Letting go

[Music One]

Firstly thanks for all your advice and help that you have given me so far on the forum. I have been flying my Mavic Air now most days for the past few weeks. Having flown radio control planes for many years I really do enjoy flying the MA manually. However I have reached that stage now to just let it go on a reasonable distance flight, but find it extremely difficult in myself to just to let it go out there. I guess I have been flying between 20/30m in height and no more than around 60m distance. As I say, just trying to pluck up the courage to 'boldly go'.

 

[WithTheBirds]

There is no rush, fly further when your comfortable.

I’m guessing your apprehension might be technology based given your experience with other RC aircraft. Virtually no skill is required to pilot our flying cameras (compared to RC aeroplanes and helicopters).

Make sure your RTH settings are right and have fun.

 

[old man mavic]

Firstly thanks for all your advice and help that you have given me so far on the forum. I have been flying my Mavic Air now most days for the past few weeks. Having flown radio control planes for many years I really do enjoy flying the MA manually. However I have reached that stage now to just let it go on a reasonable distance flight, but find it extremely difficult in myself to just to let it go out there. I guess I have been flying between 20/30m in height and no more than around 60m distance. As I say, just trying to pluck up the courage to 'boldly go'.

first of all you are going through what we all went through when we started fly our UAVs,its natural to feel apprehensive about going to far away from your home point,but just keep going further and further with every flight and as you become more comfortable with the capabilities of the UAV you will soon be doing it with out giving it a thought.i do not quite agree with post#2 above there is a lot of skill required to fly our UAVs and keep them in one piece,if that was not so, then there would not be so many crashes,the skill comes from knowing what the UAV will do in different situations, and also knowing when it is safe to fly and being able to react to problems you may encounter,the tech is great but it still needs you to control it happy flying

 

[globetrotterdrone]

No need to rush mate, enjoy whatever distance you feel comfortable with.
Slow and steady wins the race, so don't contribute to the Drone Fails. It's all up to you!

Enjoy, safe and happy flying!

 

[WithTheBirds]

first of all you are going through what we all went through when we started fly our UAVs,its natural to feel apprehensive about going to far away from your home point,but just keep going further and further with every flight and as you become more comfortable with the capabilities of the UAV you will soon be doing it with out giving it a thought.i do not quite agree with post#2 above there is a lot of skill required to fly our UAVs and keep them in one piece,if that was not so, then there would not be so many crashes,the skill comes from knowing what the UAV will do in different situations, and also knowing when it is safe to fly and being able to react to problems you may encounter,the tech is great but it still needs you to control it happy flying

I qualified my comment- Compare any of the DJI drones to a RC heli or aeroplane...... The later you need to learn how to fly. Any of the DJI offerings let the sticks go and it will just hover in place while you collect your thoughts. I made the point with the intent of giving the OP some confidence. The OP’s claimed RC experience should be a monumental head start.

So yes- I agree with you that understanding the technology. Knowing what the app settings do and the telemetry means. Understanding what can go wrong and what options you have when it does. We can and should be focussed here because let us be honest- any donkey can fly one when they are performing correctly.

 

[old man mavic]

I qualified my comment- Compare any of the DJI drones to a RC heli or aeroplane...... The later you need to learn how to fly. Any of the DJI offerings let the sticks go and it will just hover in place while you collect your thoughts. I made the point with the intent of giving the OP some confidence. The OP’s claimed RC experience should be a monumental head start.

So yes- I agree with you that understanding the technology. Knowing what the app settings do and the telemetry means. Understanding what can go wrong and what options you have when it does. We can and should be focussed here because let us be honest- any donkey can fly one when they are performing correctly.

i agree with you that they are very easy to fly compared with fixed wing and helicopters,and was not trying to belittle your comments, but it seems to me from reading all the posts on the forum ,that a lot of people have that mindset that it is so easy to fly with all the tech on board, and they think that they can just let it do what it likes without studying the manual or learning to control it properly in manual mode . it was just my take on things

 

[Music One]

Thanks everyone.. My plan is take take it in small advancements.

