As I wait for my little Mavic drone, I have taken the time to watch reviews, ads and all kinds of You Tube videos.  A bit overwhelmed.  I never owned one of these gadgets before and thought this may be a good hobby for a retired Fire Dept. Battalion Chief. You folks have a very interesting community that I never knew existed.  For me, You Tube was my choice for old rock and roll and blues videos and now I have seen a variety of folks that actually broadcast regularly and seem to make a living somehow doing it.  Anyway, can't wait until the little bugger arrives and I'm now doing my best to get tuned into your realm to help my old ass along the path.  I'm sure there will be forums to join and these You Tube guys to subscribe to.  Anyway, if you are a good geek and have interesting shit to share, hook up.  I'll even buy you guys some tasty brews if you're in my flight path between Chicago and Milwaukee.

I reckon it's great that you feel a bit overwhelmed.  This is not a hobby that one can take lightly. I fear that there are going to be a lot of "newbies" that will jump in head first when they get their Mavic and do some really dumb things (but hopefully for our sport, they will not do any damage or injure anyone - Already saw one bloke with his first drone trying to start up his Mavic inside for the first time with his cat walking all around the drone).
Unless you have a brain that can take in and remember techo stuff, I think you are going to find it to be slow learning process. This is what makes the sport interesting.
I am retired as well (65), and have purchased every DJI drone since the Phantom 2 so consider myself to be reasonably familiar with what they can do. Even now, I religiously follow a fairly involved check list before each time I fly and look after my drones (& batteries) like a newborn baby.
Best advice I can give is:-
(1) read the quick start guide and also the 62 page user manual over & over again - Hightlite or tag important sections in the user manual.
(2) have a really good play on the simulator
(3) continue watching the you tube videos
(4) make sure you are in 'beginner mode' for your first flight and find a large open area where there is no one else or buildings

Others will add more.
I know you will fall in love with your "little bugger" and if you get frustrated sometimes, go and listen to some "rock & roll" for a while
good luck

Excellent advice, reading the manual is a must, have seen so many unboxing videos of people not reading the manual trying to set up the Mavic, can't even turn it it never mind fly it

I think I read everything in print half a dozen times by now.  I'm not completely befuddled by these little aircraft.  I was an aeronautical engineering major at SIU before my career in the fire service and also was a private pilot.  I think I'll have a good time and looking forward to learning how to safely operate it.  Looks like it will fit in my tour pak on the Harley and hope to share better pics and videos of all the awesome places my bike takes me.

Hey, welcome to the club. You're now a member ;)

You should read through all the stuff I posted in my TIPS thread (http://forum.dji.com/thread-66777-1-1.html) and don't be afraid to ask questions, either in my thread (happy to help) or other threads. Also, make a new thread if you don't see something already.

The best thing you can do is reach out and meet people who are already in the hobby. It's like that with anything, but especially with drone flying because they can be a great resource to you in your area. They'll know great spots to fly while you're still a beginner, and then some cooler scenic spots to fly once you're no longer a rookie.

Buy yourself a mini drone. Hubsan are a great place to start, cheap and fairly robust. It's nigh on impossible to damage anyone with it (almost), and it'll give you an insight into the skills necessary to be in full control once you can master "nose in". If you can fly a simple mini drone safely, you should find the Mavic easy. Obviously common sense and safety awareness issues are needed to.

Retired fire chief congratulations, pilots license, Harley and Mavic on your shoulder, sounds like a lot of good days ahead of you, enjoy your Mavic I'm sure in no time we will be asking your advice, and viewing your work, good luck and welcome.

Exib Posted at 2016-10-26 14:50
Excellent advice, reading the manual is a must, have seen so many unboxing videos of people not read ...

Yes, I have noticed that too. I assume they are all people from the US (I live in the US as well), because we tend to think we already know everything, and manuals are useless. For myself, I have experience with a P4, and had read that manual. Then, when the early version of the Mavic manual came out, I read that thing, and found all the errors in it. Now I have the release manual, which I have re-read, along with all the other documentation and videos.

I just cringe when these people have opened the box, tossed the manual asside, and then can't figure out how to turn it on.

Has anyone noticed how the packaging *could* accomodate the drone with the top props on, but they are NOT on? There are a few possible explanations for this... Could be that they were prone to breaking if they were on during shipping, OR, it could be that it takes too long during assembly to line them up so the lid will close properly... But my thinking is that they did it to force the user to learn how to attach and remove the props, and understand that there are black and white props. Call it forced learning.

