Hi all.
I am a newcomer to the drone world and just purchased a Phantom 4 from the local BestBuy. I've had my eye on it for a few months now and finally broke down and took the plunge.
The weather here has been so crappy that my rage has been bubbling just under the surface and I knew I needed a diversion.
Here has been my experience since my purchase on Saturday:
1) Don't listen to your wife/husband/GF/BF/significant other/partner when they come up with the bright idea of launching it in the home office "to see what the cat will do". Destroyed the first set of blades when it drifted while trying to land and then inverted. Panic throttle....tried to shutdown normally, but was inverted so that just made it jump around....finally got my wits and did the ole emergency shutdown to save human life. Blades didn't break but the friction on the commercial tiles melted the polyester to the blades so I pitched them. Really pleased that it came with 2 sets....
2) Downloaded the B4UFly app and learned that my house is within the zones of 5 different 'airports'...apparently every hospital helipad is an 'airport'. :/
3) Idaho is one of the few states with a drone law.....no pictures or video of private property without written permission from the owner....I'm hoping this is open to a LITTLE interpretation as there is apparently nothing at all wrong with taking a picture down the road that incidentally includes the front lawn of every house on my street....but nevertheless, I have only taken pictures/video of my own house.
4) Thank God spare parts are cheap! LOL....with some obvious exceptions like the camera/gimble and some of the electronics. My latest crash has put me out of commission until parts arrive. REMEMBER....when the drone is facing you...the controls are reversed....;-) I was hovering under the patio and started to drift near one of the supports...when I 'corrected' I slammed it right in to the post and not only broke two of the propellers but also the mounts :-(. Again....very pleased to find that parts are quit affordable. With every order I add an extra for next time....At some point I'll probably have enough parts to build a whole drone.
Anyway...looking forward to joining the discussions.
-Fish
I am a newcomer to the drone world and just purchased a Phantom 4 from the local BestBuy. I've had my eye on it for a few months now and finally broke down and took the plunge.
The weather here has been so crappy that my rage has been bubbling just under the surface and I knew I needed a diversion.
Here has been my experience since my purchase on Saturday:
1) Don't listen to your wife/husband/GF/BF/significant other/partner when they come up with the bright idea of launching it in the home office "to see what the cat will do". Destroyed the first set of blades when it drifted while trying to land and then inverted. Panic throttle....tried to shutdown normally, but was inverted so that just made it jump around....finally got my wits and did the ole emergency shutdown to save human life. Blades didn't break but the friction on the commercial tiles melted the polyester to the blades so I pitched them. Really pleased that it came with 2 sets....
2) Downloaded the B4UFly app and learned that my house is within the zones of 5 different 'airports'...apparently every hospital helipad is an 'airport'. :/
3) Idaho is one of the few states with a drone law.....no pictures or video of private property without written permission from the owner....I'm hoping this is open to a LITTLE interpretation as there is apparently nothing at all wrong with taking a picture down the road that incidentally includes the front lawn of every house on my street....but nevertheless, I have only taken pictures/video of my own house.
4) Thank God spare parts are cheap! LOL....with some obvious exceptions like the camera/gimble and some of the electronics. My latest crash has put me out of commission until parts arrive. REMEMBER....when the drone is facing you...the controls are reversed....;-) I was hovering under the patio and started to drift near one of the supports...when I 'corrected' I slammed it right in to the post and not only broke two of the propellers but also the mounts :-(. Again....very pleased to find that parts are quit affordable. With every order I add an extra for next time....At some point I'll probably have enough parts to build a whole drone.
Anyway...looking forward to joining the discussions.
-Fish
