Bought Phantom 3, how do I fly?
- Thread starter JetFalcon
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Excellent suggestion. OP you really need to take it slow. Buy a Syma X5C or similar and practice a lot with it. You are going into this too fast. I can see you losing your Phantom the first time out.
I have to agree that playing with a cheaper quad (I have the X5C) will improve confidence in flying you P3. First flight you should be nervous , find a big area that you can fly and keep the altitude low and the distance close, start off with batteries at 100% and keep the P3 in sight.
Make sure your firmware is current before flying.. and fully charged batt and transmitter for sure. But the best advice is, as others have said, buy a Syma X5 for 50 bucks to learn basic quadcopter flying before you fly the phantom.. The phantom is actually easier to fly than a toy copter, which is exactly what you want.. Once you can handle a toy copter and fly it stable, once you develop the muscle memory and responses that you don't need to think about, then the phantom will be a piece of cake to fly, leaving you free to concentrate on setting up your pics or vids. And please don't fly the phantom in confined spaces at first, only wide open spaces when gaining experience.. Welcome to this world man, have fun!
The Syma x5 series is fine. Personally I practiced a lot on the Syma x8 series because the size is much closer to the phantom 3.
However, the x5 is smaller and better to fly around inside your house.
However, the x5 is smaller and better to fly around inside your house.
If that Sun Conure in your Avatar is yours, do you have any hearing left? 
My first multi-rotor was a Phantom 1 - never crashed it until the battery fell out in midflight.
Just go find an open field, fly out and back in a straight line a few times, get the feel of the drone, parctice flying some straight lines, then try turning your yaw (point your nose) 45 degrees, and make some turns until you can fly a square pattern. Don't let the drone get too far or too high for the first couple of flights - and stay away from trees and buildings.
Watch as many Youtube videos as you can.
And welcome to the list! A ton of knowledge here.
My first multi-rotor was a Phantom 1 - never crashed it until the battery fell out in midflight.
Just go find an open field, fly out and back in a straight line a few times, get the feel of the drone, parctice flying some straight lines, then try turning your yaw (point your nose) 45 degrees, and make some turns until you can fly a square pattern. Don't let the drone get too far or too high for the first couple of flights - and stay away from trees and buildings.
Watch as many Youtube videos as you can.
And welcome to the list! A ton of knowledge here.
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I thought the P3 Standard was considered cheap and suitable for beginners, it was sold at Target. The manager who rang me up said a family member used her employee discount to buy one for her son. So I thought kids could fly these things under adult supervision.
But no I don't have experience except for the flight simulator.
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I did do an update on the app. Is that what you mean? Or would I have to plug in my drone into a computer to update?
Ya charged battery & controller overnight, plus phone will be fully charged.
I have flown toy copters before, just the Air Hog ones. But people said P3 are easier to fly than cheap toy store drones.
Seriously JetF, you need to take the advice from these guys, get yourself a cheap $50 trainer first and master reverse orientation navigation to be second nature before you launch your $700 toy. If you don't, within a week you'll be wishing you had. Based on the questions you asked, you need to take it slow and understand things better before you fly the Phantom. You might want to seek out an AMA field (need to join AMA first) or possibly meet up with someone in the "meet up" section of this forum to get some help with your first Phantom flight.
Please don't end up on the news in a negative capacity. Your first post scares the hell out of me that I'm going to see you on TV.
Read. Read everything. Don't take people's advice opinions at face value because they do not warranty your device, read and memorize the manual. Practice, envision emergency scenarios, wires, kite string floating in trees, people around you, prepare to be interrupted but train to maintain focus on your task.
Flying cheap toy drones is supposed to be difficult because if the Phantom loses GPS or other sensors, which will happen, you'll need to know how to fly it like one of those toys...problem being that this'll be like a caddy with no power anything...bit heavier than the toys.
If you ever start to think you know more than someone who is giving you advice, "Yeah, yeah, I've heard that, I know that, I don't need to because I assume I'm...," that's the advice you need to listen to most.
Read. Read everything. Don't take people's advice opinions at face value because they do not warranty your device, read and memorize the manual. Practice, envision emergency scenarios, wires, kite string floating in trees, people around you, prepare to be interrupted but train to maintain focus on your task.
Flying cheap toy drones is supposed to be difficult because if the Phantom loses GPS or other sensors, which will happen, you'll need to know how to fly it like one of those toys...problem being that this'll be like a caddy with no power anything...bit heavier than the toys.
If you ever start to think you know more than someone who is giving you advice, "Yeah, yeah, I've heard that, I know that, I don't need to because I assume I'm...," that's the advice you need to listen to most.
Target manager says it’s all good, eh? Sweet, then you’re all set!
But an over abundance of caution is not just about you and your economic risk, btw.
It’s also about your neighbors and people on roadways who might very well overreact to UAS smacking their windshield. Or kids, pets, property, being in the wrong place at the wrong time if/when a novice loses orientation and “bad things” happen.
All of this is very unlikely of course as most “oops” will just dent your ego and wallet but if/when you stop to think about the ramifications of using and operating in general airspace, it is serious business which can endanger public safety.
Some people grasp flight and “airmanship” quickly and easily while others can really struggle and may never become competent pilots.
Enjoy the maiden with your new P3! Hat or tripod video camera please…
But an over abundance of caution is not just about you and your economic risk, btw.
It’s also about your neighbors and people on roadways who might very well overreact to UAS smacking their windshield. Or kids, pets, property, being in the wrong place at the wrong time if/when a novice loses orientation and “bad things” happen.
All of this is very unlikely of course as most “oops” will just dent your ego and wallet but if/when you stop to think about the ramifications of using and operating in general airspace, it is serious business which can endanger public safety.
Some people grasp flight and “airmanship” quickly and easily while others can really struggle and may never become competent pilots.
Enjoy the maiden with your new P3! Hat or tripod video camera please…
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So like a Toys R Us drone would suffice?
I'll go to a huge park and fly low and just put it at a height of a cheap drone. I've looked at the videos and I tried the simulator. Is the simulator enough to know where the "go home" button is and getting familiar with how the controls work?
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Well thx for all the advise everyone. I'll take it slow and not get super excited about it and fantacize of going super far. I just want to get familiar with the controls in an environment that allows for errors. Gonna take it to a huge park hopefully where no team sports or events is happening and it's just be empty.
The other thread you started asking how much you should charge for your photography services is a bit premature too Grasshopper. You have much to learn first, both in piloting and in learning the laws
This is what I'd recommend. It's practically indestructible. I have one myself to train friends that are interested in learning, and to gauge their ability to comprehend reverse orientation navigation. If you can't fly this little drone indoors without running into things, you shouldn't be flying an expensive $700 drone anywhere, IMHO.
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That was just more of fantasizing, I wasn't really serious of doing it anytime soon. It was more of a what if I were to do a drone business? Well at least I got some insight and it's not as simple as I would have thought. Especially people ratting me out to the FAA.
LOL, I was about to post my recommendation: Amazon.com: Inductrix RTF (Ready-to-Fly) Ultra Micro Drone with Safe Technology - Transmitter Included: Toys & Games
I have several mini drones and this is by far the most stable, most fun, and most like a Phantom in the way it responds. And once you start flying, you will be addicted - JetFalcon - so this little dude will allow you to fly inside whenever you can't make it outside!
No problems - I think most of us have had that fantasy at some point since we bought our drones!
That's a good idea for the first flight. Keep it close and don't try that flight over people and buildings to the local school that you mentioned. Just get a feel for it, let it hover, fly some patterns.
Let us know how it goes
