I am taking up this sport and wonder if you can just start flying over metropolitan areas without getting in trouble. I see alot of drone footage over cities and wonder what preliminary research you need to do so they dont come looking for you. I want to start on the right foot in this hobby and not be a bad actor. I have zero experience and am getting the mavic mini 2. Thanks for your help members.
Intro and question on city flying
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Hi there & welcome to the forum 
Whilst waiting for members active in US & their in detail advises you could start up with this --> https://www.faa.gov/uas/
Whilst waiting for members active in US & their in detail advises you could start up with this --> https://www.faa.gov/uas/
tlswift58
Well-Known Member
Welcome from the mountains of Western North Carolina.
2 tips.
1 - get the apps like Aloft / B4UFLY (web / pc based as well for preplanning), UAVForecast - as they will help you identifying areas you may not be able to fly in or where you have to get permission to do so. UAVForecast is more of a weather app, but you need to know wind speeds and GPS availability as well as knowing whether you can fly there or not.
2 - These apps are more directed at federal level restrictions, so you have to Google Search for your state and the city / area you plan to fly in. Many states / cities do not allow take off / landing in parks, but you can fly over them if you take off / land outside of the park in an unrestricted area. Some cities / towns also ban drones outright, so be aware of that as well.
Understand VLOS - visual line of sight of the drone as well. That simply means you can see the drone with your own eyesight or a spotter close by - not what you see on your screen. Altitude limit is 400 ft (AGL), but esp in cities be very aware of low flying manned aircraft as you the drone pilot have to move out of their way.
The FAA requires ALL USA based pilots to take / pass the TRUST Test. You also have to keep that certificate on your person when flying the drone. The test covers some of the basic need to know rules / regs for flying a drone. You also need to put some kind of sticker on the drone with your Reg #. Also good to put a phone number should the drone get lost and you can't find it.
Watch as many basic to advanced basic beginner videos on YouTube on your drone model - as each model has very different capabilities.
Go practice, practice, and more practice in a park / etc with few to no people and fairly flat (preferably few trees). Get to know how your drone flies - esp in wind with a small drone like the Mini / Mini 2. Read the forum on Mini 2 stuff as well. Esp threads on batteries, flying time, and crashes. This helps you to avoid some mistakes made by others - typically beginners, but also by folks flying for longer who should know better.
Last but not least - GO HAVE FUN with the drone.
Take the free Recreational Flying Made Easy course from Pilot Institute. Very informative.
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F4D3DKN1GH7
Member
I can't really add too much to what has already been said here. Getting to know your drone will be paramount. There are some YouTube videos that deal with basic manouvers to practice but also get you used to taking off and hovering at eye level while rotating so you can hear and identify any potential issues.
Be prepared that you may, in fact, crash! Especially when you start getting more daring with regards to obstacles! Having a couple spare sets of props will ensure a crash doesn't necessarily end your day.
A couple of apps I can suggest begin with drone buddy. This gives you a wealth of information which includes wind speed and weather but also no fly zones and even the solar radiation index which, depending on where you are a solar flare/higher solar rad levels can mess with your sensors.
The other is droneVR+ which, with the addition of a smartphone (which you will already be using anyway) and a cheap vr "headset" from Amazon will give you the experience of having fpv. I will tell you that it is a little wonky at times and not all that useful for what I do but that it is novel and quite a bit of fun every once in a while.
Not sure if this helps at all but there it is!
Cheers!
F4D3DKN1GH7
Be prepared that you may, in fact, crash! Especially when you start getting more daring with regards to obstacles! Having a couple spare sets of props will ensure a crash doesn't necessarily end your day.
A couple of apps I can suggest begin with drone buddy. This gives you a wealth of information which includes wind speed and weather but also no fly zones and even the solar radiation index which, depending on where you are a solar flare/higher solar rad levels can mess with your sensors.
The other is droneVR+ which, with the addition of a smartphone (which you will already be using anyway) and a cheap vr "headset" from Amazon will give you the experience of having fpv. I will tell you that it is a little wonky at times and not all that useful for what I do but that it is novel and quite a bit of fun every once in a while.
Not sure if this helps at all but there it is!
Cheers!
F4D3DKN1GH7
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