Learn from me, don't crash your Mavic Mini

[Richy mini]

My humble advice, fly higher!

 

[WDKZoom]

.....yes perhaps you have heard enough about flying around trees.....how about flying over them.

WDK

 

[karlblessing]

well for a start you could be a better pilot by not flying so close to trees
not to mention the birds on the water, that would have been spooked by your drone if you had managed to miss the tree

Yea that wasn't just a matter of oops I went too fast and didn't quite see that tree out of the corner... was right next to it for a good few seconds, had every opportunity to clear the area... but moved forward anyways.

Given that it's also a GPS drone it does have a tiny bit of sway, so it's best to keep several feet of clearance especially from thinner objects.

 

[cameraz]

Having lost 2 drones in the last 6 months, I have learned that trees (and tall buildings) are not your friend. I was not aware of the cross hair on the screen feature. I was using the grid, but that didn't show me where my drone was heading. Also, never fly backwards if you can't see your drone.

 

[Crouching Leopard]

1. Let fear be your friend. If your "butt" cheeks start clenching, or your concience starts nagging you, its time to stop whatever it is your doing.
2. If it looks close in the viewer, its even closer in real life.
3. Situational awareness
4. Trees and birds are not a drones best friends
5. Scout the proposed flying area, look out for obstacles, check the wind direction before taking off. When I flew real-life gliders, we always called out "all clear above and behind" to our wingmen as a safety check before taking off. I now run that check past myself when drone flying.
6. Think how much it will cost to replace the drone and how you are going to explain it to your wife/husband/partner/girlfriend/boyfriend (Please choose whichever is appropriate)
7. Still being a "newbie" and having made many mistakes, one of my first thoughts when flying in dodgy areas or poor weather is "I am 66 years old. Do I really want to end the day again climbing a tree, knocking on a strangers door asking if I can please have my drone back, deep-diving into a frigid, muddy and dirty duck pond (and possibly never coming back up) or waiting for the phone call saying that someone has found my drone. I must be getting better because the answer now is always NO. I go home, read the MavicPilots forum and wait for a better opportunity! A sad but none the less very happy and drone stress-free life. Well almost!

 

[SpitFire]

Welcome to the forum from Chicago the Windy City.
Lots of good advice for you, here is more. Check out Mavic Help, and Mavic TIPS,
on how to avoid crash and Flyaways. And, practice, and more practice flying.
I love flying low, in the woods, but I am in tripod mode, and front sensors on, and have a copilot watching with another set of eyes. Like I said practice, and more practice.

 

[Crouching Leopard]

may i suggest that you find a nice tree free field and practice your drone control by flying squares with the drone facing away from you
then face the drone towards you and see the difference that makes to how the drone moves in relation to the stick movement, practice flying circles then figure of eights and get used to how the drone responds to the stick inputs i know it sounds boring but believe me ,there will come a point when you get the hang of it ,and you will find that your flying becomes much more enjoyable ,even after several years of flying ,i will still find a quiet spot and fly a battery just doing the things i described, it helps to keep my muscle memory up to date ,and knowing how to make those movments has saved me from disaster on several occasions

I have been taking drone flying lessons from a frind who is a Master Aerial Cinematographer, Licenced Drone Pilot, and also a professional photographer who shoots rock concerts, advertising and government promotional videos, weddings, you name it. His gear would make anyone drool but what you describe is exactly what he has been teaching me. His gear can do some very fancy computer-linked stuff without him having to watch, but he still regularly goes out and practices manual flying of what you have described to "keep up his skills". Also, he says there is nothing like the feeling that you can carry out these maneuvers (and others) without relying on technology. It's beginning to work for me too and has a couple of times saved my drone. Valuable lessons and valuable advice.

 

[instructor]

"A superior pilot uses his superior judgement to avoid situations which require the use of his superior skill." - Frank Borman.

Lesson 1: avoid situations
In this case, the situation that is not up to par with your skill level.
Exercise "airmanship", be cautios, be alert, be aware of the environment, know your drone (what it can do, what it CANNOT do), etc.

Lesson 2: learn how to control your aircraft in all direction and all maneuvers, practice in an open field and practice until it's perfect (or how does the saying go? )

 

[cameraz]

"A superior pilot uses his superior judgement to avoid situations which require the use of his superior skill." - Frank Borman.

Lesson 1: avoid situations
In this case, the situation that is not up to par with your skill level.
Exercise "airmanship", be cautios, be alert, be aware of the environment, know your drone (what it can do, what it CANNOT do), etc.

Lesson 2: learn how to control your aircraft in all direction and all maneuvers, practice in an open field and practice until it's perfect (or how does the saying go? )

Reminds me of a large outdoor event downtown that I went to two summers ago. Tons of people, walking around looking at exhibits. I just happened to look up and there was a drone flying among the tall buildings, deftly circling around a church steeple, and generally performing maneuvers that required great skill.

I searched the crowd, looking for the pilot. I finally found a young man with a controller in his hands. "What kind of drone are you flying?" I asked him. "It's a Mavic," he replied. I remarked that he had some great skills. He chuckled and said, "You should see how many drones I've crashed!" He was flying so well that I found that hard to believe.

But yes, everybody is a beginner at one point. But if you learn from your mistakes, you too can become a great pilot. I've had two major drone crashes -- one of them fatal -- and from them I have learned what to do and what not to do in critical situations.

I still consider myself an "amateur" drone pilot, but my older brother, who got his very first drone this year, marvels at my flying. So I must be making progress. ?

 

[Aeroforce 1]

First of all, kudos for the nice, slow pan you did at the beginning. All too often I see whip pans supposedly passing for cinematic shots. But yes, you then proceeded to pull a George of the Jungle (old reference lost on youth). I always follow the old "objects are closer than they appear" axiom when looking at my screen and the UAV. If you fly long enough something like this is just gonna happen. Glad your bird is still flyable.