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Is there any way to fly manually?

jweaver

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I already have a collections of Quads and Plane and am fairly competant at flying.. But I havn't really used them much in a while, certainly not for a year or longer.

Infact, the new laws have come in in the UK and I havn't even really looked at them..

I started to look at a Mini 2 as something to add to my colleciton just for its camera capability.. But I have now realised that it may be the only quad I can fly due to the new restrictions. All of my other quads are too heavy, and now classed as "legacy" and will be restricted (it not already).

So the Mini 2 is more tempting than ever... But I have a quesiton, which I believe/feaer I already know the answer too.. Is there any way to fly it "manually"? By this I mean with no GPS. Limited Gyros... No sensors.. Just flown as a quad using skill with little/no automation?

If this is not possible, how about turning the Gimble off, so that atleast camera actually matches the orientation of the quad?

90% of my flying is done "manually" as I just like to use my own skill to do it and I just wonder if any such mode/option exists on the Mini 2?

I doubt that it does, but I just thought I would ask..
 
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what you need is a an FPV quad that flies in Acro mode it has no GPS or Altitude hold and it is very hard to fly when you begin ,none of the DJI drones are really suitable for unassisted flying ,there are drones out there where you can switch off the GPS and fly in Atti mode you could do that on the early phantoms ,i have two little hellis that is fly for fun they have altitude hold and giros but no GPS ,manual flying with a DJI drone, is basically not using the automated functions
 
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...So the Mini 2 is more tempting than ever... ...Is there any way to fly it "manually"? By this I mean with no GPS. Limited Gyros... No sensors.. Just flown as a quad using skill with little/no automation?
Sounds like the wrong tool for the job ... very much like below, doable only with A LOT of tinkering & rebuilding ;)

1614184847256.png
 
At your own risk.
Cover the top with aluminium foil? or fly indoors.
Cover the bottom sensors with thick tape. Switch the CSC response mode to "anytime" and then check whether the taped over sensors cause an uncontrolable climb.
If not switch the gimbal to FPV.
It will probably still compensate for drone pitch but you will see roll
 
It was just a question.. I asked in case there was some kind of Hidden mode...

I understand that the Mini isn't designed for this purspose... But its perfect for what I wanted it for and I am happy.. But I just wondered if there was a way to put it in "manual" mode should you wish.

I fly generally fly my quads FPV using Fatshark goggles and prefer to fly them "manually" as it just feels more realistic and adds a bit of a challenge.. I have one based on a DJI NAZA/iOSD and that can easily be switched into "manual" mode to turn off most of the trickery...

But my go to quad is a small home built one which has no sensors at all.... So its entirly manual, other than a bit of additional stabilization that can be turned on/off at will.

I have let the batteries go to ruin on all of them and they don't hold much a charge these days... So I havn't' flow them much recently. And I have no reaslised that they are pretty much obsoluete under the new laws, as they are just too heavy.

So where as the Mini started out as just a new toy to add to my collection.. its will now be the only quad I am legally able to fly... And I just wondered if there was a way to make it more challenging for times that I want that.

But its fine, I will use it for what its designed and look to get/make/build another Acro quad once things settle down and its clear what options we have under the new regulations.
 
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Yes there is a manual mode, easy to enable with a parameter change in the drone with drone-hacks for example.

The tripod mode is mostly used for manual mode.

The biggest problem is the gimbal, there is a solution for the mavic 1, but I'm not sure it will work on mini2.

I've tried to align the gimbal with the drone in sw, works so so, but it is flyable.

The biggest concern is that you have very little thrust compared to normal fpv's, so it's easy to crash, it's only matter of relearn, but you have to start with throttle wait, and then tilt forward, because it takes some time for the props to speed up.

Don't change back to gps-flightmode when upside down, it will go bananas.

Good luck, you will need it :)
 
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Yes there is a manual mode, easy to enable with a parameter change in the drone with drone-hacks for example.

The tripod mode is mostly used for manual mode.

The biggest problem is the gimbal, there is a solution for the mavic 1, but I'm not sure it will work on mini2.

I've tried to align the gimbal with the drone in sw, works so so, but it is flyable.

The biggest concern is that you have very little thrust compared to normal fpv's, so it's easy to crash, it's only matter of relearn, but you have to start with throttle wait, and then tilt forward, because it takes some time for the props to speed up.

Don't change back to gps-flightmode when upside down, it will go bananas.

Good luck, you will need it :)
Great point about the thrust. The motors would never pull you out of a deep dive from an S loop.
I suspect the DJI FPV is what is coming out on March 2 and I intend to check it out.
I think that will be my gateway into the FPV world with digital goggles that can be used to transition though other drones in the FPV world.
 
You can switch it to ATTI with drone-hacks but nothing more "manual". You'll want the new FPV model that comes out next week for that.
 
Looking forwards to hearing more about that.. I never really got on with my ImmersionRC/Fatshark "analogue" solution.. The video was just terrible and once the novelty wore off, I stopped enjoying it.

I would love some kind of FPV solution that was reliable with a decent video quality, so I am really looking forwards to seeing what DJI are bringing.

I wonder if I should have waited.. I literally got my Mini2 today after getting a cracking deal from Currys Clearance (£100 off just beacuse the shrink wrap celophane had a hole in it)...
 

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