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J-Dog

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Seminole, Florida
I've been reading horror stories on this forum about crashes, fly always and dives into the ocean. I'm a little afraid to fly! I was wanting to use DJI Pilot program to set waypoints down the coast of a lake but not sure if I should. I used that program to set waypoints to go down to the end of the street and back and then down the other way to the end of the street and back and land and it worked fine but to get it out by the water, I'm a little worried about that.
 
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No need to worry. Just remember most people who post here have problems, done something stupid or looking for some advice from a seasoned pilot. There are many who never have any issues. They just don’t post that information. It sounds like you are off to a good start. Make simple missions with the go app and get used to the way the app works and the Mavic responds. Then you can make more complex missions. Until you get a few hours under you belt dont venture out and do something nuts. Common sense will be your best guide.

I have over 150 hours on the platinum and not a single issue. I have made some very complex waypoint missions, 50+ waypoints without a single hiccup.
 
No need to worry. Just remember most people who post here have problems, done something stupid or looking for some advice from a seasoned pilot. It sounds like you are off to a good start. Make simple missions with the go app and get used to the way the app works and the Mavic responds. Then you can make more complex missions. Until you get a few hours under you belt dont venture out and do something nuts. Common sense will be your best guide.

I have over 150 hours on the platinum and not a single issue. I have made some very complex waypoint missions, 50+ waypoints without a single hiccup.
Well that certainly makes me feel a lot better. I'm just concerned also that I may send it out too far and it doesn't make it back. But how far is too far? I know line of sight is your best friend but there's a lot of trees around here that I can't see around.
 
Technically, line of sight is your legal guide. But any drone pilot who says they have maintained sight of their Mavic during a mission is probably stretching the truth. When filming lighthouses I have had mine out 2.5 - 3 miles. Of course that is over water, no obstructions or electrical interference. That will not be the case in an urban environment.

My best advice is to not let it get out of your sight till you are 100 percent certain of your pilot skills and the Mavic capabilities. If you lose connection during mission the Mavic will return to home. Saved my butt several times. Just be sure you understand all the rules to the return to home function and have return height set high enough not to crash anything should RTH kick in on signal loss.
 
I would not be worried at all. Most of the horror stories you hear R pilot error’s. The main thing you want to make sure of before you take off the home point has been set. Always take off with a fully charged battery. I have never experienced one problem with my Mavic for my inspire.
 
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I've been reading horror stories on this forum about crashes, fly always and dives into the ocean. I'm a little afraid to fly! I was wanting to use DJI Pilot program to set waypoints down the coast of a lake but not sure if I should. I used that program to set waypoints to go down to the end of the street and back and then down the other way to the end of the street and back and land and it worked fine but to get it out by the water, I'm a little worried about that.

Make sure and read these stories to the end, 99 times out of 100 hundred fly away's and dunks in the ocean are pilot error.
 
Technically, line of sight is your legal guide. But any drone pilot who says they have maintained sight of their Mavic during a mission is probably stretching the truth. When filming lighthouses I have had mine out 2.5 - 3 miles. Of course that is over water, no obstructions or electrical interference. That will not be the case in an urban environment.

My best advice is to not let it get out of your sight till you are 100 percent certain of your pilot skills and the Mavic capabilities. If you lose connection during mission the Mavic will return to home. Saved my butt several times. Just be sure you understand all the rules to the return to home function and have return height set high enough not to crash anything should RTH kick in on signal loss.
Right on. Great advice. Baby steps here. This was a once in a lifetime purchase for me. I'm a poor ole soul but gotta have my toys!
 
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I would not be worried at all. Most of the horror stories you hear R pilot error’s. The main thing you want to make sure of before you take off the home point has been set. Always take off with a fully charged battery. I have never experienced one problem with my Mavic for my inspire.
Hell yes. Full battery every time. Set rth at 50 meters. I don't want to make those errors.
 
