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New guy learning to fly...

I had "lots" of experience with my MA1 before I got my MA2. I crashed the MA2 because I have a backyard like yours (trees, water, etc) and I did not study the MA2 manual beyond the basics. So my advice is to study the MA2 crash reports (including mine) on this forum, and train yourself to avoid all of their various errors. The low battery RTH snuck up on me, and did not handle trees well. Now I know how to watch the screen for the right data, to avoid surprises, and to take back manual control if circumstances allow. The hay field sounds perfect!
 
Yesterday I did just that, played with the RTH. Have a 10 acre grass field, I built a landing pad to take off and land on and did the RTH from about 3-4 different places and altitudes and it landed perfect every time. it was a bit unnerving letting it fly itself, but so far so good.

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Oh yes and now you are confident in RTH.

Don’t use it anymore, fly it in everytime. As an exercise it’s great for your flying. Just RTH every now and then to remind yourself but nothing more.

Also put hand take-offs & landings on your to-learn list. They are easer then I thought they would be. And will come in handy in future flights when an appropriate take off area is not suitable. Some good YouTube tutorials from memory when I learnt,

Fun times.
 
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If you never ever flown any RC model I really recommend a sim and a cheap non gps quad that has an acro mode and a stability mode learn how to fly before you use your really expensive drone that flys it’s self then when a problem does arrive you can handle it a lot better. Just my advice of 20+ years in the rc hobbie it will save you in the end and make you a better pilot.
I have a non GPS drone, Daughter bought it for me a year or so ago, you fly it with an app on a phone like the DJI's , problem is if you have it in the air and look down at the phone for a second.... its GONE... wont hover instead it wanders!! It is one of the main reasons I almost gave up on drone flying!! I'll stick with my very expensive MA2.. but thanks.

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You’ve gotten some great advice already. When I started flying, someone on here told me “height is your friend” (unless it’s too windy). I found this to be true. I can send her up to 200’ and (around here) not worry about trees or high power lines. I can let the grandkids fly it up there without worry. As you progress, you’ll want to drop it down to get the video or photo you want. I’ve found that keeping my eye on the screen is easier than trying to watch the bird, and with 10 acres, you won’t have any concerns about VLOS. Best wishes and enjoy the sport!
P.S. There is a free app called UAV forecast that predicts how strong the wind gusts are at any given height in your area. If they’re more than 20 mph at 200’ I don’t put my mini up but I hear your Air2 will do much better in wind. It’s limiting but safe. Also, nice deer stand!
Thanks, I'm working on all this and learning. I have that UAV forecast app, I took a screen shot of it a second ago..it shows wind at 5mph with gusts to 13...But it also says "not good to fly" t the top.. why do you think?

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Look for the red box. In your case it says 11.7 satellites locked which they feel is not enough to fly safely. I probably should not tell you this, however, if it were me I would take it straight up about 20’ and hover until the voice tells you that the home point is good, then I would go ahead and fly but that’s just me. Others will confirm or they may tell you it’s bad advice, but that’s what I’ve been doing. ??‍♂️
 
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Oh yes and now you are confident in RTH.

Don’t use it anymore, fly it in everytime. As an exercise it’s great for your flying. Just RTH every now and then to remind yourself but nothing more.

Also put hand take-offs & landings on your to-learn list. They are easer then I thought they would be. And will come in handy in future flights when an appropriate take off area is not suitable. Some good YouTube tutorials from memory when I learnt,

Fun times.
I'm not sure I would say "confident" maybe "more confident", and yeah, I figure I'll only use it here and there. I was using the "take off" feature and landing it myself but then I found out how to start the propellers and take off myself. I'll admit I usually use the take off feature and manually land it anyway.
Hand takeoffs?? like from my hand?? Hmmmm, maybe if I wear a motorcycle helmet and gloves or something!! My arms aren't long enough to keep that thing safely out of my face! Maybe someday...
 
Look for the red box. In your case it says 11.7 satellites locked which they feel is not enough to fly safely. I probably should not tell you this, however, if it were me I would take it straight up about 20’ and hover until the voice tells you that the home point is good, then I would go ahead and fly but that’s just me. Others will confirm or they may tell you it’s bad advice. ??‍♂️
Thanks for the lesson, how many satellites should I have? When I hit the take off button it pops up 2-3 feet and as I hover there making sure everything is ok it does tell me "home point updated" or some such... so I should wait for that before I continue?
 
I guess I'm wondering if there is some sort of progressive "exercises" I can do to get better at smooth flying... turning, changing altitude and things all at the same time and smoothly?


When I first got my DJI Spark in 2017, I went to an empty field with a short piece of electrical conduit to pound in the ground and slid a 10 foot piece of PVC pipe over that, with an ATV / bicycle flag that is about another six feet taped on the top of that.

It gave me something to focus on when practicing orbiting, panning / tilt and fly by shots.

