New Pilot saying Hi, from New Zealand

[twoheadlines]

After months of following the "sneak peaks" as well as the many and varied reviews since official launch of Mavic 2 series of aircraft I decided a couple of weeks ago to buy the Mavic 2 Pro. Haven't decided yet whether to sell the DJI Inspire 1 I cut my teeth on learning about both UAV flying and aerial photography. Work commitments and living within 4kms of an airport means I am yet to be able to go somewhere for a bit more than simulator touch and go fly rounds.
I live and work in a small town in the northern area of the South Island's west coast. Recreational activities abound everywhere, from extreme sports, to high country hunting and fishing, plus the more "sedate" pass times of tramping, cycling, kayaking, camping, glamping and 'freedom' camping.
On the face of it, the opportunities to launch a UAV for nothing more than snapping that next "great" photo seem limitless.
So far, reading some of the posts on this forum, I have been able to take a little bit of comfort from the fact that as a responsible pilot many of the challenges of knowing the "rules and reg's" around the use of a drone here in New Zealand are little different from similar situations in many other countries.
I look forward to much more reading of the experiences of other Mavic pilots - and maybe contributing my own two cents worth from time to time!

 

[Bunny Too]

After months of following the "sneak peaks" as well as the many and varied reviews since official launch of Mavic 2 series of aircraft I decided a couple of weeks ago to buy the Mavic 2 Pro. Haven't decided yet whether to sell the DJI Inspire 1 I cut my teeth on learning about both UAV flying and aerial photography. Work commitments and living within 4kms of an airport means I am yet to be able to go somewhere for a bit more than simulator touch and go fly rounds.
I live and work in a small town in the northern area of the South Island's west coast. Recreational activities abound everywhere, from extreme sports, to high country hunting and fishing, plus the more "sedate" pass times of tramping, cycling, kayaking, camping, glamping and 'freedom' camping.
On the face of it, the opportunities to launch a UAV for nothing more than snapping that next "great" photo seem limitless.
So far, reading some of the posts on this forum, I have been able to take a little bit of comfort from the fact that as a responsible pilot many of the challenges of knowing the "rules and reg's" around the use of a drone here in New Zealand are little different from similar situations in many other countries.
I look forward to much more reading of the experiences of other Mavic pilots - and maybe contributing my own two cents worth from time to time!

Howdy from Wyoming @twoheadlines , welcome to the community, plenty of fine folk and excellent information here.

 

[msinger]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[MavicKhan]

Welcome

Given the sheer beauty of the country, every single Kiwi should be given a drone by the government .

MK

 

[AussieDrone]

Welcome to the forum.. where exactly are you located in NZ ? I was there a few months ago and I asked every council in south Island, only Ottago council allowed me to fly in a very small area .. anyway good luck with your drone.. cheers from Downunder

 

[Former Member]

Welcome to Mavicpilots.com. If you ever need advice or repair questions, feel free to reach out to the forum.
Best regards and good luck,

Rob

 

[LuvMyTJ]

Hello,
It is a pleasure to welcome you to the Mavic Pilots forum.
I hope that you will be able to use the forum to further your safety knowledge and for the exchange of innovative ideas and as a resource for current developments in Mavic quadcopter’s.
Enjoy the forum!

 

[twoheadlines]

Welcome to the forum.. where exactly are you located in NZ ? I was there a few months ago and I asked every council in south Island, only Ottago council allowed me to fly in a very small area .. anyway good luck with your drone.. cheers from Downunder

Hello from "across the ditch"
Where do I live! If you were to be somewhere around the Lady Bay Lighthouse, or looking east and a bit south from North Head you might just pick up through the early summer haze the line of surf along the mostly very rugged South Island's west coast. I live and work in the small town of Westport in the northern part of that line of surf. You're certainly right about "every council" not being too keen letting you launch a drone almost anywhere inside the boundaries of their territorial responsibility. DOC, the Government agency responsible for managing New Zealand's conservation estate might grant a permit to fly, provided you submit the same sort of application documentation required by Tom Cruise when he was filming sequences for his latest Mission Impossible film earlier this year. Trouble is, along the entire 600km length of the West Coast and South Westland more than two thirds of the land is locked inside about 5 National Parks, which is of course where most of the spectacular scenery is located, hence why Tom Cruise was so keen to film here.
Not long after I bought my first drone - a DJI Inspire 1 - I kind of had a stand up argument with one of the local DOC Rangers about being able to walk just about anywhere in any one of those National Parks and take as many photographs as I wanted using a DSLR with a myriad of different lens' or attachments. Little did I know at the time the irony of my words when I said to the Ranger that if I were to take photographs using possibly the most expensive type of DSLR camera most people could afford to buy - viz a viz a Hasselblad - few people would take any notice. But, because I might want to go walking in the bush or along the ranges and maybe launch a UAV with a camera attached to it - purely for the purpose of "taking a good" photo, there is suddenly all sorts of rules and regulations that essentially prohibit me from doing just that.
I'm thinking now, maybe I should go back to the Ranger and show him my Hasselblad camera!
All that bitching and moaning aside, I will get to fly both the Mavic and Inspire pretty much where I want around here, after doing it their way and gaining CAA certification. I have my name down to attend Rule 101 and 102 courses in the new year. A bit of a pain, but I would rather do it the right way.

