New Flyer...Rethinking my Purchase.

[Hivoltage]

Hi, I just got my Mavic, it is still in the unopened box. I have been playing with smaller quad copters and having a blast. I was expecting a "sticky" on this forum for newbies with things to get prepared for the first flight, but see none. ( Anybody know of one) ?.

That being said.....after reading about all the FAA hassle, no fly zones, problems, issues, flyaways , crashes for no apparent reason,etc., I might send this thing back. Just seems like from the research I have done on here, this thing is more trouble than fun. Dont want any fines, people complaining, shot out of the sky, things like that. Just looking for some positive advise. I used to fly RC helicopters so flying the thing is the least of my worries. Thanks!

 

[msinger]

after reading about all the FAA hassle, no fly zones, problems, issues, flyaways , crashes for no apparent reason,etc., I might send this thing back. Just seems like from the research I have done on here, this thing is more trouble than fun.

This is a place where many people gather to discuss problems, so you're always going to see these things being discussed if you come here looking for them. As for the crashes/flyaways, you'll see many are caused by pilot error if you take the time to dig deep into those issues.

I was expecting a "sticky" on this forum for newbies with things to get prepared for the first flight

The best thing you can do is read, understand, and follow the recommendations in the Mavic manual. You can download it from the Mavic downloads page.

 

[RamItOne]

I had some trepidation as well and by no means have much flight time but so far it's been a blast. Do you travel? Just keeping it for that reason alone makes it worth it, 5 min of flight will get you amazing pics/vids, can't imagine getting a fine that quickly. Is there a restocking fee? You could easily get full or 95% selling it on eBay, these things aren't that readily available

 

[Foxtrot Uniform]

Probably for the best...

 

[darren6270]

As stated above, most people are on here talking about problems and issues. This thing is so much fun and I have not had any problems (that weren't cause by me!). Enjoy it, be careful and I am sure you will be fine.

 

[tcope]

Probably should do some research _before_ spending $1200.

Seems like you are ignoring the thousands of people who are having a great time with their Mavics. Look how many people are members here. Look how many people are buying drones. If most were having issues, they would not be selling that many.

Is some care and research needed in order to fly? Yes. If you don't have much use for a done then you might not have want to bought one. This does not take away from the what the drone is or that it works very well.

 

[Hivoltage]

Thanks for the positive advice, except "Probably for the best" which is of no help whatsoever. No restocking fee, I bought it off of Amazon. Never thought that mostly problems discussed on here which is a good thing.

 

[Richard X]

No problems with my mav. Flys like a dream and takes great vid/pics. I'm truly happy with my purchase. There is a learning curve but anything worth doing is going to have a bit of that. Drone on

 

[Achilles]

You should send it back.

If your attitude is thus without even a single flight logged / the experience is already poisoned.

 

[Hivoltage]

There is no attitude, I am just asking if everybody is having problems. It sounds like that is not the case.

 

[sdharris]

Check out airmap.com, read the FAA guidelines or your countries equivalent and if there is not a place you can fly it within 30 minutes of home take it back, if you still have it, read the manual a couple of times, check with the wife or husband one last time, if you still have it, get that thing out of the box and go have fun.

Its the best, and most reliable UAV I have had and its my 5th in as many years.

 

[Racenviper]

I would suggest you unbox and marvel at the engineering of it, then 30 seconds later read the manual. Load DJI GO 4 app on you favorite device. Remove the props so you don't fly inside and run the simulator.

Had mine 3 weeks before I could get a warm day to take it outside.

 

[Soundtekk]

It's great fun and exploring both the flying and video aspect is a challenge. Look into other apps too, down the line. Very rewarding experience.
Before you fly the first time, write a checklist and follow it religiously and you will have the opportunity to film and take pictures you haven't had before.
There are lots of people here who have had issues as msinger has said, mostly caused by not paying attention, flying 3 miles away, not following the instructions.
Go fly it and have fun!!

 

[Capra Vecinului]

We spend so much time here BECAUSE we love this thing I for sure wouldn't want to give it back, after I have waited almost 3 months for such an amazing piece of technology!

 

[Soundtekk]

It's great fun and exploring both the flying and video aspect is a challenge. Look into other apps too, down the line. Very rewarding experience.
Before you fly the first time, write a checklist and follow it religiously and you will have the opportunity to film and take pictures you haven't had before.
There are lots of people here who have had issues as msinger has said, mostly caused by not paying attention, flying 3 miles away, not following the instructions.
Go fly it and have fun!!

PreFlight Checklist

I saw some PreFlight Checklists posted here and on the net so I gleaned some info and put together a checklist that has been working for me. I'm attaching copies of the checklist to this post in Pages, Word and PDF format in case anyone wants to add/subtract items. The original was made with Pages so the Word version may require some formatting. The forum would not accept the Word or Pages document so I posted the links to my Dropbox account.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/58082910/Mavic Pro Pre-Flight Checklist.pages

[url=https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/58082910/Mavic%20Pro%20Pre-Flight%20Checklist.docx]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/58082910/Mavic Pro Pre-Flight Checklist.docx

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmavicpilots%2Ecom%2Findex%2Ephp%3Fposts%2F94017%2F&share_tid=7320&share_fid=1514257&share_type=t&share_pid=94017[/url]

 

[Soundtekk]

Sorry, the links don't work, but the are in another post on the site, I copied and pasted.

 

[Hivoltage]

Thanks for all the positive comments, I am going to keep it. I live in rural Ohio so I am able to fly if right from my front yard and go in any direction. Then take it on vacations. I just retired and was looking for a hobby. Seen a guy fly his Phantom 3 out over the ocean and back. I was hooked from that point. Being an RC plane and helicopter flyer for years I am not a total newbie to this but much more sophisticated and complicated. We had a $1000 African Grey Parrot fly off into the sunset a few years back so it wouldnt be the first time...LOL.

 

[CyberNate]

Thanks for all the positive comments, I am going to keep it. I live in rural Ohio so I am able to fly if right from my front yard and go in any direction. Then take it on vacations. I just retired and was looking for a hobby. Seen a guy fly his Phantom 3 out over the ocean and back. I was hooked from that point. Being an RC plane and helicopter flyer for years I am not a total newbie to this but much more sophisticated and complicated. .

You've made the right choice! I have over 130 flights and I'm just as excited to fly it now as I was when I got it.

 

[rmadrid20]

There's nothing to worry about, I'm a rook and 9 flights later I'm loving this thing even my wife she never never did fly a drone before and she love it, so don't worry enjoy it, this is one of the pics my wife took yesterday

 

[Hammer]

As with any fairly costly piece of equipment you're going to want to make sure that it is in working condition. Remember this thing flies and has some weight to it, it is not simply a toy drone. It was engineered to fulfill a function. As was mentioned a PreFlight checklist is a must as well as a post flight checklist. Same as you would do with your RC helicopters. Biggest thing to remember is don't let yourself get bit don't be careless and don't overlook things such as calibration, GPS lock, setting a return to home accompanied with a set of parameters to ensure no collisions. Make sure your batteries are fully seated and fully charged. Pay attention to any warnings and get that thing back on the ground as fast as possible if you begin to encounter some issues. I am still waiting to get my mavic and after reading posts in this forum all I'm doing is getting more excited. Use the negative comments that you read as learning material think of it as somebody else learned it the hard way to help the rest of us avoid the problem, taking one for the team if you will. Just remember take your time don't be careless, that's how things and people get hurt.