I would like to apologize in advance for writing too long and not talking about the flight right away. I wanted to share my experiences with this drone and provide some background information regarding safety precautions I'm taking since it's a long-range flight...
Mavic Pro... I have been using this little thing for a while now and I can confidently say that it's amazing! After owning a Phantom 3 Standard and applying modifications for stable flight and extending range, I wanted to make an upgrade. I had to make a choice between P4P and Mavic Pro. Because of Occusync and good reviews, I have picked Mavic. So far, very happy with my choice.
I have been testing and using Mavic regularly. Yes, there are some downsides; small motors are not strong enough to maintain desired speed and direction in windy conditions (Not talking about taking the drone to a beach for a wind resistance test and let it hover for 10 minutes doing useless observations, the real test is to take it for a ride at altitudes more than 150 meters and analyse the flight performance) and 4K camera isn't that good especially in low light conditions. Fortunately, I was already aware of these downsides before I made the purchase. In the end, it's an excellent drone for sure.
I currently reside in a small city and my property is located just outside the populated area which gives me the opportunity to fly my drone without serious signal interferences and obstacles like tall buildings etc...
There is a small airstrip, about 20km east of my usual take-off location, which is currently used for training new pilots for Turkish Airlines. Before my first ever take-off with my Phantom 3, I had called the facility and managed to talk to the guy working at the tower. I notified him regarding my upcoming drone flights and asked him if I need to inform them for my each flight. I also provided information about my location so my flight path isn't inside the zone of approach and take-off. He told me, as long as I fly less than 500m of altitude (the actual elevation of my location, not sea level), I wouldn't have any problems. I had responded that I often spot training aircraft flying at an altitude less than 500m and it looks real close around 250 meters... The operator at the tower claimed it's just a optical issue that aircraft seems close...in fact it's really high enough. I replied, Ok I did my best doing my civic duty and report my flight and asking for a procedure if there's any other than keeping my eyes peeled for air traffic and keep my senses aware all the time for other flying vehicles... So no issues there.
I have been doing long range tests for a while. First with Phantom 3 Standard (my record about 2.5km) and now with my Mavic. When the battery was new, I was able to do 5km runs regularly with Sport Mode activated and 4k recording initialized with fairly windy conditions. As the battery deteriorated over time and the software/firmware updates with bugs, now I'm getting lesser results lately which bothers me. My average had dropped to 4km in fairly windy conditions. Few days prior to this video, I attempted a range test with Sport mode on and camera recording btw it was very windy if not stormy. I managed to hit 4km but I barely made it back with only %6 juice left in the battery. I will share that video later. Even though I don't do it very often and I know it isn't good for my battery, I'm comfortable with flying my drone to a level which the battery is dried to the bone.
In this video;
Wind speed is less than 10kmh, good visibility and fair air temperature-pressure which I can share my flight data from Airdata UAV site if a fellow drone pilot is interested to see.
Sport mode and front sensors disabled
No video recording-rendering
Battery %100
No battery mods, there is about 20 charge on the battery ( I own two battery packs) and some occasions it was drained to the bottom...
No antenna mods, no transmitter mods, no signal boosters, no windsurfers ( BTW I tested the windsurfer for both of my drones, totally useless for extending the range)
I managed to achieve 5.5km but I chickened out and returned because I couldn't anticipate the wind direction and speed 5 km away. After reviewing the footage, I got upset... realized that I could have gone further, an easy one more kilometer, even 7 km benchmark and return home with less than %10 juice left in the battery. I know now I could have done 7 but it's my theory.
What do you think fellow drone pilots? Do you think I could have gone 7 km ?
Please share your opinions about my flight...
Thank you for your time reading this and for your feedback...
Mavic Pro... I have been using this little thing for a while now and I can confidently say that it's amazing! After owning a Phantom 3 Standard and applying modifications for stable flight and extending range, I wanted to make an upgrade. I had to make a choice between P4P and Mavic Pro. Because of Occusync and good reviews, I have picked Mavic. So far, very happy with my choice.
I have been testing and using Mavic regularly. Yes, there are some downsides; small motors are not strong enough to maintain desired speed and direction in windy conditions (Not talking about taking the drone to a beach for a wind resistance test and let it hover for 10 minutes doing useless observations, the real test is to take it for a ride at altitudes more than 150 meters and analyse the flight performance) and 4K camera isn't that good especially in low light conditions. Fortunately, I was already aware of these downsides before I made the purchase. In the end, it's an excellent drone for sure.
I currently reside in a small city and my property is located just outside the populated area which gives me the opportunity to fly my drone without serious signal interferences and obstacles like tall buildings etc...
There is a small airstrip, about 20km east of my usual take-off location, which is currently used for training new pilots for Turkish Airlines. Before my first ever take-off with my Phantom 3, I had called the facility and managed to talk to the guy working at the tower. I notified him regarding my upcoming drone flights and asked him if I need to inform them for my each flight. I also provided information about my location so my flight path isn't inside the zone of approach and take-off. He told me, as long as I fly less than 500m of altitude (the actual elevation of my location, not sea level), I wouldn't have any problems. I had responded that I often spot training aircraft flying at an altitude less than 500m and it looks real close around 250 meters... The operator at the tower claimed it's just a optical issue that aircraft seems close...in fact it's really high enough. I replied, Ok I did my best doing my civic duty and report my flight and asking for a procedure if there's any other than keeping my eyes peeled for air traffic and keep my senses aware all the time for other flying vehicles... So no issues there.
I have been doing long range tests for a while. First with Phantom 3 Standard (my record about 2.5km) and now with my Mavic. When the battery was new, I was able to do 5km runs regularly with Sport Mode activated and 4k recording initialized with fairly windy conditions. As the battery deteriorated over time and the software/firmware updates with bugs, now I'm getting lesser results lately which bothers me. My average had dropped to 4km in fairly windy conditions. Few days prior to this video, I attempted a range test with Sport mode on and camera recording btw it was very windy if not stormy. I managed to hit 4km but I barely made it back with only %6 juice left in the battery. I will share that video later. Even though I don't do it very often and I know it isn't good for my battery, I'm comfortable with flying my drone to a level which the battery is dried to the bone.
In this video;
Wind speed is less than 10kmh, good visibility and fair air temperature-pressure which I can share my flight data from Airdata UAV site if a fellow drone pilot is interested to see.
Sport mode and front sensors disabled
No video recording-rendering
Battery %100
No battery mods, there is about 20 charge on the battery ( I own two battery packs) and some occasions it was drained to the bottom...
No antenna mods, no transmitter mods, no signal boosters, no windsurfers ( BTW I tested the windsurfer for both of my drones, totally useless for extending the range)
I managed to achieve 5.5km but I chickened out and returned because I couldn't anticipate the wind direction and speed 5 km away. After reviewing the footage, I got upset... realized that I could have gone further, an easy one more kilometer, even 7 km benchmark and return home with less than %10 juice left in the battery. I know now I could have done 7 but it's my theory.
What do you think fellow drone pilots? Do you think I could have gone 7 km ?
Please share your opinions about my flight...
Thank you for your time reading this and for your feedback...
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