What fun and easy projects for new drone pilots?

[sunnyman]

Hello experienced drone pilots,

I recently got a Mavic Air 2, and I am excited to fly it. However, I noticed that these extreme heat in Texas is not helping it, so I only try to fly it in the early mornings a bit.

I've seen some users posting the fireworks video from a few days ago which was great. What kind of easy but fun projects do you guys recommend for beginners to try?


Thanks,
Sunnyman

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Hello experienced drone pilots,

I recently got a Mavic Air 2, and I am excited to fly it. However, I noticed that these extreme heat in Texas is not helping it, so I only try to fly it in the early mornings a bit.

I've seen some users posting the fireworks video from a few days ago which was great. What kind of easy but fun projects do you guys recommend for beginners to try?


Thanks,
Sunnyman

Learn to fly really proficiently first, as boring as it may sound.
PDF manual, YouTube tutorials etc.
Big open area . . . sports ground / oval, local park, flat, no trees, etc.

It's usually best to learn flying well first, and then take on the photo / video side of drone ops.

I think it's great to take some photos first, especially that one on your first flight (maybe a selfie from 45o) as it can always be remembered.

After a few flights, maybe a good first project is to take some overhead photos of your own home, keeping in mind how it might be best to do if neighbours are close.
If that goes well, maybe some aerials of your close neighbours homes for them, if you get on with them ok and can ask without creating any drone anguish some people have.

Enjoy the Air 2.

 

[MS Coast]

Hello experienced drone pilots,

I recently got a Mavic Air 2, and I am excited to fly it. However, I noticed that these extreme heat in Texas is not helping it, so I only try to fly it in the early mornings a bit.

I've seen some users posting the fireworks video from a few days ago which was great. What kind of easy but fun projects do you guys recommend for beginners to try?


Thanks,
Sunnyman

Learn to fly box patterns. In an open area, put out four markers in a square pattern in front of you and fly the drone around the box, making 90-degree turns at each corner. At first, you can stop at each corner, turn, and proceed. You'll quickly get comfortable with the apparent control reversal when the drone is facing toward you. As you get more proficient, start rounding the corners and turning without stopping.

Then move on to figure eights.

Look on youtube for maneuvers for new drone pilots or learning exercises. There are some good ones.

 

[Rich QR]

Learn to fly box patterns. In an open area, put out four markers in a square pattern in front of you and fly the drone around the box, making 90-degree turns at each corner. At first, you can stop at each corner, turn, and proceed. You'll quickly get comfortable with the apparent control reversal when the drone is facing toward you. As you get more proficient, start rounding the corners and turning without stopping.

Yep. I went to an unused baseball field in my neighborhood, and practiced rounding the bases. Then I tried figure eights using coordinated turns. And circular orbits, with the camera facing me. Most drones can automatically keep the camera pointed at a fixed object while flying a perfect circle around that object, but it's an interesting exercise in coordination to do the same thing manually. Then try flying the same style circle with the camera pointed in its direction of travel. Then repeat the circle with the camera pointed backwards, or outwards.. Put a garden hose out in a random curving pattern on the ground, and use the hose as a "track" to follow as precisely as you can.

All of these exercises help build an intuitive understanding of how the sticks control the drone. All of these exercises are easy to do in a flat, wide-open field, with very little danger of crashing into objects. Master control of the drone in wide open spaces before you attempt to get closer than 10 meters from a tree.

 

[MS Coast]

EDIT: I just noticed that there's a $15 coupon, so the price at checkout is $14.99.

This may sound silly, but these little $30 drones are actually a great way to develop an intuitive feel for the control sticks without leaving your living room or den. The control action is identical to the standard type 2 configuration. Without GPS, you're flying in ATTI mode, which is great training. You can try aggressive maneuvers without putting your finances at risk or damaging anything. They're just the thing for rainy day flying, too. Three batteries with about seven minutes of flight per battery.

