Good afternoon, all, and hello from the middle of the Mitten.

I'm not much of a poster to forums, unless I have questions or concerns, but I do like to read the various threads to learn more, in this case, about flying my new Mavic Air.  And, as I move forward, I'm pretty sure there are things I don't know that I don't know about the capabilities of my new ship, and I'll probably be asking about them.


As most, if not all, of you have experienced, I have found the Mavic Air to be very easy to fly, having taken her out on her maiden flight earlier today.  The beginner mode is a great starting point for novice pilots.  And, I have discovered the DJI tutorials, as well as others, that  have been posted, and found them to be very useful - even reviewing some  of them multiple times.  That said, what are some of the questions that  novice pilots should be asking?

I do have a couple more questions that I would like to ask:  What is the best way to fly in bright sun when using the controller and phone?  The midday sun was washing out the screen of my iPhone.  There is probably a setting in DJI Go 4 that I am overlooking.  Second, would a tablet make the piloting experience more enjoyable?  I was flying line-of-sight within a very limited distance (keep in mind, I'm a beginning pilot), but I did find the smaller screen of my phone to be somewhat limiting.  I would prefer a larger view from both the camera, and perhaps easier access to the on-screen contols.

Thanks for letting me join your community.

First of all, Welcome to the family, and welcome to the forum.

As far as the questions that new pilots need to ask, that's a very loaded question.  There is so much that there is to learn.  I've come to understand that to be the case for new pilots as well as seasoned pilots.  My advice is to continue to read the forum and get what is offered.  There are lots of things to gain, like Pre-Flight checklists,  and video editing tips and so on, and so on.

To answer your specific questions, The best thing to do for the sun washing out your iphone screen is to get a sunhood to block the glare.  They are prettt inexpensive, and do a pretty good job of allowing you to see your screen on a bright sunny day.

The tablet question has been asked here many, many times, and there are lots of schools of thought.  I think the most prevalent is that an iPad Mini4 is a great tablet that will give you what you need to fly.  There are also accessories to make holding the table in the RC easy.

I'll collect some links and add them to this very soon.

Again, welcome!

Congrats, flying in bright sun, easiest way is to purchase a set of ND filters , ND 4, ND 16 and ND 8 are probably all you need , their are different brands at different prices google ND filters for MavAir and you should get some good info.
Using an iPad mini will give you much larger viewing screen, iPad mini4 is a good choice, you won’t need a seperate mount as it fits into handles of your RC.
Good Luck and fly safe...

Thank you for the warm welcome.  I'll be looking into both the iPads and the sunhoods/sun shades.

I'm not kidding when I say this, stand in the shade. You should be planning your flights to some extent anyways,and hopefuly you can find somewhere in the shade. And of course make sure you can maintain LOS. But I try to stand in the shade as much as possible because of the next reason listed below.



I prefer to keep my packout of things I need for flying small. That's the whole point of the Air anyways right? Portability?  Anyways, it's your thing that you paid for. So the hood/shade things work well enough. I also might recommend polarized sunglasses. I don't know anything about your vision, but I have both a really dark pair and really light pair of polarized sunglasses for different flying conditions.


I have an Iphone 8 plus and it seems to be as big as I personally would want to go. I saw you mentioned you have an iphone but not which model.  Maybe you can upgrade your phone with your carrier for cheaper than a tablet? I'm just pitching ideas at this point.

Welcome to this forum and congratulations for your Mavic Air!

Moo_H Posted at 2018-6-12 13:54
I'm not kidding when I say this, stand in the shade. You should be planning your flights to some extent anyways,and hopefuly you can find somewhere in the shade. And of course make sure you can maintain LOS. But I try to stand in the shade as much as possible because of the next reason listed below.

I found a shady spot near the field where I fly and it worked far better than my sunshade.  I didn't even mind the small iPhone 6 screen when I could read it so well.  Of course this wont work everywhere, but it will be my target going forward.

That said, what are some of the questions that  novice pilots should be asking?

I won't point to a few threads here and elsewhere.  But after seeing the out outcomes, following comes to mind.
Is this such a good idea?  As in Dude hold my beer and watch this.  And...  Do I want to be that guy on 6:00 & 9:00 news?

Oh and Welcome!

And, as I move forward, I'm pretty sure there are things I don't know that I don't know about the capabilities of my new ship, and I'll probably be asking about them.

If you have not seen warnings on flying from (takeoff and landing) things made with concrete...
Beware of flying from concrete driveways, sidewalks, streets, boat piers, park benches, raised platforms, etc.  


Most things made with concrete have some sort of reinforcing.  Reinforcing is usually steel in form of rebar or heavy gauge metal mesh.  The steel (or any ferous metal), can be a source magnetic interference that effects drone's Compass (aka three magnetic field sensors for XYZ axis).  That has been know to result in loss of control and crash.

When you buy the sunshade buy one of those touch pencil things too. Great to adjust any settings without struggling to get your finger in the hood.

I've used this on all of my Mavic's and it works perfectly on my Air too. It is as good you'll get for twenty quid.

https://store.dji.com/product/ma ... roller-monitor-hood

You need this for best view under sunny weather! It has much bigger viewing area than tables. You also can keep your eyes always on the drone.

https://www.epson.co.uk/products/see-through-mobile-viewer/moverio-bt-300?

Welcome to the forum, Mr. Waverly. The forum is a very informative platform which might get great help and can receive many useful suggestions from others.
As for the suggestions from me, I think reading the manual especially the RTH logic might be important.
Regarding your questions, suggestions above are practical. For my personal experience, I like a bigger screen for flying, if you would consider one, I would like to provide some info for your reference: Mavic RC fits a mobile device within 6.5-8.5mm for thickness and 160mm for length, it is suggested the device that is on the support list to ensure the compatibility. Thanks for your attention.