Hi all,
Just received my mavic after a few months wait. No hurry here, but I'm a total beginner: besides watching every tutorial, taking it easy etc., is the mavic now safe enough from bugs and early problems?
Over the last months saw a few worrying threads with fly seats etc., and would just like to understand how the reliability is now.
Obviously bought DJI care...

Thanks,

Vanni

The Mavic is an a perfectly safe aircraft to fly as long as the user understand ALL the features, functions, and limitations.
Out of the tens of thousands out there, there have been a few that have experienced some difficulty. But that is what the warranty is for, it covers any manufacturing issues (not your DJI Refresh) as that is only used if the crash is pilot error.

But also, if I was a beginner I would not make a $1,000 drone my first. I would buy a $75 Syma and practice with that until I was fully confident before putting a expensive aircraft in the air.

But since you have it, you will be fine and you cannot be afraid of it. Just be smart, don't try to fly it in your living room. Only fly is a large outdoor area. Stay away from Sport Mode until your a proficient pilot. It takes quite a long distance to stop in Sport Mode and you must be aware of that.
Just enjoy it and have fun. And use the simulator for a few hours as well.

Same here. I got my mavic last week and only took it for it's first flight yesterday. What I have done is printed out a bundle of pre check list pages for me to use before every flight. Have also been going through various video tutorials on youtube. Being dyslexic I'm finding the manual quite difficult to go through but there are plenty of brilliant video tutorials out there that go into quite some depth. Also, for a few days I just went into the menu settings to see all the options available. Yesterday, when I took the mavic for it's first flight. I first flew it at low altitude around the area I wish to fly it within, while following it. I constantly was checking how many satellites the drone was connected to. After I was happy that there were no weak spots,I then took the plunge and flew it for around 10 minutes while sitting on a bench and was always checking the signal strength. There have been a few issues about the mavic drones either flying away or  behaving abnormally, but considering the amount of backorders and how long it took DJI to handle the back order, the number of issues involved is a minute fraction of a percent. Plus you got to consider that people normally come onto a forum either if they have a personal problem they wish to resolve or like you and me are beginners with drones that are looking for advice. There are many more people out there who are flying their mavics who are not on this forum. Right now, I'm flying in completely open area like fields etc. No trees, houses or anything and will be doing so for the next month or so. by that time, I should have a basic idea as to if my drone is faulty or not. The majority of drone accidents that took that I've read on the forum were either because of a faulty mainboard or due to human error. Oh, I don't fly over any water. I don't know why, but even after hearing about these issues that some people have faced, the majority of videos that I see are at some point over some sort of water feature. Overconfidence - another cause of drones crashing. Personally, I got a hubson 107D+ to practice with and compared to that, the mavic is easy peasy. Take ur time and fly safe.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2017-1-11 15:03
The Mavic is an a perfectly safe aircraft to fly as long as the user understand ALL the features, functions, and limitations.
Out of the tens of thousands out there, there have been a few that have experienced some difficulty. But that is what the warranty is for, it covers any manufacturing issues (not your DJI Refresh) as that is only used if the crash is pilot error.

Hi Ken, Talking of using the simulator, is there any way to manually set the drone in the simulator to Atti Mode, as I wanted to practice controlling the drone in a windy environment while the drone is facing me.

I'm thinking about tripod mode. Is it good for beginners to fly?

fans14df2e66 Posted at 2017-1-11 16:07
I'm thinking about tripod mode. Is it good for beginners to fly?

If you are a beginner, then just set it to beginner mode. This still lets you fly safely and get the feel of it.
The most important part is after turning the mavic and controller on and starting the GO 4 app, wait until you see the message Ready To Fly and check you have a good GPS link. Also, when the app first starts, it will show a page of the aircraft and systems status. Check this and make sure everything is ok and normal. Use the auto takeoff and you should hear a message that the home point has been recorded. Then you can fly around a bit and when finished, return to where you started and use the auto land. Just remember that in beginner mode you have height and distance restrictions but this is for your own benefit.
Have fun.

fans14df2e66 Posted at 2017-1-11 16:07
I'm thinking about tripod mode. Is it good for beginners to fly?

I may be going against the grain here, but I think Tripod mode is excellent for learning the craft.  I took it out of beginner mode and put it in Tripod mode immediately.  In conjunction I severely limited the height and distance the craft could fly until I felt comfortable that I had a handle on things.

Furthermore, I think Tripod mode is just an awesome mode.  It is great for capturing excellent footage in general.  The fact that it is a great mode to learn in is just a bonus.

Have a look at my thread I made which gives a few hints, tips and my experience of my first flight.  I like you am a total beginner and the mavic is my first drone.  I took things real steady and have posted the video of my first flight (after taking beginner mode off).   Respect the drone and it will respect you

http://forum.dji.com/thread-79490-1-1.html

I'm reading and reading those topics on the forum about  lost signals, driftings,  non-response, software errors, crashes... This is first time ever I'm scared to try something.

Magus Posted at 2017-1-12 03:42
I'm reading and reading those topics on the forum about  lost signals, driftings,  non-response, software errors, crashes... This is first time ever I'm scared to try something.

I can understand that you have doubts. But as many before have said, start slowly in beginners mode and use an open space (not indoors).

I hope you have read the documentation because it's a lot of things to think and be aware of.
Don't be to brave in the beginning check it out step by step. A forum like this is always filled with the negative stuff (not saying that the person writing here is doing something wrong) there is and have been issues of course. This is advanced software that is combined in the AC, RC, APP and on top of that IOS or/and Android.

What we sometimes forget (I did) is the feedback from the persons that fly with out any problems, they unfortunately don't show up here so often since they are out there enjoying life and flying.

