Good Morning All,
Bunny Too rapping at you from Wyoming, I have a question for all you with the great long distance videos.  How do you get up the nerve for the long distance flights?  I am no coward but I have a very real fear of taking it higher or farther than a couple hundred feet in any direction.  Do you start out small or just go for it?
Regards,
-d.

Start out small and gradually increase the distance as your comfort level increases. That way you'll get a better feel for how the wind impacts flight time and how much battery reserve you need before heading back. You'll also need a location that's reasonably suitable, because obstructions (buildings, trees, etc.) tend to cause you to lose line of sight long before you might otherwise want to return.

I pushed my stock phantom 3 standard out to 1100 metres and lost signal, it came back on RTH and I was so relieved.  I then got the Mavic and decided to push it in the same route that I took with the phantom.  I got to 1200 metres and quickly brought it straight back on my own.  That extra 100m was like wow a big thing and as you say, probably step by step is best.  But at the end of the day, you don't really need to be out of line of sight, but the thrill adrenaline rush will always be there, just like driving a car fast.

You need to become comfortable with flying the Mavic by instrument, meaning, by looking at your RC rather than by watching the Mavic in the air. Once that feels natural, it will be easier to fly at range w/o becoming a complete nervous wreck. Confess I'm still in partial nervous wreck territory, from which I may never graduate. ;)

You probably have intuition & empathy & whatever else that makes you feel like you shouldn't do that without being responsible.  ALL aircraft have the right-of-way & you'll never know they are there.  

And above all? When you do make your long distance flights that are out of Line of Sight? Dont post that you did it here. There are TONS of airholes (Forum Drone Police) who want to chastise you AFTER the fact.

But to answer your question...get a few flights under your belt then just GO FOR it. as long as you have your home point recorded (it actually talks and TELLS you that its recorded, so thats easy) and as long as you have your return to home altitude configured to fly back at an altitude that is higher than any trees, buildings, wires, etc? Then you are 100% fine.

Tip: Keep the sides (long part) of your antenna pointed directly in the direction of the Mavic the entire time, and when you begin to lose signal, increase altitude to maintain SIGNAL Line of sight (between transmitter and Mavic) and you'll find that getting 2-3 miles is simple/straightforward.  

enjoy!

fans90d4f438 Posted at 2017-2-13 10:02
And above all? When you do make your long distance flights that are out of Line of Sight? Dont post that you did it here. There are TONS of airholes (Forum Drone Police) who want to chastise you AFTER the fact.

But to answer your question...get a few flights under your belt then just GO FOR it. as long as you have your home point recorded (it actually talks and TELLS you that its recorded, so thats easy) and as long as you have your return to home altitude configured to fly back at an altitude that is higher than any trees, buildings, wires, etc? Then you are 100% fine.

"And above all? When you do make your long distance flights that are out of Line of Sight? Dont post that you did it here. There are TONS of airholes (Forum Drone Police) who want to chastise you AFTER the fact."

Why do you feel compelled to make us "airholes" aware of what you did at all? Are you trying to compensate for some shortcoming?

I've slowly ramped up my distance as others have noted. Of course I was also in the middle of nowhere which made it easier to feel comfortable that I wouldn't accidentally injure or hit something should I lose contact.

I know EXACTLY what you are saying!  I bought mine with hopes of making some cool videos, so keeping it in line of sight poses no problem for me.  My big concern is seeing the tablet clear enough in the sunlight to verify altitude, direction, etc even when I still have visual with the Mavic.

when i had my vision 2+ i couldnt get past 1000ft without losing signal unless i used litchi mission but after that i lost video feed. with mavic i just went for it with confidence cause of it supposedly getting 4.3 but i only had the nerve to take it as far as a mile i think thats far enough imo and i never lost any feed i was very happy

Just fly it out there

Ex Machina Posted at 2017-2-13 09:04
You need to become comfortable with flying the Mavic by instrument, meaning, by looking at your RC rather than by watching the Mavic in the air. Once that feels natural, it will be easier to fly at range w/o becoming a complete nervous wreck. Confess I'm still in partial nervous wreck territory, from which I may never graduate. ;)

Couldn't disagree more. The fixation of watching the RC will get you crashing  sooner or later. Keep your eye on the bird. Fly keeping it in sight aid long as possible.

Mbeachs Posted at 2017-2-13 18:20
I know EXACTLY what you are saying!  I bought mine with hopes of making some cool videos, so keeping it in line of sight poses no problem for me.  My big concern is seeing the tablet clear enough in the sunlight to verify altitude, direction, etc even when I still have visual with the Mavic.

"My big concern is seeing the tablet clear enough in the sunlight"

I use the iPad Mini 4 -- which is supposedly the best mass-market tablet for use in bright light -- and it's still nowhere near up to the job in sunlight. That's why I use a combination of the MavMount and Hi-Aerial hood when flying in the sun. It's admittedly not as convenient as being able to use just the controller and tablet alone, but both are good products and they get the job done.

DroneFlying Posted at 2017-2-14 03:21
"My big concern is seeing the tablet clear enough in the sunlight"

I use the iPad Mini 4 -- which is supposedly the best mass-market tablet for use in bright light -- and it's still nowhere near up to the job in sunlight. That's why I use a combination of the MavMount and Hi-Aerial hood when flying in the sun. It's admittedly not as convenient as being able to use just the controller and tablet alone, but both are good products and they get the job done.

