First Flight With Mavic Mini And Worried About Safety

[DreamGuyxo]

Hey Im new to flying drones,

I came here for some advice and tips. I notice that the drone is very powerful for such a little device and Im a little worried about flying especially outside with everything going around. My first flight was indoors and I would appreciate some tips from you guys about flying it at open field parks and outside. What are some tips that could ease my mind with flying. Btw I have a blast when I fly it indoors ,

thanks

 

[Vic Moss]

I'm not sure if the Mini has beginner mode, but start out there. Remove that limit once you're a bit more comfortable. Expand your distances a bit more each time you fly, and eventually you'll be flying like a pro. Sort of. It does take lots of practice.

There is nothing wrong with feeling a bit apprehensive when you fly. It helps keep you humble. Most accidents and incidents happen when people think they're so good they don't worry about things. Safety and mitigations should always be the first thing you go over when you get on location to fly, and the last thing you think about before lift off.

But always remember to have fun!

 

[LifesShort]

Use it in "C" mode. This slows down the response to the controls and gives you a much slower max speed. Remember, if it starts to get away from you, let go of the sticks and it will hover. This gives you time to think about your next command.

 

[Slade]

I’m still a tad nervous when I fly but that’s part of the fun for this old man. Find a large open field and practice basics — Flying in Squares, then Ovals, then Figure 8s. Have fun flying???

 

[shaneb50]

I would start off in C mode to get a feel for the drone how ever make sure you are in a wide open space due to the turns being really slow and it might not be able to turn quickly in time to miss a tree [emoji268] or etc.

The mini is a great drone to start off with
I do so enjoy flying mine around often
Have fun and enjoy

 

[BlackTR48]

Indoors are the wrong places to start, as it might have some positioning faults. Stay outside.
Until you get used to the controllers you might spend some time with the "c mode".

 

[Meta4]

My first flight was indoors and I would appreciate some tips from you guys about flying it at open field parks and outside. What are some tips that could ease my mind with flying.

Indoors is not a good place to fly for a number of reasons.
Go to a large area, clear of obstacles and practise there.
Stay well away from trees, buildings etc.
It's hard to get into trouble when there's nothing to hit.

 

[dino9832]

I'm still relatively new myself. I started out slow by limiting how far and how high the drone would fly. I found an altitude that would safely fly over everything in my vicinity. Just buzzing around, eyes always on the mini.

Then I began flying by display alone. Only in places I knew. Like from in front of my home, up, and over to the back. Then drop altitude and fly a bit. Ascend to known safe altitude and bring it back to me. Let me tell you...it's VERY disturbing when the buzzing noise of your mini fades to nothing..lol.

Some things I do for prep:
Be sure memory card is inserted and battery has a good charge.
Check controller and tablet(in my case) battery levels.
Turn off tablet WiFi.
Set RTH (Return to Home) altitude for surroundings.
Turn mini on. Take several steps behind it and turn controller on While facing mini.

After lift-off, always check the RTH point on the map. Also, the circular indicator in the center-bottom of the screen. It should show orientation and location of mini relative to you.

You have to know your limitations and the limitations of your equipment. Don't be afraid to push things, but do it in small steps.

One other piece of advice is watch out for cables, poles, etc.. They're hard to see and really sneaky. Sometimes appearing in unlikely places.

 

[DreamGuyxo]

I appreciate all of the help guys
Thanks

 

[Paul51]

C Mode is good. Find a big open space. No trees for miles. (or at least a safe distance)

Fly high (at least 100ft) the higher, the more space if anything goes wrong.

Create some distance, between you and the drone (at least 20 metres) otherwise RTH won't kick in, if something goes wrong.

Do not be afraid of pushing the drone some distance. (check screen, never mind distance, just check it for your height) If you start to panic. STOP using the sticks, the drone will hold position.

If you lose sight of the drone, hit RTH. You will be surprised how well it does.

