MA cloaking ability

thongbong · Feb 17, 2018

Has anyone flown their MA and looked up and couldn't see it, even though you knew exactly where it was. This thing is like a freakin ghost! If I take my eye off of it for a second I cant find it again, and this is LOS. I never had this happen with the MP. It's like a freakin Klingon Bird of Prey; cloaking on captain.

AeroMirage · Feb 17, 2018

Yeah, hard to see......
I set one of the custom switches to turn red LEDS on / off so I can find mine.

thongbong · Feb 17, 2018

AeroMirage said:
Yeah, hard to see......
I set one of the custom switches to turn red LEDS on / off so I can find mine.

ha! same. I was flying mine just 50 feet over my head, and it wasn't even fully dark yet. Could hear it but could not see it at all.

fanni · Feb 17, 2018

Thought I was the only one forever spend most of my time looking up thinking bloody hell where did it go to eventually find it right in front of me

turbodronepilot · Feb 17, 2018

AeroMirage said:
I set one of the custom switches to turn red LEDS on / off so I can find mine.

I looked for a off switch for the lights but couldn't find it..
Would you mind explaining where to find it in the go4 app?

turbodronepilot · Feb 17, 2018

fanni said:
Thought I was the only one forever spend most of my time looking up thinking bloody **** where did it go to eventually find it right in front of me

Same here! I thought this thing was loud....
I can't hear or see it until it's right on top of me...
I think I'm in love with my mavic air.....

AeroMirage · Feb 17, 2018

turbodronepilot said:
I looked for a off switch for the lights but couldn't find it..
Would you mind explaining where to find it in the go4 app?

In the RC settings it is one of the options to the 2 customizable buttons.

stonecherub · Feb 17, 2018

I bought a couple of "high intensity" strobes from Firehouse to velcro onto mine so that I might be able to see it. On the trial day in the Sonoran Desert sun, I lost it before it got all the way across the Home Depot parking lot, about 100 m. I was only able to track it that far by keeping it between me and a large tree on the far side.

Then I found the YouTube video ....

synaesthesia · Feb 19, 2018

thongbong said:
Has anyone flown their MA and looked up and couldn't see it, even though you knew exactly where it was. This thing is like a freakin ghost! If I take my eye off of it for a second I cant find it again, and this is LOS. I never had this happen with the MP. It's like a freakin Klingon Bird of Prey; cloaking on captain.

Yeah, even flying with two spotters who're doing nothing but keeping an eye on the drone, we still keep losing mine once it's 50 meters or so away. Quite a few instances over the weekend with perfect visibility where we could only hear the drone even though it was supposedly close to us.

MavicMo · Feb 19, 2018

Yeah, It's easy to lose sight of even not that far away. Like you said, I'll take my eyes off for a second and look back up and I can't find it... I'm thinking maybe putting a reflective, like foil, wrap on it...

msinger · Feb 19, 2018

MavicMo said:
I'm thinking maybe putting a reflective, like foil, wrap on it...

Or maybe some lightweight strobe lights like the STROBON Cree strobe lights?

pfflyerman · Feb 20, 2018

thongbong said:
Has anyone flown their MA and looked up and couldn't see it, even though you knew exactly where it was. This thing is like a freakin ghost! If I take my eye off of it for a second I cant find it again, and this is LOS. I never had this happen with the MP. It's like a freakin Klingon Bird of Prey; cloaking on captain.

...look into Firehouse Cree Strobe Lights from Firehouse Technology. I purchased a two led unit but have not used it as of yet. Even though for night flying it is purported to be FAA 107 compliant and comes in various configurations such as 1, 2 or 4 bulbs...is rechargable... small enough to velcro to your MAir, negligible weight and comes in red or white. Reviews I read say that it increases daytime visibility. I am going to mount one on the underside of my Spark and Mavic Air in hopes of making my drone more visible during daytime VLOS operation. Just a suggestion.

inodes · Feb 20, 2018

This thread is SO TRUE. I find it vanishes quickly. It's a stealth drone despite the initial buzz. I had a group of people helping me keep LOS. Thankfully there were clouds we could use to refer to where it was.

dvarapala · Feb 20, 2018

thongbong said:
Has anyone flown their MA and looked up and couldn't see it, even though you knew exactly where it was. This thing is like a freakin ghost! If I take my eye off of it for a second I cant find it again, and this is LOS. I never had this happen with the MP. It's like a freakin Klingon Bird of Prey; cloaking on captain.

It's even harder to find an MPP because they are so much quieter.

NestleQuik · Feb 21, 2018

Yea i fly mines with strobes even in the daytime

thongbong · Feb 21, 2018

dvarapala said:
It's even harder to find an MPP because they are so much quieter.

It is quieter, but whats the fun in that. lol. but honestly, It was much easier to spot my MP with quiet blades then it was with the MA. I turned off the status light in the back and it is completely invisible at dusk.

MavicFlyer · Mar 15, 2018

How about mounts for Mavic Air? Anybody know of any?

I have the PGYTECH leg extender set, and was thinking perhaps I can attach a little Velcro piece to the back of one of the rear rotor arm brackets see areas circled in red in the pic below, and then attach a Firehouse Cree. One potential problem is the small area...the good part is that I wouldn’t need to add anything to the rotor arms. BTW, I always fly with the leg extenders on.