New Mini 2 Owner Questions

[tekgirl02]

When you were learning to fly, how did you proceed? I am watching plenty of videos, reading this forum, which is a fantastic resource and trying to do things the right way.

Should I practice in my house first to get the feel of things? Or practice in an open field? I'm in the NE, so it's pretty cold here at the moment.

I normally learn by making mistakes, but I'm not sure that is the right way to do this.

Suggestions?

Thanks!!!

 

[db4476]

Flying inside = bad, flying outside = good. You will probably crash flying indoors, best to do it outside where there is more room.

Cheers!

 

[Loonie01]

An open field is ideal for learning. I bought a cheap $20 mini drone to get use to flying and I flew it around the house. Knowing it wouldn't break anything.

 

[Howard70]

Hello tekgirl02:

Welcome to our forum and congratulations on acquiring a mini 2. Personally, I would avoid flying indoors until I was really comfortable flying the drone outside.

You might find a big open area (empty parking lot, playing field, local park, etc.) where you are allowed to fly and practice there. Cold may be a problem for the drone and your fingers, so midday might help. Choose a day with little wind. I like learning to fly with the drone relatively close by but 10’ above head level (just in case I make a major speed / direction error). Fly the drone in figure 8’s watching the drone, not the screen. Then try the figure 8’s in 3d, again watching the drone not the screen.

Next you could move to the screen & fly the same routes, but get used to watching the distance and height from home point numbers as well as the drone’s view.

Personally, I find some You Tube videos helpful for technical aspects of filming, post processing, etc. I learn actual flying best via practice, practice, and more practice.

If you eventually move indoors for learning more complex flying techniques I would recommend getting some prop guards.

Howard

 

[tekgirl02]

Flying inside = bad, flying outside = good. You will probably crash flying indoors, best to do it outside where there is more room.

Cheers!

Thank you - that is what I thought

 

[tekgirl02]

An open field is ideal for learning. I bought a cheap $20 mini drone to get use to flying and I flew it around the house. Knowing it wouldn't break anything.

Thank you - great suggestion!

 

[UAV Ernst]

Do take the time to practice flying in a wide open space where one can have the room to see how it behaves. Trying to fly in the house without the benefit of GPS will have you crashing into walls or objects in seconds of your new Mini 2 lifting off!

 

[tekgirl02]

Hello tekgirl02:

Welcome to our forum and congratulations on acquiring a mini 2. Personally, I would avoid flying indoors until I was really comfortable flying the drone outside.

You might find a big open area (empty parking lot, playing field, local park, etc.) where you are allowed to fly and practice there. Cold may be a problem for the drone and your fingers, so midday might help. Choose a day with little wind. I like learning to fly with the drone relatively close by but 10’ above head level (just in case I make a major speed / direction error). Fly the drone in figure 8’s watching the drone, not the screen. Then try the figure 8’s in 3d, again watching the drone not the screen.

Next you could move to the screen & fly the same routes, but get used to watching the distance and height from home point numbers as well as the drone’s view.

Personally, I find some You Tube videos helpful for technical aspects of filming, post processing, etc. I learn actual flying best via practice, practice, and more practice.

If you eventually move indoors for learning more complex flying techniques I would recommend getting some prop guards.

Howard

Thank you so much for the detailed info, Howard. I do have some spots outdoors where I can practice, so I'll do that and take your suggestions about the figure 8s. I'm watching YouTube videos and I know I just need to get out there and practice. I'm a pretty good photographer, so understand the post processing, etc., but the flying is what has me a bit "scared" lol.

Paige

 

[tekgirl02]

Do take the time to practice flying in a wide open space where one can have the room to see how it behaves. Trying to fly in the house without the benefit of GPS will have you crashing into walls or objects in seconds of your new Mini 2 lifting off!

Thank you - open field it is

 

[Clintoops]

On YouTube 51drones just did a video just on this question .
He showed how to and what to practice for first time flyers

 

[tekgirl02]

On YouTube 51drones just did a video just on this question .
He showed how to and what to practice for first time flyers

Awesome! I’ll check it out - thank you!

