First Thread, what do you watch when flying

ScottB · May 22, 2018

Have had my mavic pro for a few months now and have been doing a lot of research, practicing, research, practicing. I back up to a lake and for the first month wouldn't get close to it and now fly over it and beyond, but, always truly in line of site. I see all the threads about how far this and that person flies but can't get my head around flying my investment that far. To be truthful, I purposely started flying with a $100 drone and watched it fly away, of course it was pilot error.

What I wonder, and I just tested tonight, is what you watch while flying your drone. I've always had the camera view on my iphone 8plus but tonight I flew farther than I have up to this point and found myself switching between camera view and gps view. When it got to a point of almost out of sight, and having a hard time finding it in the sky after looking down, it was nice to hit on gps to see the direction of the drone and get it back in my direction. Do most of you fly and switch views during your flights?

One last question, how in the world did you (if you fly beyond line of sight) get the confidence to fly that far. I am waiting on my trackimo to arrive this week to give me added security but still don't think I will fly without LOS.

Rnl · May 22, 2018

Either or works for me, I watch battery and signal, and when I do distance I fly close to a road so I can recover bird if need be. Also I have picked 2 emergency landing spots case battery won't make it home. And yes I still get nervous.

FL1H1 · May 22, 2018

OK, I've only been flying about a month. The other day mist was forming at dawn, and my expectation was that as the sun rose it would get thinner. At some point that will have happened, but at 5,6 in the morning the absolute opposite happened, it got thicker and thicker. I just used the map to get it back. I've been flying it over a big lake all along. Not too low, 12ft min. It wouldn't best please me but I guess I can afford to lose it, I recognise it comes with that risk but I try to minimise it so in mist I made the wise choice to fly from a field free of trees and power lines if not swans who evidently love flying over the fog lol.

james_mav · May 22, 2018

I remember the first time flying. My hands were shaking & my heart was racing but it doesn't take long before those feeling are long gone. As long as you set your RTH correctly then the bird will probably find its way home if its got enough battery life.

Dragonfly · May 22, 2018

ScottB said:
Have had my mavic pro for a few months now and have been doing a lot of research, practicing, research, practicing. I back up to a lake and for the first month wouldn't get close to it and now fly over it and beyond, but, always truly in line of site. I see all the threads about how far this and that person flies but can't get my head around flying my investment that far. To be truthful, I purposely started flying with a $100 drone and watched it fly away, of course it was pilot error.

What I wonder, and I just tested tonight, is what you watch while flying your drone. I've always had the camera view on my iphone 8plus but tonight I flew farther than I have up to this point and found myself switching between camera view and gps view. When it got to a point of almost out of sight, and having a hard time finding it in the sky after looking down, it was nice to hit on gps to see the direction of the drone and get it back in my direction. Do most of you fly and switch views during your flights?

One last question, how in the world did you (if you fly beyond line of sight) get the confidence to fly that far. I am waiting on my trackimo to arrive this week to give me added security but still don't think I will fly without LOS.

It comes with practice and confidence and after time you instincitivly know what direction your drone is at all times as you are flying it and it is not flying you.
Always keep in LOS and you know where all obstacles are so always aware.
I have my C2 button programed to switch between camera and map veiw as required so I don't need to keep trying to touch small spot on screen.
I mainly always stay in Camera view to see what I am filming and see any possible obstacles in my way. Also by knowing the area you fly in even in camera view you should have a good idea what direction drone is flying/pointing by what you see in relation to you (if in LOS)

Skiergd011013 · May 22, 2018

It is scary sending off that much money far away. After spending hours and hours with it, you get more comfortable. They are very reliable and have lots of safetys built in. I am now enjoying longer flights. I did 11,600 feet out yesterday (i stay over fields and woods). The biggest thing that scares me is flying over water. If t.s.h.t.f, you cant easily retrieve it.

Mavflyer · May 22, 2018

I still get a little nervous going on long flights. I'm not really sure why either. I don't want to have to replace my mavic, but if I had to, it wouldn't be that big of a deal. Flying around people actually makes me more nervous than my long distance flights. Here is my most recent and furthest flight to date. I would rate my anxiety as about a 2 during this flight, where as it probably would have been a 7 around the time I got my mavic if I had done this flight then.

Skiergd011013 · May 22, 2018

Mavflyer said:
I still get a little nervous going on long flights. I'm not really sure why either. I don't want to have to replace my mavic, but if I had to, it wouldn't be that big of a deal. Flying around people actually makes me more nervous than my long distance flights. Here is my most recent and furthest flight to date. I would rate my anxiety as about a 2 during this flight, where as it probably would have been a 7 around the time I got my mavic if I had done this flight then.

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the signal on these things is ridiculous. Again, only 11,600 ft for me so far, but i still had all 5 signal bars. It actually makes me laugh how ridiculously rock solid the signal is on the pros.

Koelkop · May 23, 2018

I would say the location you are flying also dictates the risk you are willing to take. I use my mavic on our farm so for me to go out to anything between 4 and 8 km is not a big deal. If it loses signal it will RTH, and besides that I always know exactly where it is incase I need to land due to low battery.

As for what I look at while flying, its a mix between camera view to see where i'm flying, checking height and distance and battery and signal etc etc

For the drone to be 500m away from you is not all that different than being say 5 km away. Just make sure your RTH settings are correct and it will always find its way home.

And enjoy flying the thing, it sounds like you are to nervous to enjoy your drone