Return to Mavic 2 Pro: Field Outing (Week 13)
For the AT209 week 13 lab, our class flew the Mavic 2 pro in preparation for future (and larger) Mavic products such as the M200 and 300. Flight crews arrived at the north end of the Martell Forestry field at 9:30am on Friday November 19th, 2021. My flight crew, flight crew 3, brought an SD card, checked out a Mavic 2 Pro the day before as well as 3 safety vests, a landing pad, and a device brace that can be attached to the controller for better stability and ease of use. However, the brace was not used. This can be considered a hazard because the device being used for camera input and status of flight could fall or cause a distraction that a device brace would eliminate. During one of the flights the tablet using the DJI GO 4 app did fall off of the lap of one of the flight members, however, it was resolved quickly and did not negatively impact the flight in any way.
Field Outing
The main goal of the lab was to
be reacclimated to the flight controls and flight characteristics of the Mavic
product line. As mentioned earlier this is being done so the class can move
onto larger Mavic products and possibly capture useful information in the
future. Before flight, each flight crew must assemble the Mavic for first flight,
change batteries if necessary, and make sure to call takeoff, landing, and any
desired altitudes to other flight crews. The flight maneuvers were basic but
helpful for establishing a baseline for the reintroduction into flying Mavics.
The following were being flown launch to 100 ft, rotate 360 ̊ noting horizon,
then ascend to 200 ft – 300 ft – 400ft, adjust shutter from darkest to
lightest, then under vs. over-exposed, lastly the perimeter of the field should
be flown.
Picture 1:Mavic at 100 ft 
Picture 2: Horizon at 100ft 
Picture 3: Horizon at 100 ft 
Picture 4: Horizon at 100ft 
Picture 5: Horizon at 100ft 
Picture 6: Mavic at 200 ft
As the Mavic moves up, a wider ground view is noticeable, as well as less detail on smaller objects.
Picture 7: Mavic at 300 ft
Now we messed with the overexposed vs. underexposed properties of the Mavic 2 Pro camera. Overexposed washes out the picture and creates a brighter atmosphere, whereas underexposed thickens shadows and creates a darker atmosphere.
Picture 8: Mavic at 400
Picture 9: Mavic at 400ft (overexposed) 
Picture 10: Mavic at 400ft (underexposed)
Next we adjusted the shutter, from darkest to lightest shutter settings. Notice the extreme change in brightness.
Picture 11: Mavic at 400ft (shutter darkest) 
Picture 12: Mavic at 400ft (shutter lightest)
The last maneuver was to fly
perimeter of field, of which I flew at 150ft. I did not gather any imagery or
videos from this, but the flight was seamless and so was the manual landing.
Weather Conditions:
 |
| Picture 13: Conditions at Martell Forest north end of the field |
The weather at Martell was great
for flying. It was quite cold; however, no measurements were taken of the
temperature. The sky was clear with scattered high altitude whisps of clouds.
Sun was fully out, and wind was nonexistent. Because of the cold weather flight
crews moved with an accelerated pace and made the lab short.
Concluded Statements
The flight was uneventful, and the morning was great
for flying. It felt comfortable and relaxing getting back to flying the Mavics
like I did in AT119 during the summer. The imagery captured was interesting and
it is always unique to see new and different landscapes and settings from
multiple different viewpoints and locations. All in all, a successful outing.
Looking forward to moving on to bigger and better things.
Assessment
My assessment of the lab was that it was helpful in reintroducing the Mavic platform for those who haven't flown it in some time. Playing with the camera settings was interesting because instead of flying for just the sake of logging hours and practicing flight maneuvers, we actually dove deeper into the properties of the Mavic.
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