Hi - I'm a complete novice, from Burley in Wharfedale

Not only do I not have a drone yet, I don’t know how to fly one either. That’s going to change over the next couple of months though, 'cos I’ve been saying that if I was only 30 years younger I’d be up to my neck in getting involved, but that’s just an excuse for not doing anything about it, so here goes.
Typically I seem to have chosen just about the worst time to do so with new regulations being introduced next month - it was the same when I decided to learn to fly a powered hang glider when the CAA introduced the need to display the registration on the underside of the wing just a couple of weeks after I gained my licence; so that the public could identify low flying craft when complaining to the authorities (or was it to allow the police to better identify the increasing number of untrained enthusiasts who were littering our green and pleasant land with their corpses)?
Anyway, don’t hold your breath, but here I go …
Mal

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Well welcome anyway and just have fun …

Hi @Mal and welcome to Grey Arrows!

So what type of drone do you have your eye on? :thinking:

Common sense tells me to go for something like the Mavic Air, but if I get really involved (which I suspect I well might) then I’d want to upgrade shortly after to a Mavic 2 Pro - although it might well be a Mavic 3 by the time I get to the ‘experienced pilot’ status.
I’ll be watching relevant topics in order to learn by other peoples’ experiences (and guidance).
Thanks for the welcome!

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You’ll not go far wrong with the Mavic Air, it’s a cracking piece of kit.

One of our members has a low-hours Air for sale here if you’re tempted:

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Welcome to the group.
Good choice in the air and also the M2P, :+1:

Hi @Mal

I’m just up the bypass from you, in Otley. I have a couple of DJI drones in my collection but no Mavics otherwise I’d have let you burn a few batteries. There’s no shortage of Mavic users (Air, Pro, and Pro2) on this forum so I’m sure any questions you have will be answered quickly and fully.

Regards

Nidge.

Hi @Mal

Welcome to GADC hope you find it useful and maybe have a chat with some of us about which drone to buy if you like?

Don’t forget about fpv. It’s a whole side to the hobby that is just amazing. As the self proclaimed fpv guy here I heartily recommend you think about dipping your toe in :smiley:

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Hi @Mal, bit of a newbie myself with a Mavic Pro Platinum over in east yorkshire near York, so not a million miles away! They’ll be some nice spots to fly near you won’t there? Give me a shout if you’re in the area and you can have a fly of mine!!

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I’m a paraglider pilot, and paramotor pilot, and. I’m surprised about your comment about reg no on a powered hang glider. It’s news to me? You can even fly sub 70 kgs trikes now, ie wheel launched hang gliders, without a reg number. I’d never heard of registration requirement for foot launched hang gliders?

Yes, I was tempted so I contacted Carl (a really nice guy) and we agreed a price. He delivered the kit last night and I 've been admiring it since 3 this morning!
Now comes phase 2 - learning how to fly it.
Many thanks for your input - I owe you a pint or two!!

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I’m relating to the early 1980s here, when powered hang gliders came under the category of Microlights - here’s a snippet from the British Microlite Association synopsis of 1982.
On the regulation front, the CAA wanted aircraft registered, pilots licensed, and aircraft designs type-approved. It was accepted that the status quo could not be maintained, and Flight Line called for responsible action in order that control of the sport could remain with those taking part in it.
The BMAA planned to set up its own training arrangements, company approval schemes and airworthiness inspections: the birth of the system we fly within today. The fear was that these schemes would be managed directly by the CAA, which by its nature would have less time for and understanding of the idiosyncrasies of microlight flying.
Which is why we decided it was going to be fun no longer (apart from also being terrified flying the damned thing) and so sold it on. Apparently the CAA changed their mind later.
Sorry for any confusion, but my memory gets vaguer as time goes by.

Slow and Steady, Mal. There is a basic simulator in the DJIGO App which mimics the flying characteristics of the chosen DJI drone reasonably well. Your first flights should be concentrating on just the basic manoeuvres. With the camera facing away from you just get used to how the drone responds to your stick inputs. As you get more comfortable try some small yaw turns. The end goal is to be able to feel comfortable flying nose in as this is where most people come unstuck. When flying nose in toward yourself the controls effectively become reversed and can initially be counterintuitive, but your brain is a remarkable lump and quite quickly it will become second nature.

Regards

Nidge.

Hi @Mal, and welcome to GADC. :+1:

So, you’ve joined the ranks of our many members who also own Mavic Air. Congrats on your purchase … 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!

Hi Mal, ah that explains it! 80’s was a bit before my time, I started abut 2000. It’s taken a while (as things do in the UK) but as I said, trikes under 70 kgs have been deregulated in the last year or two. That was a good step forward. Good luck with the drone flying, as you said, not the best time to be getting into this sport either, but regs were inevitable. Many other countries have similar. I’m a BMFA member and have a fixed wing A cert and it looks like they have agreed some arrangement with that organisation to simplify things as any RC model over 250 gms now comes into the registration scheme. I have two drones over 250 gms and lots of small ones but several fixed wing. They come and go, get crashed etc and the whole idea of individually registering them is bonkers. I hope the scheme is a huge flop and they rethink it. Idiots that fly illegally or deliberately disrupt and cause chaos won’t register anyway?

Super easy to fly - just need to understand how to get it all connected and talking to phone / tablet first and the rest is fairly straightforward.

As an Air owner / flyer myself just ask and if I can answer I will.

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