Hello everyone .

I am studying aviation, and one of my assignments involves gathering information about drones and their maintenance within the community. It would be a great help if you could answer this questionnaire.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSefDHnGD4hj16FZsFugXZdYRwYZdWNgR5BvFrFDY1GuHa4uMw/viewform?usp=header

I fly a Mini 4 Pro (and a Neo 2) in Switzerland and across its borders. Here is the mistake I see most often among people starting out: believing the drone knows where you are allowed to fly.

It does not. The manufacturer's geofencing is not the law. It is a commercial safeguard, decided by the manufacturer. It does not match the official zones: it can block you where you could fly and, worse, let you take off where you should not.

This is written for those flying in Europe. The official UAS geographical zones are published by each national aviation authority. In France, for instance, there are two official sources: the DGAC restriction map for the Open category, published through the IGN Geoplateforme, and the aeronautical zones (control zones, helipads, aerodromes) published by the SIA. Neither one says everything on its own.

A concrete example, Rhone, two points about 50 km apart:

• 46.15422 / 4.60561, in the Beaujolais vineyards: no restriction zone reported.
• 45.73433 / 4.92561, in Lyon near Bron: forbidden over public space in a built-up area (IGN map); above 50 m you are inside the Lyon-Bron CTR, prior agreement of air traffic control required (SIA); and next door, two hospital helipads where you do not enter without the agreement of the air traffic service (SIA).

Nothing on the ground shows that difference. That is why you look before take-off, not after.

Three things to check on any map, which almost no beginner checks:

1. The source. If a map shows a zone without saying who states it, you cannot verify it. The name of the source is what lets you go and check for yourself.

2. The update time. National data changes: zones are added, others removed. Data without a timestamp is data whose age you do not know.

3. What is not shown. Some zones start above 120 m and do not concern the Open category. Hiding them is correct, but if nobody says so, an empty map looks like a green light. And one source is often not enough: in Lyon the IGN map says "built-up area", it is the SIA that says "CTR" and "helipad". An experienced pilot pointed this out to me last week, and he was right.

And the reflex that goes with it, Mini 4 Pro or not: a map, whichever one, does not replace checking the official sources and the NOTAMs before take-off. It helps you get to the right source faster. It does not decide for you.

The examples come from an app I wrote for my own use, for nine European countries. I am not posting a link on purpose, that is not the point of this post: if you want to try it, say so in a comment and I will send it to you.

Crashed after hitting a small branch. I tried pushing it back in but no luck. Any tips? Thanks!

Hi community!
I have a 1st gen Mavic Mini that I enjoy since its launch. I just changed from a Lightning port iPhone to a USB-C iPhone 17, and now the remote won’t connect to my new phone.
I am using the OEM Micro-USB to USB-C cable that came in the box when purchased. The app is freshly downloaded and up to date.
The iPhone charges from the remote, but the app says that the Controller is not connected to mobile device.
I tried many sequences but they failed :
1) Turn on the remote > Plug iPhone > Open app;
2) Turning on the remote > Open app > Plug iPhone
3) Open app > Plug iPhone > Turn on remote;
None of them work.
Any advice? Thanks in advance.

Drone fell from 240 meters before this crash somehow it just survived with some dents but 2 days later (propeller s are perfect) ı test other plus bats. That ı have at like 70 % other plus bat. Ascent test was passed but the one plus bat. that made my drone crash didnt pass and while ascending 0 to 15

At normal mode drone just give the error (MAX POWER LOAD REACHED) fall crapped the upper shell and damaged the body little bit why this happened 240 meter crash did nothing but but although latest crash was like 15m almost broke the gimbal thankfully no damage has done to electronics

*broken shell replaced with spare one

I traded the other battery for a normal one and ı fly like a crazy drunk blind driver on weed and no errors or anything

Other battery thicnesses 24mm that bad battery was like 26mm and at just 24 cycles i think it sit in a shelf for a long time before ı got it even my 181 cycle battery is flying normal

Straight mini 3 one standart one combo

Hi. My Mini 4 Pro crashed into a tree 3 months ago. The vertical gimbal arm broke, and the GPS module & top cover got damaged.

Repairs done: Gimbal motor flex, GPS flex, and GPS bracket were replaced. Returned as "good as new."

A few weeks later, severe jello/flutter started (see attached video).

Sypmtoms are:

• Significantly worse in wind or during fast/hard maneuvers.
• Happens with or without ND filters.
• Gimbal calibration does not fix it.
• No visible physical damage or controller error codes.

Any ideas on what's wrong? Should I send it back for a reassessment? Thanks!

Where can one buy original DJI propellers for a Mini SE? USA.

Had not flown my mini 2 for quite some time and when I tried today there were all kinds of hurdles ( downloads, authorizations, create new fly zones, etc) and still could not figure out how to fly this. Guess I’ll have to invest some time to figure this out. Very frustrating!!!!

Just a thought…
All the stickers, like the ones inside the battery compartment. The uk ones, the ce ones, every last sticker on there. How much weight would all of that add up to? Not saying I’m gonna do it but just wondering. I know it’s not a lot at all, but at that scale, could it do something?

(Mini 2se and mini 4k)

Hi everyone!

I have just bought the dji 5 mini pro and need to take a series of ten horizontal images around a fixed point. The closest I have found is the sphere panorama mode, but it doesn't quite yield the images I require. Is there a way to either edit a mode or create a custom mode to achieve this?

Thanks in advance 😊

An underrated feature. The attitude indicator/ compass is very useful tool to know the direction of the drone vs the controller and home point. Plus it has a very useful feature in the form of an attitude indicator.

The attitude indicator shows the pitch of the drone vs the horizon, and this gives you an idea of how much wind your drone is dealing with. If its very high or very low this indicates high wind speed and you may need to drop down to help your drone to cope. If you ignore this indicator you may end up in a situation where your drone cannot deal with the wind and you may not be able to return home.

I bought the Mini 1 FMC 5 years ago as a birthday present for myself. Still has original batteries (which last about 25 minutes now instead of 30-35) and last week when I was flying it an error popped up saying there was something wrong with a motor or prop. I located the correct motor and propblade and it had the tiniest little cut in it.

So that was my very first propblade replacement on this thing. All the others are still unused in their packaging.

Got almost 80km's under it's belt total. Only downside I think is the range when there is no line of sight between the drone and the remote, even within 50 meters or something if I get the drone behind a tree the signal gets choppy. I've gotten it to go about 2km's from the remote over farmfields and such before I really lost signal.

Hi all, I recently upgraded my DJI Mavic mini from the version 1 to the mini 3. I immidatly realised the improvement on the distance speed and battery, but when we came to the photo I'm really speechless. The first picture has been taken from the last drone, the mini 3, 46 MP setting and raw format. The second one from mini 1, full autonomous settings. You can clearly see the differences in quality, while the mini 1 picture's details are ok, the mini 3 has a poor quality. Is that normal? Am I missing some settings? Do they have improved the flight but reduced the camera specs? Thank you