Confessions of a newbie

General Drone Discussion
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Very much a newbie here and, although I’ve done an intro post, this is my first “actual” post on here so, please be kind :slight_smile: .

Just a bit of background…I’m no youngster (just past retirement but not ready for pipe and slippers yet), have done RC flying years ago and never flown a drone until a few days ago…total drone flying hours so far are: 0 hours and about 40 minutes :slight_smile: .

So here is how it went for me: After some research I purchased a Holystone HS175 drone based on price and write ups. I understood that the camera quality would not be that good but wasn’t to worried about that as I wanted to learn the basic’s of flying the drone but didn’t want to risk a £500 or so investment to either loose it or crash it on first flight. It was on offer on Amazon for just under £130 so I took the plunge. When it arrived it was everything I expected. It comes packed in a plastic case with 2 batteries, chargers, spare props and prop guards etc.

Charged the batteries and read the instruction booklet, then read the instruction booklet again. Loaded app onto phone (that wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be) then waited for some decent weather. The instruction manual stated the drone may need to be “trimmed” on first flight and to do this you push down on one stick and trim with the opposite stick. With this in mind and a calm-ish day it was out into the back garden, switch everything on and connect, calibrate etc and take a deep breath.

Pressed the “one key take off” button and the drone lifted to around 4 ft off the ground then took off forward and to my left, a quick panic trying to control it…that made things worse…let go of sticks…mega panic mode then, so, just closed throttle, drone ended up upside down on the lawn. No damage though and I even remembered to breath. Second flight was better, took off myself and was expecting the move left and forward so managed to keep thing more under control and got it trimmed fairly well. I have now had around 40 mins flying with the Holystone and enjoying it a lot, flying has been limited to back garden due to lockdown but I do feel more relaxed now about taking it somewhere open when we are allowed.

I am impressed with the HS175 for the price, wouldn’t say it was easy to fly but it’s not difficult and, probably had I done first flight in a more open space the trimming process would have been a lot easier with more time to think. Hoping to get out this weekend and do some more practice flying as I have joined the “Dji mini 2” club and looking forward to giving this it’s first flight, hopefully without lots of trimming issues.

Have a great weekend everyone and happy flying.

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On take off your drone should rise and hold position with the GPS. Same if you let go of the sticks it should just hold position. Did you check the number of locked satellites? ( More than 10 is good)

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You’ve started the journey :sunglasses: that’s the first step. Mini 2 is different ball game all together. £400 more gubbings makeake a difference. Way more stable :+1:t2:

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@Tolly, got to own up, didn’t think to check satellites, next outing to the back garden (hopefully, weather allowing, will be tomorrow) I will do a check. I did manage to trim it out fairly well in the end although that could be down to GPS sorting it out.
@Trailblazer I am looking forward to getting the mini 2 flying and compare between the two. I have the Mini 2 sorted and batteries on charge, while setting it up I did have a problem with “gimbal stuck” but sorted that thanks to google :slight_smile:

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It should lock on to satellites on the ground before takeoff :+1:t2: oh and no need to trim out :sunglasses: it’s like comparing rich tea biscuits to black forest gateau :joy:

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Hey Brian!

Good to meet you this morning! After seeing you we popped down to Arundel Castle and then Littlehampton beach and I must say these DJI drones really do fly well!

Only my second day out and I trust it completely… You’ll be absolutely fine with the Mini it’s a damn good choice! Just make sure the controller shows satellite lock before going vertical!

Photo_6553642_DJI_42_jpg_4057690_0_2021227122046_photo_original
Photo_6553642_DJI_42_jpg_4057690_0_2021227122046_photo_original4000×2250 3.54 MB

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Trailblazer thanks for that, I was wondering if the mini 2 had to be trimmed, I will check GPS before thinking about getting off the ground. I’m sure it’s going to be as much fun as I think it will be :smiley:

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You will be amazed at how stable. You’ll be ready for this crazy thing to zip in to the air :joy: but it’s far from it. Just take it easy to begin with, stability makes confidence grow :sunglasses: usually not a bad thing but it is all too easy to get carried away and before you know it :boom::roll_eyes: and as it has no obstacle avoidance… keep an eye out for “hairy” trees. We all know the 1s :unamused: fine bare branches… well all trees are to be avoided :grin:

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Just wait for those magic words

The home point has been updated, please check it on the map.

Do as she says and you’re good to go

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Firstly welcome to the forum and drone flying as a hobby. :ok_hand:

As stated above, DJI is a completely different ball game! You will likely get rid off the HS175 soon after! That being said I have never flown a holeystone :joy: I am just constantly impressed by DJI drones!

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New drone day :joy::joy:

tenor-25

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Update time but firstly, thank you to everyone above for your comments and advice.

