New pilot questions

[Aerofoil]

Hi all

Thanks in advance for the answers to this one.

Is there a "forum" getting started in flight guide rather than the simple instruction from DJI?

ian

 

[WEOTN]

Experience is your best teacher. Take it slow, build skills, enjoy the rewards as they come. That's how I'm working it. Oh reading the manual a few times helps to remember it when you finally try it.

 

[msinger]

Is there a "forum" getting started in flight guide rather than the simple instruction from DJI?

You can download the Mavic manual from the Mavic downloads page. Also, check out my tips at MavicHelp.com.

 

[kenwae]

Lots of good youtube videos about basic set up, flying, various settings, etc.

 

[BluesDragon]

I learned a lot from msinger's pages. Got 'em bookmarked and still learning off them. Loads of very helpful info in there.

 

[WEOTN]

Experience is your best teacher. Take it slow, build skills, enjoy the rewards as they come. That's how I'm working it. Oh reading the manual a few times helps to remember it when you finally try it.

I've looked at just about every forum I can find, and this one is by far the best attended with the most good information. Time spent here will give you lots of shortcuts to your learning curve. I'm getting curious about camera settings but I'm saving that part of my education for after I've accomplished good skills in flight control. Can't take good shots with poor flying I figure.

 

[Aerofoil]

Thanks for your answers.

And agreed the the footage is secondary to flying at present, i downloaded the manual before i received the drone but its all just words i guess until your flying.

Ive made two simple flights and im amazed just how stable it is in the beginners mode, the main confusion for me right now is the threads ive read here about:-

1. Calibration, when the controller says ready to fly what state is the drone in to achive that, ie should you still go through the calibration process and how many GPS locks does it have at that point

2. RTH, My old drones home setting was from the ground when you turned the drone on, is it the same with the Mavic or do you have to manually set it, im a bit confused about a this and setting it to 30feet?

i know im asking what appear to be obvious questions to you chaps but it seems confusing at the moment

ian

 

[tmoerel]

Here is my little list:

The Mavic is a Pro tool flying so well it is not a bad drone to learn on. Just keep in mind some things when learning:

• Read the manual from a to z
• Make sure to set some safe settings - Obstacle detection on, RTH height set properly, etc.
• Check the postings on this forum for good settings. Also read the messages people posted about crashes to learn from their mistakes.
• Make sure all your batteries (Flight batteries, remote control battery, phone battery) are fully charged before flying
• Make sure your flight battery is well connected to the craft and can not come loose
• Make sure your phone/tablet is well connected to the cable and secure it
• Get a decent size landing pad so you have a safe place to land on. A bath mat or other piece of carpet can be a good substitute for a commercial landing pad
• Find a wide open space with no obstacles to practice in. DO NOT FLY INDOORS!!
• Practice in mild wind conditions so wind is not an issue
• Turn on your controller before turning on your Mavic. Once the controller has connected wait until you have a good number of GPS satellites acquired (14+) and the remote controller says you are in GPS mode
• Wait until you hear it acquired the RTH point
• Take off to about 20 feet and wait until the system says the RTH point has been updated. It now is ready for precision landing.
• Start in Beginner mode where the drone will limit your disstance and height so you get a good feel for the way it handles without going too far away
• Fly at about 15-20 meters of altitude as this will give you enough space to correct navigation if needed. Stay away from the ground until you feel you are easily controlling your aircraft
• Trust the system to land the craft for you at first. Only correct if needed.
• Stay away from Sport mode until you have a good mastery of your craft
• Avoid water and other surfaces were you cannot retrieve your aircraft if needed
• Get used to looking at your aircraft instead of looking at your screen. Do not make photos or videos until you feel confident you can handle the Mavic.
• Fly, fly, fly. Only practice makes perfect. Practice your take-offs and landings so you have a good feel for it
• When the battery of the Mavic hits 30% and the low battery alarm comes on return to base and land. Do not push your luck!
• Always keep an eye on your battery levels!
• And above all have fun!

Ah yes....and as I said already have fun. If flying conditions are marginal there will be no fun so avoid that!

 

[MavicCF]

To answer your questions. For me, when I first power on, the controller says "ready to fly" but is still in ATTI mode with no GPS signal I wait until I have at least 4 satellites locked in before taking off. Once in the air I usually jump to between 14 and 20 connected satellites. RTH is at the take off point. You may be able to change this but I am not sure how. As for setting the RTH altitude, estimate the hight of any trees/buildings around and set it a little higher than that. Hope this helps!
-CF

 

[WEOTN]

Thanks for your answers.

And agreed the the footage is secondary to flying at present, i downloaded the manual before i received the drone but its all just words i guess until your flying.

