On the side lines way too long

[Lyndon Sam Samuel]

Morning / afternoon to all, just a short one to introduce myself.
Situated in South Wales ,UK ,carpenter by trade and needing more things to do other than work hence the purchase of the Mavic Mini to attempt to get into the drone hobby. Couple of days in and loving the fact I have not smashed it into a wall yet ?
Any hints and tips greatly appreciated

 

[slup]

Hi there & welcome to the forum ?

Here you have some hints ...

Read the user manual ...the thick downloadable one, not only the quick start, download here --> https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/Mavic_Mini/20200212/Mavic_Mini_User_Manual_v1.0_EN.pdf

Power on in the right order ... First power on your RC & start the app ... after that, power on the drone (& do it on the spot you're going to take off from). Reverse order to shut down.

Before take off ALWAYS ... add in one very easy check to avoid a really scary event coming from launching from a magnetic disturbed place with following flyaway at height in an uncontrollable "toilet bowl" shaped flight path. After powering on your drone, connected to your RC/app & placed it in the take off spot ... but before lift off, ALWAYS check that the drone icon on the map in your app is pointing equal to reality ... if not, abort launch attempt, power down & move away, power up again and try take off elsewhere.

Keep well under the wind spec were you fly ... and please note that it's not only at ground, it's at the altitude were you fly. The winds up to 400ft are very different then on ground.
Use for instance the UAV Forecast app were you can get a feeling about the wind on higher altitudes, but please note that it's forecasts we are speaking of, a bit of common sense is good to apply to that ... "better skip flying a windy day & fly more another day".

Don't go & calibrate everything on a regularly basis ... why fix thing's that are working, it's just a higher risk that you by mistake calibrate your compass in a magnetic disturbed area & the drone goes haywire 10 meters up in the air. Calibrate IMU + compass according to user manual, keep away from magnetic things like cars, metal tables & reinforced concrete at take off & compass calibrations. If the app recommend a compass calibration first try another launch spot on a far distance from the first ... if calibration still is recommended by the app do it, but only then.

Don't launch in a hurry ... wait until you have at least 8, preferable 10 locked satellites & wait for the lady voice announce that the Homepoint has been updated, check then on the map that it's in the correct spot. Learn how the RTH function works, don't set the altitude for that unnecessary high, look around were you are going to fly and set it to clear the highest obstacle, to high & the drone risks a blow away.

Seek up a large open place ... a soccer field, free of obstacles & people. Test off every function one at a time until you fully understand how it works & the logic behind, confirm through the user manual if needed. Fly low, slow & near.

Take the claimed control distance from DJI with a pinch of salt ... only doable out in the countryside completely free of WiFi disturbance & obstacles in between the Remote & Aircraft.

Don't use the RTH button as a "panic button" it's usually the weakest mode of them all ... you will always have access to more power in the manual modes ... if slow against a bit to strong head wind, go for Sport mode, drop altitude & maneuver the drone home manually.

Learn the rules & regulation ... keep the drone within Visual line of sight, if you can't avoid going out of visual keep it at least in line of sight (unobstructed line between Remote & Aircraft even though you don't see it).

 

[Dedal]

Welcome.

 

[Xanadu]

Welcome to the forum!

@slup pretty much summed everything up for you!

 

[old man mavic]

welcome to the forum,also in South Wales near Caerphilly

 

[wjkrysak]

Welcome to the forum. I also fly a MA. You will find plenty of support here. We look forward to your participation and your view of the world.

 

[dirkclod]

Welcome to Mavic Pilots .
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
and stay safe..

 

[msinger]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Drone Master]

Welcome to Mavic Pilots! Enjoy the forum!

 

[Aerial-Pixel]

Morning / afternoon to all, just a short one to introduce myself.
Situated in South Wales ,UK ,carpenter by trade and needing more things to do other than work hence the purchase of the Mavic Mini to attempt to get into the drone hobby. Couple of days in and loving the fact I have not smashed it into a wall yet ?
Any hints and tips greatly appreciated

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