The way forward, or just a gimmick to catch the younger generation?

[123taff]

DJI Avata - DJI

DJI Avata Born to fly

www.dji.com

 

[old man mavic]

Sadly what the slick advertising doesn't show you, is how many hours of practice it requires to reach the level as seen
i notice right at the end it says performed by professionals,
flying FPV with goggles will ,and does produce some amazing footage ,and for those that have the necessary skills to do it ,i say good luck to them

 

[Droning on and on...]

It's hard to really understand how different the flying experience is with the MC if you haven't tried it.

The MC is revolutionary, and people with no drone experience at all very quickly are able to fly well within a flight or two.

 

[old man mavic]

@mightypilot2000 ,nowhere in my post did i mention Motion controllers, i was simply stating a fact that flying FPV is something that requires ,a lot of practice to perfect, and as wonderful as the images produced are, flying FPV is a whole different ball game from flying a camera drone,
regardless of what sort of controller is used

 

[SoCal2S]

It’s no different than drifting in car commercials.

 

[db4476]

If you haven't flown with MC, you are too poorly informed to really comment on this.

The MC is revolutionary, and people with no drone experience at all very quickly are able to fly well within a flight or two.

MC are not really revolutionary, as the Wii is based on that and have been used for drones for a while now. As for use in drones, you can buy or build your own in a 4, 6, 8, 9 axis configurations for drone control. In the FPV community, the DJI Avata is considered by many to be a beginner FPV that borrow heavily from the Cinewhoop drone.

I own 2 DIY FPV's and watching DJI's marketing video it is not as agile compared to my FPV's., I'll take a pass on it as I can roll my own for the same price.

Cheers!

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

If you haven't flown with MC, you are too poorly informed to really comment on this.

The MC is revolutionary, and people with no drone experience at all very quickly are able to fly well within a flight or two.

If my FPV MC is anything to go by, you also have VERY limited reverse capability and no sideways capability, quite a loss I think.

 

[TwoSticks]

It’s on my shopping list to go with my camera drones. It’s a whoop more than anything which sounds great.

 

[123taff]

The thing that strikes me though is that in most cases unless you have a "spotter" they would technically be illegal to fly solo on FPV, (at least in the UK) which is of little use to me personally as I tend to be solo when filming anything! They would have a very good commercial footprint since most "professionals" usually have multiple staff in attendance, but for the average "hobbyist" like me, I feel it is more of a gimmick!

 

[Johnmcl7]

The thing that strikes me though is that in most cases unless you have a "spotter" they would technically be illegal to fly solo on FPV, (at least in the UK) which is of little use to me personally as I tend to be solo when filming anything! They would have a very good commercial footprint since most "professionals" usually have multiple staff in attendance, but for the average "hobbyist" like me, I feel it is more of a gimmick!

That's exactly what I was wondering as well as I was assuming it wouldn't be legal in the UK on your own.

 

[Robert Prior]

The thing that strikes me though is that in most cases unless you have a "spotter" they would technically be illegal to fly solo on FPV, (at least in the UK)

Canada too. 410 g so well past the 250 g limit we have here.

 

[TwoSticks]

The thing that strikes me though is that in most cases unless you have a "spotter" they would technically be illegal to fly solo on FPV, (at least in the UK) which is of little use to me personally as I tend to be solo when filming anything! They would have a very good commercial footprint since most "professionals" usually have multiple staff in attendance, but for the average "hobbyist" like me, I feel it is more of a gimmick!

If you look at your screen when you fly and away from the drone your technical interpretation of the rule applies the same.

Goggles are just your screen closer to your view without excess light. You're not wrong but if we are being specific then anything that takes your eye away from the drone itself meets the issue.

 

[Scottalmas]

If you look at your screen when you fly and away from the drone your technical interpretation of the rule applies the same.

Goggles are just your screen closer to your view without excess light. You're not wrong but if we are being specific then anything that takes your eye away from the drone itself meets the issue

Weeeeeell. Not really. It's a LOT easier to momentarily move your eyes back and forth between your phone screen and VLOS than it is to don and doff goggles. When piloting a UAS using a controller with a screen or phone as display, I do NOT believe that the requirement for a solo operator is to keep your eye fixed on the UAS at all times. VLOS only requires that the Pilot in Charge or Observer CAN immediatetly locate the UAS in order to confirm its position with regard to other aircraft, buildings, people or other obstructions.

