The top 4 things to check on your Mavic before takeoff.

Oingo Boingo · Mar 17, 2017

Mayoor-uk said:
I am going on holiday to Nepal soon and am trying to compile a check list before each flight.
1. Calibrate compass
2. Remove gimbal lock
3. Make sure RTH is set
4. Get a permit to fly from Nepalese aviation authority.
What else must I do to ensure I return with good memories?

I would set RTH home point on the craft and GPS location on your phone. Looking at some of the posts people are posting about drones falling out of the sky and loosing batteries..... I would add.... Ensure battery is attached correctly

Mayoor-uk · Mar 17, 2017

You can see from the photo, the lock is old style.. gimbal is slightly different.

Mayoor-uk · Mar 17, 2017

Oingo Boingo said:
I would set RTH home point on the craft and GPS location on your phone. Looking at some of the posts people are posting about drones falling out of the sky and loosing batteries..... I would add.... Ensure battery is attached correctly

Really helpful suggestions here... I am going to laminate a sheet of paper with a tick list next to it! Sometimes, not carrying out the basic checks before a flight can prove to be disastrous as i have read on so many posts!

F22loader · Mar 17, 2017

Mayoor-uk said:
You can see from the photo, the lock is old style.. gimbal is slightly different.View attachment 8722

That looks ok to me. The groove in the plastic clamp slides over the back of the lens where the arrow im is pointing.

Mayoor-uk · Mar 17, 2017

F22loader said:
That looks ok to me. The groove in the plastic clamp slides over the back of the lens where the arrow im is pointing. View attachment 8724

You are right in what you say, but my previous gimbal (before this one was repaired) had a slot which went into the lock. This gimbal does not slide into the lock provided. It is 100% different in design.

halley · Mar 17, 2017

To me it does not look different in design. It looks like the back plate of the camera is missing, like it broke off.

Scapegoat · Mar 17, 2017

halley said:
To me it does not look different in design. It looks like the back plate of the camera is missing, like it broke off.

That's what I was thinking too

Oyibo VFX · Mar 18, 2017

If nothing goes right, go left

IADRN43 · Mar 18, 2017

I'd try to do #4, but I think they would just ask, "where the heck is Iowa??"

NickB · Mar 18, 2017

I'm another firm believer of doing a simple compass calibration if i go to a new location...it takes 30 seconds and it's hard to do it wrong....no way would i wait to be asked to do it by the app.

av8torgwc · Mar 18, 2017

Mayoor-uk said:
You can see from the photo, the lock is old style.. gimbal is slightly different.View attachment 8722

See the below gimbal lock installation video. It appears your camera has a piece that is missing from the back, not a change of the design.

Atomicbear · Mar 18, 2017

I ALWAYS make sure I am NOT I never sport mode when I first take off too. Switch turns on sometimes when I take it out of my case.

Denny Crane · Mar 18, 2017

After setting Home Point, Review on the Map to ensure it's really where you are.

Fleek · Mar 19, 2017

Mayoor-uk said:
I am going on holiday to Nepal soon and am trying to compile a check list before each flight.
1. Calibrate compass
2. Remove gimbal lock
3. Make sure RTH is set
4. Get a permit to fly from Nepalese aviation authority.
What else must I do to ensure I return with good memories?

Point 4 might totally block you. Nepal bureaucracy is notoriously slow & they will be wary of letting drones be flown by foreigners.

peros550 · Mar 19, 2017

What I always seem to forget is the SD. Every time I go somewhere to fly , I find out that I forgot the SD at home.

armoredsaint · Mar 20, 2017

Mayoor-uk said:
You can see from the photo, the lock is old style.. gimbal is slightly different.View attachment 8722

not different, broken back plate

Hivoltage · Mar 20, 2017

Mayoor-uk said:
Dji have changed the gimbal design so the lock supplied with the drone does not fit it properly and it wobbles whilst being transported. Might have to get one from Ebay or Amazon!

I noticed that...the lock does not fit very well at all.

erkme73 · Mar 20, 2017

Just a word of caution if you're shipping your MP or if it will be handled by someone other than you. The gimbal lock and dome do not have a positive locking mechanism. They will pop off if the MP experiences enough downward force. The gimbal and mounting plate have enough play, and the vibration-reducing rubber bands have enough stretch in them to allow the entire camera assembly to move downward with enough mass to simply knock both clamp and dome off.

Either secure the dome to the airframe with tape, rubber bands, or Velcro straps before shipping, or make sure there is no space between the bottom of your case an the bottom of the dome. If the dome is resting on padding in the case, you'll be fine. But without some extra support, you'll find the clamp and dome off the MP, and the camera free balling the entire ride.

AyeYo · Mar 20, 2017

NickB said:
I'm another firm believer of doing a simple compass calibration if i go to a new location...it takes 30 seconds and it's hard to do it wrong....no way would i wait to be asked to do it by the app.

No, it's not at all hard to do it wrong. In fact, it's really really easy to do it wrong and you'll never even know it was done wrong until you're posting this board's 10,000th "Mavic flew away" thread.

Calibrating it wrong is as simple has being too near your car, having keys in your pocket, doing it in an area with other magnetic interference/anomaly, etc.

ONLY calibrate if prompted by the app or told to do so by DJI.