Just got my Mavic Air today! - first thought.

[ericlksdrone]

Hello fellow pilots. I just got my Mavic Air this morning and I'm so excited as this will be my first drone!

After charging it, I went out to fly the beast(which I named Drogon) right away I have never felt so scared in my life before when I fly the drone, thinking that it will crash any minute. Whenever it was near an obstacle my heart skips a heart LMAO. I guess that's how we all felt when we were a newbie pilot eh.

Some thoughts and questions after my first flight:

1. BATTERY : I'm actually quite disappointed with the flight time. On average I would say I only get 13 mins flight time out of each battery (I have 3). Also the battery drains fast even when it is powered on and not flying! As I am an enthusiast photographer, you can imagine I spent some minute to change the settings to make sure that my picture quality and everything is taken care of before I fly. But when I take off that beast, it is already at 80% battery.

My question is that if there is any way to change the camera settings etc without powering on the drone itself. As I want to make sure that my flight time is optimum without wasting any juice to settings changing.

2. CONTROL MODE: As I am a gamer (ps4). I quickly changed my controller mode to 3 as it is more similar to gaming controller. However when I changed it to mode 2 it kinda felt right as well. So I'm debating which is better. Comment below which mode do you use?

3. SD Size: I know there are lots of topic discussing on which SD best suits mavic air. But my question is more on how big is the SD size should I get?

I would like to change an SD card whenever i swap the battery for each flight. Considering each battery flight time is around 15 mins. Would a 16GB SD card be enough or 32GB? Personally I think the 64GB is overkill unless u plan to keep your SD card in there for a few flights. A) how big is the video file size for 4k footage at 15 mins? B) how big is the video file size for 2.7k at 15 mins? C) how big is the video filesize for 1080 at 15mins?

Looking forward for your comments and happy to be part of the discussion!

Regards,
Eric

 

[djiboi]

Regarding sd card size, You will fill around 25gb on 3 batteries using 4k video. I have a 32gb card, flew in the morning, recharged and then went for another fly later in the day. I didn't have my PC near by, and halfway through my 2nd set of batteries I got the dreaded card full message. Personally I would get 64gb to avoid this potential issue. Certainly 32gb as a minimum

 

[Mossiback]

Hi and congrats on your new Air!

1. Battery: You might find better battery life with more use. I am not sure about the Air in particular but rechargeable batteries in general hold a greater charge after they have been cycled a few times. If you keep it close you can trim down the alert times so you can fly longer. You will also get quicker with your setup time. I don't know how long it takes you to get airborne but 20% loss before taking off does seem excessive.
2. Control Mode: I personally stuck with the default as I did not have to re-train from a previous different setup. It has been suggested to stick with the default so you will be familiar with it if/when you fly someone else's bird; of if you let someone fly yours.
3. SD size: What is more important than the size is the speed. A slow card will not be able to record 4K video regardless of it's storage capacity. Since they last a long time, get two of the fastest / highest capacity you can, format them in the Mavic, and be done with it.

 

[Travisimo]

13 minutes of flight time sounds about right if you are taking off with 80% remaining and landing with approximately 15% left. If I am close by and push it to the last bit of battery life, I’ve gotten 20 minutes. But in normal use where I take off with about 98% and land at about 15% I usually get about 17-18 minutes of flight time.

Regarding SD card, I would also recommend 64gb as they are about the sweet spot for cost per gb. You won’t fill it up with one session of 3 flights but in case you ever forget to clear the card, you have some leeway. Just make sure you get one fast enough to handle 4k and 100mbps (a U3 card).

 

[msinger]

My question is that if there is any way to change the camera settings etc without powering on the drone itself

No.

 

[alee]

Flight time will improve if only because you'll get airborne sooner as you get more comfortable... there aren't many reasons to fidget around with settings other than switching modes once you have a setup you're happy with.

My first few flights were filled with "wonder how fast it goes", sudden starts and stops with jerky controller stick movements, and messing with the gimbal. I was trying all different video modes, etc. Battery life suffered immensely during learning. I also didn't trust RTH, and was sending my unit back to home base way too early.

Certainly by my 5th flight or so, I felt like I understood how it handled, felt like I understood the limits, was gentler with the controls, etc. and I became more focused in what my drone was seeing. My flight times were much longer.

 

[BaNZ]

I got my MA this week. I tried using mode 2 for a day and mode 3 for a day. I think I much prefer mode 3 as I'm also a gamer and never flew any RC planes before. However I'm waiting for my Tello to arrive and see if the mode can be changed.

With mode 2, I struggle to use both joysticks at the same time. Whereas mode 3 feels more natural than me.

I also noticed the battery starts to drain fast even when it is not flying!

 

[Jameslavis]

I get about 18 min in winter per battery. I use flight style 3 as I’m a gamer. Second nature to fly now. U3 class Sandisk extreme 64 gb here.

 

[ericlksdrone]

Thanks guys for the response! And yeah the only thing I don't like so far about MA is the short flight time.

 

[Andyp247]

Hi I bought my MA this week so I am a newbie, but from reading all the forums I found out with the SD cards you need to look at the “V” rating ie V30 V60 V90. I found out that V30 is the min for smooth 4K take a look at this table

 

[MavicMo]

As others have pointed out regarding the SD Card, Just make sure you get one that is Super Fast. Buy the fastest one you can.

 

[Jameslavis]

Gotta be a U3 card as well

 

[Jameslavis]

It’s short until you drop it in perspective. In Ontario, it’s illgal to fly out of sight. So I have three batteries. Quick land to switch and back up.

Thanks guys for the response! And yeah the only thing I don't like so far about MA is the short flight time.

 

[Noflo]

I use a 128gb with the fastest up and download speed available... 80 to 100 MB.. the reason for that is it's not easy to change card also with it beening a micro card pulling card in and out will eventually were on slot for card

 

[Split-Second]

I get about 18 min in winter per battery. I use flight style 3 as I’m a gamer. Second nature to fly now. U3 class Sandisk extreme 64 gb here.

How are the controls in mode 3 ?

 

[Jameslavis]

They run like a FPS. Movement left stick, look and rise on right stick.