I use an nvida shield with the mavmount and hoodman but I still try to find shade, you have good advice.
Regards,
-d.

bunny too Posted at 2017-2-14 03:32
I use an nvida shield with the mavmount and hoodman but I still try to find shade, you have good advice.
Regards,
-d.

How's the bottom opening of the Hoodman? I know there were some complaints at one time about it being too stiff (which is why I went with Hi-Aerial), but I also heard later that they had improved it.

DroneFlying Posted at 2017-2-14 03:40
How's the bottom opening of the Hoodman? I know there were some complaints at one time about it being too stiff (which is why I went with Hi-Aerial), but I also heard later that they had improved it.

It works, it is stiff and bows in along the two long sides letting a smidgen of light peak in from two corners unless you have it perfectly aligned; however yes it is stiff and it is like operating around a tissue box.  The opening in the side, supposed to allow access to the screen is useless, you have to reach in like a kid poking a diorama and that can get clumsy.  
Regards,
-d.

Airwolf13 Posted at 2017-2-13 20:42
Couldn't disagree more. The fixation of watching the RC will get you crashing  sooner or later. Keep your eye on the bird. Fly keeping it in sight aid long as possible.

The OP is talking about flying at distance where visibility of the drone will be difficult. I agree, though, that when starting out, you need to watch the drone.

Just follow the rules! If you don't know the rules, LEARN them and FOLLOW them. faa.gov. Safety first! Ken.

I think it will help bonding with the mavic first ( took me 2 flights to do this, some testing including RTH reliability. Bonding time should vary depending on owner AND mavic). RC wise i ve only flown heli ( yes also way above 400' ,nobody cared, and diving into insane speeds). Note: if you're no heli flyer don't comment on that please. Never-ever-ever lost orientation but also never thought id buy/use a drone.
I mean: who are we fooling. A "drone" is made for the main purpose of flying BEYOND LoS.
So flight no3 i took my little creep beyond that (around 1400m) and it felt awesome. The perfect cool down time between heli sessions. Since then im hooked. Been going out up to 5km (Europe, lower output) and looking to extend range now.
To recap:
- bond with mavic/ know it as much as you can
- do a proper preflight
- know the area
- only over extended fields/desert/water/forest etc.
(Do avoid congested areas. If it goes down you have no right to injure others)
- use good sense and educate yourselve about other airpace users.

DroneFlying Posted at 2017-2-13 10:11
"And above all? When you do make your long distance flights that are out of Line of Sight? Dont post that you did it here. There are TONS of airholes (Forum Drone Police) who want to chastise you AFTER the fact."

Why do you feel compelled to make us "airholes" aware of what you did at all? Are you trying to compensate for some shortcoming?

Don' feed it!! Maybe this infant will go away by itself.

MacIak Posted at 2017-2-14 13:40
Don' feed it!! Maybe this infant will go away by itself.

I've been a little tough on him but I don't think he's a bad guy: I think he just has stronger feelings than the rest of us about regulations -- but that's just a matter of degrees.

MacIak Posted at 2017-2-14 13:35
I think it will help bonding with the mavic first ( took me 2 flights to do this, some testing including RTH reliability. Bonding time should vary depending on owner AND mavic). RC wise i ve only flown heli ( yes also way above 400' ,nobody cared, and diving into insane speeds). Note: if you're no heli flyer don't comment on that please. Never-ever-ever lost orientation but also never thought id buy/use a drone.
I mean: who are we fooling. A "drone" is made for the main purpose of flying BEYOND LoS.
So flight no3 i took my little creep beyond that (around 1400m) and it felt awesome. The perfect cool down time between heli sessions. Since then im hooked. Been going out up to 5km (Europe, lower output) and looking to extend range now.

Flying heli any distance is impressive as heck; as a kid I would watch the RC helicopter pilots on Saturday morning and they would just launch to four feet and hover, then land and repeat, still very cool and entertaining. One time after landing the pilot leaned over and his prop cliped of the last foot of his RC antenna, some rather choice words I heard and still remember.
Regards,
-d.

bunny too Posted at 2017-2-14 13:54
Flying heli any distance is impressive as heck; as a kid I would watch the DC helicopter pilots on Saturday morning and they would just launch to four feet and hover, then land and repeat, still very cool and entertaining. One time after landing the pilot leaned over and his prop cliped of the last foot of his RC antenna, some rather choice words I heard and still remember.
Regards,
-d.

Must have sounded like my French when i buried my first CP heli into some garden furniture.
Hope you enjoy going further away with the mavic.

This just hits home.  I've flown my Phantom 3 A, all the time out of range, and enjoyed watching it come back on its own.   However with this mavic - the range is a lot more.   

Down here for a few days in the FLA keys, flying over water with it and just scared as hell on getting some distance.   All I can image is something goes wrong or some bird attack and I'm out one mavic

I know it's like sending my kid to college or releasing  that lost puppy - it's it's not mean to be it won't come back

fans6394d9c6 Posted at 2017-2-15 09:49
This just hits home.  I've flown my Phantom 3 A, all the time out of range, and enjoyed watching it come back on its own.   However with this mavic - the range is a lot more.   

Down here for a few days in the FLA keys, flying over water with it and just scared as hell on getting some distance.   All I can image is something goes wrong or some bird attack and I'm out one mavic

Besides the potential risk of a Mavic brainfart the birds indeed make me worry sometimes. I could not capture it (yet) but i do suspect some encounters. The mavic is not intimidating the big fellas as curiousity draws them too close sometimes. The experience is still worth a thousand bucks though.