In need of honest info.

[TBeasley]

I was in your shoes a year ago. No experience, possible business use and fun. After talking to some people and a little research I bought the Mavic Pro. I am pleased with my purchase. I took my time still learning evertime I fly. Currently studying for the 107 test so I can use in business. No problems for me.

 

[Cymruflyer]

I would second all that has been said . I am a new member here and first time drone flyer have just got the mavic air and only flown it 3 times with one mishap where it clipped the bushes in my garden as i was to eager to try it , so i would practice on large open space first and get used to all the setting first which are a bit overwhelming at first but with the right setting the mavic is just magic, and don't worry about fly aways just keep it in sight to begin with , happy flying....

Uummmmm… bad advice right there at the end, to a new to be drone flyer! You should never say, nor think about keeping it in sight to begin with, as you stated. There should never be a time when you willfully let it out of your sight, otherwise you are not flying as per FAA regulations. Yes it has happened to us all I suppose, at one time or another, and it must be great fun to go off flying with goggles on your head and just explore the area, but we must always tell newbies to follow the rules, always. That means don't EVER willfully allow your drone to go off flying out of your sight.

 

[Cherman]

This may not be the right place but I figure that maybe I can get some honest input. I have never owned or flown a drone but have been interested for quite some time and have a need for my business but also just for pleasure. So here is my question I was thinking that I would pay a little more and get a drone that will provide the photos, ease of learning ect.. that I want but will be user friendly for a rookie pilot. I was thinking Mavic or Phantom now I am reading different info of fly aways and issues such as those with DJI, I really don't want to pay that kind of money to have it fly off into the wild blue yonder, is this a real problem, should I be starting out with something different to gain experience first, as I had stated I was hoping to buy one and cover everything at once. I look forward to hearing from experienced pilots.

I was once in you spot. I bought a DJI mavic pro platinum. I had very limited experience with flying a drone. I bought mine 100% for business. I was a little nervous but I followed directions and talked to enough people when I set mine up. I have rough 1000 miles and about 55 hours flying time and only a couple small issues in 8 months. Good luck.

 

[Cymruflyer]

I took my Mavic 2 Pro out flying a few days ago and the darn thing just kept flying and flying exactly as I controlled it to do and then.... it came right back after it sent me a warning that my battery was getting low, just like I instructed it to do with my controller. In fact, when I first bought my first ever real drone, the Mavic Pro, two years ago or just over, the thing flew just like I instructed it to do and has never crashed or even had a hard landing.

I sold that not too far back and bought the Mavic 2 Pro, and guess what? The darn thing did the exact same thing as my old one, it took off and flew around the sky, took all the photos and video I told it to do and then even came back and landed in the exact spot I flew it to. Not matter what I do, the darn thing just keeps flying incredibly stable and even in strong winds. I just can not seem to make it crash or fly away all on it's own. Worst drone I have ever had for trying to make it crash or fly away all by itself.

The most I have been able to manage is to get the controller, or rather the screen on my phone to disconnect for about 30 secs or so a few times in the past. What I am trying to say is, if you are a careful and safe pilot and you want your drone to suddenly fly away, all on its own or crash into bushes or a tree or suddenly drop into a lake without any warning what so ever, DO NOT BUY a Mavic 2 Pro.

With that said,, yes there are those rare incidents when the drone has actually done something catastrophic, due to hardware or software problems, but those cases are so few and far between that when you count those against all the properly flying drones out there from DJI, the percentage of bad ones will be down in the tenths, if not thousands of a percent, compared to those that do what you instruct it to do, every single time you take it flying. ...I just know now that tomorrow, I will take mine flying and the bloody thing is going to just fly off on its own, hit a tree and fall into the lake. But I hope it won't, maybe I just won't fly tomorrow, just in case.

 

[m chaussettes]

Purchased the Mavic 2 Pro a couple of months ago. Newb drone owner. Just read and take your time. Most errors as in the real world are pilot errors.