Got everything sorted with the DJI mini2, weather not to bad this morning so no excuse not to get out in the back garden. Turned on controller and drone, checked everything, including GPS etc…all clear above so, deep breath and hit the take-off button…guess what, it took off, got to about 4ft off the ground and just hovered there :smile:, I didn’t need to touch anything, there was no panic and, I even relaxed and remembered to breath :joy:.

I had set the controller to cine mode and would recomend that setting to anyone completely new as it makes any input a lot smoother and, importantly, gives time to undo any over compensation. Easing up on the left stick and the mini 2 began to rise, let go of the sticks and it just stops and hovers. I did a couple of laps around the garden and felt in control the whole time, and despite the breeze and light gusts the drone behaved faultlessly.

Without using the auto land I landed the drone with no problem and decided to try a take off myself, both sticks moved down and in and the props start spinning, ease the left stick up and the drone lifts, again no drama’s…I’m loving this…got some height but decided to stay within the garden boundary, had a fly around above roof top level nice and relaxed and after a while came in for a controlled landing.

So what can I say other than “amazing”, to quote @Trailblazer “it’s like comparing rich tea biscuits to black forest gateau”, the holystone and mini 2 are miles apart. If anyone, especially anyone new to drones, reading this is undecided about spending out on the mini 2 then, in my opinion, the mini 2 is worth every penny. As @Trailblazer pointed out above it is very tempting to take bigger steps as control and stability as so good, I’d suggest taking time to get used to the flying controls and making small steps. By the time my second battery was running low on power I was landing and taking off myself with the drone facing me without any issues, and wasn’t in headless mode.

Once again thank you to everyone for your positive vibes and advice, so much great information here.

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tenor-26

Go you :ok_hand:t3: good to hear all went well. It’s good to not use auto take off and land :+1:t2:I tend not to use them either. Also I land before the battery warning beeps start, not worth the risk in my opinion. You can sit with a big smile for the rest of the night now :clap:t2::clap:t2::clap:t2::clap:t2:

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Well done and welcome. I’m no expert, as I just started flying last year, and can totally empathize. It’s scary your first flight or two ( or half dozen/dozen). I have the MA2 and am really impressed, the obstacle avoidance has come in handy a time or two when I got a bit too cocky! Oh, I’m no spring chicken either! :older_man::grin:

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@Trailblazer I’m really happy that things went ok, and was a lot more fun than I thought because the flying was so relaxed. I used the auto take of on first take off but the mini was so straightforward to control I didn’t use it again. Return to home is set up with height but not used that at all as yet, I’d rather do take off and landing myself and gain experience. With 3 batteries to hand I only let the battery power drop to 25%, not sure if this will effect the batteries long term but cheaper to replace battery than the drone :smiley:.

Yep big smiles here and hoping weather will be good tomorrow.

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@GraPow thank you for the welcome, it is a bit of a concern that the mini 2 doesn’t have obstacle avoidance but it does ensure you keep an eye on it :grin:. I’m sure there will be times when I get to cocky while flying, just hope things don’t go toooooo pear shaped when I do :rofl: :rofl:

Us recycled teenagers can’t just retire and do nothing, life is fun and you just have to enjoy it :grinning:

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We all have times like this :roll_eyes: if you let go of sticks ( easier said than done in heat of inpending doom) the drone “should” stop and hover, giving you some time :grinning: something else to try out in the garden :+1:t2:

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Yep, we’re all still young at heart, just the body that let’s us down on occasion!

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Well done for taking your time and doing all the right things, including getting advice from this great group. I hope you have many more good times with the Mini 2, it is truly a great bird.

Best wishes.

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Thanks for the replies everyone, thought I’d do a bit of an update.

I have done a bit more “back garden” droning with the mini 2 and have to say I think it’s great. I have also fired up the Holystone HS175 feeling a bit more confident after the mini 2 flights. @Tolly suggested I check the satellites connected before attempting take off, so set everything up and found I had to wait around 5 mins for satellites to connect, fairly certain this was my problem on first flight.

The HS175 still needed trimming, letting go of sticks it still went 45 degrees off to left, this time though it started gaining height quite quickly as well. Managed to trim it fairly well but, compared to the mini 2, it’s a lot more sensitive to stick movement. The mini 2 I can confidently land on a 2 foot square pad, the HS175 is a different beast, took a good minute or two to get it on the pad with lot’s of stick input and, unlike the mini 2, take your eye off it for a second and it’s doing it’s own thing :smiley: I’ve not tried the “return to home” on either of the drones yet so can’t comment about that.

From the pure beginner point of view the mini 2 is a lot more user friendly than the Holystone, I will continue with the Holystone as I think it will help hone my flying skills…maybe :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

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