 

[123taff]

Weeeeeell. Not really. It's a LOT easier to momentarily move your eyes back and forth between your phone screen and VLOS than it is to don and doff goggles. When piloting a UAS using a controller with a screen or phone as display, I do NOT believe that the requirement for a solo operator is to keep your eye fixed on the UAS at all times. VLOS only requires that the Pilot in Charge or Observer CAN immediatetly locate the UAS in order to confirm its position with regard to other aircraft, buildings, people or other obstructions.

I agree with that contention. Obviously, even with VLOS, you have to glance down at the screen to set up shots etc, but the spirit if not the letter of the law is such that the flyer or spotter can easily and immediately locate the drone in the event of potential hazards/collisions. Flying FPV with goggles is totally different in that if for example a hazard is heard, by the time you have whipped off the googles and located the hazard and more importantly your drone, then it would be effectively too late to react adequately. Besides this, your eyes are close focused on a screen in front of your eyes in relatively lower light than that outside, particularly in bright sunlight, and a quick spotting of your drone would be nigh on impossible to do quickly hampered by both contrasting light exposure and close/distance focussing. Another complication is that you now have your goggles in one hand, hampering your immediate control of your drone, especially in a panic.
I think it would be VERY easy to identify illegal flying if your drone can only be controlled in FPV mode and you are not accompanied by a spotter.

 

[mark.pinskey]

It’s no different than drifting in car commercials.

Not really fair to compare to drifting. You don’t learn drifting by one ride. It takes many……

 

[spsphotos]

Sadly what the slick advertising doesn't show you, is how many hours of practice it requires to reach the level as seen
i notice right at the end it says performed by professionals,
flying FPV with goggles will ,and does produce some amazing footage ,and for those that have the necessary skills to do it ,i say good luck to them

Not necessarily true. Greg from Pilot Institute has a video on the Avata and in it, he has one of his people who's never flown a drone, no less an FPV cinewhoop, and she was able to fly it with no issues. Sure, to be proficient and do the stunts and things like in the video you need to practice, but that goes for any drone, or for that matter...ANYTHING at all. There are slick car ads everywhere, but that doesn't mean a new driver is going to be able to drive with proficiency the first time they get behind the wheel of a car. LOL

 

[Droning on and on...]

The Avata can be flown indoors without a spotter. the ability to brake, hover precisely, and maintain altitude very accurately is a gamechanger for indoor flight. DJI's VPS on a tinywhoop is mind blowing

@old man mavic – sorry for my mean sounding reply, it was on a phone and I was too pithy. What I meant is that one really needs to try the MC to see how easy it is to effectively control the drone intuitively with very little practice. .

This is no doubt the target audience for the Avata. While it easily also has capabilities that more seasoned pilots will find attractive, it looks like DJI is trying to grab people that aren't looking to fly farther than the confines of a city park or sports field, and indoor environments.

DJI even goes out of their way to show off the flight robustness by bumping into a tree in the intro video.

Anyway OMM, hope no hard feelings

 

[123taff]

The Avata can be flown indoors without a spotter. the ability to brake, hover precisely, and maintain altitude very accurately is a gamechanger for indoor flight.

Yes that is a good point.

 

[old man mavic]

@spsphotos ,i am sure that ,many ,many people,myself included would be able to fly the Avata ,with reasonable success ,using all the stability modes ,that it possesses
and also that someone with no alleged experience ,could do the same ,please read my post again,the point i was trying to make ,was that many people purchase a drone based on what they see in promotional content,and believe that they can go straight out ,and produce similar footage

 

[old man mavic]

The Avata can be flown indoors without a spotter. the ability to brake, hover precisely, and maintain altitude very accurately is a gamechanger for indoor flight. DJI's VPS on a tinywhoop is mind blowing

@old man mavic – sorry for my mean sounding reply, it was on a phone and I was too pithy. What I meant is that one really needs to try the MC to see how easy it is to effectively control the drone intuitively with very little practice. .

This is no doubt the target audience for the Avata. While it easily also has capabilities that more seasoned pilots will find attractive, it looks like DJI is trying to grab people that aren't looking to fly farther than the confines of a city park or sports field, and indoor environments.

DJI even goes out of their way to show off the flight robustness by bumping into a tree.

Anyway OMM, hope no hard feelings

theres no hard feelings on my part, and for those people who relish the idea of flying FPV with goggles on ,then good luck to them all