Greetings fellow pilots, newbie here from Plymouth UK!

Introductions
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Hi Guys,

A big thanks goes out to Rich (PingSpike) who invited me to this lovely family gathering.

I invested in a Mavic 2 Zoom just recently & spent a fortune on extras plus a FlyMore Kit. I am just waiting on a set of Tiffin ND filters ordered direct from the States.

I have also got myself insured through Icarus with £1m public liability (which they claim is better than DJI Care Refresh as they claim it’s just an extended warranty in reality with bigger outlay on yourself with claims.)

I haven’t launched it yet, only gone through the “props off” tests at home but nerves prevent me from going out there in the big wide world & stuffing my £1000+ investment into a tree or cliff.

I put a post out on MavicPilots.com to ask for beginners guidance but more importantly, places to practice in my area. I thought I could nip up to the moors & start there as my phone app said I could but digging deeper, I can’t as it’s a national park!

So, if there are any local pilots in the Plymouth area, (I live in Plympton), I would love to meet up & have a little guidance in the basics at a place which is legal.

There’s a couple of post flight beers in it for you!

Yours in anticipation,
Rick

PS my knowledge of drones rest with an early Parrot AR which now sits unused in my loft!!

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Welcome Rick,
I hope you enjoy the forum.

Unfortunately I live a zillion miles away in Suffolk, but I hope someone close helps out.

Yep! Avoiding cliffs & trees is always a good start!

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Hi Rick / @rick.hyde , and welcome to GADC. :+1:

Quite a few of our members also own the M2Z … so you are amongst good company.

If you haven’t already, take a look at the Map of Members and you’ll see there are a few other members in your neck of the woods, some of whom I’m sure will come and say Hi.

(Don’t forget to add yourself to that map :+1: : How to add yourself to the Members Map )

The forum’s search functions are a very efficient way to find previous threads and posts that might already have covered topics in which you are interested in learning more or answer that niggling question but, when this doesn’t turn up what you’re after, there’s a wealth of knowledge amongst the members, so ask away over on #questions-and-answers.

Also, if you’ve not seen it, check out our map of places where members have flown in the past … which, obviously, doesn’t necessarily mean they are still OK to fly and, as always, any pilot needs to check that everything’s OK before flying at any of them.

Please also take a moment to look at the Membership Levels section on our FAQ .

Welcome aboard!

Hopefully another member in your neck of the woods will help you out with getting airborne …. but, really, they are very simple to fly.

Find a suitable space, on a nice calm day … take off gently to the height of a couple of metres … let go the controls and it will stay right there!

Small inputs to get a feel for the response … and let go of the sticks … it will stop and hover in the new location whilst you take a breath ready to try again.

Gradually build on this at your own speed, and you’ll be fine! :+1:

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Welcome to Grey Arrows @rick.hyde, glad you could join us mate :smiley:

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Welcome to the group :+1:

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There is a beginners mode on the MP so I would guess its there on the M2Z, it mainly restricts how far and how high you can go about 30m each way, I kept that on for a while and then switched it off but put height and distance limits, building up gradually, and yeah try an dkeep clear of trees and cliffs for a while.

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Welcome. Love your logo Rick

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Hi @rick.hyde , I’m also from plympton.
How did you get on locating suitable flying sites? I’ve only flown indoor before, but i’m all registered and ready to go.
Everywhere I can think of is either too close to buildings, railways, or is national trust or national park. great to live here for walking, not so much flying it seems!!

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Hi both, I’m not far, over between Cornwood and Sparkwell. There are a couple of spots I’ve found, one up on a tor that isn’t actually Dartmoor. It’s a bit of a hike and I haven’t been going there at the moment as there’s lots of Skylarks nesting so I thought I’d leave them in peace for another month or so. I keep thinking about Mountbatten beach but all the water around Plymouth seems to be restricted in some way. It’d be quite cool to fly over to Drakes Island. Anyway, give me a shout (both of you) if you like and we could try and get together somewhere.

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@ChrisT sounds good to me, hopefully rick will have some ideas on locations that would suit. I’ll keep hunting myself but its definitely tricky around here.

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Have pm’d you. I’m popping down the local cricket pitch later this evening if you fancy it. It’s perfect for getting a feel for everything, no one around and hardly anything to bump in to.

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Hi stupink/Chris T!

Apologies for not getting back sooner! Been manic times with all this lockdown nonsense & being a self employed sign designer, work has been mad trying to sort all the social distancing shop fit stuff + my other half working from home too!

Love the idea about getting together at some point & getting some badly needed practice in & gaining tips etc as I have hardly used mine since I got it! The weather has been frustratingly beautiful too!

Yes the restrictions are many & widespread, pity we have so much open space up on the Moors but this is, as you are aware, a no go area.
Often thought about some flying down on the local field when all is quiet in the evening but never got round to it. I have looked on https://dronescene.co.uk/ to find any local areas of interest but not many are indicated. Perhaps some of the quieter beaches south of Noss Mayo might need a bit of research.

No Drone fly zone Map
No Drone fly zone Map1201×1005 138 KB

Last time I flew my drone was up north visiting family & I just went to some rather boring playing fields but it was better than nothing.

Garstang Road
Garstang Road3840×2160 4.13 MB

However, if you guys fancy a meet up st some point - let me know, I am open to location suggestions, even Cricket Fields!!

Stay Safe
Rick

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Drop me a message if you like. The cricket pitch is great for learning, nothing to hit, no houses nearby. It also says that the local community are allowed to use the fields with a few exceptions. Drones aren’t mentioned! I generally pop down there after about 7.30 ish when there’s no one around. Give me a shout if you fancy it one evening

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Sounds good! Not sure how to pm on here but just wondered where it is?

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I’ve pm’d you

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Welcome! Happy flying!