New Mavic Air Pilot

[MikeCranium]

Hi All,

I am pretty new to Drones I previously had a Phantom 3 which I unfortunately crashed into a tree due to a firmware issue when returning to home but I now fly a Mavic Air.

I didn’t purchase this drone myself as my uncle purchased it for me to fly 99% of the time and I have the fear that I may crash it or something may go wrong.

I am going on my honeymoon in August and would love to get some great footage across the water and far out from the home location set but I am worried that I may loose it over the water or it may fall out the sky (haha I know that’s abit extreme)

Can anyone offer any reassurance and advice about starting out properly and hopefully set my fears straight! What are the chances of something like this happening if I am sensible. I will fly with caution and within the laws but I want to push the limits a little.

Many Thanks

Mike

 

[JimmyHillsChin]

I'd say stop thinking about what could go wrong and just go enjoy flying your Air.

Be sensible and take notice of what the drone and app are saying/doing.
For example, don't fly the Air with expectations that it will have the range of your P3.
Know the limitations of the WiFi range.
As you are aware, stay away from trees etc...

You could be the most cautious, careful flier and the drone could still disconnect and drop out of the sky.

Just have fun with it and realise that, with something you are controlling in the air over WiFi, something could go wrong and that's the chance you're taking.

Get past that and the pressure eases off.......( a little!!!)

 

[thebigbaddan]

As long as you update all the firmware and all that crap... the Air has $700 worth of sensors and tech to keep it from crashing. You can't really crash it unless you try real hard, or do something really dumb. Just fly and enjoy.

It's better to fly it and not sweat it than to leave it on a shelf.

 

[MikeCranium]

I'd say stop thinking about what could go wrong and just go enjoy flying your Air.

Be sensible and take notice of what the drone and app are saying/doing.
For example, don't fly the Air with expectations that it will have the range of your P3.
Know the limitations of the WiFi range.
As you are aware, stay away from trees etc...

You could be the most cautious, careful flier and the drone could still disconnect and drop out of the sky.

Just have fun with it and realise that, with something you are controlling in the air over WiFi, something could go wrong and that's the chance you're taking.

Get past that and the pressure eases off.......( a little!!!)

That makes perfect sense! Thanks for your reply!

 

[MikeCranium]

As long as you update all the firmware and all that crap... the Air has $700 worth of sensors and tech to keep it from crashing. You can't really crash it unless you try real hard, or do something really dumb. Just fly and enjoy.

It's better to fly it and not sweat it than to leave it on a shelf.

Cheers buddy! I want to get out as much as possible

 

[JimmyHillsChin]

It's better to fly it and not sweat it than to leave it on a shelf.

So right.
I had my Mavic Pro for ages and all I did was circle it above me snapping stuff I could do with my Spark.
I was flying one day and I just thought "what's the point of this if I'm not doing anything with it".

I then just flew it further and further. I just thought if I do crash it whilst using its full capabilities, that would be better than not using any of its capabilities.

Now I'm confident but not over-confident!

 

[MikeCranium]

sorry to say but you sound like a pusi. r u?

Maybe! Just a tad cautious as it’s something new and I am not 100% sure of its limits just yet.

Nothing like welcoming a new member to a forum [emoji1360]

 

[MikeCranium]

So right.
I had my Mavic Pro for ages and all I did was circle it above me snapping stuff I could do with my Spark.
I was flying one day and I just thought "what's the point of this if I'm not doing anything with it".

I then just flew it further and further. I just thought if I do crash it whilst using its full capabilities, that would be better than not using any of its capabilities.

Now I'm confident but not over-confident!

Yeah that’s cool. I suppose it’s like anything really the more I fly and practice the more confident I become.

Just need to get it up in the air every opportunity I have!

 

[Viciam]

listen to this whilst flying your drone

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[JimmyHillsChin]

Thanks [emoji15] not sure why you feel this!

