It the Mavic Air really this smart?

kwolfskill · Apr 14, 2020

Still a very new flier so I'm not sure if what I think actually did happen, or not.

I was flying my Mavic Air on Sat. about 30 feet above ground near me. Wind was about 10 mph and gusting, (not good at estimating wind speed yet). I was hovering, when a really big wind gust hit the Air from the side and slewed it probably 25 feet away from the spot I had been hovering.

Then I think the drone flew itself back to the spot that it had been hovering, without any input from me. Is that possible, or am I remembering wrong and it just held whatever position it ended up at after the wind gust, and would have needed me to fly it back to the original spot?

old man mavic · Apr 14, 2020

kwolfskill said:
Still a very new flier so I'm not sure if what I think actually did happen, or not.

I was flying my Mavic Air on Sat. about 30 feet above ground near me. Wind was about 10 mph and gusting, (not good at estimating wind speed yet). I was hovering, when a really big wind gust hit the Air from the side and slewed it probably 25 feet away from the spot I had been hovering.

Then I think the drone flew itself back to the spot that it had been hovering, without any input from me. Is that possible, or am I remembering wrong and it just held whatever position it ended up at after the wind gust, and would have needed me to fly it back to the original spot?

as long as you have a good sat lock the drone will hover in place ,the event you mentioned is quite normal after the wind gust caught it out, it just returned to the spot it was at before the gust happened ,it must have been quite a strong blast to move it that far though
next time you fly have the drone hovering at shoulder height and carefully try to pull it along, with one of the landing legs and you will feel it resist you, and when you let go it will go back to its original position ,if the drone had not been fitted with GPS then that gust would have sent it a long way away, and it would have probably made contact with something ,
you can replicate that if you turn off the GPS and fly in ATTI mode, if your drone has that feature, and it is that mode it flies in if you are inside a building with no gps

kwolfskill · Apr 14, 2020

old man mavic said:
as long as you have a good sat lock the drone will hover in place ,the event you mentioned is quite normal after the wind gust caught it out, it just returned to the spot it was at before the gust happened ,it must have been quite a strong blast to move it that far though
next time you fly have the drone hovering at shoulder height and carefully try to pull it along, with one of the landing legs and you will feel it resist you, and when you let go it will go back to its original position ,if the drone had not been fitted with GPS then that gust would have sent it a long way away, and it would have probably made contact with something ,
you can replicate that if you turn off the GPS and fly in ATTI mode, if your drone has that feature, and it is that mode it flies in if you are inside a building with no gps

Truly amazing technology in these things. I'll have to try the "pull it away from its hover spot" next time I'm out.

Yes, the Air has ATTI, but after trying to fly a few toy drones inside, that I could never get trimmed properly so that they would hover, I'll stick to flying outside for now.

old man mavic · Apr 14, 2020

kwolfskill said:
Truly amazing technology in these things. I'll have to try the "pull it away from its hover spot" next time I'm out.

Yes, the Air has ATTI, but after trying to fly a few toy drones inside, that I could never get trimmed properly so that they would hover, I'll stick to flying outside for now.

inside the drone should hover using the down wards sensors if there is a pattern on the floor if you get the chance on a really calm day then in a nice open space try flying in ATTI mode it makes for some really smooth video ,as it doesn't stop quickly when you let go of the sticks,its great to practice how it reacts so that you know what going to happen in the event that you loose GPS and it teaches you smooth stick control

slup · Apr 14, 2020

kwolfskill said:
Truly amazing technology in these things. I'll have to try the "pull it away from its hover spot" next time I'm out.

Yes, the Air has ATTI, but after trying to fly a few toy drones inside, that I could never get trimmed properly so that they would hover, I'll stick to flying outside for now.

No, the Mavic Air doesn't have a manual switch to Atti mode ... it will go there only if the GPS isn't locked to satellites & the VPS sensors can't lock to a ground pattern, only then it's left to Atti. (See page 11 in the downloadable manual)

Deleted member 114292 · Apr 15, 2020

kwolfskill said:
Still a very new flier so I'm not sure if what I think actually did happen, or not.

I was flying my Mavic Air on Sat. about 30 feet above ground near me. Wind was about 10 mph and gusting, (not good at estimating wind speed yet). I was hovering, when a really big wind gust hit the Air from the side and slewed it probably 25 feet away from the spot I had been hovering.

Then I think the drone flew itself back to the spot that it had been hovering, without any input from me. Is that possible, or am I remembering wrong and it just held whatever position it ended up at after the wind gust, and would have needed me to fly it back to the original spot?

No, Yes, Yes

DanMan32 · Apr 15, 2020

I agree the Air would use GPS to stabilize position, but if it drifted significantly such as several feet due to external forces, such as a heavy wind gust, I would expect it to hover in its new position.

Keule · Apr 15, 2020

Watch this YT video (4:50)

Dave Maine · Apr 16, 2020

My ma always returns to the position that it as pushed away from if there was good satellite coverage and no stick movements. You can feel it fighting against being displaced.

MavicFlyer · Apr 27, 2020

kwolfskill said:
Truly amazing technology in these things. I'll have to try the "pull it away from its hover spot" next time I'm out.

Yes, the Air has ATTI, but after trying to fly a few toy drones inside, that I could never get trimmed properly so that they would hover, I'll stick to flying outside for now.

I had a couple of non-GPS drones before getting my MA. The problem with those drones is that even if you used trim to hover in place, as soon as the wind changed, you'd have to correct for it, or watch it drift off. Trimming is valid only until the wind changes, at which time you have to re-trim...it can get to be very frustrating, especially for a newbie. There was even some drift in the house, with forced air heating, though much less than outside.

NOLADG · Apr 27, 2020

I have had many flights on my Mavic Air, but yesterday it impressed me once again and made me ask, "Is the Mavic Air really this smart?"

Before flying the MA said it could not take off because the battery was not properly inserted. Sure enough I could see a bit of red on the battery latch on one side. I guess this is the first time I didn't get the battery in all the way, but I was impressed it was able to tell.

droneloverair · May 3, 2020

When i put on battery i always push it some more through the length of the battery to make sure it is seated. I then angle it on kts side and push forward the side lock latches just to make sure it is well seated and a visual check for red color would seal my confidence before i even turn it on.