What I did to prevent flyaways / locate mini

[Fearless Flight]

Looks good and should help you be successful.
I wouldn’t do #6 but other than that.
I don’t have a mini but I assume the software is similar to the Mavic. One big help in determining orientation is learning how the lower left graphic on your screen works. Even if you completely lose sight of your mini you can look at the graphic and point your drone at yourself and push forward on the right stick and it will come right back to you. No need to hit RTH to orient the bird.

 

[thermalflyer]

I’m a brand new mini and drone owner. Took the mini to Kings River yesterday after a few flights at the park near my home.
Thought I would share my experience and how I prepared:

1. Read the mini forums on this site and check out the YouTube videos. I learned a lot through other’s experience and feedback on mistakes.
2. I set my max height and distance rather low for the first few flights.
3. When I briefly lose site of the mini, I stop flying a hover in place. If I have trouble finding it I look at the area and either lower or raise altitude to locate mini. That helped.
3. When I had trouble with the direction it was facing I did the same thing. Pause, take a deep breath and then find the mini.
4. I did not use RTH unless I wanted to use it to orient drone towards home point. Then I would cancel RTH. It’s easy to land the mini so don’t take a chance on not having an accurate home point or having the drone rise or lower itself into wind or an obstacle.
5. Maybe this should have been first, don’t take off until you have gps and home point.
6. I have made a habit of recentering gimbal, IMU and compass before flying.
7. I see posts about flying too low over water so I keep the mini at least 20 feet above water.

looking at my list, I guess what I’m really doing is avoiding risk but doing it in a way that lets me still enjoy the experience of flying a drone.

I think that's the main things to keep in mind ...

 

[Magilla Gorilla]

Looks good and should help you be successful.
I wouldn’t do #6 but other than that.
I don’t have a mini but I assume the software is similar to the Mavic. One big help in determining orientation is learning how the lower left graphic on your screen works. Even if you completely lose sight of your mini you can look at the graphic and point your drone at yourself and push forward on the right stick and it will come right back to you. No need to hit RTH to orient the bird.

Good points.
About #6: If OP meant calibrating when he said recentering, this is not necessary. I would change that step to: Check compass display for correct orientation of device and bird.

 

[RSDonovan]

I’m a brand new mini and drone owner. Took the mini to Kings River yesterday after a few flights at the park near my home.
Thought I would share my experience and how I prepared:

1. Read the mini forums on this site and check out the YouTube videos. I learned a lot through other’s experience and feedback on mistakes.
2. I set my max height and distance rather low for the first few flights.
3. When I briefly lose site of the mini, I stop flying a hover in place. If I have trouble finding it I look at the area and either lower or raise altitude to locate mini. That helped.
3. When I had trouble with the direction it was facing I did the same thing. Pause, take a deep breath and then find the mini.
4. I did not use RTH unless I wanted to use it to orient drone towards home point. Then I would cancel RTH. It’s easy to land the mini so don’t take a chance on not having an accurate home point or having the drone rise or lower itself into wind or an obstacle.
5. Maybe this should have been first, don’t take off until you have gps and home point.
6. I have made a habit of recentering gimbal, IMU and compass before flying.
7. I see posts about flying too low over water so I keep the mini at least 20 feet above water.

looking at my list, I guess what I’m really doing is avoiding risk but doing it in a way that lets me still enjoy the experience of flying a drone.

That’s a great list! I’m in the same position, new to drones, and I too am trying to be very careful until I get up to speed. Better to learn off someone else’s mistakes rather than your own! Keep posting

 

[RSDonovan]

if you had seen me flying my MPP when it was new ,you would think i had a piece of string attached to it,even though i had flown other drones many times before that, and even a phantom 3 before the mav, and apart from the PH3 ,they were a tenth of the price of the mav, and all i could think of, was will it crash, will it come back,ect,we have all been there,its great when you do finally trust your flying skills and trust your equipment ,and all the things you have to remember to do,become second nature then you really start to enjoy your hobby

I’m enjoying flying a drone even though I too am very careful not to let it out of my sight at the moment. Hopefully the weather will soon improve and I’ll be able to get more flights under my belt!

 

[old man mavic]

I’m enjoying flying a drone even though I too am very careful not to let it out of my sight at the moment. Hopefully the weather will soon improve and I’ll be able to get more flights under my belt!

i did not mean to infer that you would not enjoy it until you have some hours under you belt,i meant that with flying experience, you can concentrate on videoing and pic taking ,because you have the skills to control your drone ,and have a successful flight, it takes time to hone those skills,and then combine them with the camera

 

[RSDonovan]

i did not mean to infer that you would not enjoy it until you have some hours under you belt,i meant that with flying experience, you can concentrate on videoing and pic taking ,because you have the skills to control your drone ,and have a successful flight, it takes time to hone those skills,and then combine them with the camera

Sure! That’s how I understood your reply. Everything is more enjoyable when you‘re more confident. I chickened out of flying today because the wind was so strong but I flew yesterday and I thought my mini handled the wind well. Instead I read about editing which I want to get into when I have some footage! Another interesting thing to learn ??

