New Mavic owner here, what's your #1 piece of advice before first flight?

[Ike582]

I just received my Mavic, and I'm reviewing the manuals and trying to learn how to fly this pup so as not to destroy or lose it on my first flight. I'm also going to try the tutorials noted in the User Manual. I've flown an RC aircraft a bit, but have zero experience with drones.

That said, what's your #1 piece of advice to a new Mavic Owner? Thanks for any and all advice.

 

[XnavyDude]

I've had my mp for about a week and I've never flown a drown prior to that. I would say make a pre flight checklist. Find a nice open area. Keep it in beginner mode for a bit. (That won't be long at all) just get use to how to control it.

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[msinger]

Fly in a wide open location and make sure the remote controller is always in direct line of sight with the Mavic.

 

[Bondo_E_Odnob]

Read the manual. Know the features. Know the rules and regs. Spend the time with the bird powered on, (not flying), and the controller in your hands. Dig through the menus and become familiar with the layout and actions of the "buttons" and how they compound. Make a pre flight check list. When you are comfortable with that, make sure you are in Beginner Mode, fight your thumping heart and the cold sweats, and lift off! Remember with stable signal and GPS Mode, if in doubt let go of the sticks and it will (should) hover. If you are in Beginner Mode, and are paying attention to the bird, most likely you wont be going fast enough to smash the living you know out of it. Just let go of the sticks. Then take the time to think about your next move. Your confidence will grow with each flight. Oh and don't lift of with any kind of error. Just don't. Also, remember when the bird is facing you left is right and right is left! Have a great first flight!

 

[BD0G]

# 1 piece of advice is purchase a StateFarm Standalone Personal Article policy for the Mavic Pro at 5 dollars per month / 60 a year and fly the **** out of it.

 

[Native Hawk eye]

Start with tripod mode.. It's slow and steady. Then move on to beginner mode, then go for normal. Master that and you ready for pro. sport.

 

[kvn_roberts]

Watch YouTube tutorials.


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[m0j0]

DJI care refresh or insurance of some sort. Care refresh would be my preference.

Keep it close but above any obstacles.

When in doubt go up.


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[Foxtrot Uniform]

And take off the gimbal clamp!


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[HeliFreak]

All above, and just a thought, hit off the simulator first. I know it's not the best but it's good enough to learn the controls a little before actually flying.

 

[finalfantasyfans]

1. Don't fly indoor

 

[Ike582]

Thanks for the suggestions! I took my first two flights today. 26 degrees outside, **** cold. First flight on Beginner mode with my iPhone 6 connected, which sucked a ton of juice from my phone. I used an iPad mini for the second flight, without beginner mode. (It used far less juice from the iPad vs. the iPhone.)

It's easier than expected to fly the Mavic, as I was used to an RC airplane which is constantly moving. With the Mavic, it flies slower, and anytime you want to pause and assess your situation it's easy to release the sticks and just hover. An RC plane can get away from you very quickly if you aren't positive which direction it's headed.

 

[TrayBoz]

In case you're not clear on this point:

DON'T FLY INDOORS!

After you've flown it a thousand times and have gotten really good, then don't fly it indoors.
If you've watched hundreds of YouTube videos of other people flying indoors easily, then don't fly it indoors.
If your friend flies it all the time successfully indoors, then don't fly it indoors.
If you are specifically trying to wreck your mavic and damage the inside of your house, THEN you can fly it indoors.
If it has been raining outside for weeks and you just have to discharge the batteries, then don't fly it indoors.
If you get full GPS signal strength in your house, then don't fly it indoors.
If some users on this forum say they fly it indoors all the time with no problem, then don't fly it indoors.
If Mother Mary appears to you in a dream and tells you to fly it indoors, then don't fly it indoors.
If you just want to hover briefly in your living room at a low altitude, then don't fly it indoors.
If you are elected "The Greatest Mavic Pilot to Ever Live", then don't fly it indoors.

Having said all that, try whatever you want.

After you fly it indoors, please post a reply to this thread about your crash so we can say "I told you so." Pictures are welcome.

 

[westonmavicpilot]

Start with tripod mode.. It's slow and steady. Then move on to beginner mode, then go for normal. Master that and you ready for pro. sport.

I would say start in beginner mode, not tripod mode. Tripod mode has no distance limitations unless specifically set within the settings and is too slow - if an unexpected wind picks up the Mav may not be controlled as expected leading to a newbie panicing! Follow all the other good advice here re. open spaces, pre flight check lists, reading manual, familiarising with the control inputs, no flying indoors (!!!) etc and go have fun.

 

[zoomie]

I just received my Mavic, and I'm reviewing the manuals and trying to learn how to fly this pup so as not to destroy or lose it on my first flight. I'm also going to try the tutorials noted in the User Manual. I've flown an RC aircraft a bit, but have zero experience with drones.

That said, what's your #1 piece of advice to a new Mavic Owner? Thanks for any and all advice.

It depends on whether you're flying for recreation for the sake of flying like you do the RC aircrafts or if you're flying specifically for photography. If you can say a few words on that, it may be helpful on getting the advice more focused on what you most need. I suspect the biggest difference you'll encounter when flying the Mavic vs your history of RC aircraft is that in the Mavic, you're most likely traveling to or around a particular destination to take footage. Whereas with the RC aircraft, you may be an expert at your maneuvers, but may have been less restricted in space and but also didn't have the challenge you'll face with the Mavic of flying out of line of sight. (not that we do that).

I'd say though that my #1 advice is:

Set your return to home altitude.
Many newbies will use the RTH function as a default way to get their mavic back to the takeoff point. If you do that, you really need to be conscious of the altitude at which it will move horizontally back to your location. You don't want it popping up and hitting power lines or whatever before it comes back, nor would you want it at too low of an altitude where it hits obstructions on the way back.

Next on the list would be:
2. Realize that your sensors are disabled on target tracking mode and sport mode.