The same may hold true for the power button. Clearly the press, release, and press-hold is for safety reasons, but an added benefit is that it is not obvious, and again, should force the user to read the quick start guide.

The 2 most important things are... LEARN TO FLY OUTDOORS, START WITH BEGINNER MODE, CALIBRATE COMPASS BEFORE EVERY FLIGHT, and USE AUTO TAKE OFF AND LANDING, after reading how those features work.

Sorry... those points just need to be stresses. There is already a thread about a guy who flew it in the house and crashed it into his couch, breaking a prop. He replaced the prop, and then did the same thing again, breaking another prop.

Though marketed to the every day beginner, the name PRO still exists in the name, and probably for good reason. This thing costs $1000, because there is a lot of complex technology in it. Think of it as the Tesla of drones. Yes, it's more expensive than many other models on the market, but you get a lot of technology. Still, you don't just buy one, and then get in, having never driven one before, and then go full throttle.

Last... UNDERSTAND YOUR COUNTRY'S DRONE RULES BEFORE FLYING! In the US, this means your drone MUST be registered with the FAA, and your FAA number clearly marked on the outside of your drone BEFORE you fly.

Please, fly smart.

Honestly...  I would not recommend learning how to fly a drone using a $1,000 Mavic.  I say this for a couple of reasons:

1.  The Mavic is highly autonomous.  You don't really "fly it"...  You direct it where you want it to go.  The onboard computer does most of the flying.  So you don't get the "feel" of flying a drone.  The second your Mavic looses a GPS signal and reverts to ATTI mode you will crash because you have never realy flown a drone manually.

2. As a beginner you WILL crash.  At $1,000.  That's an expensive mistake.

I would recommend spending $40 to $50 on a Syma X5C.  With the Syma you will actually learn some drone flying skills.  And when you crash it just bounces without damage. Once you master flying a Syma drone in the wind you will be able to fly just about anything.

Even DJI-Ken has been quoted recommending starting out with an inexpensive drone to learn how to fly before flying these highly automated DJI products.

Fulgerite Posted at 2016-10-27 00:09
Honestly...  I would not recommend learning how to fly a drone using a $1,000 Mavic.  I say this for ...

I just purchased a training unit.   Was on sale and I kinda wanted to not have another DJI product so I can compare them better.  Got this Yuneec Typhoon 4K.  So far I'm doing well but haven't turned off the GPS yet to fly it raw.  Hope this Mavic is better quality.  The Yuneec product seems very "toy" like.

zfdtruckman Posted at 2016-10-28 18:10
I just purchased a training unit.   Was on sale and I kinda wanted to not have another DJI product ...

So... The Mavic will definitely be better quality...

But the The Yuneec is still pretty expensive.  I suggest flying in manual mode.  Start on a lawn.  Keep it under 4 feet until you feel comfortable.  Learn to fly it in different orientations.  Flying away from you.  Flying towards you... Etc...  The controls REVERSE when you fly towards your self.
Just put in the hours.  It takes time.

petevandra@msn. Posted at 2016-10-26 06:04
I reckon it's great that you feel a bit overwhelmed.  This is not a hobby that one can take lightly. ...

Where is the simulator?

Jenkins Posted at 2016-10-29 09:53
Where is the simulator?

It's in the same place as the manual, but you need your aircraft to connect.

hallmark007 Posted at 2016-10-29 11:21
It's in the same place as the manual, but you need your aircraft to connect.

Are there any simulator alternatives that you can use without the mavic connected?

I saw some in the AppStore, but does anybody have a recommendation?

michaelkaandorp Posted at 2016-10-29 10:33
Are there any simulator alternatives that you can use without the mavic connected?

I saw some in  ...

Sorry haven't used any other ones, only the one on the dji go app with P4, it's fairly good, maybe try and pick up a free one and try that, guess your waiting for your Mavic like the rest of us.
Might be a good idea to put up a new thread, your sure to get someone who can tell you.

There's a free one on the google play store called Quadcopter FX Simulator. The paid for version gives access to a couple of extra scenes and autonomous settings but you don't really need them.

I learnt how to fly with a Phantom 3 Standard. the Mavic looks easier to fly.  As already mentioned, always practice in open space - with no trees!  Also, use beginner mode for a while and don't try too much too soon.