Newbie needs some guidance

[eswingler]

Hello everyone,

I am new to Forum and new to drones in general. I recently purchased a Mini2 and I am recreational driver and love it. I have been reading the forum like a fiend and have two questions.

1. Must I register the drone with the FAA or some other organization? It is a mini2 and weighs 249 gms
2. Is there a test required for recreational flying and where do I take that test? I have seen many posts about a test and CBO's but it is not clear to me what is required.

Thank you in advance.

Eric

 

[buddb55]

You won't need to register the Mini 2 and here is a link to the TRUST exam.

The Recreational UAS Safety Test (TRUST)

www.faa.gov

 

[eswingler]

You won't need to register the Mini 2 and here is a link to the TRUST exam.

The Recreational UAS Safety Test (TRUST)

www.faa.gov

Thank you

 

[vindibona1]

Taking the "TRUST" test is required, but at this time not enforced. But I would STRONGLY recommend you do it as it is more educational than a test. You owe it to yourself and others to learn the basic "rules of the road" and the test will send you down the right road. Others have provided the link.

As far as registering? I say DO IT! It takes 10 minutes and $5. Your NAKED drone may weight under 250 grams, but what if you put leg extensions, or strobes, or a gimbal hood or other accessories on it. Almost certainly it will exceed 250 grams. Having registered it you won't have to worry about adding a few goodies to make your drone more fun. My Mini 2 often comes in a bit under 300 grams, depending on what I put on it.

Going a little further into this... I wouldn't fly without leg extensions. If you land in any kind of grass your drone becomes a weed-whacker. Trying to take off in the grass will often be a no-go. Strobes allow you to extend your ability to see your drone (in daylight) from 600' to about 1600'. Not shown in the photo below is the gimbal hood that I almost always fly with. It protects the gimbal if front-end contact ever occurs and doesn't obstruct the field of view. ND filters? As my drone is registered (as you can see by the numbers on it's left side) I don't have to worry about being over 250 grams. If you're worried about registration because your drone might be traced to you for some thing or another. The worry is pointless. If your drone crashes and someone wants to report you, it's easy enough to track you down through the DJI or seller's data base. Being unregistered won't protect you. The cost of registering is just a bit more than a gallon of gasoline (at least for a few more months... now $4+ here).

Have fun, and don't sweat the small stuff.

 

[Paint Rock Drones]

@vindibona1 Do you have a recommended source for leg extensions? I see many options, but most aren't clear about how they attach. Since I usually use a landing pad I hadn't though about this, but now that you mention it they could be handy in some circumstances.

 

[vindibona1]

@vindibona1 Do you have a recommended source for leg extensions? I see many options, but most aren't clear about how they attach. Since I usually use a landing pad I hadn't though about this, but now that you mention it they could be handy in some circumstances.

These are the ones I use. I like them because they fold and with a slight modification of the molded case I don't have to remove them for storage. Hanatora leg extensions If I get a chance I'll weigh the extensions to see how it impacts takeoff weight.

Also, as I mentioned before, do yourself a favor and get at least one strobe for your drone. Even in the daylight it extends your ability to see your drone in the sky about 3x the distance than without the strobe. A little gray speck in the sky is really hard to see after a few hundred feet. I mount one on the bottom with some creative velcro placement to I can best see it from the ground If flying at night one should be on the top for collision avoidance.

 

[cheddar-man]

Beware, these leg extensions weigh in at 18 grams so will take the drone weight well above the sub 250g takeoff weight.

From the specification:
Front Legs 3.5g X 2 = 7g
Rear legs 5.5g X 2 = 11g
Total additional weight 18g

I always wonder why so many people want to change what is a beautifully designed and engineered piece of kit.
DJI have designed their drones, and many other pieces of technical wizardry, to work as intended. Making changes to them only detracts from their functionality IMHO.

 

[Clintoops]

I use two rubber mats to land on a landing pad so to speak.
Down load UAV forecast or kitty hawk app it will help with telling you the air space you are in. Also what airports are around you.
Read the crash reports so you can avoid them.i have not registered.

