More Nor Cal - Total Newbie Mini 1 - private pilot

[CaptL]

Howdie do. First flight with my mini 1 yesterday,
After months of research, this met my real needs for range, duration, picture quality, inside my $250 budget. I combed the used market and found a bird with 4 minutes use ! and fly more, and a nice seller willing to mail it.
Of course, despite my good luck nothing is ever as easy as it should be. 2 days wasted trying to download DJI FLY into a Moto e android 10 phone... and I had to give up and buy Litchi . That installed and worked without hitch !

Yes, I tried CX File Explorer but still no joy with DJI FLY.
Since Litchi is the same code with a better hair cut.. I will stick with it.

It will be interesting to dive into the Part 107 regs. Don't let anybody fool you..., understanding airspace well, is the hardest thing Private Pilots have to learn !

 

[GFields]

Greetings from Birmingham Alabama, welcome to the forum!

 

[dirkclod]

Welcome to the forum.
Please and do be sure you have read our guidelines.
I hope you will find our site helpful and look forward to any input , photo's/video's you might post .
Don't be shy and ask anything if you can't find it by searching .

 

[Gagey52]

Welcome to the forum from the outback of Australia. Look forward to your input on the forum.
Regards

 

[Drone Master]

Welcome to Mavic Pilots! Enjoy the forum!

 

[wjkrysak]

Welcome to the forum. We look forward to your participation and your view of the world.

 

[MA2 317]

Hello from the Crossroads of America CaptL.

Welcome to the Forum.

 

[LoudThunder]

First flight with my mini 1 yesterday,

Welcome from the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, USA. We have a Member's Map in the Upper Right of the Title Bar.

Members map

mavicpilots.com

Even in California, there are a couple of Legal Things you may need to do…

You will need to get your TRUST Certificate. You can get that at the Pilot Institute Web Site (FREE…) . If your Drone weighs less than 250-grams (0.55 pounds) and you are flying under The Exception for Recreational Flyers, you are not required to register your Drone.

I registered my Mini 2 because the TRUST Certificate and FAA Registration established me as a "certified" Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Flyer.

Link to the Pilot Institute Web Site (FREE…)

FAA TRUST Online Portal for Recreational Drone Operators - Pilot Institute

Get your FAA TRUST Certificate of Completion to legally fly drones for recreational reasons in the United States.

trust.pilotinstitute.com

Link to the FAADroneZone (Optional for Drones under 250-Grams…)

FAADroneZone

faadronezone.faa.gov

Since you live in California, there are specific laws and rules for you to follow, please check to ensure these are current.

Drone Laws in California [Updated April 15, 2024]

Drones are allowed in California for recreational and commercial use, subject to FAA and local regulations. Read on for details.

drone-laws.com

Now, for some Good Old Fashion Advice…

Do not let the excitement of the moment get the best of you. When you are going out to fly, do it slowly and deliberately. Get used to a set procedure and even practice it.

There are so many things I could write but these are the highlights that I feel need mentioning.

Plug in your phone/tablet into your controller; turn on the Controller and DJI Fly App (if it does not start on its own…). On the Drone, open the front legs, then open the back legs, then remove the Gimbal Cover.

The Gimbal is the most delicate item on the Drone and banging or bumping can damage it. I also fastened a short "Remove Before Flight" ribbon to the cover so it's more noticeable and I do not forget to remove it…

Turn on the drone and watch it come to "life." Watching the Gimbal go through its self-check is almost like watching a kitten or puppy opening its eyes for the first time…

Place the drone down (preferably on a Landing Pad) while it finishes its self-test (collecting satellites, etc…).

Check your battery status (Phone, Drone, and Controller), check the Signal Strength, by now the Controller should have reported it updated the Home Point.

Lift off, 4-5 feet (1-1/2 meters) or so, hover a bit, check the controls (move the drone a bit forward, back, left, right, yaw left and right). By now, your Controller will probably report again, Home point Updated.

If you go out in a rush and race thru your start up and take off before the drone has finished it prep, it may update its Home Point over that pond or that old tree you are flying over and in your excitement, you'll fly the drone long past it Low Battery point and when it engages Return to Home and lands in the pond or in a tree; it will be all on you…

Now go have fun, learn to fly the drone by sight before you try to fly it out a distance depending on the video feed, FPV.

I would also advise you to use YouTube and watch a lot of the Videos on flying and setting up the Drone. When it is too dark, too cold, or too wet, you can "fly it vicariously" through YouTube. Also watch some of the Blooper Drone Videos and learn how not to fly your "New Baby."

Below is the link to all of the downloads offered by DJI for the Mini, including the User Manual.

After you read the Manual, read it again, you will be surprised what you missed the first time and you will be better prepared for that first "scary moment…"

Mavic Mini - Download Center - DJI

At DJI Download Center, Learn aboutMavic Mini

www.dji.com

Happy, Safe and Legal Droning…

 

[msinger]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Chaosrider]

Howdie do. First flight with my mini 1 yesterday,
After months of research, this met my real needs for range, duration, picture quality, inside my $250 budget. I combed the used market and found a bird with 4 minutes use ! and fly more, and a nice seller willing to mail it.
Of course, despite my good luck nothing is ever as easy as it should be. 2 days wasted trying to download DJI FLY into a Moto e android 10 phone... and I had to give up and buy Litchi . That installed and worked without hitch !

Yes, I tried CX File Explorer but still no joy with DJI FLY.
Since Litchi is the same code with a better hair cut.. I will stick with it.

It will be interesting to dive into the Part 107 regs. Don't let anybody fool you..., understanding airspace well, is the hardest thing Private Pilots have to learn !

I'm a "Vine Reviewer" on Amazon, and I've reviewed a bunch of drones, including several DJI drones. including the Mini-1. For all of the DJI drones, I make a point to say in the review that potential buyers should see if their phone will download and run DJI Fly before buying it, because a lot of phones won't run it.

After a fly-away on my first low-end training drone (which was recovered 10 months later!), I ordered my first Mini-2 last year. When it arrived I was ecstatic, and as excited as a kid on Christmas morning. And then absolutely devastated, when I found out that DJI Fly wouldn't run on my phone. It never would have occurred to me that would be a problem.

In my case, I had a low-end phone that I'd been thinking about replacing anyway, so it wasn't that big a deal, but I think people should know that in advance.

But you mention something that has confused me for a while. I've been under the impression that Litchi required DJI Fly to work; that it runs "on top of" DJI Fly. However, what I think you're saying is that Litchi will run stand-alone, even on a phone that can't run DJI Fly.

Is that right?

Thx

 

[Tarmactripper]

Hello from the u.k. newbie drone pilot also

 

[Laborous]

Welcome to the forum from the beautiful woods of Maine!
At 122 years old, you are doing great manipulating these complicated electronic devices!

 

[Chetk7677]

Welcome from central Florida.

 

[@Rip]

Welcome to the forum from Yachats, Oregon! "Cali" has a lot of great places to fly and a bunch of restrictions as well. (I consider myself a newbe too always learning) 2 years of flights at least a couple times a week with my M2P. When I get my raincoat I'll be in the air a lot more! If you get "stumped" this is the best place to come!

 

[BSauce955]

Welcome to the forum from the dry lakeless hills of Lake City FL. An irony... I know. If lakes grew here as much as your knowledge will, Lake City would become an ocean.

Welcome again!

 

[Kendallfordguy]

Welcome from Wisconsin!

 

[dirkclod]

Welcome to the forum.
Please and do be sure you have read our guidelines.
I hope you will find our site helpful and look forward to any input , photo's/video's you might post .
Don't be shy and ask anything if you can't find it by searching .