Fly on a very calm day, do not let the wind scare you into making a wrong decision.

Follow these simples rules, and you will have blast !!!!!

 

[RogerDH]

The Mini is extremely easy to fly compared to toy drones because when you let off the controls, it holds altitude and position well -- so when in doubt, let off the controls and get reoriented before continuing.

 

[Hodge]

The advice to stay in beginner mode is a good one that in combination with 'C' mode will let you fly about in generally a safe manor. One thing to remember in 'C' mode everything is slowed down including the slowing down of breaking. So if your heading at an object and you stop your forward motion the mini with continue on forward for a bit and you will drift right into what you were trying to avoid if you were too near before stopping. Fortunately for me I had prop guards on at the time.
As for flying outdoors be sure that you are picking areas that allow it. I live in an area where one city bans flight in any of their parks or public areas. Another one will allow it providing you make a written request and have your drone registered with the FAA {there requirement not the FAA's for a mini}. And fortunately another town near me allows flying in all of their parks as long as you follow the FAA guidelines for drone flight.
I also would recommend a couple of apps 'B4UFLY is great for finding out if there are any flight restrictions in the area that you want to fly, flight wise not locality rules. And anther very useful app is UAV Forecast, with this one you get not just weather info but wind conditions. You can set the tolerance for wind that you want to fly in and then it will tell you when your conditions are being exceeded by wind or wind gusts.
One of the above posts reminded me, have a good pre-flight checklist and be sure to use it each time you want to put the drone up.

 

[Hauptmann]

Welcome to our forum, from Texas.

You'll find that the Mini almost flies itself. This can lead to overconfidence. Try to be conservative at first, and expand your horizons gradually. The Mini, at only 249 grams, doesn't handle wind as well as the heavier drones do. On windy days it's best to fly the Mini so that you have a tail wind on the way back.

Read your manual (link below), and practice using "Find My Drone". Chances are you'll crash and perhaps lose your drone. Don't wait 'til that happens to try to learn under less than ideal conditions. We have over 100,000 members from around the world who will help you learn your new hobby! Ask for help when you need it. Share your work when you can!

Glad you've joined us! https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/Mavic_Mini/20200212/Mavic_Mini_User_Manual_v1.0_EN.pdf

 

[SpitFire]

Welcome to the forum from Chicago the Windy City. Like already has been mentioned fly in beginner mode, and check out Mavic Help and Mavic Tips. Also, wanted to give you a tip about Flight control problems there are six. One of them is : Wind speeds in excess of the design limits of the aircraft. 5 more things that cause flight control problems. Which we see every day here on this forum, pilots lose their aircrafts to various reasons. Encouraging you to find out what the other flight control problems are caused by. I wish somebody would have given me more info as a Newbe about 4 years ago. Anyway FLY SAFE.

 

[lowellton]

Hey Im new to flying drones,

I came here for some advice and tips. I notice that the drone is very powerful for such a little device and Im a little worried about flying especially outside with everything going around. My first flight was indoors and I would appreciate some tips from you guys about flying it at open field parks and outside. What are some tips that could ease my mind with flying. Btw I have a blast when I fly it indoors ,

thanks

Fly your Mini in open space and know/practice inbyour backyard. Fly the mini in C-Mode. Thanks and keep safe. Enjoy

 

[HuA]

Hey Im new to flying drones,

I came here for some advice and tips. I notice that the drone is very powerful for such a little device and Im a little worried about flying especially outside with everything going around. My first flight was indoors and I would appreciate some tips from you guys about flying it at open field parks and outside. What are some tips that could ease my mind with flying. Btw I have a blast when I fly it indoors ,

thanks

Go on setting and turn payload off if you had the hairs attached. And just keep line of sight until your skills approve.. welcome to the club!

 

[HuA]

Go on setting and turn payload off if you had the hairs attached. And just keep line of sight until your skills approve.. welcome to the club!

* gaurd