 

[Paint Rock Drones]

Beware, these leg extensions weigh in at 18 grams so will take the drone weight well above the sub 250g takeoff weight.

From the specification:
Front Legs 3.5g X 2 = 7g
Rear legs 5.5g X 2 = 11g
Total additional weight 18g

I always wonder why so many people want to change what is a beautifully designed and engineered piece of kit.
DJI have designed their drones, and many other pieces of technical wizardry, to work as intended. Making changes to them only detracts from their functionality IMHO.

I take your point. But DJI made some trade-offs to come in under 250g. Since my mini2 is registered anyway, there are circumstances where it makes sense to me to take advantage of alternate configurations even if it adds a bit of weight and decreases performance slightly. For example, strobes at night. I know of no way to fly at night without adding strobes, and that pushes the takeoff weight over 250g. Extensions, prop guards, etc. seem like they also might be worthwhile, not for regular use, but as an extra safety measure in particular circumstances.

 

[MS Coast]

Hello everyone,

I am new to Forum and new to drones in general. I recently purchased a Mini2 and I am recreational driver and love it. I have been reading the forum like a fiend and have two questions.

1. Must I register the drone with the FAA or some other organization? It is a mini2 and weighs 249 gms
2. Is there a test required for recreational flying and where do I take that test? I have seen many posts about a test and CBO's but it is not clear to me what is required.

Thank you in advance.

Eric

Be aware that your recreational registration is really registering yourself, not a particular drone. All drones that you own and fly recreationally may use the same registration number.

 

[vindibona1]

Beware, these leg extensions weigh in at 18 grams so will take the drone weight well above the sub 250g takeoff weight.

From the specification:
Front Legs 3.5g X 2 = 7g
Rear legs 5.5g X 2 = 11g
Total additional weight 18g

I always wonder why so many people want to change what is a beautifully designed and engineered piece of kit.
DJI have designed their drones, and many other pieces of technical wizardry, to work as intended. Making changes to them only detracts from their functionality IMHO.

Have you ever tried to launch or land your Mini in any length of grass? Have you ever tried to mount a strobe on the bottom to have a better sighting of your drone that goes invisible without strobes at 600 feet in spite of being IN LINE of sight?

Beautiful design? It's a miracle. But given the limit of 250 grams, the emphasis being on performance one can understand where the sacrifices were decided. It is still my contention that the aviation agencies went a little over-board with an arbitrary 250 gram weight limit while just a bit more- upping that to 300 grams the drones like the Mini could accept additional safety equipment that would be a reward to the risk ration of an additional 50 grams. Fortunatly in the US all we have to do to bypass the 250g restriction is register with the FAA for $5. I never fly my Mini 2 without strobes, leg extensions and almost always a lens hood that can potentially protect the gimbal should a face-first crash occur.

 

[awraynor]

I would also say register. The more registered flyers show more interest in the hobby by it's users and a great voice. I would like to think anyway.

 

[thomasoes]

Beware, these leg extensions weigh in at 18 grams so will take the drone weight well above the sub 250g takeoff weight.

From the specification:
Front Legs 3.5g X 2 = 7g
Rear legs 5.5g X 2 = 11g
Total additional weight 18g

I always wonder why so many people want to change what is a beautifully designed and engineered piece of kit.
DJI have designed their drones, and many other pieces of technical wizardry, to work as intended. Making changes to them only detracts from their functionality IMHO.

I think the rules may be different in the states

 

[cheddar-man]

Probably but 250g is 250g and I think that is pretty much worldwide for an unregistered drone. Mind you, mine is registered and carries full third party insurance!! You never know!

 

[thomasoes]

Probably but 250g is 250g and I think that is pretty much worldwide for an unregistered drone. Mind you, mine is registered and carries full third party insurance!! You never know!

The big get-out from registration was (largely still is) weight. The UK, USA, Canada and China only require registration for UAVs which have a take-off weight (including battery) of 250g or more, which is why the mini , and successor Mini 2, were such big news. In the UK, however, the presence of a camera on even a sub 250g drone means the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) are very clear that it is “not a toy” so an Operator ID will still be required.