New Pilot First Drone-- Key West Florida

[KTdat]

Bought the Mavic Mini. Have flown 4 or 5 Batteries worth. I'm enjoying the Drone and the video !
I have alot to learn!!

 

[dirkclod]

Welcome to the forum.
I hope you will find our site helpful and look forward to any input , photo's/video's you might post .
Don't be shy and ask anything if you can't find it by searching . ?

 

[itsneedtokno]

Welcome fellow Floridian!

You can find an answer to almost every problem somewhere on these forums.

Have a great day!

 

[Fred Garvin]

Welcome to the forum! Congrats on your purchase.

You list your location as Key West, Florida. If this is where you are, I have some bad news for you. All of that airspace is Surface Controlled Class D airspace. Both Key West International and NAS Boca Chica. You need authorization from the FAA to fly anywhere in those areas. In addition, all of the airspaces are a 0' grid so gaining authorization may be very difficult.





I know it may not be what you want to hear, but if you fly your new drone without FAA Authorization you could be in some pretty deep trouble.

 

[old man mavic]

welcome to the forum

 

[Hauptmann]

Welcome to our forum, KTdAt, from Hauptmann in Texas, USA.

You'll find that the Mini almost flies itself. This can lead to overconfidence. Try to be conservative at first, and expand your horizons gradually. The Mini, at only 249 grams, doesn't handle wind as well as the heavier drones do. On windy days it's best to fly the Mini so that you have a tail wind on the way back.

Read your manual (link below), and practice using "Find My Drone". Chances are you'll crash and perhaps lose your drone. Don't wait 'til that happens to try to learn under stress in less than ideal conditions. You might download Airmap, or Kittyhawk (both free) which will keep you out fo trouble with the FAA.

We have over 100,000 members from around the world who will help you learn your new hobby. Ask for help when you need it. Share your work when you can!

Glad you've joined us!
https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/Mavic_Mini/20200212/Mavic_Mini_User_Manual_v1.0_EN.pdf

 

[Mavic Mac]

Welcome to the forums - a lot of good info here. So, take a look around and hope you enjoy some of the fine photography and information posted by the members.

Also, if you haven't done so yet, consider getting the AirMap and KittyHawk apps. I also suggest this Visualize it: See FAA UAS Data on a Map

 

[msinger]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Dale D]

Bought the Mavic Mini. Have flown 4 or 5 Batteries worth. I'm enjoying the Drone and the video !
I have alot to learn!!

My very first thought on reading this was...big mistake! Key West is a very restricted military area. You are going to have to get out of there to fly anyplace. It is very difficult to find unrestricted areas to fly in South Florida.

Dale
Miami

 

[mrjohnc1]

Welcome!

 

[KTdat]

In Reply to the restricted airspace.......Fortunately I live right between EYW and the naval airstation. which happens to be overlapping "Blue Zones" I just need to self unlock both areas and am able to fly.So learned how to fly around the neighborhood. That being said I have mostly flown from our boat away from restricted airspace anyway. I am ultimately interested in a waterproof model but figured I could learn on the mini. this way I can actually see if 1. I can fly/ control a drone 2. do I like it enough to make a bigger investment 3. am I actually going to use it. So far the pictures and video are great and am happy with the purchase.

 

[KTdat]

Welcome to our forum, KTdAt, from Hauptmann in Texas, USA.

You'll find that the Mini almost flies itself. This can lead to overconfidence. Try to be conservative at first, and expand your horizons gradually. The Mini, at only 249 grams, doesn't handle wind as well as the heavier drones do. On windy days it's best to fly the Mini so that you have a tail wind on the way back.

Read your manual (link below), and practice using "Find My Drone". Chances are you'll crash and perhaps lose your drone. Don't wait 'til that happens to try to learn under stress in less than ideal conditions. You might download Airmap, or Kittyhawk (both free) which will keep you out fo trouble with the FAA.

We have over 100,000 members from around the world who will help you learn your new hobby. Ask for help when you need it. Share your work when you can!

Glad you've joined us!
https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/Mavic_Mini/20200212/Mavic_Mini_User_Manual_v1.0_EN.pdf

Thank You!

 

[Dale D]

In Reply to the restricted airspace.......Fortunately I live right between EYW and the naval airstation. which happens to be overlapping "Blue Zones" I just need to self unlock both areas and am able to fly.So learned how to fly around the neighborhood. That being said I have mostly flown from our boat away from restricted airspace anyway. I am ultimately interested in a waterproof model but figured I could learn on the mini. this way I can actually see if 1. I can fly/ control a drone 2. do I like it enough to make a bigger investment 3. am I actually going to use it. So far the pictures and video are great and am happy with the purchase.

Very smart approach! Video and still images from anywhere in the keys should be great stuff

 

[Fred Garvin]

...In Reply to the restricted airspace.......Fortunately I live right between EYW and the naval airstation. which happens to be overlapping "Blue Zones" I just need to self unlock both areas and am able to fly...

You should understand this, it's VERY IMPORTANT:

FAA Authorization and DJI FlySafe are 2 different things and are NOT related.

DJI FlySafe, this "Blue Zone Unlock" you speak of, is a built-in flight restriction by DJI, and unlocking this will allow the drone to fly, but it DOES NOT mean that you have permission to fly from the FAA.

The airspace is ALL completely Surface Controlled Class D, plus several Restricted Areas. You need to gain permission to fly in this airspace. Once you have FAA Authorization, THEN you can unlock the Blue Zones via DJI and fly.

Two different things:

1. Get FAA Authorization. (LAANC or DroneZone)
2. Unlock the DJI Blue Zone.

Many have made this mistake, thinking that just because they unlocked the zone via DJI, that they also have permission to fly. So, now that you know...good luck and share your experience, especially getting permission from the FAA to fly the Lower Keys! Many will thank you for this.

 

[MiniMagic]

Welcome friend, have fun : )