Multirotor, multicopter and quadcopter discussion - The Drone thread

My 5 year old's Xmas wish was to have 'a drone that flies' which I think I can satiate with a £10 drone that gets promptly flown in to a bush.

However, this has opened my eyes to having a bit of fun with a drone of my own as well, and I've been having a quick look at some very impressive footage captured with a few different kinds of drone:

Diji Mini 2 - £300(ish) used
Diji Mavic Pro - £259 in 'used good' condition

What's the one to go for if you're looking at spending around that price range?

Cheers!

K
 
Feek said:
Like many people, I fancied a decent drone for ages, bought it, flew it a handful of times and then just didn't bother as I actually had no real use for it.
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I remember you doing a lot of walking - no National Trust-ish walks you could go on and capture some scenery for a bit of fun?
 
Priapus said:
What’s the laws about flying in public areas?

I have plans of doing a video / photos of the family and I riding along the beach front and the DJI drone in the air following us for a little bit. Is that sort of thing allowed?
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If you already have a drone, this is something you should be aware of. It’s all down to the class you have. If it’s under 250g you can basically fly it wherever you want (except official no-fly zones), with just a few exceptions. If it’s under 250g and has a decent camera, it’s not considered a toy and so you have to register on the CAA site, get an operator ID and have your drone labelled.

There are a lot of restrictions if it’s above 250g.

Introduction to drone flying and the UK rules | Civil Aviation Authority

A top level guide to flying drones and model aircraft in the UK
www.caa.co.uk www.caa.co.uk
 
Feek said:
If you already have a drone, this is something you should be aware of. It’s all down to the class you have. If it’s under 250g you can basically fly it wherever you want (except official no-fly zones), with just a few exceptions. If it’s under 250g and has a decent camera, it’s not considered a toy and so you have to register on the CAA site, get an operator ID and have your drone labelled.

There are a lot of restrictions if it’s above 250g.

Introduction to drone flying and the UK rules | Civil Aviation Authority

A top level guide to flying drones and model aircraft in the UK
www.caa.co.uk www.caa.co.uk
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It’s a DJI spark. Take off weight is 300g.

I’ll take a look at the link, thanks. If it’s a bit of a mission, then I’ll probably leave it here in SA when we move.
 
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I don't think it's quite so limited with that one as it comes under A1 Transitional but that still means "No intentional flight over uninvolved persons" and you're supposed to do the A2 CofC theoretical test. That's if I'm reading this correctly.

I finally completed what I intended to do a couple of weeks ago; run a full discharge cycle through all my batteries by just hovering and plonking up and down a bit in the garden. I did take the drone up to about 60m and do a panorama but apart from that, I was very cautious, especially after last time.

It's not hugely windy out there but it's been gusting up to 17mph and as I was descending from 60m straight down, my little Mini 2 got blown sideways to be above the garden, two doors down. When I tried moving sideways to bring it back over my garden, it was very slow to move because of the wind. I was in mode C which slows it right down and the wind was quicker!

Forecast is to be windy again over the next few days so I'm really just waiting until the weather improves a bit so I can go fly properly somewhere.
 
Feek said:
I don't think it's quite so limited with that one as it comes under A1 Transitional but that still means "No intentional flight over uninvolved persons" and you're supposed to do the A2 CofC theoretical test. That's if I'm reading this correctly
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Which would essentially mean no flying it at the beach / paths etc as there are lots of people about.
 
Finally had a chance to take it for a proper flight today after the repair and all good. I ran a couple of batteries down to about 20% and enjoyed that. It was very overcast today so the footage was nothing special but that's OK, it gave me more of a feel for flying the drone.
 
Anyone here upgraded from a Mini 2 to a Mini 4 Pro? I'm thinking of taking the plunge, I haven't really used the Mini 2 that much due to family and time constraints, but my situation has changed dramatically over the last few years and I have more time to be able to go out early mornings and capture some lovely photos and footage. Thinking of the upgrade from the controller perspective, I always found it a pain in the butt to update the phone software and then try and get it working with the controller, and the Mini 4 Pro also has a slightly better camera, and all around obstacle avoidance which to me seems like a very good idea on something that's pretty small, nimble, and not crash-proof.
 
Feek said:
Finally had a chance to take it for a proper flight today after the repair and all good. I ran a couple of batteries down to about 20% and enjoyed that. It was very overcast today so the footage was nothing special but that's OK, it gave me more of a feel for flying the drone.
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What are you flying Feek?
 
I don't think it's quite so limited with that one as it comes under A1 Transitional but that still means "No intentional flight over uninvolved persons" and you're supposed to do the A2 CofC theoretical test. That's if I'm reading this correctly.
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Yeah that's correct for anything above 250g. You really can't go wrong with a sub-250g drone, you have so much more freedom, and drones like the Mini 3, Mini 3 Pro, and the Mini 4 Pro all support active tracking now. Sadly the Mini 2 doesn't which is a shame as I quite like the idea for when you're out walking.
 
I'm thinking of going for a Mini Pro 4 too, have had an original Mavic for years now but rarely fly it these days. Bought my son a Mini 2 SE as his first drone recently and going out with him so he can fly it has rekindled my interest a little.

But the Mavic being over 250g certainly does limit you somewhat in terms of flying restrictions, using my little lads Mini 2 SE is quite refreshing not having to be concerned about the sort of considerations you need to have with a heavier drone (obviously still respecting the guidance in the drone code though).

Mavic has served me well, but its gathering dust now so perhaps time to move on to newer tech!
 
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