It's been said that a pincher has more control than a thumber when working the joysticks.

Pinch the sticks with the thumb and finger rather than resting the thumbs on top like a game controller.

If your fingers are long enough, you may be able to tilt the camera at the same time of flying around something for nice cinematic shots.

If you don't have one already, a lanyard is nice to have so you won't fumble around and drop the remote with the device.

Here's what I did using a rubber O ring.


Good luck and have fun. :)
 
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Thanks for the lesson, how many satellites should I have? When I hit the take off button it pops up 2-3 feet and as I hover there making sure everything is ok it does tell me "home point updated" or some such... so I should wait for that before I continue?
If you hear home point updated, I personally would fly. There are many more knowledgeable on here that can give you more definitive information. I only have a little over 200 miles flying so I don’t qualify as an expert. And yes, wait for the “home point updated” in hovering before you fly.
 
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Thanks for the lesson, how many satellites should I have? When I hit the take off button it pops up 2-3 feet and as I hover there making sure everything is ok it does tell me "home point updated" or some such... so I should wait for that before I continue?

Yes. Wait for Ms. DJI to announce the HOME POINT.

Too many stories of lost aircraft because the pilot was too eager to launch and the wind took it away because the GPS hasn't been secured for flight and are flying via ATTI MODE if higher than the VPS.

Usually ten satellites is good.

The UAV app can be set to different settings if you'd like.
 
Thanks for the lanyard idea, I'll look into it for sure.
 
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One other thought... since you have such a nice drone and live in the USA, you might want to look into State Farm insurance. My premium in PA is $45 per year and it’s worth every penny for the peace of mind. Another benefit is you don’t have to produce the drone in order to collect. It does not include liability however.
 
I am absolutely blessed to be on wonderful terms with our airport manager who has given me a standing invite to fly down at the airport whenever I would like. When I was studying for my part107 he gave me some area maps to study from and answered all my stupid questions :) I realize this is only going to work for folks out in the sticks like me. Larger airports are going to be problematic ;)

I took him up on his offer the other day to diagnose a problem, and it was wonderful, huge concrete apron with an open field on 3 sides - lots of room. My 3 batteries went faster than I would have liked!

Probably the best part, with the 12-foot security fence around the property, no general public milling about like a random parking lot somewhere.
 
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One other thought... since you have such a nice drone and live in the USA, you might want to look into State Farm insurance. My premium in PA is $45 per year and it’s worth every penny for the peace of mind. Another benefit is you don’t have to produce the drone in order to collect. It does not include liability however.
What does it cover that the Care Refresh does not other than supplying the crashed drone?

So quick funny story: The wife was looking at our CC bill and saw the charge to DJI for $79 asked what it was so I told her about the Care Refresh... she said to go find something to crash into so we got our moneys worth!!!:p
 
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What does it cover that the Care Refresh does not other than supplying the crashed drone?

So quick funny story: The wife was looking at our CC bill and saw the charge to DJI for $79 asked what it was so I told her about the Care Refresh... he said to go find something to crash into so we got our moneys worth!!!:p
There is zero deductible and if you land in a tall tree or water where are you cannot retrieve it, it doesn’t matter to State Farm.
 
I am absolutely blessed to be on wonderful terms with our airport manager who has given me a standing invite to fly down at the airport whenever I would like. When I was studying for my part107 he gave me some area maps to study from and answered all my stupid questions :) I realize this is only going to work for folks out in the sticks like me. Larger airports are going to be problematic ;)

I took him up on his offer the other day to diagnose a problem, and it was wonderful, huge concrete apron with an open field on 3 sides - lots of room. My 3 batteries went faster than I would have liked!

Probably the best part, with the 12-foot security fence around the property, no general public milling about like a random parking lot somewhere.
Man , thats nice!! I do have 100 acres here with a couple open fields to practice in.. a 10 ac and a 7 ac field, and LOTS of trees in between, I do not have a high fence around it but I'm in the middle of nowhere and BETTER NOT have anyone milling around! ;-)
 
There is zero deductible and if you land in a tall tree or water where are you cannot retrieve it, it doesn’t matter to State Farm.
I'll have to check it out.. do you have to have car or home ins with them? I have geico for both, I'll have to see what they offer.
 
I'll have to check it out.. do you have to have car or home ins with them? I have geico for both, I'll have to see what they offer.
You don’t have to have your other insurance with them and it’s called personal property insurance. I’ll try to find the letter from State Farm which includes the requirements and send it to you as a PM.
 
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You don’t have to have your other insurance with them and it’s called personal property insurance. I’ll try to find the letter from State Farm which includes the requirements and send it to you as a PM.
Ok thanks.
 
Welcome to the forum from Chicago the Windy City.
You received tons of advice, add one other thing. Check out Mavic tips on how to prevent flyaways as well. Because none of us knew what we were doing when we started flying. Practice, and more practice FLYING. And, may you keep the rotors pointing upward.
 

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