This may not be the right place but I figure that maybe I can get some honest input. I have never owned or flown a drone but have been interested for quite some time and have a need for my business but also just for pleasure. So here is my question I was thinking that I would pay a little more and get a drone that will provide the photos, ease of learning ect.. that I want but will be user friendly for a rookie pilot. I was thinking Mavic or Phantom now I am reading different info of fly aways and issues such as those with DJI, I really don't want to pay that kind of money to have it fly off into the wild blue yonder, is this a real problem, should I be starting out with something different to gain experience first, as I had stated I was hoping to buy one and cover everything at once. I look forward to hearing from experienced pilots.

 

[Meta4]

I am reading different info of fly aways and issues such as those with DJI, I really don't want to pay that kind of money to have it fly off into the wild blue yonder, is this a real problem, should I be starting out with something different to gain experience first, as I had stated I was hoping to buy one and cover everything at once.

These drones are easier to fly than you imagine.
That causes some flyers to get to adventurous, too early.
There are quite a few things that could go wrong and it takes time to learn what they are and how to ensure they don't happen to you.
This article gives some intelligent ideas on the "flyways" that you have read about: Fear of Flying 2016 - The Last Word on Drone Flyaways! - Droneflyers.com

The term flyaway was what old-time drone flyers would use to explain a mysterious loss of a drone.
But since 2015 DJI drones have had recorded flight data that can be used to investigate incidents and find out what the actual cause was.
Now that the causes of incidents can be found, the overwhelming majority of crashes and lost drones turn out to be due to operator issues.

 

[DrDrew3]

I started with a Spark to get some basic flying skills and get some confidence. I never had any mechanical issues or adverse incidents -- perhaps because I read the manual and watched every single YouTube video about the Spark.

After about 5 months 8 moved up to a Mavic Pro. It fixes all the shortcomings of the Spark such that is my drive of choice. I keep the Spark for travel or to be less conspicuous in close quarters but I'll probably sell it due to lack of use.

Spark ----> Mavic Pro is a great pathway. Plenty of Spark on Craigslist and easy to resell it if you're just not that into it.

 

[Joe4flight]

This may not be the right place but I figure that maybe I can get some honest input. I have never owned or flown a drone but have been interested for quite some time and have a need for my business but also just for pleasure. So here is my question I was thinking that I would pay a little more and get a drone that will provide the photos, ease of learning ect.. that I want but will be user friendly for a rookie pilot. I was thinking Mavic or Phantom now I am reading different info of fly aways and issues such as those with DJI, I really don't want to pay that kind of money to have it fly off into the wild blue yonder, is this a real problem, should I be starting out with something different to gain experience first, as I had stated I was hoping to buy one and cover everything at once. I look forward to hearing from experienced pilots.

Hello justlookingaround, I was just like you. Spent a year thinking about getting a drone and looking at what was out there. I have a GoPro camera so my first interest was the Karma. At first I was excited about that drone, but after looking at it deeply, I did not want to get a drone that did not have the latest technological advances and was likely not going to be updated and/or supported by the company. So that put me at a higher price point to begin with. So I took the plunge and got a DJI Mavic Pro Platinum. I made sure to immediately purchase for $129, the Mavic Care program. I’m figuring for the first year, until I can get good at this, the inevitable is going to happen. I have had one short flight so far, and look forward to more. But I do have a comfort level that any mistakes I make while learning, will not result in a complete financial loss.

 

[Jackcutrone]

I have been flying RC planes and heli's for years and got a Mavic Pro in the last year. Compared to the planes and heli's they are super easy to fly and engineered and programmed to automate a lot of things including getting your drone back in situations where other drones would be lost - i.e. automated return to home if signal lost or battery getting too low. So yes, they are a good bet.

I would advise you to read the posts in the daily email from Mavic Pilots "Yesterday's New Topics" without fail. In the few months that I have been a member I have read so many posts and comments that taught me how to avoid doing things that will cause me to lose my drone. I always pay particular attention to the fly-away or I lost my drone posts. It is the case in almost 100% of these that the cause was pilot error. Their loss can be your gain in learning not to repeat their mistakes.

 

[Krvelasco]

I've been flying radio control planes for a good portion of my life. But I just recently purchased my first drone, the mavic 2 pro. I have had nothing but a great experience from the minute I took it out of the box. I've had absolutely no issues, piece of Cake The fly. My girlfriend has never flown anything in her entire life and I had her flying it in no time.I can't help but think all of the FlyAway issues are primarily pilot malfunction.I've recently purchased a phantom 4 pro I like it as well but not as much as the mavic.

