A propeller wrap is one of the accessories to keep the blades secure when traveling, tho’ I wasn’t too keen on the one-trick-pony nature of the official version. It was worth investigating whether Velcro’s One-Wrap could do the trick. This extended an opportunity to gain some first-ever experience with Johnson Plastics’ Saddle Synthetic Leather. Engraved with the proper irp logo, of course. Finished ends provides a polished look along with identifying the machine it’s intended for.
Appreciation to Corter Leather for teaching his stitching techniques. I’ll need a LOT more practice. The unevenness was largely because this first try was done pushing a needle through unprocessed Velcro Nylon.
The inner panel is checked for alignment. All stitch holes match perfectly, so some spare thread is loosely put in place to keep the panels aligned while the rest of the stitching takes place. And the finished result…
This is awesome. How do you like the mini 2? I’ve been thinking about one for awhile. I heard you don’t need to do a drone test with that one, is that true
That is true in the U. S. But it’s also true of any drone less than 55lbs so if needing a test is your issue, you can look at other drones.
If you want to fly non-recreationally then you need a test (for Part 107 certification) regardless of which drone you buy.
The Mini is less than 250g which means it doesn’t have to be registered (registration us only $5/3yrs for drones over 250g).
BTW, the FAA is working on some training/testing requirement for recreational (just for fun) flyers so it’s likely somewhere down the road you’ll need to complete something online.
Coming from an RC Heli era BEFORE computer/iPad training simulators, drones are future alien technology by comparison. All the micro drones were awfully tempting as an impulse buy under the excuse that it’d primarily be for hands-on experience/training. Each one of these were more tempting than the next
Tello
Spark
Mavic Mini (original)
ALL of them came with the presumption that they’d be the banana-seat bike with training wheels to learn on before moving onto a model with a 4k camera and further-than-WiFi (Occusync) flying range… and THAT previously meant the bigger/heavier models that requires FAA registration in the USA.
The MINI2 encapsulates everything I wanted in a highly stowable palm size drone.
Flies in stronger gusts than the original Mini
30 minute flight time using a lighter energy-dense LiPo pack
4K video with a higher 100mbps bit rate - OMG the detail
6 miles of (control and video downlink) range using OccySync2 (tho’ FAA mandates keeping line-of-sight at all times)
Considerably more quiet (gentle buzz) compared to the bigger drones (angry bees)
With all that they managed to pack into the MINI2, I’d need a very long laundry list of reasons & features to convince me to consider upgrading. IOW, for many, this doesn’t have to be a stepping stone model.
Speaking of packing, EVERYTHING stows into a single fanny pack. This ensures the MINI2 will be tagging along on all future vacations… or that during routine flying sessions, ALL the gear is within easy reach (Don’t have to designate a drop pile in the field)
Would “FAA Exempt” be more applicable than “FAA Compliant”?
I was actually really excited about the mini when it came out because I thought that our marketing department would be able to use them without having a p107 (and less concerns about safety & liability in general, due to the weight). But the FAA eventually clarified that <250g drones used for commercial purposes still need to be registered and adhere to p107 operational guidelines.
Not sure why the rules for commercial operators had a low-end to the weight range if it supposedly doesn’t apply for commercial operations.
If you do a slit in it that will fit one of the cord ends, you can have the velcro attached to the cord so that you don’t misplace it. I did that with all of my appliances and other cords, but using the GF would make a nice cut. Just a thought.
If you fly the “drones” I fly, you don’t care very much about the props during transport, or anything else for that matter, since the abuse suffered in flight is orders of magnitude higher…
Although on this flight, I got around the track clean…
The video was recorded by a special type of on-board camera. The recording is 4K, but the camera also sends a standard-def video feed to a transmitter on the “quad” (we call them “quads”, not “drones”). Meanwhile, I’m sitting in a chair off to the side with a set of video goggles on my head, watching the video feed in real time, and piloting the quad via that feed. So what I’m seeing during the race isn’t nearly as nice as this recording. But I do have a new digital video system I’m trying out this summer that should improve the quality of my live video feed to at least 720p resolution…
Finished ends provides a polished look along with identifying the machine it’s intended for.
