Do's and Don'ts ...mainly DON'T

anhtu402 · Jan 18, 2017

I have only flown my Mavic Pro for a total time of approximately 2 hours and here are my short list of Don'ts so far. Add yours so I can learn from your mistakes as well

- Do not fly in-doors if you have limited space and or kids/pets
- Do not show your friends how stable it is by pushing it down and side to side while in flight to show how stable the aircraft it... it's STABLE. One of the blades hit my hand and OUCH!
- Do not turn it on without taking the gimbal clamp OFF

I'll definitely add more as I go

Just wanted to see what others have to say as well : )

Jixxer · Jan 18, 2017

Best teacher is experience ; )

west1200us · Jan 18, 2017

DON'T show off Sport Mode's capabilities near trees

lol.....luckily it only cost me a single propeller (and I have the footage of it, have to edit and upload it)

leesmavic · Jan 18, 2017

"Hey, I've got a new Ferrari!"

I guess there should be a sticky for all new happy owners of Mavics because the number of us is growing fast and a lot of newcomers start their drone hobby with a Mavic.

It's like learning to drive on a shiny new Ferrari. Except for you got it as a first car, as a gift, before getting your drive permit and there is a user's manual that is too thick to be attractive to read

@anhtu402 thanks for starting this, but it really should be in 'Mavic Help'

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CyberdyneSystems · Jan 18, 2017

I agree on the not flying indoors. I have flown mine inside without incident and was quite stable but my living room suddenly felt very small. And getting close to walls or other objects causes turbulence which always seems to suck the craft towards the object; very little room to make a nose in stick error. I think the DJI manual should recommend indoor use only in a suitably large space.

lakong · Jan 18, 2017

Agree with flying indoors. I'm very experienced with drones and fly them indoors all the time, but the sensors and 'intelligence' take over on the MP and can really cause issues. I guess if you are comfortable with turning off all of the obstacle avoidance and down sensors it's probably fine.

The biggest DO I can suggest having flown it now for 3 weeks is to use the map view from time to time, especially when you are ready to come back. Just toggle the view by pressing the map window in the bottom left. It makes it really easy to turn it back to where you are, and when you get a bit lost/disoriented, it really helps you get back on track.

west1200us · Jan 18, 2017

a big DO i think, if flying indoors is to always turn on Tripod mode, then you shouldn't get into to much trouble

lakong · Jan 18, 2017

I think it's also really important to turn off sensors. Here is what happened to me:

I had just got the drone and wanted to show the gesture/picture mode to some friends. I have a very large kitchen with high ceilings. I put the Mavic on the counter top. The walls were at least 15-20 feet in all directions and the ceiling was also 15 feet or so from the top of the counter. I took off and the Mavic was hovering around 3-4 feet above the counter. It was night so while my lights were on, it wasn't that bright in the room and the counter is on the dark side. I was about to take a picture but I received a message that the SD card was full, so I used the app to format the card. My hands NEVER touched the controls. As soon as the card was done formatting the drone shoots to the right, about 20 feet across the room and slams into the wall. Luckily it never hit the ground because somehow it jammed between a cabinet and a floor speaker. The props were all damaged but no damage or scratches at all to the drone, camera or gimbal. I have flown it several times since then (outdoors!) with no issues.

I was at CES and discussed this with their team and they never heard of this type of issue, but my point is that the 'intelligent' systems took over for some reason. Hence, probably best to turn all of that off when flying indoors.

MavicMo · Jan 18, 2017

A big/basic do; Create a preflight checklist so you don't forget to do something before you fly that may cost you later, like remove gimbal clamp, check battery capacity to ensure its "full", check remote battery, etc...

Chris23 · Jan 18, 2017

I come from the racing quad scene and some of the disasters I've seen with spinning props..... STAY WELL CLEAR OF YOUR MAVIC WHEN THE PROPS ARE MOVING!

This video comes to mind:

And for the life of me, don't fly the thing inside unless you're good at fixing dry wall.

Attex · Jan 18, 2017

I finally learned to fly outside only when I started adding things up I ruined. I could of bought another one. lol 12 blades, the gimbal, ripped a window curtain and ruined a flat screen tv!

Outside only for me for now on. lol Crashes outside, none. I learned alot flying indoor so I guess thats a bonus. Like paying for schooling. That sounds alot better then wrecking my house.

peros550 · Jan 19, 2017

Don't forget to set RTH altitude properly based on your current location specifics

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niclariv · Jan 19, 2017

west1200us said:
a big DO i think, if flying indoors is to always turn on Tripod mode, then you shouldn't get into to much trouble

Yes - but be careful. I crashed mine going over a railing. It rose because of obstacle avoidance and when I pulled down it thought I wanted to land. That took it out of tripod mode so my next pull up made it slam in to the ceiling. Tripod mode is great until it unexpectedly leaves it and you don't notice.

iPhone 6S

Atomicbear · Jan 19, 2017

anhtu402 said:
I have only flown my Mavic Pro for a total time of approximately 2 hours and here are my short list of Don'ts so far. Add yours so I can learn from your mistakes as well

