Long story short - today I got care refresh refplacment for my fly away avata 2 drone.
I connected all at home and got that error.
Now - no matter what I do - go outside -> connect to djy fly app error is still there - anyone else had this issue ?
Well… this was the last flight of my Avata 2 - RIP
Went out to shoot this waterfall and got a successful run with the dive first. Decided to go for another take… and that one didn't end quite as well.
100% user error - can't blame the Avata for this one.
In fact, after the first impact it fought surprisingly hard to stay in the air and almost recovered before finally going down.
The drone ended up somewhere in the forest around the waterfall.
The exact location wasn't clear, the terrain was extremely difficult to access, and eventually I had to leave without recovering it.
At least the Avata gave me one great final run before saying goodbye 🫡
Couldn't resist taking the drone out today to capture this cloud hyperlapse over Montreal. The clouds were moving so fast that I knew it would make for an interesting shot
Just enjoying a sunset flight over the water and fields. The corn encounter wasn't exactly part of the plan 😅 Managed to recover and keep going.
L'Amerigo Vespucci : quel magnifique navire, fort de près d'un siècle d'histoire.
Visitez le navire tant qu'il est encore à Montréal.
Lost the video link for about a second under this bridge while skimming the water at around 16 m/s. Thankfully, the signal came back almost immediately.
I shared the final canyon run here a little while ago, but this video is more about the process.
Before attempting the manual run, I made two scouting flights:
Only after that did I commit to the Manual Mode run.
To make it more interesting, I also recreated the canyon using photogrammetry and Gaussian splats (my first time using them), then overlaid the planned flight path, obstacle markers, narrow passages, point-of-no-return, and potential signal-loss zones to show what was going through my head before flying it.
The idea wasn't just to showcase the final run, but to break down how I approach flying in a tight environment like this and why I prefer to plan first rather than rely entirely on split-second reactions.
I was surprised how well the reconstruction worked, considering the footage wasn't even shot with that purpose in mind.
Enjoy the ride! 🚁
Took the Avata 2 out for another sunset session and found a great series of bridges to fly.
The flight started with long, low passes above the lake before weaving around the bridge structures and slipping under one small bridge that briefly pushed the video link close to its limit.
For the edit, I mixed the stabilized footage with small Goggles DVR overlays so you can see the original FPV feed, telemetry, and what I was seeing during some of the more technical sections.
I'm curious - would you rather watch:
2 weeks back I attempted to fly down this waterfall with my Avata 2, but I wasn't confident enough to commit to the line I had in mind. Instead of flying under the bridge and following the canyon close to the water, I stayed well above it and played it safe.
I came back to give it another try.
Ironically, I decided to remove the SD card before the flight. My thinking was that if I ended up losing the drone in the water, at least I wouldn't lose all the footage I'd already captured that day.
What I completely forgot was that the internal storage was almost full... 🤦♂️
Luckily, the Goggles recording kept going, so I was still able to include the rest of the flight from the DVR.
The final edit is a mix of DJI Avata 2 FPV footage and a few cinematic DJI Mini 5 Pro shots to showcase the location.
I'll post my first attempt in the comments if anyone wants to compare the two flights
This was my third flight in Manual Mode with the DJI Avata 2, so I'm still very much in the learning phase.
I wanted to make the edit a bit different from a standard FPV factory run, so I added some 3D elements in post.
There was also one moment where I genuinely thought I'd crashed. Watching the footage back, I missed a wall by much less than I was comfortable with. 😅
Still a long way to go before I'd trust myself in tighter gaps, but every Manual Mode session is teaching me something new.
Sometimes the best flights don't need a destination.
Just a calm summer evening, golden light, open water, and a few boats to follow along the way.
Spent this session exploring the lake with the DJI Avata 2 in Manual Mode, enjoying the freedom of FPV flying and trying to capture the atmosphere of sunset from a different perspective.
Hope you enjoy the ride
Flew Sainte-Ursule Waterfall with the DJI Avata 2 in Manual Mode.
The terrain is incredible - narrow canyon, rocks, trees, fast water, and some lines that look amazing on video. I wanted to fly lower and closer along the waterfall, but honestly I didn’t feel ready to risk it yet.
So for now I kept it safer with a bit higher passes and a few faster dives with some close pass at the end down the fall. One day I’ll come back and fly that line properly, close to the water.
Caught this from above the city just after the storm rolled through. The lighting was changing by the second - warm sunset colors on one side, dark storm clouds on the other, and a rainbow dropping almost straight into the St. Lawrence.
Shot with a drone from the Lachine looking toward the river. The contrast between the orange rain curtain and the blue storm front was incredible in person.
The same Montreal drone shot captured in winter, summer, and at night, blended into a single sequence.
It's always amazing how different the city looks depending on the season and time of day.
Coming from cinematic drones like the Mavic series and Mini series, full manual FPV initially felt much harder and more intimidating than most tutorials make it look.
A lot of videos jump straight into freestyle without really explaining the learning progression for people coming from cinematic flying.
This is not another “send it through a parking garage” freestyle video.
I made a practical beginner-focused tutorial covering the transition into full manual FPV with the Avata 2 + FPV Controller.
The goal was to make the process more structured and less frustrating for new FPV pilots.
As seen on the video washer starts to spin - giving some noise and then just stops spinning further.
Is it this part I need to change or it is something else :
Spent the evening flying the Mavic 3 Pro and mainly the Avata 2 around a massive hydroelectric dam and ship locks during sunset.
One of the highlights was tracking a huge cargo ship slowly passing through the lock system while water turbulence and the scale of the dam made everything feel almost sci-fi in FPV.
Tried to mix cinematic wide shots from the Mavic 3 Pro with more immersive low passes and dynamic movement from the Avata 2.
Still pretty early into FPV flying (currently mostly Motion Controller 3 + simulator practice with the FPV controller).
The combination of industrial scale, sunset reflections, water movement, and giant ships made for one of the most breathtaking drone flights I’ve done so far.
Went back to the exact same spot at Rawdon Falls a year later to see how much the approach changes with different tools and experience.
First version was shot on Mini 4 Pro - clean, safe, more traditional aerial framing.
This time I went in with Avata 2 - low, close to the water, more risk, more motion, trying to feel the terrain instead of just showing it.
Mini 4 Pro (2025): will put link in the first comment
Curious what stands out more to you -
The controlled cinematic look or the more immersive FPV style?
Also interested in feedback on the FPV line choices - still early in the transition from camera drone to FPV . My 3rd flight with Avata 2 - motion controller 3.
FPV controller still in the simulator for now