So be prepared, take it step by step and have fun.

Good luck

I too understand how you might be a little afraid of flying your Mavic for the first time.  I was too as I did not know what to expect after flying "toy" drones for several weeks.  Following the instructions and pre-flight check lists made the first flight flawless.  What took me by surprise is how easy the Mavic (and any professional drone I assume) is to fly.  Go over the RC and know where your buttons are on it and your phone or tablet.  Keep it in beginner mode for the first few flights (you will quickly want to fly further ).   My son (12) fly's this drone too as it is half his - he is the master pilot and fly's much better than I.  

We have had no issues with our Mavic and have now flown about 8 batteries through it and taken it out to 4000' and up to 350' in elevation.  Hit return to home and it lands within inches of the takeoff point.  

If you fly in an open area and not a congested city or residential area you have a near 100% chance of no issues.  

Enjoy your Mavic and have fun while flying safe at all times.  

Cheers

enc3phalon Posted at 2017-1-11 15:30
Hi Ken, Talking of using the simulator, is there any way to manually set the drone in the simulator to Atti Mode, as I wanted to practice controlling the drone in a windy environment while the drone is facing me.

I think you can adjust the wind to be very windy and get the aircraft to drift.
BUT, there is no reason to fly nose in. You should only fly nose in when you are an experienced pilot.
In the simulator you may do fine but in the real world a beginner may panic and get confused with the controls and have an accident.

My 3.5 year old likes to fly in the simulator and is quite good. My wife never flew a drone before and was quite confident after about a minute of flying it in an open area.

Keep in mind it is a stabilized flying video / still camera. Keep it within 20 meters or so for the first 15 or 20 flights.
Keep the camera facing away from you, that way it will react the same as the stick inputs. The first 25 seconds
of every flight make sure it is responding correctly to the controls.  Solid hover - fly right and hover - fly left and hover-
fly back and hover - fly strait away from you and hover (  IMPORTANT   if it fly's off at a angle it may need a compass calibration)
They are so easy to fly you will want to start buzzing around the sky and quickly exceed your experience  capability.
They can fly like a dragonfly but it will cost you.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2017-1-12 07:02
I think you can adjust the wind to be very windy and get the aircraft to drift.
BUT, there is no reason to fly nose in. You should only fly nose in when you are an experienced pilot.
In the simulator you may do fine but in the real world a beginner may panic and get confused with the controls and have an accident.

Thanks Ken, I'll practice that way. The reason I was asking was because I bought the mavic to use mainly active tracking for my dog training sessions. As you can understand, most of the time the drone would be facing me and the dogs while recording. I wanted to practice on the simulator so that if for any reason the drone went into ATTI mode and started drifting away, I would be in the position to bring it under control and quickly land it. Most of my training sessions take place in a rather large open field and it can get rather windy at times.

The Mavic is 100% NOT A BEGINNER DRONE !!!!  

enc3phalon Posted at 2017-1-12 15:35
Thanks Ken, I'll practice that way. The reason I was asking was because I bought the mavic to use mainly active tracking for my dog training sessions. As you can understand, most of the time the drone would be facing me and the dogs while recording. I wanted to practice on the simulator so that if for any reason the drone went into ATTI mode and started drifting away, I would be in the position to bring it under control and quickly land it. Most of my training sessions take place in a rather large open field and it can get rather windy at times.

First do a lot of Active Track practicing without the dogs.
And just walk around by yourself and have it track you.

enc3phalon
Better ask other person to assist and film you while you are training dogs. Than you will be on safe side. If all the attention you have drawn to dogs, you can not manage to react immediately

Magus Posted at 2017-1-12 03:42
I'm reading and reading those topics on the forum about  lost signals, driftings,  non-response, software errors, crashes... This is first time ever I'm scared to try something.

First Mavic flight today. Went to an open field and practiced a few takeoffs and landings. On the third take off it went up fine then I got a message to return to base because it was windy. So what does a beginner like me do? Hit the auto land function. It rose up to 30 feet and as it approached my landing zone came down like a rock and did not slow down! WTF???  It is supposed to land by itself. It hit hard then flipped over. I did install spring feet on the legs and it helped cushion the fall. I am not sure why this happened and lost confidence in the auto land feature.

I've read that the extensions can screw up the landing sonar.

ya was helping cushion the fall but probably causing it. There is talk about the leg extensions are causing this to happen for awhile now.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2017-1-12 16:25
First do a lot of Active Track practicing without the dogs.
And just walk around by yourself and have it track you.

I'd second that.  Use it so you see just how poorly it can do in some situations.  You'll likely expect it to do better than it will.

I highly recommend you do as someone else said, get a toy drone that doesn't have any guidance and learn how to control the raw drone.

If you are in wind, I'd recommend you do NOT use RTH.  RTH is somewhat limited in power.  If the wind is strong, it won't be able to handle it.  In those situations, until you are well practiced, land it where it is and don't fight it.  When you are more familiar with the operation, you can go to sport mode, where there is more speed available to MANUALLY over power the wind and bring it to a safe landing spot.  

AG0N-Gary Posted at 2017-12-28 18:36
If you are in wind, I'd recommend you do NOT use RTH.  RTH is somewhat limited in power.  If the wind is strong, it won't be able to handle it.  In those situations, until you are well practiced, land it where it is and don't fight it.  When you are more familiar with the operation, you can go to sport mode, where there is more speed available to MANUALLY over power the wind and bring it to a safe landing spot.

Its better to always obey rule that fly away AGAINST wind. In your case even sport mode could be not enough, or not enough battery to compete wind and travel all way back, or no proper landing zone to emergency land or many other problems.