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Complete Newbie about to buy his first Drone

First BUY the darn Mini 2. Best out there for the money and is all most people need without any compromises.
Fly the heck out of it within sight and enjoy.
personally I set my RTH to stop and hover if signal is lost. I will move and do what I have to to regain signal.
Push the button now and buy it!
 
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Hi all :)

So for a few years now i have been thinking about buying myself a drone, and i think i am about to take the plunge on the mini 2 (i live in the UK)

I have watched dozens of you tube videos and looked online etc and i think i have a fairly good idea of how things work, as well as the rules to where you can and cannot fly etc.

However i have a few things that i cant get my head around, and i apologise in advance as these will be very basic questions.

Basically the last thing i want (and i dare say any of us want) is to lose the drone. So a few things worry me.

1) i know when you take off you can set the (return to home) GPS point. But lets say i am in a field that has maybe a a pylon in it, obviously when i launch it i would then make sure it goes higher than the pylon and then send it on its way. But then if i return it to home, how do you make sure when its coming back it does not then hit the pylon (i am thinking it will be descending gradually), does this make sense?

2) same sort of thing i guess...if you lose signal i have read that it will automatically return to home, what if your say quarter of a mile away and at a low height and it loses signal, would it then just turn around at that height and come home? if so what is stopping it hitting loads of things on the way home? ..probably not explaining myself but say you put it 300ft in the air to start with, send it out a distance then come down to 100ft and it loses signal...would it then return home at 100ft? if it does then would it not hit into things that it obviously was high enough to clear on the way out?

I have loads of questions but they are the 2 that i cant get my hear around so far.

Thanks all
Congrats Chris_35, welcome to the forum. You've got a lot of great folks across the pond to help you out. Here is a extra tidbit: Please do yourself a big, big, big favor. Read the manual (available for download from the DJI www) Become as familiar as possible before the drone even arrives. When you do receive, take it in baby steps. Be very aware of your environs, to include buildings, trees, towers, and winds, and especially people. Practice the absolute basics and learn how to handle at LOW altitudes. Be sure to practice emergency procedures as well. Always be aware of your surroundings and the altitude of your b1rd. Always set your RTH for higher than any nearby structure/landscape features. We are all awaiting some super fantastic videos and pix. Fly safe, fly within the rules, and above all, have fun.
 
First BUY the darn Mini 2. Best out there for the money and is all most people need without any compromises.
Fly the heck out of it within sight and enjoy.
personally I set my RTH to stop and hover if signal is lost. I will move and do what I have to to regain signal.
Push the button now and buy it!
You mean you set failsafe to hover. You can't set RTH to hover.
 
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Yes, Chris, I would wait until at least the end of February. (Definitely, if you're in Derbyshire! :cool:)

It's not that I disagree with PhiliusFoggg's challenge to what I said about the pre-set 100m RTH height, but we do have a lot of high obstacles near us here in the UK, depending on where exactly we live, whereas a country like the USA has much more space. I'm guessing you won't be out flying if the winds are anywhere near strong, but it is true that you higher you go the stronger the winds. But DJI have made this a pre-set for good reason; it's safe. I tend to err on the side of caution and it's not a setting I change much, if ever, because there's more important things I have to do (so think "peace of mind").

I've posted my opinion on the Care Refresh option elsewhere. We choose to not have it. And, as it's an insurance policy, DJI will make money from it, which of course implies something. Your drone won't be a huge investment like a house or car, which does require insurance, and if you fly carefully then you'll probably never crash. (From a survey I did a while back, approximately one third of respondents said they've never crashed; some of the crashes were very minor.) We train our team members to have an active mind - whereas "peace of mind" can perhaps encourage (or at least not discourage) sloppiness or complacency. Just something to think about, different from the mainstream advice.
 
Thanks all...i am going to wait until lockdown is over then order myself one of these...in the mean time i am going to do as much reading as possible on them
Hi Chris

I'm in exactly the same position as you and have many similar concerns. I think that I will also wait until the lockdown eases before purchasing and concentrate on reading up.

I took and passed my Flyer ID test last week.

scooterjer
 
Ahh ok...

So would it be a good idea if i am in the field to send it up to a height i know clears everything, look at that height on the screen, then maybe bring it back down and then set the return to home height using that figure i just seen.
Smart one, Chris.
The locations vary so much it's good insurance.
 
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