Mavic Mini in the Dominican Republic

[Kbviper]

I have had a Mavic Pro and two P4s for several years. My wife and I travel to the Dominican Republic a couple of times a year, but I have never taken a drone on a commercial aircraft. I have been flying a Mavic Mini at work since December and have been impressed with it, particularly considering the price point.

I had done a lot of reading online in relation to flying a drone in the DR and saw that there was an application (in Spanish) that you could send to the authorities there requesting permission to fly a drone there while on holidays. The majority opinion was that the application was only required for drones over 2 lbs.

I purchased a MM Fly More Combo and took it to Puerto Plata earlier this month. The three battery charger (with batteries) with the Fly More Combo fits perfectly in the Li-Po bag made for a P4 battery. I took the charger/batteries in my carry-on luggage in the li-po bag and the MM in the factory case in my hard sided checked luggage. No issue with customs either at the Canada or the DR airport, coming or going.

The first morning I walked down to the beach to fly, there was a Mavic Pro being flown along the edge of the beach. The pilot was a short distance away on the beach in front of another resort, but no one bothered him. I approached the pilot, after he landed, and spoke to him, but he did not speak English. We were staying at a resort in the Playa Dorada complex, which comprises of about 10 resorts, golf course, tourist mall, etc, all fenced in and patrolled by security.

I got 6 flights in during the week that we were there. I always walked well away from any resorts before launching the drone, stayed well away from any people, and didn't have any issues with staff, security, or other tourists. The MM can be very hard to see in certain conditions, but in a case like this, I appreciated how hard it was to see.

I was very happy with the pictures and video and will be taking the MM back to DR when we go back in April.

A few pictures:

 

[Phantomrain.org]

The beach is my Favorite, .

 

[Kbviper]

The beach is my Favorite, .

I would agree. As you can see by the empty chairs, it was early morning, and there was no one around yet. Within a couple of hours, every chair would be full.

One lesson I learned for the next trip is to take more photos straight down, particularly along the beach.

A couple more. Flew off a towel to minimize sand exposure.

 

[Rog42]

Nice work.

I have similar experiences with the Spark and Air, but looking forward to the flight time MM would afford when I travel.

This was a Spark photo whilst diving in Truk Lagoon a couple of years ago. On the boat you pretty much hand launch and land have you tried that with the Mini

It appears the MM is a perfect travel drone.

 

[Kbviper]

Thanks, nice picture. I have not tried hand launching or catching the MM, but it could be done. I think you would have to shut off the downward sensors on the MM, as it goes up when you move your hand up under it.

The P4 is the ideal platform to hand launch and catch, but too cumbersome to travel with. At work I regularly fly a Mavic E Dual and a ME Zoom and the photo quality of the MM is not too far behind those, or the P4 and Mavic Pro, I have myself. In my opinion, the MM is definitely worth the $$. Twenty-four minutes of flying time on 90% battery is the norm with the MM.

 

[Fun Flyer]

Hi guys. Beautiful photos. Just chiming here on the topic of hand launching/catching the MM. There are a few good YouTube videos on the subject.(search hand launching MM) After watching a couple of them, I gave it a try. I’ve now done it several times while hiking in the Palm Springs area mountains and desert. Very handy for keeping the drone out of the dirt and sand.
Hope this helps.
Enjoy your mini.

 

[MavicMan17]

I have not tried hand launching or catching the MM, but it could be done. I think you would have to shut off the downward sensors on the MM

take-off and landing via your hand is possible. Couple pieces of advice. A - if your hand catching wear some sort of work clove on your hand to avoid any cuts by accidently touching a prop.
B- anytime your flying over water with a MM everyone says to turn off or cover the bottom sensors/camera. C - IMPORTANT. CATCHING WITH SENSORS ON or OFF as soon as you grab it, the MM will go crazy trying to get its self out of your hand "with sensors on" as soon as you grab it flip it upside down and it will cut the props on its own!. "sensors off" you will still need to flip it upside down to cut the props but the MM should go crazy trying to get away.

 

[EyesWideShut]

take-off and landing via your hand is possible. Couple pieces of advice. A - if your hand catching wear some sort of work clove on your hand to avoid any cuts by accidently touching a prop.
B- anytime your flying over water with a MM everyone says to turn off or cover the bottom sensors/camera. C - IMPORTANT. CATCHING WITH SENSORS ON or OFF as soon as you grab it, the MM will go crazy trying to get its self out of your hand "with sensors on" as soon as you grab it flip it upside down and it will cut the props on its own!. "sensors off" you will still need to flip it upside down to cut the props but the MM should go crazy trying to get away.

It doesn't go crazy if you do the hand land properly and safely. Just bring it in about head height (or slightly above), put out your hand and slowly descend. The AC sensors will do it's job will sense your hand and stop. You then continue to lower the throttle which overrides the stop and the MM will announce "Landing" and descend down and land gently in your hand as it now thinks that is the ground and OK to land. Leave your hand at that level while continuing to hold the throttle down and the motors will shut off.
Takes longer to explain than to do. No need to turn it on it's side which activates an auto off and the MM's violent attempt to keep level while you try to keep your body parts out of the way. You can also launch/relaunch when the motors are spinning just by lowering your hand. The motors will spin up and hover right there, you don't need to throttle up.

Another option similar to twisting it sideways to shut off the motors is to quickly launch by tossing it in the air (when the motors are idling) and the MM will auto hover. I don't suggest these methods to launch or shut off. Do at your own risk but they do demonstrate a few things about the gyros etc.