 

[Wilbur&Garth]

This may not be the right place but I figure that maybe I can get some honest input. I have never owned or flown a drone but have been interested for quite some time and have a need for my business but also just for pleasure. So here is my question I was thinking that I would pay a little more and get a drone that will provide the photos, ease of learning ect.. that I want but will be user friendly for a rookie pilot. I was thinking Mavic or Phantom now I am reading different info of fly aways and issues such as those with DJI, I really don't want to pay that kind of money to have it fly off into the wild blue yonder, is this a real problem, should I be starting out with something different to gain experience first, as I had stated I was hoping to buy one and cover everything at once. I look forward to hearing from experienced pilots.

For a business (and fun) the Mavic 2 Pro or Phantom 4 Pro would both be phenomenal. They're easy to fly, reliable, and have AWESOME cameras. I have a Mavic Pro Platinum right now that I love, but would totally upgrade to a Mavic 2 Pro if it weren't for the whole money thing. The only thing you need to ask yourself is portability. All the Mavics fold up into an incredibly small space, so that would be my vote.

 

[ZooCougar]

Interesting thread. New pilot here. (Mavic 2Pro)

What action should you take in the event the drone thinks the sun is an obstacle?

 

[AMann]

Interesting thread. New pilot here. (Mavic 2Pro)

What action should you take in the event the drone thinks the sun is an obstacle?

If you can’t proceed because of this, go to sport mode, carefully continue until you fly it to where you intended.

 

[Johnmcl7]

I've had the Mavic 1 since launch and also bought a Mavic 2, I've never been close to a problem where the drone would fly away on me. It's quite normal for people to start topics that the drone flew off on them but it's worthwhile reading through them as you'll see in most cases the problem could have been avoided and how to avoid it yourself. When I first got my Mavic I read through a lot of these topics for those reasons.

msinger's page posted near the start of the thread is a thorough list of items to check to avoid losing the drone, the DJI drones are fantastic products in how easy they are to fly and control but they're not entirely foolproof as some people seem to think so it's worth being aware of possible issues so you know what to do. When I first got my Mavic I took it out each day in a wide open space and just practiced the controls and became comfortable with landing, taking off etc.

 

[Cymruflyer]

Interesting thread. New pilot here. (Mavic 2Pro)

What action should you take in the event the drone thinks the sun is an obstacle?

If it happens then just change your angle to the sun and try to fly again, to get it back. You can Yaw and then fly sideways, or turn it around and fly it backwards, in case the different sensors react differently to the sun. Try that before sport mode.

 

[Jackcutrone]

Interesting thread. New pilot here. (Mavic 2Pro)

What action should you take in the event the drone thinks the sun is an obstacle?

Example. You are between the drone and the sun and the drone won’t fly back towards you because it reads the sun as an obstacle, instead fly at a 45 degree angle to your desired path for awhile and then when you try to get the drone back to you the sun will no longer be directly behind you and will not prevent the drone from returning.

 

[Meta4]

What action should you take in the event the drone thinks the sun is an obstacle?

Or you could simply disable obstacle avoidance.
If there are no obstacles to worry about , you don't need it.

 

[Former Member]

Example. You are between the drone and the sun and the drone won’t fly back towards you because it reads the sun as an obstacle, instead fly at a 45 degree angle to your desired path for awhile and then when you try to get the drone back to you the sun will no longer be directly behind you and will not prevent the drone from returning.

Drone tack technique. Works with sailboats. lol

 

[Cymruflyer]

Drone tack technique. Works with sailboats. lol

Sail boats have sensors that won't allow them to sail into the sun? I have sailed for years and my seonsors have never stopped me sailing into the sun, in fact that's how I end all my sailing stories!

 

[AMann]

If it happens then just change your angle to the sun and try to fly again, to get it back. You can Yaw and then fly sideways, or turn it around and fly it backwards, in case the different sensors react differently to the sun. Try that before sport mode.

I was thinking of a situation where I was trying to finish up a set of specifically oriented aerials and the bird wouldnt move the right way for those, so I used sport mode to do it - but you are right about trying to do it sideways before going to sport mode.