Ive made two simple flights and im amazed just how stable it is in the beginners mode, the main confusion for me right now is the threads ive read here about:-

1. Calibration, when the controller says ready to fly what state is the drone in to achive that, ie should you still go through the calibration process and how many GPS locks does it have at that point

2. RTH, My old drones home setting was from the ground when you turned the drone on, is it the same with the Mavic or do you have to manually set it, im a bit confused about a this and setting it to 30feet?

i know im asking what appear to be obvious questions to you chaps but it seems confusing at the moment

ian

My approach is to fly a little, read a little more, fly a little more, read a little more. I try new to me settings as I go and begin to understand the concepts behind the 'just words'. It's a progression.

I find myself powering things up, letting them connect, then I go about checking some settings I may wish to change, and usually MP will have acquired a handful of satellites and it's in GPS mode before I take off. I'm comfortable with that, and believe that if I were to take off in ATTI that the RTH may not function properly in finding home. I'll test it sometime, but until then I wait for GPS lock. The manual does state for proper RTH you must ascend to 10 meters then wait for the sensors to have recognized the landing point, it will report_____ forgot the words when it's done so then you can take off.

I tested this, and took off from 4' then hit RTH. It was within 10 feet. Next I rose to 35' and let it set there until it reported, which it did, flew around even further out then used RTH. It rose to the elevation set then landed within an inch of takeoff points. It makes a difference.

I hope this helps. I'm in my 3rd and 4th reads of the manual sections and still comprehend more each time. Maybe some are faster learners, but I don't wish to chance losing this machine out of my own ignorance, so I'll keep up the homework.

 

[msinger]

Calibration, when the controller says ready to fly what state is the drone in to achive that, ie should you still go through the calibration process and how many GPS locks does it have at that point

When you have a good GPS signal, DJI GO will display a green "Ready to Go (GPS)" status message at the top. It's safe to take off once you see that message.

If you need to calibrate the compass, it's okay to do so after the status message shows the IMU is done initializing. Check out the Compass Calibration Guide for more details on when the compass should be calibrated.

RTH, My old drones home setting was from the ground when you turned the drone on, is it the same with the Mavic or do you have to manually set it, im a bit confused about a this and setting it to 30feet?

The home point should be marked once a good GPS signal is established (like when flying any other DJI drone). If you have the volume turned up on your mobile device, you will hear DJI GO announce when the home point has been marked. You should check it on the map in DJI GO to verify it has been set and it's set at the Mavic's current location.

When using the default DJI GO settings, the RTH altitude will be set to 30 meters (this setting is always in meters). You should check this setting before flying each time to verify it's set to the altitude of the tallest obstacle above the take off point plus ~50 feet to add a buffer since the altitude is only an estimate. If you plan on scouting out the flying area before flying, you can find some tips for estimating a good RTH altitude here.

 

[Aerofoil]

Here is my little list:

The Mavic is a Pro tool flying so well it is not a bad drone to learn on. Just keep in mind some things when learning:

• Read the manual from a to z
• Make sure to set some safe settings - Obstacle detection on, RTH height set properly, etc.
• Check the postings on this forum for good settings. Also read the messages people posted about crashes to learn from their mistakes.
• Make sure all your batteries (Flight batteries, remote control battery, phone battery) are fully charged before flying
• Make sure your flight battery is well connected to the craft and can not come loose
• Make sure your phone/tablet is well connected to the cable and secure it
• Get a decent size landing pad so you have a safe place to land on. A bath mat or other piece of carpet can be a good substitute for a commercial landing pad
• Find a wide open space with no obstacles to practice in. DO NOT FLY INDOORS!!
• Practice in mild wind conditions so wind is not an issue
• Turn on your controller before turning on your Mavic. Once the controller has connected wait until you have a good number of GPS satellites acquired (14+) and the remote controller says you are in GPS mode
• Wait until you hear it acquired the RTH point
• Take off to about 20 feet and wait until the system says the RTH point has been updated. It now is ready for precision landing.
• Start in Beginner mode where the drone will limit your disstance and height so you get a good feel for the way it handles without going too far away
• Fly at about 15-20 meters of altitude as this will give you enough space to correct navigation if needed. Stay away from the ground until you feel you are easily controlling your aircraft
• Trust the system to land the craft for you at first. Only correct if needed.
• Stay away from Sport mode until you have a good mastery of your craft
• Avoid water and other surfaces were you cannot retrieve your aircraft if needed
• Get used to looking at your aircraft instead of looking at your screen. Do not make photos or videos until you feel confident you can handle the Mavic.
• Fly, fly, fly. Only practice makes perfect. Practice your take-offs and landings so you have a good feel for it
• When the battery of the Mavic hits 30% and the low battery alarm comes on return to base and land. Do not push your luck!
• Always keep an eye on your battery levels!
• And above all have fun!

Ah yes....and as I said already have fun. If flying conditions are marginal there will be no fun so avoid that!

Thats a pretty comprehensive list thanks for all the posts, im am lucky in that i have a lot of land so i can safely practice my flying, i do not intend going anywhere until im confident with it and im sure ill be asking more questions