 

[old man mavic]

there are many many aspects to this hobby and each of us takes something different from it ,for me its the thrill of controlling my drone ,getting out in the fresh air and seeing the world from a different perspective,then when i come home its maintaining my batteries and my equipment and viewing what i have filmed on my computer

 

[Fearless Flight]

there are many many aspects to this hobby and each of us takes something different from it ,for me its the thrill of controlling my drone ,getting out in the fresh air and seeing the world from a different perspective,then when i come home its maintaining my batteries and my equipment and viewing what i have filmed on my computer

Same for me. And every once in a while getting a photo that just blows you away.

Would you believe I have been fling drones since their inception and have never hit the RTH button in my life. I just enjoy piloting them myself. It doesn’t make my way better or worse at all it’s just the way I like to do things. That’s what makes the hobby so much fun. There are a million different ways to enjoy the same hobby.

 

[old man mavic]

thats the great thing about ,we all have different ideas,and thats as it should be

 

[wjkrysak]

Agreed. Enjoy each day and experience. I have been flying RC fixed wings with cameras for many years and saw the inception and evolution of quad copters (drones). I was bitten right away, especially when gimbal tech came along. I enjoy the experience of being outdoors, freedom of controlled flight, birds eye view from the skies, tinkering (used to be repairs with RC), and sharing the learning experiences with my nephew.
Enjoy your safe flights in your own ways, share it with others, and have a safe, and happy holidays.

 

[johnbirt]

.... I too am very careful not to let it out of my sight at the moment ...

I think you mean at ANY moment. Surely?

Another point to bear in mind relevant to compass calibration and magnetic interference possibly relevant to the Mini but definitely for an Mavic Air.

I discovered the hard way that wearing an Apple watch which has inbuilt magnet for charging is a no-no when calibrating the compass for an Air which seems very picky. In nearly all the times I was asked to calibrate pre take off it was the watch that instigated the request and then prevented doing it anyway with constant failure to calibrate. A number of people on the UK Grey Arrows forum confirm they have had similar issues with the Air when wearing certain items e.g. pacemakers, coats/jackets with metal or magnetic fasteners and gloves with metal studs as someone posted on here a while back could cause calibration issues.

I guess doesn't apply to Mini as would surely have been reported by now but anyway as others have pointed out - avoid magnets!

 

[Starz]

I have one to add,

Don't fly with less than 11 satellites connected to the AC
and always set the home point manually and verify on the map

I understand the 11 satellite part, but I’m curious about the manual home point part. I do reset that at times and I think everyone should understand how it’s done, but why every time. Thanks.

 

[Meta4]

and always set the home point manually

There's absolutely no reason to do this.
Your drone's GPS receiver will set a home point perfectly well without any help.
Setting it manually won't do anything to make your flight any safer.
You may as well always fly with a lucky rabbit's foot in your pocket.

 

[lannes]

There's absolutely no reason to do this.
Your drone's GPS receiver will set a home point perfectly well without any help.
Setting it manually won't do anything to make your flight any safer.
You may as well always fly with a lucky rabbit's foot in your pocket.

It maybe a superfluous step, but sometimes I do it if I have gps interference and it takes a while for the home point to be set
It's just to redo the satellite lock in these circumstances to make sure and it's another reminder to check the home point on the map.

 

[Meta4]

It maybe a superfluous step, but sometimes I do it if I have gps interference and it takes a while for the home point to be set
It's just to redo the satellite lock in these circumstances to make sure and it's another reminder to check the home point on the map.

GPS interference?
The only things that would cause slow acquisition of GPS would be either obstacles blocking part of the skyview or flying in a new area where the receiver has to do a cold start.
If you launch from a location where obstacles block the skyview significantly, you can launch without GPS and fly straight up to where the skyview is less obstructed.
If you need to go higher than 5 metres without GPS you would need to switch off the VPS sensors.
When the drone clears the obstacles, you'll get GPS signal without problem.

 

[old man mavic]

It maybe a superfluous step, but sometimes I do it if I have gps interference and it takes a while for the home point to be set
It's just to redo the satellite lock in these circumstances to make sure and it's another reminder to check the home point on the map.

its not actually interference its the number of sats that are visible at your location to the drone ,and whether there are lots of high buildings around you that can block the signal also a similar thing can happen if you are very low down in a valley with high mountains around you

 

[lannes]

GPS interference?
The only things that would cause slow acquisition of GPS would be either obstacles blocking part of the skyview or flying in a new area where the receiver has to do a cold start.
If you launch from a location where obstacles block the skyview significantly, you can launch without GPS and fly straight up to where the skyview is less obstructed.
If you need to go higher than 5 metres without GPS you would need to switch off the VPS sensors.
When the drone clears the obstacles, you'll get GPS signal without problem.

I should have used used the word blocking, but there are some forms of GPS "interference" as well

GPS.gov: GPS Spectrum and Interference Issues

www.gps.gov

 

[lannes]

its not actually interference its the number of sats that are visible at your location to the drone ,and whether there are lots of high buildings around you that can block the signal also a similar thing can happen if you are very low down in a valley with high mountains around you

Your right, I was referring to not being able to get enough satellites due to a poor location, by doing a manual home point set, it just reassures you that you have a good lock.

 

[old man mavic]

I should have used used the word blocking, but there are some forms of GPS "interference" as well

GPS.gov: GPS Spectrum and Interference Issues

www.gps.gov

fair enough but in the UK if there are any such jamming tests going on the CAA put the info on their website and app so we know about it,what myself and @Meta4 were on about was under normal circumstances