Kronos - My First Drone!

Aerial photos and videos provide a whole new view of the world. Aerial shot provides a different perspective, a more holistic view of a subject.

Aside from taking videos and photos from the air, having the idea of flying something for real using a controller provides another level of excitement and fun.

I started reviewing drones available in the market since late 2016. There are actually tons of available references from the internet including personal reviews and video clips taken using drones from actual owners.

Since then, having a drone that can take both videos and photos, easy to use and compact that I can bring with me when I travel, has always been in my bucket list of new gadgets to have.

Actual drone taken photos:

 
 

Here are few of my guidelines in getting a drone:

1. Built-in Camera. I need a drone that can take video of atleast 1080p quality or higher and photo sensor of atleast 12MP grade.
2. Safe and easy to use. I want an aircraft that is "easy to fly and difficult to crash". Being a beginner, a novice pilot of an unmanned aircraft with zero actual flying experience, I want an easy-to-fly drone with built-in feature like obstacle avoidance that makes it hard to crash and a "Home" button that will send the drone back home when lost.
3. Compact, easy to bring and travel with. I love back-packing and hiking. I want a drone that fits inside my standard 15 or 20 liter backpack that I used for hiking and backpacking. In addition to that is the drone weight. I need a drone that is less than 500g in gross weight as most of the time, I also bring my DSLR camera with few lenses when I travel.
4. Support, references and warranty. As a beginner, I'm expecting to need more support and references not only on flying the drone itself but also for questions on things that may not be included in the FAQ. An available online support and references in case I'll be needing some at anytime.
5. Affordable. I will be using the drone for fun and not for any commercial purpose, not for professional use. I'm definitely not looking for "Pro" drones at this time. Nevertheless, I'm not also looking for a very basic drone that I may end-up getting another version in the end because of better features.

My First Drone

After spending sometime looking at drone reviews on the internet and YouTube, I have decided to consider an "Intermediate" version of a drone. Considering the cost, the size, weight and features, I have decided to go for a drone in between basic and Pro.

Most of the advance, pro version models, if not too much for a novice user, they come with hard cases that will not fit inside my 15-liter backpack together with other gadgets like DSLR.

After checking few drone models available in the Philippine market, I have decided to consider the DJI drones specifically the Mavic and Spark models.

Watch video comparison: Mavic Air vs Spark.

Objective comparisons between Spark and Mavic models reveal that:

1. Size. The Mavic Air when folded fits inside a case almost the size of a Note 4 SamSung Galaxy unit.
2. Video. The Mavic Air can record 4K 30FPS at 100 megabits per second.
3. Features. Cinematic mode and Waypoints, to name a few, both of which are not available in the Spark.

Mavic Air combines the features of the Spark and some features of the Mavic Pro.

Watch video comparison: Mavic Pro vs Mavic Air.

Mavic Air Package
 
There are two (2) available packages for the Mavic Air: Mavic Air (Standard) and the Mavic Air Fly More Combo in the Philippine Market. The Fly More Combo package includes 2 extra batteries, 2 sets of extra propellers and a charging station that can accommodate max of 4 batteries. These items are in addition to the standard list of items included in the Standard Package.

I took the Fly More Combo pack.

The Mavic Air also comes in three (3) different colors: Flame Red, Arctic White and Onyx Black. I preferred Onyx Black.

CAAP Accreditation

When I purchased my Mavic Air, I consulted The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) for guidelines and they were quick in providing the PDF copy of the latest guidelines on operating drones for non-commercial purposes.

Maiden Flight

I was so eager to do a test flight of the Mavic Air, however, I was told that most of the Parks in the Metro are designated as "no-flight" zones probably for security reasons. As such, I had to go out of Manila to do the test flight.

It was the end of May and I felt that summer was also at it's tail end. I headed up north to Pagudpud at the Northwestern tip of the island of Luzon for a quick summer break and to finally test Mavic Air.

After more than 10H of travel, I walked out of the bus to a peaceful place. No traffic, no buildings and traffic lights, just trees, lush green slopes of the cordillera mountains and the unobstructed view of the white sand beach and the blue sea under a clear blue sky.

For identification purposes, I named my aircraft "kronos". Along the white sandy shoreline, I had my first flight experience with kronos.

After setting up my drone, I tested turning on the propellers first and I was so successful. And then I lifted the aircraft off the ground, hover for a while and then landed it back and turned off the propellers. I was so excited.

After gaining a little confidence, I started the drone again, lifted it off the ground and started moving around the area.

Thank God, there is a "Home" button!!

After a while, I decided to move kronos out of the sandy shore into an open space and over the blue waters of the sea. The view at my controller was stunning as the aircraft climbs up in the air and away from the shoreline. 

I was not aware that kronos was getting far away from where it took off. Suddenly, I heard a beep coming from the controller and a red flashing alert  said, "signal lost" and suddenly I got too nervous. I almost freaked out. I thought kronos was lost.

After few seconds, I heard again a beep and looking at my monitor, I noticed a red flashing alert saying signal is weak and my view was getting back. Luckily, there is a "Home" button on the controller which I quickly pressed to tell kronos to come back home.

Few seconds later, kronos was hovering just infront of me exactly over the point where it took off as if it was telling me, hey, I'm back home.

Quickshots

I particularly love the Quickshots feature especially the 'Asteroid', 'Boomerang', 'Rocket' and 'Dronie'. I had time testing these features along the beach and enjoyed them all.

Point of Interest

Aside from the Quickshots, another feature that impressed me a lot is the Point of Interest (POI), in which the aircraft will circle around the point of interest all by itself. It is fully automated. 

To test this feature, I headed to Burgos town to see the Burgos Lighthouse, commonly known as Cape Bojeador. The tower is a perfect object to test the POI feature.

I flew kronos right above the lighthouse tower and then hit point of interest and the aircraft started circling the lighthouse tower. 

Taking photos

The system can take a 180-degree or 360-degree panorama. Below are sample panorama shots from kronos!

180 Degree Panorama

360 Degree Panorama

More features to explore and discover and more landscapes to see from the sky with kronos.

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