Here goes my first post.
Coming up on three weeks experience with the P2V with about 20 flights or so. I am very pleased so far, but the learning curve has been large and I imagine learning will happen for quite a while. I hope some of these lessons will help someone...
My experience with RC was practically nil: a very few RC helicopter flights inside a high school gym and maybe a dozen unsatisfying flights with a Parrot AR Drone. So far the P2V has been a wonderful experience with it's ease of flying, stability and first person view.
I also own an original GoPro v1.0 and so far I'm impressed with the DJI camera in comparison.
Here a few of the critical lessons I've learned so far:
One of my first landings was in some fairly tall grass and I did not stop the drift. The P2V tipped over and two of my original props ground off about 1/2” to 1” of prop materiel. I then tried to fly it with two messed up props and it actually flew quite well. However, with my slight experience I would NOT try to fly again with messed up props. Too much at stake.
On another early flight I did not have the ringer volume turned up on my iPhone and flew right through bingo fuel. I was not keeping track of my remaining battery and did not get the aural warning because my volume was muted. Luckily my P2V came down in an open field about 500 feet from where I was... iPhone volume – full up, is now part of my personal preflight checklist.
I've learned the gimbal system on the P2V is okay but certainly not perfect. Eventually I hope to have the smooth control and flying skills to compensate for some of the imperfections with the gimbal.
Not sure how cool this lesson is, but I have flown a few flights in windy conditions (15+ kts or so). I was very impressed with the stability of my craft. It fought hard to maintain GPS position. I am pretty sure video shot in windy conditions would not work very well. Anyway (remember my drift on landing problem), I practiced a few “hand landings”, I flew the P2V down to an altitude where I could grab onto it from below and then killed the throttle. Maybe not the safest thing to do, but I wasn't about to risk a tip over on a windy landing...
I have tried a few forced Fly to Home landings and they have worked every time. The big take away here is to make sure you have a good GPS home position before initial take off.
There is a LOT of information here and on YouTube about flyaways and I have taken it all to heart: upgrade the firmware, get a good compass calibration (preferably in the middle of a wide open field) and avoid power lines and cell towers.
As yet, I haven't been convinced on the best way to process photos and videos. I've tried a few software work flows with just okay results. Can't wait for some sort of RAW converter that actually works and a video work flow that does a good job with fish eye and stability with video.
My P2V is stored in a TradeCraft case which I am VERY pleased with. It may be too big to be a carry on, on an airline, but everything is nice and snug with room for 5 batteries. Speaking of extra batteries, My P2V was purchased before the extra battery promotion from B&H. I gave them a call and they honored the promotion and sent me a free extra battery – GREAT customer service, as usual!!
That's all for now Pfellow Phantom Pflyers, I will report more later. And thanks for sharing all of your tips and experiences here – it has been a GREAT help!!
outlaw704, Austin, Texas, USA
Coming up on three weeks experience with the P2V with about 20 flights or so. I am very pleased so far, but the learning curve has been large and I imagine learning will happen for quite a while. I hope some of these lessons will help someone...
My experience with RC was practically nil: a very few RC helicopter flights inside a high school gym and maybe a dozen unsatisfying flights with a Parrot AR Drone. So far the P2V has been a wonderful experience with it's ease of flying, stability and first person view.
I also own an original GoPro v1.0 and so far I'm impressed with the DJI camera in comparison.
Here a few of the critical lessons I've learned so far:
One of my first landings was in some fairly tall grass and I did not stop the drift. The P2V tipped over and two of my original props ground off about 1/2” to 1” of prop materiel. I then tried to fly it with two messed up props and it actually flew quite well. However, with my slight experience I would NOT try to fly again with messed up props. Too much at stake.
On another early flight I did not have the ringer volume turned up on my iPhone and flew right through bingo fuel. I was not keeping track of my remaining battery and did not get the aural warning because my volume was muted. Luckily my P2V came down in an open field about 500 feet from where I was... iPhone volume – full up, is now part of my personal preflight checklist.
I've learned the gimbal system on the P2V is okay but certainly not perfect. Eventually I hope to have the smooth control and flying skills to compensate for some of the imperfections with the gimbal.
Not sure how cool this lesson is, but I have flown a few flights in windy conditions (15+ kts or so). I was very impressed with the stability of my craft. It fought hard to maintain GPS position. I am pretty sure video shot in windy conditions would not work very well. Anyway (remember my drift on landing problem), I practiced a few “hand landings”, I flew the P2V down to an altitude where I could grab onto it from below and then killed the throttle. Maybe not the safest thing to do, but I wasn't about to risk a tip over on a windy landing...
I have tried a few forced Fly to Home landings and they have worked every time. The big take away here is to make sure you have a good GPS home position before initial take off.
There is a LOT of information here and on YouTube about flyaways and I have taken it all to heart: upgrade the firmware, get a good compass calibration (preferably in the middle of a wide open field) and avoid power lines and cell towers.
As yet, I haven't been convinced on the best way to process photos and videos. I've tried a few software work flows with just okay results. Can't wait for some sort of RAW converter that actually works and a video work flow that does a good job with fish eye and stability with video.
My P2V is stored in a TradeCraft case which I am VERY pleased with. It may be too big to be a carry on, on an airline, but everything is nice and snug with room for 5 batteries. Speaking of extra batteries, My P2V was purchased before the extra battery promotion from B&H. I gave them a call and they honored the promotion and sent me a free extra battery – GREAT customer service, as usual!!
That's all for now Pfellow Phantom Pflyers, I will report more later. And thanks for sharing all of your tips and experiences here – it has been a GREAT help!!
outlaw704, Austin, Texas, USA