 

[MS Coast]

I suggest using the prop guards and staying in the Cine mode. Get comfortable flying with the drone pointed toward you, when the controls seem to be "reversed." A good open space and staying close are good in the beginning.

There are a lot of good videos available on Youtube and elsewhere. Search for Mini 2 and terms like mistakes, tips, intro, tutorial, ...

The Pilot Institute has some very good courses, some free and some with a fee.

Drone Courses - Free and Paid Drone Pilot Training

30+ free and paid classes to fly your drone. Pass your FAA Part 107 license exam, learn how to fly your drone, and more.

pilotinstitute.com

Try Recreational Flying Made Easy, Ultimate Drone Flying Guide, and DJI Mini II Deep Dive.

This video on basic maneuvers is a very good place to start.

Have fun.

(I have no connection with The Pilot Institute other than using their courses when learning to fly drones and studying for the Part 107 test.)

 

[Clintoops]

Awesome! I’ll check it out - thank you!

Like you I have yet to fly.
I'm reading all I can watching everything reading crash reports.
So I don't make same mistakes others have. Good luck

 

[dronedoc107]

Absolutely go outside
atti mode is difficult as it is but if you’re inside you may go in and out of atti and that’s the worst possible way to operate the drone
actually Im disappointed you can’t swap to atti mode for just this reason

if you do fly indoors get some dji 360 prop guards so you can bounce off walls at low speed without a crash
cause your gonna bounce off some walls!

 

[old man mavic]

@tekgirl02 welcome to the forum ,plenty of good advise from the members already,just take your time keep low and slow to start with ,forget about video and pics ,just concentrate on learning to fly your drone first ,and practice running through your pre flight procedure ,they are just simple things to do before you take to the air ,
check your surroundings for hazards ,and other people
check your drone ,ie props battery inserted correctly gimbal guard removed ,no damage to air frame
it sounds a lot to take in all at once but in time you will do it automatically
and once airborne hover at eye level listen to the sound of the drone and yaw round 360 degrees ,if all is well go fly and enjoy

 

[tekgirl02]

@tekgirl02 welcome to the forum ,plenty of good advise from the members already,just take your time keep low and slow to start with ,forget about video and pics ,just concentrate on learning to fly your drone first ,and practice running through your pre flight procedure ,they are just simple things to do before you take to the air ,
check your surroundings for hazards ,and other people
check your drone ,ie props battery inserted correctly gimbal guard removed ,no damage to air frame
it sounds a lot to take in all at once but in time you will do it automatically
and once airborne hover at eye level listen to the sound of the drone and yaw round 360 degrees ,if all is well go fly and enjoy

Thank you so much! It looks like there is a great tutorial right on the controller, so I’ll work on that first…

 

[Deleted member 154384]

hello, before moving on to mini 2 I did a lot of practice with the dji tello. I really recommend it very much.

 

[Etdronehome]

@tekgirl02

Lots of good advice already. The only thing I would add is to set your distances in the Safety section of the FLY app to very small numbers. This will keep the drone close in the event you get a little crazy with the sticks !

These are the settings I’m using with my M3 until I get used to it even though I’ve had a fair bit of flight time with a number of different drones including a Mini 2

Welcome to the forum and drone ownership.

Oh yeh don’t forget to breathe!!

 

[55Kevy]

Welcome @tekgirl02 and congrats on the Mini2 which I also own and love to fly. The Pilot Institute video linked above is an excellent resource. I also recommend this video from UAV Coach: [Edit: welp, I apparently don't know how to attach a video. It's titled Use These 15 Drone Training Exercises to Learn How to Fly a Drone]

I've also learned a lot from YouTubers 51Drones, Jeven Dovey, and FlytPath.

Happy (and safe) flying!

Kevin

 

[tekgirl02]

Absolutely go outside
atti mode is difficult as it is but if you’re inside you may go in and out of atti and that’s the worst possible way to operate the drone
actually Im disappointed you can’t swap to atti mode for just this reason

if you do fly indoors get some dji 360 prop guards so you can bounce off walls at low speed without a crash
cause your gonna bounce off some walls!

I won’t be flying it inside!