 

[Drone on]

A practical way to overcome this anxiety is to gain confidence in the return to home function.
I suggest you fly your usual distance, then press the return to home button. Once you see the thing can perform as promised you'll gain confidence that should you lose connection, the drone will return without your input.
Be sure to set the return to home point, and that your return home altitude will work for your surroundings and give it a go.
After that, test the RTH function again, but a little further out than your norm, and eventually you can let go.
If it weren't for RTH, I would have either been forced to give this up a while back, or been deeper in the expense of this hobby. RTH works well.

 

[Porky]

Getting your confidence up takes time but as the above posts have said, make sure your RTH works and the home point is set correctly. I was the same when I first started flying, just went a bit further each time until I was happy with distance flying BUT with constant VLOS?

 

[kensteele]

i spend a lot of time actually using rth, maybe even twice on each battery. i want to get really comfortable with it and using it to the point where i will be 99% confident i can bring the drone home should i find completely losing vlos a reality. so i fly away, look down, rth alot. eventually i will get into cutting the signal but i haven't found a remote enough location to do just that.

also i practice on changing my home point because i have a tendency to move around alot while flying.

also need to work on locating a downed drone. if i'm out flying and my drone goes down, there won't be time to read the manual, struggle with the controller, or surf this forum looking for answers on how-to.

also get ama liability insurance and state farm insurance; it helps a little with the anxiety.

there just isn't enough time to practice everything and having to drive 30 minutes to get there isn't helping.

 

[old man mavic]

i will also give some words of wisdom about loosing sight of your drone yes there is now doubt that RTH is a life saver in that situation it is all relative to the conditions and battery life left as well,there is as you will know the map screen ,which will show home point and a green line from it to the drones position if you yaw the drone around till the red arrow is pointing towards the home point ,and then you can just bring it closer till you regain VLOS by following the green line it is good to have all the options available but of course even in RTH you can cancel it at any time should you choose

 

[Thomas B]

i will also give some words of wisdom about loosing sight of your drone yes there is now doubt that RTH is a life saver in that situation it is all relative to the conditions and battery life left as well,there is as you will know the map screen ,which will show home point and a green line from it to the drones position if you yaw the drone around till the red arrow is pointing towards the home point ,and then you can just bring it closer till you regain VLOS by following the green line it is good to have all the options available but of course even in RTH you can cancel it at any time should you choose

Good advice!
I’d add to watch your distance from home point and battery life. Be confident that there’s enough battery to get you home. Experiment with it. I have found that when your battery gets below 25% that the depletion of the battery begins to acellerate (ie, the battery power declines at an ever increasing rate).

 

[Music One]

I dont plan on flying a long distances at all, just a bit further than I am at the moment. You have all certainly put my mind at rest. Thanks.

 

[Porky]

I dont plan on flying a long distances at all, just a bit further than I am at the moment. You have all certainly put my mind at rest. Thanks.

You’re more than welcome, enjoy and have fun?

 

[dylanthecat]

Pretty good advice. One thing to note since you are not flying very far away. If you are less than 65’ away, the chopper will just land where it is, and not come home.

 

[Scubadiver1944]

Firstly thanks for all your advice and help that you have given me so far on the forum. I have been flying my Mavic Air now most days for the past few weeks. Having flown radio control planes for many years I really do enjoy flying the MA manually. However I have reached that stage now to just let it go on a reasonable distance flight, but find it extremely difficult in myself to just to let it go out there. I guess I have been flying between 20/30m in height and no more than around 60m distance. As I say, just trying to pluck up the courage to 'boldly go'.

Happens to many of us, I'd say.

 

[Brockrock]

During the early days of RC aircraft, one of the challenges experienced by many was the psychological stress of launching their aircraft on its first flight, especially after having spent hours building and tweaking it, not to mention the money that it cost to do so. Some would say that this was part of the 'charm', and I am among them.

Even with the RC in hand, we still do not have full control when remotely operating a mechanical device in the aerial element. Not only is it afar from us typically, but there are all sorts of unexpected things that could happen - like birds - and a whole host of mechanical failures that could occur. In my mind, understanding and accepting these facts, and doing everything that you can to avoid them, is critical to your enjoyment of this hobby.

DJI has done a lot of the work for us toward full enjoyment of this hobby. They provide what I consider to be reliable hardware and software, and our job is simple. We must fully inspect our props and mounting hubs prior to each flight session, and we must always takeoff with a full, properly attached battery. Failure to prioritize these two things has caused many a failure.