No need to worry. Just remember most people who post here have problems, done something stupid or looking for some advice from a seasoned pilot. There are many who never have any issues. They just don’t post that information. It sounds like you are off to a good start. Make simple missions with the go app and get used to the way the app works and the Mavic responds. Then you can make more complex missions. Until you get a few hours under you belt dont venture out and do something nuts. Common sense will be your best guide.

I have over 150 hours on the platinum and not a single issue. I have made some very complex waypoint missions, 50+ waypoints without a single hiccup.

You dont have to worry at all if you follow the proper procedures and to establish the safety fly rules as well... Dont take risks tgats all...
 
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I've been reading horror stories on this forum about crashes, fly always and dives into the ocean. I'm a little afraid to fly! I was wanting to use DJI Pilot program to set waypoints down the coast of a lake but not sure if I should. I used that program to set waypoints to go down to the end of the street and back and then down the other way to the end of the street and back and land and it worked fine but to get it out by the water, I'm a little worried about that.
Buddy you arer way ahead of me. I have not even started trying waypoints yet. My flight record shows about 4 1/2 hours of flying. So far totaled one Mavic Pro Platiumin and one button came of RC, DJI took care of both. I have developed a healthy respect for this hobby nd enjoying the journey. Safe Travels, enjoy!
 
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I've been reading horror stories on this forum about crashes, fly always and dives into the ocean. I'm a little afraid to fly! I was wanting to use DJI Pilot program to set waypoints down the coast of a lake but not sure if I should. I used that program to set waypoints to go down to the end of the street and back and then down the other way to the end of the street and back and land and it worked fine but to get it out by the water, I'm a little worried about that.
It will not go into the water if you do everything correctly. I did it twice, it does happen.. Just make sure you have enough juice to make the route and to return. Make sure you set your altitude enough so you don't run into any trees, tall chimney's etc...If you fly low, roughly walk close to the route ensuring you will not run into anything, make sure you set your home point ... If you did on your street, do it again but mix the altitude and speed a lil bit to you're comfortable..In Fact - Practice on your street or field as many times to you're confident enough to do the mission you want.. Good luck, it's good that you're a little nervous..
 
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I use Litchi for flying using waypoints, but the idea is the same. I made several flights close to home. I made these practice flights more and more complex so that I could try individual features. I also made longer duration flights while still staying close by so that I could get comfortable with how it could handle long complex journies. I then took my drone to Italy and flew programmed flights along the shores of a mountain lake. All the practice flights made me comfortable that my Air would return home safely. Enjoy yourself. As already mentioned, many people fly successfully without ever posting on this forum. They are in the majority.
 
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Buddy you arer way ahead of me. I have not even started trying waypoints yet. My flight record shows about 4 1/2 hours of flying. So far totaled one Mavic Pro Platiumin and one button came of RC, DJI took care of both. I have developed a healthy respect for this hobby nd enjoying the journey. Safe Travels, enjoy!
I started out on toy drones and worked my way up to this MPP. I'm still learning its capabilities. I did the waypoints around the block twice yesterday. I was Very nervous but the Mavic wasn't scared at all. No problem whatsoever. I'm still not ready to send it over Seminole Lake yet. I can just picture it nose diving and a splash a hundred feet or so from the shoreline. Makes me cringe.
 
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part of the fun of flying is that nervous feeling... When something becomes too easy we up the challenge enough that the nervousness comes back.. I have close to 400,000 meters on my mavic platinum without any incidents..... other than some pilot errors....
 
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****. That's reassuring
I’m late to the discussion, but I’d like to add to your info.

Since August this year, I’ve been flying a Mavic Pro Platinum. Using an IPad mini 4, and all the updates to IOS, and firmware.

I have 297 flights, over a distance of 2,073,000 ft, and 54 hours of flight time. Most flights are from my home in the country with huge forests all around, including my 15 acres. I’ve learned how to dodge trees. In all that flying I have used all of the intelligent flight modes and have taken hours of video.

