DJI Mavic, Air and Mini Drones
Friendly, Helpful & Knowledgeable Community
Join Us Now

New pilots: Let loose in Sport Mode!

dwallersv

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 3, 2017
Messages
926
Reactions
663
Age
62
What have you done with Sport Mode? Have you really, REALLY, well, let yourself loose?

Turn off the camera. Or have it on. Either way, forget about it. Take your MM2 out and FLY it! Want to burn 3 batteries and wonder where the time went? I do a lot of Sport Mode flying for the sheer excitement of it, thought I'd start a thread to discuss, and post some crazy videos.

So, some suggestions:
  • Find a big, open field with no people or animals
  • From 30-60 feet AGL, full down throttle full pitch forward, dive fast at the ground then flip the throttle when you get as close to the ground as you feel comfortable and tear back up into the sky
  • Flip it around as fast as it'll spin in a turn full left/right yaw, coordinate with the right amount of roll (even in Sport it's not full-stick when you're yawing at max), then dive and shoot up again, repeat
  • Try falling out of the sky like above, full forward pitch, then level out at the last minute close to the ground (I've gotten good enough to do it about 4 feet AGL), tear across the field at 30+ mph until it feels right, then all together at max speeds ascend and turn 180, tear back.
  • Try to ascend/descend in the tightest, fastest spiral you can. This is a toughie -- the fastest is not the tightest.
I know some of that is kinda hard to follow, just keep in mind that you're forward-pitch every possible second.

I'll quit for now before this becomes TL;DR ? Please, others, contribute with your Sport Mode FLYING adventures. Noobs, come back and report your flights and fun. If you shoot some video, share it. I'll be back with some video, and more suggestions. Have Fun!
 
Its a good way to test how your drone will do in high speed winds .
You will also get a chance to see some warnings fields that you might not normally see.

Edited:
Dirk has suggested the videos go to the video section .

Here is the problem: I found that most people test there drone on a whim, so one day there flying and some friend says hey lets see it in sport mode and since you never practiced it , it can be a disaster.

So finding an open field to Practice Sport mode , I think its a good idea,
Once you see how much room you need to stop , how many close calls you might have you will respect the Sport Mode.

You wont be so eager to let your friend have a crack at it flying your drone in sport mode that is for sure.

But at some point you have to learn, designating a perfect spot made for it. Very smart.




Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Air 2 in the Rain/Snow and Land on the Water.
 
Last edited:
just a word of warning ,dont attempt what the OP is suggesting ,unless you have plenty of experience ,in flying your drone ,its one thing to stooge around in C mode ,sports mode requires a different skill as things tend to happen a lot faster ,yes i know that if the sticks are released the drone will stop and hover ,but in sport mode this can take several feet to happen ,and there is always the extra loads being put through the air frame when tight turns and direction changes are being done it is fun to fly in sports mode i am not saying not to do it ,i just wanted to give a balanced view,on what you are getting yourselves into flying in sports mode
 
Its a good way to test how your drone will do in high speed winds .
You will also get a chance to see some warnings fields that you might not normally see.

I will start it off with this video:
Were testing the Rescue Jackets on the Mavic Air 2 In Sport mode .

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Air 2 in the Rain/Snow and Land on the Water.

I'm pretty sure this topic is directed at Mini 2 owners, not your Air 2 with 'rescue jackets'.
 
Doesn’t matter what drone it is - it’s still relevant.
 
I had a fair bit of practice flying rc heli's before getting into drones. While that skillset transfers nicely, I did quickly learn that flying a drone like a heli usually makes for really crappy video. Good video comes from really gentle movements. However I do enjoy putting the mini 2 in sport mode and flying it around like a heli. It's a blast.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hafa adai flyer
Sounds like me most of the time ?, unless I'm getting some cinematic shots then I calm down and go smoother on the sticks. Increasing the max ascent/descent rates makes it even more fun. Not recommended for beginners though as it can very quickly end in a "controller and spare batteries" being put up for sale?.

The mini1 automatically slows its descent when about 4m above the ground, so dropping out of the sky is not quite as dramatic as it could be. Is the mini2 the same?
 
What have you done with Sport Mode? Have you really, REALLY, well, let yourself loose?

Turn off the camera. Or have it on. Either way, forget about it. Take your MM2 out and FLY it! Want to burn 3 batteries and wonder where the time went? I do a lot of Sport Mode flying for the sheer excitement of it, thought I'd start a thread to discuss, and post some crazy videos.

