Hi all,
Have used the forum for a few months before getting my first drone (P3S) at Christmas, have found it very helpful and informative, thank you!
I just wanted to drop all the newcomers a few notes about some things that I've experienced during the first few flights as I've come very close to losing the drone on two occasions already! When I say losing, once was losing, once was it nearly flying into a wall
As I knew the drone present was a done thing, I went ahead and ordered the prop guards straight away. I'd already watched a load of 'drone crash' YouTube videos and thought that this would protect me in case I started hitting trees and walls (and the ground!).
When the drone was unboxed, needless to say, I was as excited as a 6 year old getting Lego and then had to endure the Xmas lunch with the family, knowing that my drone was sat in the box in the corner and by the time lunch was over, it would be night time (I'm in my 40's by the way!).
Next day I was extremely careful, charged everything up, updated firmware, updated the App, registered on DJI site, installed the prop guards, had a new 64GB memory card to use (rather than the standard 8GB supplied) and was ready to go!
Did all the calibration stuff, enabled beginners mode and I was off! All went fine, drone responded beautifully to all my commands, no problem at all, this was in the back garden.
Next, off to a nice wide open park with noone to bother.
Now, don't ask me why, but I decided that I was no longer a beginner and disabled beginner mode and thought I was an experienced pilot.
In my excitement, I forgot :
- To calibrate
- To set home
- To check the props were secure
- To insert the SD card
- To allow the drone to warm up (it was 0C)
And, if that weren't enough, I didn't take note of a GPS warning on the App.
What happened? As soon as it took off it flew towards a tree, then a wall, then a bench and then the floor... Quite how I managed to miss all of those was utter luck.
I then decided I'd fly it as high as it would go (120m) and due to the GPS issue, it just flew off (set your home point!).
I then managed to regain control and flew it back down, tried to hand it manually and it fell over (read the manual for the landing commands!), thankfully I had the prop guards.
Why am I saying this? I'm sharing my experience. After flying it once/twice, YOU ARE NOT AN EXPERT! I should have known better, but I didn't. Fortunately, no harm done to the drone, myself or others.
Please do all your checks, respect the drone until you are used to flying it, practise and use the automatic landing feature!
I've now flown it 5-6 times and absolutely love it, it really is a great piece of kit, but I now have a little checklist and have some respect for it (and others).
Just my comments, others may have other experiences.
Thank you all again for your support and contributions, will sure stay around here for quite a while.
Happy flying!
Edit : Here is the video I mention :
Have used the forum for a few months before getting my first drone (P3S) at Christmas, have found it very helpful and informative, thank you!
I just wanted to drop all the newcomers a few notes about some things that I've experienced during the first few flights as I've come very close to losing the drone on two occasions already! When I say losing, once was losing, once was it nearly flying into a wall
As I knew the drone present was a done thing, I went ahead and ordered the prop guards straight away. I'd already watched a load of 'drone crash' YouTube videos and thought that this would protect me in case I started hitting trees and walls (and the ground!).
When the drone was unboxed, needless to say, I was as excited as a 6 year old getting Lego and then had to endure the Xmas lunch with the family, knowing that my drone was sat in the box in the corner and by the time lunch was over, it would be night time (I'm in my 40's by the way!).
Next day I was extremely careful, charged everything up, updated firmware, updated the App, registered on DJI site, installed the prop guards, had a new 64GB memory card to use (rather than the standard 8GB supplied) and was ready to go!
Did all the calibration stuff, enabled beginners mode and I was off! All went fine, drone responded beautifully to all my commands, no problem at all, this was in the back garden.
Next, off to a nice wide open park with noone to bother.
Now, don't ask me why, but I decided that I was no longer a beginner and disabled beginner mode and thought I was an experienced pilot.
In my excitement, I forgot :
- To calibrate
- To set home
- To check the props were secure
- To insert the SD card
- To allow the drone to warm up (it was 0C)
And, if that weren't enough, I didn't take note of a GPS warning on the App.
What happened? As soon as it took off it flew towards a tree, then a wall, then a bench and then the floor... Quite how I managed to miss all of those was utter luck.
I then decided I'd fly it as high as it would go (120m) and due to the GPS issue, it just flew off (set your home point!).
I then managed to regain control and flew it back down, tried to hand it manually and it fell over (read the manual for the landing commands!), thankfully I had the prop guards.
Why am I saying this? I'm sharing my experience. After flying it once/twice, YOU ARE NOT AN EXPERT! I should have known better, but I didn't. Fortunately, no harm done to the drone, myself or others.
Please do all your checks, respect the drone until you are used to flying it, practise and use the automatic landing feature!
I've now flown it 5-6 times and absolutely love it, it really is a great piece of kit, but I now have a little checklist and have some respect for it (and others).
Just my comments, others may have other experiences.
Thank you all again for your support and contributions, will sure stay around here for quite a while.
Happy flying!
Edit : Here is the video I mention :
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