First Flight

[Cl1nt71]

Hello everyone. New to this forum and new to drones. Got my Mavic Air in the mail yesterday and spent all afternoon watching videos to ensure I setup correctly. it was very evident when I opened it that this was not a toy, but a fine machine. I got everything charged, updated, and setup. Had the itch to go take it up right then but was losing light and wanted to make sure I rewatched videos of tips for first flight. So this morning I took it out to a local school field for my maiden flight. I was very intimated and could feel my heart beating through my chest prior to take off. I was a bit nervous after reading some recent post of flyoffs. I completed all checks, made sure everything was green, 17 sats connected, set home point, and took a deep breath. I did the remote take off without the precision box checked as I first wanted it to just go up barely off the ground so I could then orient myself with controls and fly around slowly at that height. I then manually landed myself and had a huge smile. Next I took off with the precision box checked a d let it hover for a minute. I then flew it around, still pretty close but wanted to get my confidence up. I then held the return to home and watched it fly overhead, lower itself, and land in the EXACT spot I took off from. Had time for one more take off, a little flying around and then again a precise RTH. I know it wasn't much for first flight but I am excited and look forward to my next flight and taking another step. Any suggestions on what to try next?

 

[SeaParrot]

Next step - take off. Ascend to say 6m. Verify both sticks work correctly - up/down, yaw left/right, roll left/right, pitch forward/back.

And do that on every flight....it takes less than 30 seconds, and it's good insurance that your aircraft is behaving and reacting to stick input correctly!

 

[ChipDjipro]

Take your time and be in no hurry. Fly high enough that you don’t hit anything but keep it close by. Practice practice and practice. Until you get comfortable. Before you know it it will be nothing to fly. Before you know it you’ll be ready for the inspire. Now that’s a game changer. All the flyaways that you hear about they are nothing but pilot error’s. Take your time don’t be one of them. Lol

 

[Travisimo]

Your first experience reminded me so much of my first flight with the Phantom 3 Standard over a year ago. I too practiced in a local school field and had the same initial feelings of excitement and exhilaration. And you are absolutely correct: these are NOT toys.

Here are some random thoughts:

• Practice flying home and landing without the use of RTH. It's pretty amazing and awesome seeing the aircraft come back home and land in precisely the same spot by itself, but it's actually more useful to learn how to do it yourself.
  
  
• Train your brain to learn how to fly in all orientations. Fly away from yourself, turn around, then fly back and train your brain how to control the aircraft when everything is backwards. Fly around yourself and completely familiarize yourself with how both sticks work.
  
  
• Always remember to make sure the heading of your aircraft actually matches the heading shown on the map before takeoff. There have been a good number of reports where the aircraft flies away because the headings don't match. The arrow on the map should be facing the same as your actual aircraft, and if they don't match, you may have a compass problem or magnetic interference.
  
  
• Get comfortable with the flight controls BEFORE attempting to learn the camera controls and attempting to get stunning footage. The former is absolutely more important because it doesn't matter what kind of footage you capture if you can't return your aircraft safely back home.
  
  
• Watch as many YouTube videos as you can consume when you are not flying. I learned so much from watching them and then putting to practice what I learned. And of course, learn from the mistakes and tips posted right here in the forums!
  
  
• Always be aware of your surroundings. Plan your flights and know what obstacles you may encounter throughout the flight. It's very difficult to sense depth when looking at the screen on your mobile device, so always err on the side of safety.
  
  
• Always remember that RTH is a fail-safe that should not regularly be relied upon. But when it does happen because of a disconnect, you should always know exactly what the aircraft is going to do to get home. Always be VERY careful about flying UNDER obstacles because more than likely, your aircraft will ascend to the RTH altitude before coming home. There are numerous crashes reported here because the pilot relied on a RTH when flying under an obstacle: the aircraft ascended right into the obstacle (usually a tree, bridge, etc).
  
  
• Always use a pre-flight checklist that includes practical and safety items. Remembering to remove the gimbal guard and extending the antenna legs are two of the most common things new pilots forget, but a pre-flight checklist will help eliminate those mistakes.
  
  
• Educate yourself on the rules, regulations, and safety tips of flying. Don't make the mistake of learning about something after you have a crash or after you are already up in the air. Check your airspace maps wherever you fly to make sure it's safe and legal to fly. And don't fly over large groups of people, stadiums during events, or anywhere that you aren't willing to risk damaging personal property or living creatures (human or otherwise).

Have fun and stay safe!

 

[Cl1nt71]

Great info, thanks

 

[Datadogie]

Watch as many YouTube videos as you can consume when you are not flying. I learned so much from watching them and then putting to practice what I learned. And of course, learn from the mistakes and tips posted right here in the forums!
Especially the ones that go wrong. Read all the comments to find out why they went wrong. That's what I do. Looking at some you say what a frigging idiot. What you flew it 5000m with the wind and you expected it to come back with less than half power in the battery.

 

[Mossiback]

Travisimo has some very good points. I would concentrate on the fourth point; get familiar with the flight controls before learning camera controls. I would even take it farther: After insuring the RTH point is set and it has passed your other flight tests, do not even look at the app. Keep it within your school field and just fly it around while watching it move through the air. This will teach you stick control. Face it away from you when you land so your stick movements match the Mavic. Once you are confident with your flying abilities you can explore what the app has to offer. Just don't forget the cancel button on the controller!