Hello!!

After excruciating debate, I finally bit the bullet and purchased a DJI Mavic Air... I had been battling with whether this is a good move, whether I'm going to have a chance to use the thing or not, and whether I'll actually be any good at operating it.

I'm quite excited! Hoping that it works as a good travel companion and that I can find some good, legal locations to get great video

Congratulations....  Start out right.  Read the manual... then read it again.  Then get on youtube and watch the tutorial videos.  Then read the manual one more time.  More videos.  Then when you finally get up the courage to fly it, Wide open area.  Not inside the house.  Start slow and low.  And work your courage up slowly.  And then Enjoy the heck out of it.  

Oh yeah... and occasionally go back and re-read the manual again...

And oh yeah... WELCOME TO THE CLUB!!!  LOL

Brad Bilger Posted at 2018-6-10 17:40
Congratulations....  Start out right.  Read the manual... then read it again.  Then get on youtube and watch the tutorial videos.  Then read the manual one more time.  More videos.  Then when you finally get up the courage to fly it, Wide open area.  Not inside the house.  Start slow and low.  And work your courage up slowly.  And then Enjoy the heck out of it.  

Oh yeah... and occasionally go back and re-read the manual again...

Thank you man! You know I'm already binge watching Mavic Air youtube videos and tutorials non-step hahaha!

Welcome to the club and Forum. Fly safe and always abide by the rules

Welcome to the forum.
And congratulations on the decision to invest in a drone. I'm sure you'll get a lot of good moments out of it. If you want to make video, pictures or both, of course, are up to you, but please share some of your experiences with us here. Last but not least, and as already mentioned - read the manual thoroughly. That is essential.

Thank you for choosing DJI. Have a safe and enjoyable experience with us. If you need any help, don't hesitate to approach us here in DJI Forum. We are always here to help.

Welcome to the club.
Fly safe and enjoy your hobby!
Cheers.

Welcome Les, you made a great choice, just follow the advice given above, find a big open field, stay in beginners mode until you feel confident. Many great pilots here to help if you have any questions.

Congratulations for your Mavic Air and welcome to this great forum!
And here you can download the manual ;-): https://www.dji.com/mavic-air/info#downloads

Thanks everyone for all the tips, advice and links! I'll definitely be around asking for more smoother flying tips and about editing in post

Welcome to the MA family, and the forum.  You made a great decision on the Mavic Air, and you're definitely in the right place for tips and advice.  You've already gotten some of it.  Oh, did anyone tell you to read the manual?  Yeah.  Do that.

Be prepared to do all of the pre flight things on the day you get it. (like charging batteries, and updating firmware) I would recommend updating with the DJI Assistant from your computer.  Here is where you can get your software.

As Brad said, get on YouTube and watch videos.  There are a few that I thought were really helpful in what to expect, and what the settings are.   is one that helped me a lot.  There are PLENTY more.

Make sure you follow your local UAV laws and regulations.
Fly Safe, and enjoy your new hobby.  You'll start to see your everyday objects differently.  it's a wonderful new world that you're entering!

3-D Posted at 2018-6-11 08:34
Welcome to the MA family, and the forum.  You made a great decision on the Mavic Air, and you're definitely in the right place for tips and advice.  You've already gotten some of it.  Oh, did anyone tell you to read the manual?  Yeah.  Do that.

Be prepared to do all of the pre flight things on the day you get it. (like charging batteries, and updating firmware) I would recommend updating with the DJI Assistant from your computer.  Here is where you can get your software.

Thanks for the link! I have definitely seen this and agree that this youtuber has a good channel for getting started... Any thoughts on the DJI official tutorial videos? Watched one about the hand gestures which was actually entertaining!

LesDroneGuy Posted at 2018-6-11 11:22
Thanks for the link! I have definitely seen this and agree that this youtuber has a good channel for getting started... Any thoughts on the DJI official tutorial videos? Watched one about the hand gestures which was actually entertaining!

The DJI tutorials are also really good to watch.  They will give you the necessary knowledge to  get up and going.  The hand gestures one was really cool, but I have yet to even try those.  I've rarely even captured myself on camera.   I say watch them all.  Fill up on knowledge.  That way, when it arrives, you'll be ready.