Fresh Pilot from Massachusetts

[inkfromblood]

Hello!

New pilot (in fact, got the drone today but its raining out )

The Mavic Air is my first ever drone, and I'm super excited that I've waited this long.
It seems like such a great piece of tech.

I work as a professional videographer / photographer and am hoping to eventually use this for commercial purposes once I get licensed.

I don't want to post any major questions here before digging into the forums, but if there is one thing you wish you knew at the start of your time flying, what would it be?

Thanks!
- Dan

 

[Squamer]

Don’t over worry your self. It’s not rocket science. Read the manual, watch YouTube, and fly often. You’ll learn the ins and outs pretty quick

 

[BD0G]

The one thing I wish I was more aware of is that when taking off from a concrete pad (driveway , sidewalk, etc) there will be compass errors and that can and will cause an unstable condition that can result on ones drone flying horizontally into an object nearby.

I thought at the time- Whats the big deal I will just ascend quickly so that I can recover control once the drone was at a higher elevation. Boy was I wrong. Even though I had full left stick up my drone flew into a nearby truck hitch the moment I lifted off. Oh, the truck was a big metal object so that made things worse as well.

Lesson learned.

I know you asked for one thing but I gotta add another. Never assume you know the orientation of the drone when it is a sizable distance away from you. You may think you are flying towards yourself and back to home when actually the drone is oriented 180 degrees from what you perceive. Use the small radar display to determine which way the drone is actually pointing and what left and right maneuvers really are. You can always just pause in the air to determine this by taking fingers off sticks and "parking in the sky". When getting tense just remember this.

 

[safetorque]

The one thing I wish I was more aware of is that when taking off from a concrete pad (driveway , sidewalk, etc) there will be compass errors and that can and will cause an unstable condition that can result on ones drone flying horizontally into an object nearby.

I thought at the time- Whats the big deal I will just ascend quickly so that I can recover control once the drone was at a higher elevation. Boy was I wrong. Even though I had full left stick up my drone flew into a nearby truck hitch the moment I lifted off. Oh, the truck was a big metal object so that made things worse as well.

Lesson learned.

I know you asked for one thing but I gotta add another. Never assume you know the orientation of the drone when it is a sizable distance away from you. You may think you are flying towards yourself and back to home when actually the drone is oriented 180 degrees from what you perceive. Use the small radar display to determine which way the drone is actually pointing and what left and right maneuvers really are. You can always just pause in the air to determine this by taking fingers off sticks and "parking in the sky". When getting tense just remember this.

I was surprised to read your comment about possible problems if taking off from a concrete pad. Would you please explain why this is so, and what would be the safest take-off 'material' or zone?

 

[TrayBoz]

3 words:

DON'T
FLY
INDOORS

 

[dirkclod]

Welcome to Mavic Pilots .
I hope you will find our site helpful and look forward to any input , photo's/video's you might post .
Don't be shy and ask anything if you can't find it by searching .

 

[RKX]

Hello and welcome from Ontario Canada to Mavic Pilots!
And enjoy your stay here, there is a wealth of information to be had so take your time and look around and enjoy reading all the great stuff you can do with your Mavic, Feel free to ask any questions you may have and remember the search tool is a great resource to see who may have had a similar issue or may offer a great tip.
Enjoy your day and happy flying

 

[BD0G]

I was surprised to read your comment about possible problems if taking off from a concrete pad. Would you please explain why this is so, and what would be the safest take-off 'material' or zone?

Absolutely.

Concrete often contains rebar. Rebar are metal rods that are inserted before the concrete is poured and formed. It helps the concrete hold its shape and offers rigidity and minimizes vertical and horizontal forces.

This mesh of metal rods can and will interfere with the compass(es) within the drone. So when the drone wants to reference the drones compass and compare and contrast its position and heading it can read false and incorrect values as the rebar or for that matter any large metal structures can and will result in incorrect compass values. Since the compasses are very important one wants them to not be inaccurate at all.

I have also tried to take off for those large formed concrete tables and benches at parks. Same deal. Too much metal.

As far as optimum take off positions. Any position that does not contain large amounts of metal under the surface. Some no -no spots are beach sand areas, loose gravel areas , etc. Any where there is alot of loose small particulate matter. This is not optimal as the prop wash from the propellers can kick up the smaller particles and find thier way into the motors of the drone. That becomes abrasive and will damage ones drone.

I hand launch and catch in those areas if there is not a suitable area nearby.

Yes - dont fly indoors. Why - I saw it in the DJI promotional video. Well it turns out that GPS lock can sometimes be attained indoors depending on the room or location. As the drone gains and looses GPS lock it can become disoriented momentarily. So it switches from P mode to P-GPS mode and back again. This can cause erratic flight characteristics. Its just not worth shredding things within your interior space and potentially damaging your drone.

 

[neggy]

Good Luck, a large part of MA is in theory no fly territory, depending on where you are it may hamper your ability to fly within the massive load of BS that are the FAR's.

Then there seems to be a heliport in every front yard that (again) makes complying to the letter of the law problematic, you will have to make your own decisions on how to proceed.

Use your brain, fly with caution and safely, try to stay below the radar

 

[Aerial-Pixel]

Welcome to MavicPilots from Dayton Ohio! Enjoy the Mavic Air, it's a great machine! Fly safe and have fun!

 

[LuvMyTJ]

Hello,
It is a pleasure to welcome you to the Mavic Pilots forum.
I hope that you will be able to use the forum to further your safety knowledge and for the exchange of innovative ideas and as a resource for current developments in Mavic quadcopters.
Enjoy!
*MAVIC PRO/PLATINUM MANUAL: https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/mavic/Mavic Pro User Manual V2.0-.pdf
*MAVIC AIR MANUAL: https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/Mavic Air/20180213/Mavic Air User Manual_v1.2.pdf
*GO 4 APP MANUAL: DJI Go 4 Manual

 

[Bunny Too]

Hello!

New pilot (in fact, got the drone today but its raining out )

The Mavic Air is my first ever drone, and I'm super excited that I've waited this long.
It seems like such a great piece of tech.

I work as a professional videographer / photographer and am hoping to eventually use this for commercial purposes once I get licensed.

I don't want to post any major questions here before digging into the forums, but if there is one thing you wish you knew at the start of your time flying, what would it be?

Thanks!
- Dan

Howdy from Wyoming @inkfromblood , welcome to the community, plenty of fine folk and excellent information here.

 

[scottl1346]

welcome im also from MA the western part of the state.