Hi all!

Hello folks. I’m very new to the drone world & looking to buy my first ‘proper’ drone, just as soon as I can work out whether to get an Mavic Pro or Air! Right now I’ve just got a Syma XH5C, just because I wanted to get a toy that flew and I could crash that rather than something considerably more expensive! Good decision - I’ve crashed that many times and I’m pleased to report that it bounces.

Pleased to meet you all.

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Welcome :+1:

Welcome, @PaperCrane, great to have you with us. You may be the first member to mention having the choice of the Mavic Air as your first ‘proper’ drone. :slight_smile:

Whether you get the Pro or the Air I’d advise that you get out the of the habit of crashing your drone pretty quickly! It’s different when you watch several hundred pounds crash to earth and become plastic confetti. :slight_smile: (Please note that DJI drones rarely do this and are basically tough old birds.)

Thanks both!

I’m pleased to say I’ve got out of the habit of crashing these days. I just wanted to make sure I started with something that I wouldn’t mind if i binned it. Or when my 11 year old son said ‘can I have a go Dad’ and promptly got it stuck in an oak tree.

I agree that intelligent flight modes aren’t a replacement for common sense, looking around you and not flying like a muppet, but I can see them helping at first. It’s much easier to learn to ride a bike with the stabilisers on. Nobody leaves them there forever!

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Hi @PaperCrane and welcome to Grey Arrows :smiley:

That’s probably a tough choice at the moment…

I’m not sure about release dates but I’m guessing it’ll be +3 months before the first Air’s land in the UK (see what I did there?) and +6 months before they’re readily available.

Can you wait that long?

Although, given the weather over the last couple of months, you’ll not be flying anything any time soon :cry:

Welcome once again, please do keep us posted on your decision (and the process/factors you used to get there!) :+1:

Thanks!

TBH I had forgotten about likely delays in shipping, backlogs etc. You’re right though. That’s disappointing. Realistically, even if the MP2 is released this year, the chances of getting hold of one are probably slipping into 2019 already. I’m not going to wait that long!

I was wanting to take a drone to Vietnam around May, but from what I’ve read, it’s a bit of risk over whether it gets confiscated at the airport these days. Don’t fancy that much.

Welcome :slight_smile:

There’s quite a few Mavic pros for sale on eBay at the moment for about the same price as the air if you wanna save a bit of money. One of them I looked at had a screenshot of the DJI GO app and had only flown for a total of 10 Min!!! Crazy. There was a few that had been used but were ‘unwanted gifts’. From about £600-£800

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… and then crashed, perhaps? :wink:

I have to say, with all the crashes one reads about on forums, I’d only buy off eBay if it was local and I could flight test all aspects of the flying bits, and the camera/video/gimbal bits, thoroughly before parting with a penny.

Haha! It looked in good condition though.
There is one on there that someone’s crashed and has a ding on the back but ‘works perfectly’ , which it might do, but I’d be staying clear of that one.
There’s even one for sale with the fly more pack but they’ve only used 1 battery and the other two are still in the boxes.
With everything for sale on eBay you have to be careful but I think there’s Genuine mavs up for grabs.

I’ve seen one that’s crashed into a tree … no visible damage, but one motor didn’t work and the gimbal was inoperable.
It’s not any eBay item for me. Too many potential pitfalls and big bills to resolve.

I’m thinking about a refurb one. I tend to agree that ebay is a bit too much of a gamble for a drone though. I’d like to have the security of buying from a company that will provide warranty etc, and i can wrap it round someone’s head if it doesn’t work when i get home.

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Mavic air to order for 2nd February delivery from drones direct in Huddersfield :grin:

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Nooooooo… Please tell me you didn’t order it from them?? Here’s why: I'll not be using Drones Direct again!

And they’ll do exactly the same thing with the Mavic Air :face_with_symbols_over_mouth:

Hmmm. Just read that thread. Ta for the tip. I won’t be shopping there.

Oops sorry , did wonder what they were like as its not far from me, and there trust pilot reviews are quite poor too.
Just seen mavic pro platnium fly more combo on hobbyking .It has to come from Honk kong warehouse, but is only £981,+ free shipping, any ideas how much the customs charge would be?

https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/trade-tariff/commodities/8802200010#import … under “ERGA OMNES” you’ll find China.

Duty @ 20% + VAT @ 20% on Cost+Duty … therefore a total of about 44% on cost … but there’s always a chance it might get through … not a risk I’d take.

Also - depending on how they ship - it could take up to 6 weeks to get here if they use “consolidated shipping”. Check exactly how they ship! I’ve been caught on this before - luckily not something that was urgent.

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And there’s also the possibility of getting stung with a handling charge

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This too - but by that point the least expensive part of the exercise. LOL!

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