Exocomp Passes Flight Trial With Flying Colors!

[Chaosrider]

When I flew my new Mini-SE for the first time two days ago, it was a pretty limited flight. The wind was stiff enough that I never got her much above 20 ft ATO, and I didn't go very far at all. I was able to verify that all the main systems worked, but that was about it.

Today was different.

We have a raging storm due in tomorrow, and today turned out to be the calm before it! I put Exo through a thorough flight test. Incrementally, of course, because that's how I do that kind of thing, But I got her out to 2000 ft distance, and up to 1000 ft ATO over an 800 ft ATO ridge.

Remember for this comparison that I fly from about 5300 ft elevation. Starting from that point, the climb seems a great deal more sluggish with the SE, compared to the -2, more than the raw numbers would suggest. At 2000 ft away, the control response gets a bit sluggish, which I attribute to the absence of Occusync.

More to follow!

If money doesn't matter to you in this price range, get the Mini-2 over the SE. If money does matter to you in this price range, and you come to droning from the "photographer" side, you'll still need to get the Mini-2. But if money does matter to you in this price range, and you come to droning from the "pilot" side, the Mini-SE will serve your needs just fine.

I'm sure many of you have seen this, but this is a pretty good comparison article:

DJI Mini SE vs Mini 2: how different are these ultra-light budget drones?

The DJI Mini has taken two flight paths… DJI Mini SE vs Mini 2. Which budget drone is the right one for you?

www.digitalcameraworld.com

Exo's training wheels are now officially off!



MM

 

[dirkclod]

When I flew my new Mini-SE for the first time two days ago, it was a pretty limited flight. The wind was stiff enough that I never got her much above 20 ft ATO, and I didn't go very far at all. I was able to verify that all the main systems worked, but that was about it.

Today was different.

We have a raging storm due in tomorrow, and today turned out to be the calm before it! I put Exo through a thorough flight test. Incrementally, of course, because that's how I do that kind of thing, But I got her out to 2000 ft distance, and up to 1000 ft ATO over an 800 ft ATO ridge.

Remember for this comparison that I fly from about 5300 ft elevation. Starting from that point, the climb seems a great deal more sluggish with the SE, compared to the -2, more than the raw numbers would suggest. At 2000 ft away, the control response gets a bit sluggish, which I attribute to the absence of Occusync.

More to follow!

If money doesn't matter to you in this price range, get the Mini-2 over the SE. If money does matter to you in this price range, and you come to droning from the "photographer" side, you'll still need to get the Mini-2. But if money does matter to you in this price range, and you come to droning from the "pilot" side, the Mini-SE will serve your needs just fine.

I'm sure many of you have seen this, but this is a pretty good comparison article:

DJI Mini SE vs Mini 2: how different are these ultra-light budget drones?

The DJI Mini has taken two flight paths… DJI Mini SE vs Mini 2. Which budget drone is the right one for you?

www.digitalcameraworld.com

Exo's training wheels are now officially off!

View attachment 146580

MM

Not sure what you mean ..ATO

 

[Deleted member 84685]

Not sure what you mean ..ATO

I'm picking he has bitten the bullet and brought the SE which he has named Exo and has had first flight test ,my he best mate since I was rather rude in another post, well I hope hes friendly or I'm done for

 

[Chaosrider]

Not sure what you mean ..ATO

ATO = Above Take Off

It's a new term that I've introduced, as a convenient handle for the (only) altitude value that Ms Fly gives you.



TCS

 

[Chaosrider]

I'm picking he has bitten the bullet and brought the SE which he has named Exo and has had first flight test ,my he best mate since I was rather rude in another post, well I hope hes friendly or I'm done for

We're good, dude!

Yes, I got both the Mini-SE, and a Mini-1 Fly More Combo. I've been testing them for the last several days, and comparing them to my Mini-2s.

What "full flight qualification" means in this context, is that Exo is now cleared for take-off from the rear flight deck, which is significantly more confined than the forward flight deck. There's very little margin for error when landing on the rear flight deck.

My initial tests were just to convince myself that there were no unpleasant surprises in the Mini-SE control characteristics. There aren't!



MM

 

[Chaosrider]

There was one glitch in Exo's flight qual. When I was high up and far away, I got an error message that the signal was weak, and video transmission would stop. It was time to come home anyway, and there was just a short blip in the transmission, but none of my Mini-2s have done that, in that same location.

This is exactly the kind of in-the-air difference between the -2 and the -SE that I've been interested in.

Occusync rules!

MM

 

[FLDave]

ATO = Above Take Off

It's a new term that I've introduced, as a convenient handle for the (only) altitude value that Ms Fly gives you.



TCS

ATO is missing an attribute. Is is above takeoff elevation, above takeoff level, above takeoff location. It's really unclear.
Why not ATL as the recognized above takeoff Level? Specifics matter.

 

[Chaosrider]

ATO is missing an attribute. Is is above takeoff elevation, above takeoff level, above takeoff location. It's really unclear.
Why not ATL as the recognized above takeoff Level? Specifics matter.

I like ATO better. But now I'll try to recognize ATL as well, if I see it.

Good point about the consistency though.

The market will decide which acronym it prefers!



TCS

 

[micinqld]

After headbutting my mini1 into a cliff,

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I replaced it with the SE.
Have only done a short LOS trial so far and will give it a run with photography over the next few weeks.

 

[Chaosrider]

ATO is missing an attribute. Is is above takeoff elevation, above takeoff level, above takeoff location. It's really unclear.
Why not ATL as the recognized above takeoff Level? Specifics matter.

I'm going to bow to your superior linguistic reasoning.

ATL is better, and I'm going to start using it instead of ATO.

Thx!



TCS

 

[Chaosrider]

After headbutting my mini1 into a cliff,

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I replaced it with the SE.
Have only done a short LOS trial so far and will give it a run with photography over the next few weeks.

That's a great clip, except for the ending! How did the headbutting come to pass?

I'm going to edit and post the first flight of Reliant (Mini-1) in her new incarnation today. Last night I finally got to review the vid from Exo's second flight, and it's really spectacular. I'll edit and post that one later..

The SE is a great little machine! If you're not heavily into photography, and you never expect to fly very far, it's a good alternative to the Mini-2, because of the cost savings.

Keep the props up!



TCS