- Do not fly in-doors if you have limited space and or kids/pets
- Do not show your friends how stable it is by pushing it down and side to side while in flight to show how stable the aircraft it... it's STABLE. One of the blades hit my hand and OUCH!
- Do not turn it on without taking the gimbal clamp OFF

I'll definitely add more as I go Just wanted to see what others have to say as well : )

DON'T push both sticks down and in thinking that is how to land. (It IS how to turn off props after landing though). I was so excited on my first flight that when I was about to land, I remembered the sticks in and down thing, but forgot that that isn't for landing! Oopsie. 2 busted props on my first flight. Haven't had any more accidents after that first hard lesson! (good thing it was only 3 feet off the ground.)

bern · Jan 21, 2017

lakong said:
I think it's also really important to turn off sensors. Here is what happened to me:

I had just got the drone and wanted to show the gesture/picture mode to some friends. I have a very large kitchen with high ceilings. I put the Mavic on the counter top. The walls were at least 15-20 feet in all directions and the ceiling was also 15 feet or so from the top of the counter. I took off and the Mavic was hovering around 3-4 feet above the counter. It was night so while my lights were on, it wasn't that bright in the room and the counter is on the dark side. I was about to take a picture but I received a message that the SD card was full, so I used the app to format the card. My hands NEVER touched the controls. As soon as the card was done formatting the drone shoots to the right, about 20 feet across the room and slams into the wall. Luckily it never hit the ground because somehow it jammed between a cabinet and a floor speaker. The props were all damaged but no damage or scratches at all to the drone, camera or gimbal. I have flown it several times since then (outdoors!) with no issues.

I was at CES and discussed this with their team and they never heard of this type of issue, but my point is that the 'intelligent' systems took over for some reason. Hence, probably best to turn all of that off when flying indoors.

I would more likely blame formatting the card while in flight. I simply never do that. I land first. And when I fly indoors, and find the sensors to be very valuable in maintaining stability.

roadkilt · Jan 21, 2017

Watch out for flying indoors if you have pets. Not about hitting them, although thats an issue too, but because you will kick up every dust bunny and hair ball in the room and its disgusting. No matter how clean you THINK you keep the place, the Mavic is the ultimate anti-swiffer!

7Storms · Jan 21, 2017

I am a new Mavic owner. I have gotten better with the small indoor drone I have. When I got my Mavic took it in the backyard to fly it. It seemed so easy to fly compared to my little one. Landing was a different story. A foot of powder in the backyard didn't help. Blew out the snow with a canister of air and set the drone on an air vent of finish drying. I am parking it until I can land it on a hard, dry surface.

leesmavic · Jan 21, 2017

7Storms said:
I am a new Mavic owner. I have gotten better with the small indoor drone I have. When I got my Mavic took it in the backyard to fly it. It seemed so easy to fly compared to my little one. Landing was a different story. A foot of powder in the backyard didn't help. Blew out the snow with a canister of air and set the drone on an air vent of finish drying. I am parking it until I can land it on a hard, dry surface.

I use a door mat. Throw it on the snow and take off. Land on it and take it away.

arcolog2 · Jan 21, 2017

leesmavic said:
I use a door mat. Throw it on the snow and take off. Land on it and take it away.

I second that, was at the beach, thought I could find a patch of grass to land and takeoff but couldnt. So I had a big rubber maid container in my truck. Used the lid to take off but didn't feel comfy landing on it, so I hand caught. Worked well.

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Red_Raven · Mar 30, 2017

lakong said:
I think it's also really important to turn off sensors. Here is what happened to me:

I had just got the drone and wanted to show the gesture/picture mode to some friends. I have a very large kitchen with high ceilings. I put the Mavic on the counter top. The walls were at least 15-20 feet in all directions and the ceiling was also 15 feet or so from the top of the counter. I took off and the Mavic was hovering around 3-4 feet above the counter. It was night so while my lights were on, it wasn't that bright in the room and the counter is on the dark side. I was about to take a picture but I received a message that the SD card was full, so I used the app to format the card. My hands NEVER touched the controls. As soon as the card was done formatting the drone shoots to the right, about 20 feet across the room and slams into the wall. Luckily it never hit the ground because somehow it jammed between a cabinet and a floor speaker. The props were all damaged but no damage or scratches at all to the drone, camera or gimbal. I have flown it several times since then (outdoors!) with no issues.

I was at CES and discussed this with their team and they never heard of this type of issue, but my point is that the 'intelligent' systems took over for some reason. Hence, probably best to turn all of that off when flying indoors.

I have flied few times indoors under the impression that the sensor were to use under such circumstances where gps and space is limited.

I'm thinking your problem was having them on and the sensors trying to do their thing in low light. It is stated clearly in the manual that the sensor either don't work or are unreliable in low light.

I even took a panorama shot (I needed 360 pano) in really small bedroom without problems. OK I can't deny I was worried when it got drawn way to close to the window at one point but other than that, it was really stable.

It would be smart to get the propeller housing system (that cover the whole propellers) for indoor flights. But I find the pricing on them ridiculous. $160 if I remember right.