Mike.
Just ignore this idiot. He/she is trolling loads of threads.

 

[thebigbaddan]

Mike,

Get out and fly it as much as you can in a controlled normal environment. For me, there's a few parks that work really well for flying.... log as much time you can close to home in familiar places until you're comfortable. Get comfortable with return to home and all that... you'll find that when you're up a few hundred feet there's really nothing to crash into. It's flying low that can be tricky.

After you get comfortable flying near home, it's no biggie flying in crazy places. I've flown in blizzards, high altitude, over water, all sorts of places. It starts with getting comfortable close to home though. I still suck at video and photo settings but am pretty good at the flying part. But don't sweat it, just get out and fly.

Sooner or later, the drone will be no big thing, just another thing you do on trips, not the main point of the trip.

 

[MikeCranium]

Mike.
Just ignore this idiot. He/she is trolling loads of threads.

Cheers buddy!

 

[JimmyHillsChin]

By the way, congratulations on your marriage

Where are you going for your honeymoon?

 

[MikeCranium]

Mike,

Get out and fly it as much as you can in a controlled normal environment. For me, there's a few parks that work really well for flying.... log as much time you can close to home in familiar places until you're comfortable. Get comfortable with return to home and all that... you'll find that when you're up a few hundred feet there's really nothing to crash into. It's flying low that can be tricky.

After you get comfortable flying near home, it's no biggie flying in crazy places. I've flown in blizzards, high altitude, over water, all sorts of places. It starts with getting comfortable close to home though. I still suck at video and photo settings but am pretty good at the flying part. But don't sweat it, just get out and fly.

Sooner or later, the drone will be no big thing, just another thing you do on trips, not the main point of the trip.

Thanks mate, I do need to find some good places I am out this weekend at a place I know is safe to fly. I live near Portsmouth/Southampton UK so I’m right on all the airports and navy bases so finding safe places to push limits nearer home is tricky but I’m exploring more around the local area.

 

[Mossiback]

Fly it as much as you can before your trip to get comfortable with the controls and confirm that it works correctly (especially RTH). I would also turn off auto-updates and turn on airplane mode on your Go 4 device so it doesn't change to a version with glitches. I wouldn't want to be spending honeymoon time on a computer trying to fix a software/firmware problem.

 

[MikeCranium]

By the way, congratulations on your marriage

Where are you going for your honeymoon?

Thank you very much!

I am off to Sal, Cape Verde. I need to get confident before we go as I don’t want to upset the new wife [emoji6] lol

 

[MikeCranium]

Fly it as much as you can before your trip to get comfortable with the controls and confirm that it works correctly (especially RTH). I would also turn off auto-updates and turn on airplane mode on your Go 4 device so it doesn't change to a version with glitches. I wouldn't want to be spending honeymoon time on a computer trying to fix a software/firmware problem.

That’s a great shout! Definitely wouldn’t get away with that [emoji23]

 

[JimmyHillsChin]

Thank you very much!

I am off to Sal, Cape Verde. I need to get confident before we go as I don’t want to upset the new wife [emoji6] lol

Wow, that will be amazing.

Your wife will be fine.....
Get her involved....
Let her charge the batteries and carry your equipment


Seriously though, I hope you have a great time and get some amazing pics.

 

[thebigbaddan]

My advice:

Don't spend too much time with the drone on your honeymoon. There will be plenty of time for drones later.

 

[msinger]

I am going on my honeymoon in August and would love to get some great footage across the water and far out from the home location set but I am worried that I may loose it over the water or it may fall out the sky

Here are some things you can do to help ensure a safe flight over water:

• Fully charge your batteries before heading out to fly
  
• Carefully inspect the props for damage and make sure they are installed properly
• Make sure your Mavic is near the home point by the time the battery reaches the low level (it'll auto land if it reaches the critically low level mid-flight)
• If the wind is strong, keep your Mavic close and make sure you're not flying into a strong head wind on the way back to the home point