I bought a Mavic Air today - how should I prepare for my European trip in 2 weeks?

[niallquinn89]

So I finally purchased my a Mavic air today, and have yet to take it for a spin.

I'm living in an urban area, and within 5km from an airport, so it looks like I'll have to take a taxi to somewhere on the outskirts of the city in order to practice before my trip.

I'm planning to take the drone on my trip, where I hope to fly it around water (Lake Bled), close to mountains, in cities (where permitted), but since I started reading about people crashing etc, I'm super paranoid that I will crash the drone on my flight in Europe.

1. Is there anything, in particular, I should practice before I take the drone to more popular areas?
2. How user-friendly are Mavic Airs for beginners like me? I assume once I have the HP set, calibration done and set up RTH to 200, I should be ok?
3. Any other tips would be great.

As I said, I'm a little bit paranoid that I'll somehow **** up.

Ideally, I wish I had more hours flying under my belt before taking it to Europe.

 

[tleedom]

Understand what the monitor/AC is telling you, yes very easy to fly.

Read the manual, watch tutorials and get some air time before you leave.

Read everything you can find on country and local drone laws.

You can probably reach out to some members here that live in or near the areas you are planning to visit.

 

[Thomas B]

-Read the manual! Practice.!!!!!! Don’t take risks.
-Go to the FAA site and register your drone... put your number on it.
-Follow the FAA seven basic regs.
-take extra batteries
-Check the laws in each country and/or city and be aware and able to access them for permits and licensure. Try contacting them NOW! You may have to obtain a license or license the drone. You may also find prohibitions.
-Have appropriate plugs and transformers to charge
-Be sure there is no problem with the transport you have lined up for the trip... Do not check the drone (safety) or batteries (law) as luggage... the battery contacts will need to be covered and you should consider fireproof bags. Get a case!
-save a copy of the full manual on your phone

-To get you started here’s a couple of links to general info and a list of laws by country and state:
Traveling with a Drone: The Ultimate Guide to Bringing a Drone on a Plane
Master List of Drone Laws (Organized by State / Country) l UAV Coach
https://www.faa.gov/about/office_or...fo/media/Airline_passengers_and_batteries.pdf

 

[niallquinn89]

Understand what the monitor/AC is telling you, yes very easy to fly.

Read the manual, watch tutorials and get some air time before you leave.

Read everything you can find on country and local drone laws.

You can probably reach out to some members here that live in or near the areas you are planning to visit.

Any tutorials (like a series) you would recommend in general?

 

[niallquinn89]

-Read the manual! Practice. Don’t take risks. Go to the FAA site and register your drone... put your number on it.
-Follow the FAA seven basic regs.
-take extra batteries
-Check the laws in each country and/or city and be aware and able to access them for permits and licensure. Try contacting them NOW! You may have to obtain a license or license the drone. You may also find prohibitions.
-Have appropriate plugs and transformers to charge
-Be sure there is no problem with the transport you have lined up for the trip... Do not check the drone (safety) or batteries (law) as luggage... the battery contacts will need to be covered and you should consider fireproof bags. Get a case!
-save a copy of the full manual on your phone

-To get you started here’s a couple of links to general info and a list of laws by country and state:
Traveling with a Drone: The Ultimate Guide to Bringing a Drone on a Plane
Master List of Drone Laws (Organized by State / Country) l UAV Coach
https://www.faa.gov/about/office_or...fo/media/Airline_passengers_and_batteries.pdf

Awesome thanks

So I can't leave the battery in the drone when I'm bringing it on a plane?

FAA - that only applies to the USA right? (I'm not living in the states)

 

[Thomas B]

Awesome thanks

So I can't leave the battery in the drone when I'm bringing it on a plane?

FAA - that only applies to the USA right? (I'm not living in the states)

Register your drone as required in your country ASAP.
Yes... check with your carrier(s). Most list on their website. Call them for any questions. The seven FAA rules are still a good start.
Not sure, but the battery regs are pretty universal.
Check with the equivalent of our TSA in your location also.

Again, FLY, fly, fly. Before you go. Only fly the modes you are familiar with while on your trip.

Oh yea, take extra SD cards (type will be recommended in you manual)

Enjoy!!!!

 

[Meta4]

Is there anything, in particular, I should practice before I take the drone to more popular areas?

Everything.
It's easy to learn the basics of flying your new drone but there are plenty of things that could go wrong and it takes a lot of experience to learn them all and how to ensure they don't cause problems for you.
Don't assume you can "take the drone to more popular areas".
Pull your drone out at the Eiffel tower or similar busy tourist spots and see how long you last.

 

[Thomas B]

Learn, practice, and be super familiar with the return to home button and what will happen when you push it.

Same goes for the pause button.

These two are essential drone survival tools.

 

[razoraerial]

My two cents. Patience and learn the controller so your not constantly looking at it for the buttons. Go through the settings to make sure they are what you want before launch. Extra batteries is a huge plus. Mostly so your not rushing to get shot and make a mistake.

Hope these help

 

[tleedom]

Any tutorials (like a series) you would recommend in general?

VIDEO TUTORIALS - DJI Guides

dji mavic air tutorial videos - Bing video

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Practice at home in a large open area, like an empty playing field (sports ground / oval).
2 weeks isn’t much time to practice flying, let alone filming, but have fun getting to know your new toy.
For example RTH might be better set for a higher or lower altitude, or to hover if signal lost.
Ensure you are aware of places you can / cannot fly where you are going, be aware not all people like hearing drones buzzing about (be people aware and avoid crowded places, get up early to film, better light anyway).

 

[Cymruflyer]

Get extra batteries. Keep batteries and drone with all accessories in its own case and for extra safety, just put black electrical tape over the terminal section of each battery. Don't just take one battery, buy 2 more you will be glad you did. Take the battery out of the drone when on the aircraft, just to be extra safe.

 

[DanMc]

Lipo batteries must be carried on with you. The lack of pressurization in the cargo hold is not good. I think the airlines already make this clear.

Since you are a newbie, get the insurance, but remember that you need the wreckage if you want to place a claim. If it can't be recovered, you're out. I would recommend a spare cable between the phone and the controller, and also a spare camera gimbal protector. Additional batteries have already been mentioned. Practice, practice, practice before you leave, and don't try anything new in a foreign country. Hunting down a lost drone will spoil your fun, so keep it close to you.

 

[Gorm]

Welcome to Europe. If you wish to fly your drone in Denmark you will need to take an online test and also have third party insurance. Enjoy your trip

 

[niallquinn89]

Thanks everyone for the replies. Certainly given me things to think about

 

[Superslo]

No one has mentioned the SD micro disk. The one they sent in the bundle I got was not fast enough to record 4K video (I read reviews and was pretty much prepared for that fail.) Anyway, to film with 4K, you need the V60 rating on the disc. The best I could find at the local office supply was the rating with a circled 10. That will run it but you'll have an error message about "Slow Disk".