Haha ! Great minds...
I was just thinking about starting such a topic because this is just waaaaaay too alarming that only troubles are talked about on forums, and not much of nice experience reports.
I guess it's the god dilemma (and i'm not a religious man per se). When one does good, when everything works out just fine, it almost seems like one's done nothing. No one even mentions it. Yet when troubles and catastrophe come a-knocking, all voices can be heard.
That said, here is my detailed tale of my personal experience so far, which could fit in the 'no problems' categories. Sorry if it's too long to read for the younger of yous, but I ignore up to the word 'concision' and i genuinely think details bring more interest when you're trying to compare your own experience. We avoid lots of 'what ifs' and other 'maybes' due to missing parts of the equation puzzling you - or the puzzle equationing you.
Also, me love a good story.
So, first, I'm a noob to this hobby. Bought some Hubsan lil quadcopter (some with tiny shitty 480p camera) to practice and crash them with my mind at peace. Just to get the basics. Being somewhat of a gamer, my brain-to-fingers-to-brain coordination is being put to the test regularly. But i'm not a pilot. Or, to put it in words meant for the sometimes sensible psychology of people on forums, i am NOT better than you.
Bought my P2V+ from DJI website on 21st of April, got shipped from Shenzhen on 24th, arrived at mine in Shanghai on 26. Could track well through chinese delivery website, SF Express delivery for those interested. So far so good. And surely better than what a lot of you in the US had to experience.
Had to wait a couple days for this Shanghai's disgusting dirty-whore-of-a-weather to clear up before i could finally break my phantom hymen. Painlessly must i add. I did connect both controller and phantom to my computer (hackintosh running 10.7.3 with softwares downloaded from DJI website), checked the default settings, DID the update of what could be updated though it was already on firmware 3.0 dreaded by some. I did an IMU check and it said it needed to be calibrated, so i did, but not the advanced one. All numbers seemed to be about right, compared to the informations which you can find if you move your cursor over the lil '?' while inside the IMU tab. Left it on Phantom mode though i plan to switch to NazaM soon. With somewhat of a fear too...
Of course, I followed the rules by the book, triple checked everything, props,engine, various coverages, all the fancy shmancy people discussed all over this forum. As much as i can figure it out anyway. First time i hear the noise of the props, i don't know what a 'normal' sound is. I simply assume it's fine. Same goes for all the rest.
Wait for satellites signal, home lock blinking lights, stand clear while I smoke a cigaret (more harmful than a phantom, definitely) and let it do his thing. On a side not, as discussed in another topic, my camera gimbal shakes 3/5 times when powering on the phantom, before setting down in a 45degree angle. Seems normal. I did, later, forget once to take off the plastic thingy holding it in place as well as the lens cap, so i quickly powered off, take them off and powered again. Seems fine. Also seems like several drops of cold sweat are tickling my spine.
Then I take off. Let it hover for a couple of minutes to make sure it doesn't drift too much. It's a windy day so I don't expect it to be magically standing exactly where it took off, but it's pretty close. I did try to fly it manually back in place, but then I realized that wouldn't help much defining the correct functioning of the gps and auto hovering system. So i let it go and here it stays, slightly floating but readjusting after a while. It actually drifts in smaller circles as it goes, staying closer and closer to its initial position. Another drop of sweat hit my thumb at 120fps as i smile eerily.
Then I move forward, back and strafe, the basic WASD in gamer world. Yaw here and there, get a little hard on when I realize the camera looks incredibly stable then i go for longer movements and higher altitudes.
Bird flies like Jim Morrison but reacts like Nietzsche, minus the nihilism.
Point is, it is REALLY enjoyable.
So far, so good !
Shot 2 videos of roughly 16 minutes each on a Sandisk 32gb, 1080p / 30fps and since then recorded 3 more without any incident. Except i thought the SD was stuck when I tried to take it out, but so it happens, the springy thingy is waaaay inside the slot, so have to use something to push it further than my lack of nail can go. But it works fine, connection with USB as well.
