Mini Maiden voyage and last flight of the intrepid SlothAir

[ckoerner]

Newbie here who just got a new Mini 2 (dubbed “SlothAir” by my wife) and took the family to the park for a first day of flying. At the end of the day I got to test out the DJI Care Refresh service.

I made a little video with some of my better looking footage. The current season is in that weird in-between stage where the green is just starting to pop up replacing the brown. No sound, and mostly peaceful, until the end.

 

[New England Droning]

Ouch...

 

[SkyeHigh]

Just like the tree that jumps out in front of your car as you lose control on a tight bend. Of all the places to mount a post right in your flight path. Dang!

 

[dirkclod]

Well that sucked ?

 

[vindibona1]

First flight, eh?
So much to be said, but I don't think anyone has to tell you.
Sorry for your loss. I feel your pain.

 

[Yogi053]

Good ole Dji refresh eh!

 

[old man mavic]

welcome to the forum ,sorry for the rather painful start ,as has been said many times before ,these drones are very easy to fly ,and just as easy to crash ,hope your replacement comes soon

 

[eaglesurfing]

Welcome to the forum and enjoy.

Please share your pictures, videos and knowledge about your drones.

Thanks for sharing but sorry for your crash.

Wow. I hope everything comes out okay.

 

[Barbara]

Ooops, Sorry to see that and welcome to the forum.

 

[DaveS]

Overall you did a pretty good job of flying. Looks like you were trying out several of the different modes, including Sport mode. You didn't do any jerky movements, at least in this edited video, and that's a big thing for new drone users to get used to. Keep at it and share on this forum often.

 

[ckoerner]

First flight, eh?
So much to be said, but I don't think anyone has to tell you.
Sorry for your loss. I feel your pain.

It's like riding a motorcycle. There are riders who have crashed, and then there are those who haven't yet.

 

[ckoerner]

Y'all are a pretty welcoming group around here. Thanks for the kind words.

 

[vindibona1]

It's like riding a motorcycle. There are riders who have crashed, and then there are those who haven't yet.

Motorcycle? Been there. Done that.

Actually toward the end of your video I thought your drone was going to go swimming and was surprised that its demise was a slow moving bird house. I thought it was gutsy to fly over water on your first flight. But if you weren't already aware, the bottom sensor doesn't do so well over water and a lot of folks learned that lesson the hard way, which is why I thought it was going in as you were so close to the surface.

 

[ckoerner]

I thought it was gutsy to fly over water on your first flight.

Oh totally. I chalk my luck in not going into the water to sheer dumb luck (and ignorance) and my crash into the bird house as sheer dumb. I was way too confident. Lesson learned.

 

[Tentoes]

Ow! Well, you WERE doing pretty good.

 

[GFields]

sorry for your lose

 

[vindibona1]

Oh totally. I chalk my luck in not going into the water to sheer dumb luck (and ignorance) and my crash into the bird house as sheer dumb. I was way too confident. Lesson learned.

I might categorize the flight over the water as not being the smartest thing to do on a maiden voyage and you certainly got too close to it for me as my eyes got kind of wide when I saw how close. But crashing into that bird house is something and anyone could have done, experienced of not. Sometimes small objects are hard to see when approaching, with a wide angle view that doesn't get picked up until you're right on top of them. I saw you try to veer at the last minute and I think an experienced pilot would have just put on the brakes or tried to go above it. Staying away from stuff as new pilot is the best insurance that you'll bring your drone home in one piece as your skills develop. Make sure to check the height of stuff near where you'll be flying before taking off.

I have two suggestions for an accessory to get for the Mini 1 or 2... 1) A lens hood. While it won't save you from a 30mph head on crash, the gimbal is the most fragile and most expensive thing on the drone to fix or replace. A lens hood can prevent the camera/gimbal from taking the full brunt of head-on contact. They're all pretty similar if not exact clones. I think mine is like this one for $7. Mini lens hood 2) A strobe (at least one). IMO there is nothing better to help you maintain a visual on your drone or help you pick up where it's at should you look down at your controller. In my experience it is the difference between being able to see your bird 400 feet out or 1600 feet out. This is the one that I recommend for starting out. $35 @13 grams. Firehouse Arc V anti-collision strobe
I attach mine on the bottom with heavy duty velcro. Their Arc II is lighter and has a mount for the Minis, though not quite as bright, but very good as well.

 

[MavicAir2Marc]

Newbie here who just got a new Mini 2 (dubbed “SlothAir” by my wife) and took the family to the park for a first day of flying. At the end of the day I got to test out the DJI Care Refresh service.

I made a little video with some of my better looking footage. The current season is in that weird in-between stage where the green is just starting to pop up replacing the brown. No sound, and mostly peaceful, until the end.

Welcome to the forum!
Is this the ballfields in Ballwin? I believe that's the ones that have the Martin houses around the fields.

 

[ckoerner]

Welcome to the forum!
Is this the ballfields in Ballwin? I believe that's the ones that have the Martin houses around the fields.

Close (relatively) This was Fenton park and Preslar Lake.

 

[ckoerner]

Here's a picture of the damage if you're into that sort of thing. Note that both arms are cracked, but the one on the right in this photo is hard to see. The one on the left would not close completely without a very gruesome crunch sound.