Just be prepared for one of those half-smiles and slow head shakes from your significant other.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B09FDGHDNV

 

[GFields]

Hello experienced drone pilots,

I recently got a Mavic Air 2, and I am excited to fly it. However, I noticed that these extreme heat in Texas is not helping it, so I only try to fly it in the early mornings a bit.

I've seen some users posting the fireworks video from a few days ago which was great. What kind of easy but fun projects do you guys recommend for beginners to try?


Thanks,
Sunnyman

Again, welcome to the forum.

It's been a while since I took my drone out "just for fun". Although it is fun each time I fly, mainly do so for business. Like Texas, the heat in Alabama can drain you, and depending on the job, I often don't have a choice of what time during the day I fly.

If you fly as a hobbyist, try googling "great outdoor places to see near me"

 

[sunnyman]

Learn to fly really proficiently first, as boring as it may sound.
PDF manual, YouTube tutorials etc.
Big open area . . . sports ground / oval, local park, flat, no trees, etc.

It's usually best to learn flying well first, and then take on the photo / video side of drone ops.

I think it's great to take some photos first, especially that one on your first flight (maybe a selfie from 45o) as it can always be remembered.

After a few flights, maybe a good first project is to take some overhead photos of your own home, keeping in mind how it might be best to do if neighbours are close.
If that goes well, maybe some aerials of your close neighbours homes for them, if you get on with them ok and can ask without creating any drone anguish some people have.

Enjoy the Air 2.

Thanks for great tips.
I will work on those.

 

[sunnyman]

Again, welcome to the forum.

It's been a while since I took my drone out "just for fun". Although it is fun each time I fly, mainly do so for business. Like Texas, the heat in Alabama can drain you, and depending on the job, I often don't have a choice of what time during the day I fly.

If you fly as a hobbyist, try googling "great outdoor places to see near me"

Thanks for the great tips. The temp is expected to go up to 106 in Round Rock, TX (near Austin). I think I might have to wait until things cool down a bit.

I tried Aloft and Maven apps (recommended by the forum members. Do professionals like you use different app designed for pros?

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

I tried Aloft and Maven apps (recommended by the forum members. Do professionals like you use different app designed for pros?

Some moderately commercial piolts would use Litchi, perhaps Maven (relatively new on the scene), but the real pro use type applications are Pix4D and Drone Deploy.
These are high end mapping and specialised quantity surveying, for ag work, other such.
Usually used for RTK GPS equipped drones for precise work.

DJI do have a flagship pro app too, Pilot.
It's used for the 'Enterprise' range of commercial drones.

 

[Gagey52]

Have to agree with the lads, it’s really important to have those basic skills down pat. If things do turn sour you then have the skills to recover. Some good advice in this thread.
Regards

 

[theDRONEranger]

Practice, practice, and practice

Take off (facing, behind, and away from you)
Landing (same)
Rotational (same)
Angular increase/decrease of altitude facing/opposition/lateral movements
Stationary hover, you move to new position.

If you have access to such as football field, the yard markers will aid significantly in helping you learn distances. One would be amazed at how small the UAS appears at 50 yds vs 100 yds. Can you tell the orientation at those distances? What if you lose video? What if you lose complete LOS? Practice failure flights . . . The what if’s.

 

[vindibona1]

Hello experienced drone pilots,

I recently got a Mavic Air 2, and I am excited to fly it. However, I noticed that these extreme heat in Texas is not helping it, so I only try to fly it in the early mornings a bit.

I've seen some users posting the fireworks video from a few days ago which was great. What kind of easy but fun projects do you guys recommend for beginners to try?


Thanks,
Sunnyman

Congratulations!

As a beginner, fun projects are really motivating to get out there. The good news is that most projects that will show well on video (or stills) will be done just before or during sunrise or sunset to get "golden light".