I have had no crashes, and only one forced landing with only 5% battery remaining. I’ve learned that trees and other structures that are between you and the quad will always attenuate the signal, and your signal is the limiting factor. When there is a clear line of sight for the signal, the battery becomes the limitation.

I have a flight regimen that keeps me out of trouble.
  • Always take off with 100% charge.
  • Use precision take off with at least 11 satellites.
  • Land when the battery reaches 30%. Use both manual landing to hone your skills, and the RTH button to test the calibration of your quad.
  • Calibrate the IMU and compass every 20 to 30 flights.
  • Change the props every 200 flights. I use OEM props.
  • Never fly beyond a signal loss down to 3 bars for the control signal.
  • Never ignore a return to home warning thinking you’ve got lots of battery remaining.
  • Fly up-wind when winds are excessive. If winds drift you in P mode, use Sport to get back and land. (Actually flying in wind is fun and is a good learning experience.)
  • If you find yourself in a forced landing mode, you can maintain your height by pushing up on the left stick. Scary but it works.
  • Don’t fly around people, and try to follow the rules.
  • Stay with this forum, and watch a lot of YouTube. You never stop learning new things.
Very conservative, but it’s what has kept my quad in one piece and me out of jail.
 
I’m late to the discussion, but I’d like to add to your info.

Since August this year, I’ve been flying a Mavic Pro Platinum. Using an IPad mini 4, and all the updates to IOS, and firmware.

I have 297 flights, over a distance of 2,073,000 ft, and 54 hours of flight time. Most flights are from my home in the country with huge forests all around, including my 15 acres. I’ve learned how to dodge trees. In all that flying I have used all of the intelligent flight modes and have taken hours of video.

I have had no crashes, and only one forced landing with only 5% battery remaining. I’ve learned that trees and other structures that are between you and the quad will always attenuate the signal, and your signal is the limiting factor. When there is a clear line of sight for the signal, the battery becomes the limitation.

I have a flight regimen that keeps me out of trouble.
  • Always take off with 100% charge.
  • Use precision take off with at least 11 satellites.
  • Land when the battery reaches 30%. Use both manual landing to hone your skills, and the RTH button to test the calibration of your quad.
  • Calibrate the IMU and compass every 20 to 30 flights.
  • Change the props every 200 flights. I use OEM props.
  • Never fly beyond a signal loss down to 3 bars for the control signal.
  • Never ignore a return to home warning thinking you’ve got lots of battery remaining.
  • Fly up-wind when winds are excessive. If winds drift you in P mode, use Sport to get back and land. (Actually flying in wind is fun and is a good learning experience.)
  • If you find yourself in a forced landing mode, you can maintain your height by pushing up on the left stick. Scary but it works.
  • Don’t fly around people, and try to follow the rules.
  • Stay with this forum, and watch a lot of YouTube. You never stop learning new things.
Very conservative, but it’s what has kept my quad in one piece and me out of jail.
Just one advise... If you successfully calibrated the IMU and compass, you DON'T need to do it again ever. You only need to redo it if you suffered a minor crash or are taking off from a few hundred miles away of distance.
 
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Just one advise... If you successfully calibrated the IMU and compass, you DON'T need to do it again ever. You only need to redo it if you suffered a minor crash or are taking off from a few hundred miles away of distance.
You could be 5000 miles away and the distance makes no difference to the compass.
 
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I've been reading horror stories on this forum about crashes, fly always and dives into the ocean. I'm a little afraid to fly! I was wanting to use DJI Pilot program to set waypoints down the coast of a lake but not sure if I should. I used that program to set waypoints to go down to the end of the street and back and then down the other way to the end of the street and back and land and it worked fine but to get it out by the water, I'm a little worried about that.

I am new to this as well. From what I have seen so far, the key is to slow down and follow the steps for take off, etc. This also applies to taking pics and video. Don’t get in a hurry and enjoy it!
 
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