop all stick inputs for a moment.

This is great advice. I would echo all of it. I would put it in beginner mode and master all the basic flight controls and the aircraft response with it in close proximity. Don’t be in a rush to take it far away from you. This forum is littered with newbies trying to do more than they are comfortable and having serious problems.

Good luck and above all enjoy it.

 

[Mgugs46]

Took it for a test run today. Left it in beginner mode for the first 10 minutes or so, which limits it to max height of 100' .... once I felt relatively comfortable just hovering there, spinning it around and gliding back and forth seeing how long it took to stop, I landed it and then took off not in beginner mode. Still didn't fly it anywhere but pretty much straight up and within maybe 100 - 200 yards or so left to right. Got it up to around 350'. Kept it in tripod mode the entire time since I figured that would be the simplest/least dangerous.

Managed not to crash it, or anything else stupid so pretty happy haha. Now I just need to figure out how to change the various settings (how to change aperture, etc) and use the special modes.

Also need to figure out ND filters better. New to using them. Today I used the 16, but I think it was sunny enough even at 4pm that maybe I should have used the 32.

 

[Mgugs46]

Here is a couple sample photos

 

[Cymruflyer]

tilt your camera down a little in those two images, to get in less sky, it makes for a better photo. You don't need ND filters for still shots, for the most part, just for video when the need arises. In still shots you almost never want to have the horizon right in the centre of the frame.

 

[jacquespa]

Welcome to the forum.
Be aware of the various restricted airspace S.E. of your location. Airmap is another useful app for flight planning. You will discover that finding useful contact information for heliports is a bit of a challenge.

 

[Mgugs46]

Welcome to the forum.
Be aware of the various restricted airspace S.E. of your location. Airmap is another useful app for flight planning. You will discover that finding useful contact information for heliports is a bit of a challenge.

Yes, I know a large chunk of airspace is restricted due to Ft. Dix. Thank you.

 

[Alberta Pro 2]

As long as you have good signal between the controller and drone, you fine. You don’t have to see the drone yourself. The best for good distance flying is be on an area a bit higher than your flight area. Look at the indicator bars beside the controller icon on the app when your flying. They will drop a bit if you get obstructed. You will get a warning if it starts getting to low of a signal.. then you will lose the image.

 

[Cymruflyer]

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As long as you have good signal between the controller and drone, you fine. You don’t have to see the drone yourself. The best for good distance flying is be on an area a bit higher than your flight area. Look at the indicator bars beside the controller icon on the app when your flying. They will drop a bit if you get obstructed. You will get a warning if it starts getting to low of a signal.. then you will lose the image.

Actually you DO have to see the drone yourself. I don't think that is good information to be passing on, telling new flyers they don't have to see their drone when flying. The law states that you absolutely have to be able to see your drone during your entire flight. Any suggestions to the contrary to any flyer is not helping any of us to stem greater restrictions of our flying. It may get to the point that we may lose a lot of flying freedom, due to people doing what you are suggesting and having an accident as a result of not being able to see where they are flying in able to properly control their drone.

Any others reading that feel this way, please join in to tell this new member (He only joined on the 4th of March) what is good and bad advice to another flyer.