But what I would advise, as a new pilot, is just get out there and practice, the goal being ultra smooth motion; first with single moves, then progressing to two, three, four movements simultaneously. Get out there a few minutes every day. You don't even have to burn through a single battery to get benefit from practicing. Flying is a skill that degrades without practice. Record your sessions (video) so that you can critique your flying skills. Sometimes we forget that we're not just flying, but filming adds a bit to the skill that is needed. Of course if a project or two excites you and presents themselves go for it. But in the absence projects just get out there. Good luck.

 

[sunnyman]

Congratulations!

As a beginner, fun projects are really motivating to get out there. The good news is that most projects that will show well on video (or stills) will be done just before or during sunrise or sunset to get "golden light".

But what I would advise, as a new pilot, is just get out there and practice, the goal being ultra smooth motion; first with single moves, then progressing to two, three, four movements simultaneously. Get out there a few minutes every day. You don't even have to burn through a single battery to get benefit from practicing. Flying is a skill that degrades without practice. Record your sessions (video) so that you can critique your flying skills. Sometimes we forget that we're not just flying, but filming adds a bit to the skill that is needed. Of course if a project or two excites you and presents themselves go for it. But in the absence projects just get out there. Good luck.

Thanks for the great tips. Glad I have joined this forum. Everyone is so helpful.
Due to the crazy Texas heat, I am going to try to practice everyday in the early morning even if it's for a short period of time.

 

[VenomXts]

Hello experienced drone pilots,

I recently got a Mavic Air 2, and I am excited to fly it. However, I noticed that these extreme heat in Texas is not helping it, so I only try to fly it in the early mornings a bit.

I've seen some users posting the fireworks video from a few days ago which was great. What kind of easy but fun projects do you guys recommend for beginners to try?


Thanks,
Sunnyman

Hey Fellow Texan, and Air 2 owner. Just a fyi I fly in Houston and don't normally have heat issues with my 2+ year old drone. I don't really like to be outside when it is 100 so that probably helps lol

Operating Temperature

• -10° to 40°C (14° to 104°F)

I will say, I saw some very odd behavior with my gimble during the freeze (horizon tilt) and it was 10F lol. I preferred that to this summer heat lol.

 

[sunnyman]

Hey Fellow Texan, and Air 2 owner. Just a fyi I fly in Houston and don't normally have heat issues with my 2+ year old drone. I don't really like to be outside when it is 100 so that probably helps lol

Operating Temperature

• -10° to 40°C (14° to 104°F)

I will say, I saw some very odd behavior with my gimble during the freeze (horizon tilt) and it was 10F lol. I preferred that to this summer heat lol.

Thank you for the helpful information about the operating temperature. It has been reaching 105, 106 lately in Round Rock/Austin area. Too hot to do anything.

Would hot temperature damage the drone or battery permanently?

 

[Hermey]

I found it helpful when starting to do exercises of the type others have mentioned -- eg flying a box pattern, a triangle pattern, both vertical and horizontal versions of each. Then get practice flying 2 directions at once, eg, both up AND forward, or back AND down, or forward AND yaw right or left. Get practice moving sideways parallel to a road or pathway, while at the same time, yawing as needed to stay focused on the pathway. Get practice flying in cine, normal and sport modes. Practice changing gimbal angle and learning how slowly you want to change gimbal angle or yaw or turn left/right, in order to produce good results on video-- eg, turning too fast, is dizzying for the viewer.

In particular I like Greg with Pilot Institute on YouTube, he does very well explaining to beginners. See this video on 15 maneuvers to practice:

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I also really like Jeven Dovey, he does lots of good drone tutorials.

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It's not hard to find other good drone tutorial YouTube channels too.

After I did some of these recommended exercises, I then came up with some of my own exercises. Because I like to fly close to attractive trees or "tree arches", I began to practice flying up and down parallel to a tree, and seeing how close I needed to be to the drone to feel like I was fully able to see any obstacles in the way of the drone. (Answer: very close!) Ditto for flying through a forest: I realized I generally need to be very close to the drone in order to fully observe all possible obstacles around the drone. I also learned that sometimes when I stop the drone's motion, it "bounces" up or down, and that if I was too close to an object when I did that, this could cause a collision.