I'm now on my 5th flight thanks to 2 batteries and clearer skies in shanghai. Flew mainly over a small park and river, necessarily close to buildings but not THAT close, surrounded by wifis, a bit windy, as usual, and dirty oooooh dirty polluted air (i can already see the props turning slightley grey).
I did try twice the failsafe and RTH function by turning off the controller while the bird was about 50m high and 50m away, let it land by itself once succesfully, switched on the controller back on and flipped the S1 switch and i successfully took control back while it was still hovering.
I'm still chickening out when it comes to reaching the distance where the connection breaks, i always bring it back before that. Too many buildings around already and considering how fast chinese people build them, there might be a new one suddenly popping out on my way back so i never lost sight of it or got into 'dangerous' situation.
Furthest i went was 300m high and 175m away, at the same time. Still had perfect fpv (320/15fps) and full signal so i'm sure it can go way further. Usually about 8 satellites coverage. Signal is baaaad around here due to megalopolis powered environment.
Thus, so far so good.
My only biggest trouble at the moment is the crowd it attracts, and in Shanghai probably more than elsewhere because, well.... +25millions people and still counting.
Yet chinese people, whom i respect totally, have the bad habit of getting really close to you or whatever it is you currently hold or manipulates or simply do. It is fun. Open a bag in the street, get at least 3 people checking what's inside with you. For no particular reason than genuine curiosity. It is fun. Truly.
Yet, when i'm flying for the first time with about 30+ people around me, pushing more and more, looking over your shoulder, asking questions in a language i'm still figuring out, taking pictures, sending their kid closer to the phantom, i might be a mental warrior, I do get nervous... Then i get filled of what ifs...
So what i do is let the bird hover far enough, ask everyone to calmly move back with big arms movements, tell them this is not a toy and i don't have money for medical care because I already sold a kidney to buy this machine, then i land, power off the engine, let them take more pictures and then i pack away. On to the next spot !
It can get quite stressful. Especially when I read all those troubles and accidents and really, out-of-luck testimony on the forum. Being somewhat of a paranoid due to years spent thinking, it adds up to the stress of flying for the first time.
It shouldn't. Knowing the rules and infos and simply knowing what can happen is useful. But you need to assume these products, even though made in China, are not necessarily defective. It is supposed to work and it does work, as far as i'm concerned.
And for those first few experiences, I did what i'm sure very few of you, or none did : i wrote a thank you email to DJI for bringing in the fun.
Ah, I saw you eyebrowing my remark ! Well, i know it's a company, and business, and i paid big money for that, and i'm a fool, and that's because of me evil is sucking your wallet and all the trolls in the world could feed off the outrageous move I did right there. Sure. Well, you have no idea who i am and if I were to give you all the details that made me who i am today... Well, you can see how long is the tale of my first flight, don't get me started with a whole existence.
Yet, i've learnt from my best teacher, Life, that sometimes being thankful comes a long way. So I told them i had no problem whatsoever so far. I'm sure the person who's used to be insulted and receive faulty reports all the time must feel a bit better when he/she read such a mail. 'All good, thanks for the fun, keep it up'. That didn't cost me anything yet it can bring much more.
So, sorry I digressed into those ethical consideration, but i thought i'd share it too. Karma is a *****, y'all !
My first days with P2V+ have been awesome and my mind is boiling with creative ideas to put that tool to work. As a freelance motion-designer / video maker and all around creative things, there's just so many ways to play with this.
I did a quick edit of my first flight, along with some music of mine. Nothing fancy, just wanted to have pictures to illustrate my words. You cand read more comments about the post production i did in the description on Youtube.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tg7KJAw27YE
And that's it, i'moff to fly some more.
Sorry I took so many minutes of your precious time to simply tell you everything was fine. It can be for you too i hope. I also hope I did make you smile at least once. Then it wouldn't have been for nothing.
Bless and happy flying !
Didjelirium