So, some suggestions:
  • Find a big, open field with no people or animals
  • From 30-60 feet AGL, full down throttle full pitch forward, dive fast at the ground then flip the throttle when you get as close to the ground as you feel comfortable and tear back up into the sky
  • Flip it around as fast as it'll spin in a turn full left/right yaw, coordinate with the right amount of roll (even in Sport it's not full-stick when you're yawing at max), then dive and shoot up again, repeat
  • Try falling out of the sky like above, full forward pitch, then level out at the last minute close to the ground (I've gotten good enough to do it about 4 feet AGL), tear across the field at 30+ mph until it feels right, then all together at max speeds ascend and turn 180, tear back.
  • Try to ascend/descend in the tightest, fastest spiral you can. This is a toughie -- the fastest is not the tightest.
I know some of that is kinda hard to follow, just keep in mind that you're forward-pitch every possible second.

I'll quit for now before this becomes TL;DR ? Please, others, contribute with your Sport Mode FLYING adventures. Noobs, come back and report your flights and fun. If you shoot some video, share it. I'll be back with some video, and more suggestions. Have Fun!
Pretty much suggesting noobs go out and crash their drones.
Guys do as you wish you bought it but unless you have some
Experience flying I really wouldn’t suggest doing it .
As far as you posting any videos dewallersv do so in the correct section. .
( Guys I retract the video statement just post one if it relevant.
Let’s just not get crazy posting them though .)
 
Last edited:
I wouldn't play chicken with the ground with my DJI's.

Other acrobatics sufficiently above ground and obstacles, sure.

Making coordinated or counter-coordinated turns is fun, especially with gimbal set to FPV.
 
I'll speak from my personal experience as I mostly fly in normal mode. Do once in a while switch over to Sport and stay familiar with the difference in flight characteristics. It's something that needs to be done periodically rather then switching over one day when you are trying to get Sport footage mode, (that is not the time to find out your reaction time or the drone's stopping distance). Just a word of caution.
 
If you really want to put the brakes on in Sport mode, just press the pause button while it's moving at speed. If you're at max speed the aircraft will practically rip itself apart to stop.
 
If you really want to put the brakes on in Sport mode, just press the pause button while it's moving at speed. If you're at max speed the aircraft will practically rip itself apart to stop.
Is that from experience with the mini, or with one of the larger mavics? I've not observed any quicker stopping using that method compared to letting the sticks go with the mini.
 
I suddenly got the error message "Motor unable to rotate." (see separate thread on this)

Based on the analysis of the flight record, it was an electrical failure.

I made a warranty claim and DJI confirmed that it was a failure of the drone and will be replacing it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Flypic
Is that from experience with the mini, or with one of the larger mavics? I've not observed any quicker stopping using that method compared to letting the sticks go with the mini.
hi scro, the pause button works different from the let the sticks free, that means when you are in full speed or not, the drone will brake instantly, no delay , will almost stand up vertically if you ahve full speed, that is so funny, try it....i did many times with mini and mini2, the behavior is the same for both of them
 
  • Like
Reactions: scro
hi scro, the pause button works different from the let the sticks free, that means when you are in full speed or not, the drone will brake instantly, no delay , will almost stand up vertically if you ahve full speed, that is so funny, try it....i did many times with mini and mini2, the behavior is the same for both of them
I'll need to have another play with it next opportunity I get to fly. When I did some testing some months ago braking with the pause button seemed to be just as abrupt as using the sticks. I certainly didn't see braking like you've described, but then I don't think I took it right up to full speed, which takes a decent run-in to achieve.
 
  • Like
Reactions: WooZie
I'll need to have another play with it next opportunity I get to fly. When I did some testing some months ago braking with the pause button seemed to be just as abrupt as using the sticks. I certainly didn't see braking like you've described, but then I don't think I took it right up to full speed, which takes
a decent run-in to achieve.
Letting go of the stick is more of a moderate deceleration compared to hitting the pause button. Here's an example from Drone Valley. Looks like he's in normal mode so not as dramatic as it could be if the demo was in sport mode. It starts at 2:22.

 
If you really want to put the brakes on in Sport mode, just press the pause button while it's moving at speed. If you're at max speed the aircraft will practically rip itself apart to stop.
where is the pause button on the Mavic Mini?
 
Lycus Tech Mavic Air 3 Case

DJI Drone Deals

New Threads

Forum statistics

Threads
130,586
Messages
1,554,109
Members
159,586
Latest member
DoubleBarS