 

[AussieDrone]

Kia Ora

Sound like you are living in paradise.. all you need is 101 and 102 make it better

Is it expensive to get the 101 and 102 ? I thought it would cost a few $$$$ to get it. Nonetheless getting fully qualified would be awesome. All the best mate need to see some photos and videos when you manage to fly your bird.. cheers from Down under..

 

[twoheadlines]

Kia Ora

Sound like you are living in paradise.. all you need is 101 and 102 make it better

Is it expensive to get the 101 and 102 ? I thought it would cost a few $$$$ to get it. Nonetheless getting fully qualified would be awesome. All the best mate need to see some photos and videos when you manage to fly your bird.. cheers from Down under..

Morena. Nga mihi.

Even paradise can have some sharp edges to it! But hey, throughout my life I have travelled a lot and lived in quite a few different cities - large, and very large - around the world, but I am always very glad to return to Aotearoa. Despite being thousands of kilometres from everywhere, I think its still a pretty good place to call home.

I haven't yet seen what the full cost of completing UAV certification will be here yet. I think each course, 101 and 102 are about $1200 - $1400 each. However, I'm sure since the government go for full cost recovery through any of its agencies, the CAA will probably try to extract a good many more $$$ from me before handing me a piece of paper that certifies me as a drone pilot.

I have been very quick to download DJI's new simulator software this morning. Clocking up "real time" flying hours using such realistic software will I think be an absolute must in achieving my planned goals, without having to fight "city hall" every time I want to have a training flight.

ka kite ano

 

[twoheadlines]

Welcome

Given the sheer beauty of the country, every single Kiwi should be given a drone by the government .

MK

Good morning.
Nga mihi (thank you)

It seems very flattering to have such a superlative being used to describe this country. However, having travelled a fair bit throughout my adult life as well as living in some large, very large and very, very large cities around the world, I find myself struggling to disagree with you when I can look out almost any window in my house and see some of the beauty I think you have in mind.

Now that our very young and dynamic Prime Minister has made her farewells to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, I'm sure she might have a bit more time available to consider your suggestion that every Kiwi should have a drone of their own (read - Mavic 2 Enterprise - for me).

 

[twoheadlines]

Hi Rob

Welcome to Mavicpilots.com. If you ever need advice or repair questions, feel free to reach out to the forum.
Best regards and good luck,

Rob

Hi Rob,
Love being offered the contact info' should I need some technical TLC on my Inspire 1 or Mavic 2 Pro.
I'm thinking I might need to check the time difference before I go calling you in Atlanta though!
Cheers
Stephen

 

[twoheadlines]

Howdy from Wyoming @twoheadlines , welcome to the community, plenty of fine folk and excellent information here.

Wow! Thanks for the greeting.
I am grinning from ear to ear as I read the words in your post - thinking I can just about see 'Ole Faithful' gushing forth. I am wondering if you are a native of Wyoming, but certainly have some envy for the opportunities you might have to launch a drone almost anywhere in the 'Mountain State' area.
Thanks again.

 

[AussieDrone]

Morena. Nga mihi.

Even paradise can have some sharp edges to it! But hey, throughout my life I have travelled a lot and lived in quite a few different cities - large, and very large - around the world, but I am always very glad to return to Aotearoa. Despite being thousands of kilometres from everywhere, I think its still a pretty good place to call home.

I haven't yet seen what the full cost of completing UAV certification will be here yet. I think each course, 101 and 102 are about $1200 - $1400 each. However, I'm sure since the government go for full cost recovery through any of its agencies, the CAA will probably try to extract a good many more $$$ from me before handing me a piece of paper that certifies me as a drone pilot.

I have been very quick to download DJI's new simulator software this morning. Clocking up "real time" flying hours using such realistic software will I think be an absolute must in achieving my planned goals, without having to fight "city hall" every time I want to have a training flight.

ka kite ano

mōrena

Good luck with your 101 and 102 certification.. please let us know how you progress.. love to see some of your drone footage..

hei te wā tītoki

PS - if anyone wondering what are all the greetings not sounding English, they all comes from NZ Māori language..Māori language - Wikipedia

 

[Aerial-Pixel]

Welcome to Mavic Pilots from Dayton Ohio USA! Enjoy your new Mavic 2 Pro, Fly safe and have fun!