Maiden flight went great

[mswlogo]

This is my 4th Drone

DJI Mavic Air 2 returned only because I didn’t know about the Fly More deal. It Flew great, Video was Great. Returned to Amazon.

DJI Mavic 2 Pro with Goggles. Only returned because Goggles not worth the price and Mavic 3 was coming. I knew what I wanted now (an updated version of the Mavic 2 Pro with Fly more). Returned to DJI and they charged a large restocking fee. Flew great. Video great.

DJI Mavic 3 with RC Pro from Amazon. Lots of issues. Mainly poor connection even in isolated area and close by and very poor GPS. Video didn’t feel as good as Mavic 2 Pro did, certainly not much better, especially for the price of $4600 !! (and that was only 2 batteries total and no case). I just couldn’t justify keeping it at that price / performance. Returned to Amazon

Now Skydio 2+ Pro Kit

I’m blown away how good Skydio 2+ flew. Not a single glitch. Landed spot on the case every time. About 5 times.

It sure seems blazing fast when you hit that Turbo button. I tended never to use Sport Mode on DJI’s because of all the safeties disabled. And with Mavic 3 freaky issues I was honestly afraid to fly it at all.

Still trying to get the hang of the Beacon.

The Manual controller was way better than expected after reading so much negativity about it. Just a slight lag compared to DJI. I used my iPhone 13 Pro (not a max) with a case. It felt secure. I keep forgetting to turn brightness up to max before starting. Stupid iPhones refuse to auto adjust brightness. Must be a patent infringement or something.

One thing I never liked about DJI is why on earth they paint them sky grey when VLOS is required. Are they trying to make them hard to see? I find the smaller Skydio easier to see than any of the DJI’s.

I find with the batteries packed between arms of the really nice Skydio case, it is no larger than a DJI setup when packed to go in some 3rd party case. The Folding arms seems more a marketing gimmick than a real need.

Also I kind of like the fact the Skydio doesn’t fold. It feels very rugged with no wobbly folding legs. I was also surprised it’s not all plastic either. Feels like some sort of aluminum or magnesium case.

I flew it in 25F weather no problem. Kept warm batteries in the house as I rotated through them. They were even warmer after the flight.

I did just a tiny bit of tracking and it worked fine.

I didn’t test obstacle avoidance much yet.

I need to reread the Beacon manual.

The GPC case is amazing. Now I see why so many DJI owners go for it. And why Skydio teamed up with them. Smart move.

Here is a video of a case landing (Ground View). My wife was videoing with her phone from the doorway

Look Ma, no hands.

Here is the same flight from the Drone View.

 

[Gadgetdude]

Great feedback and videos! Glad to hear of your experience. I have been flying DJI for 10+ years. This is first time flying Skydio 2 and the best way to describe it to others is ‘it is just fun!’

 

[mswlogo]

Great feedback and videos! Glad to hear of your experience. I have been flying DJI for 10+ years. This is first time flying Skydio 2 and the best way to describe it to others is ‘it is just fun!’

Exactly. I’m not some cinematographer so the fact that the S2 is a step down on Camera from DJI is not that big a deal.

It’s also more fun because of the very attractive Care package and the Step up on obstacle avoidance.

But when an S3 with a better camera does arrive I’ll provably be in line early if things continue as they have.

Two feature requests I have.

1) Add Dog / Animal tracking.

2) Allow option of disabling of obstacle avoidance to allow night flying. Maybe this disables Care warranty (I.e. fly at your own risk).

Both doable in software.

 

[Sky Cyclist]

One thing I never liked about DJI is why on earth they paint them sky grey when VLOS is required. Are they trying to make them hard to see? I find the smaller Skydio easier to see than any of the DJI’s.

I also thought about the exact same question, why its color is gray...

Exactly. I’m not some cinematographer so the fact that the S2 is a step down on Camera from DJI is not that big a deal.

It’s also more fun because of the very attractive Care package and the Step up on obstacle avoidance.

But when an S3 with a better camera does arrive I’ll provably be in line early if things continue as they have.

Two feature requests I have.

1) Add Dog / Animal tracking.

2) Allow option of disabling of obstacle avoidance to allow night flying. Maybe this disables Care warranty (I.e. fly at your own risk).

Both doable in software.

The S2 camera performance is actually great.

Sounds like the S2+ is the drone for you, happy for you.

 

[Ridefreak]

I agree about the blue color, what were they thinking? The blue part of the case is magnesium, very durable except if it falls out of the sky onto a hard surface like pavement straight onto an arm or the gimbal. Otherwise it's a very robust drone. Nice review.

 

[Waldo Pepper]

I agree about the blue color, what were they thinking? The blue part of the case is magnesium, very durable except if it falls out of the sky onto a hard surface like pavement straight onto an arm or the gimbal. Otherwise it's a very robust drone. Nice review.

I agree, Skydio is very robust seen and experienced this first hand couple days ago.

Was pushing the Skydios limits using Key Frames in an area with oak trees, branches and thick foliage. Tried to create a key frame path in an area with obstacles everywhere, too many branches Skydio finally wouldn’t go further, Tried flying out same path and Skydio front right prop nicked a branch. Drone slung from the strike crashing to the ground, Can’t tell if battery slung off during branch impact or when hitting the ground. Fortunately, no damage only a chipped prop. Some dirt scuff
marks that easily rubbed off, battery was laying several feet from ground impact. No visible damage, scuff marks rubbed off with only needing to replace prop and she flies like new again.

That was my first crash, luckily no damage.
Paul

 

[Ridefreak]

The battery often detaches when it hits the ground. The more you fly the better you'll get good at picking out areas where the drone will navigate obstacles the best.