No more Phantom for me.................unless..........

[charlieb4]

What your looking for is an anemometer. It probably won’t be much help- you can get a sense of ground conditions without one and it won’t tell you anything about what conditions are 100ft up. You can launch your AC and switch to atti mode and see the speed displayed drifting to get an accurate indication of the wind at a particular altitude.

That’s so True! Darn, didn’t look at it that way. But, it’s interesting to hear about the ATTI mode. I’ll hav to give it a try........ How would it let me know?

 

[tevek]

That’s so True! Darn, didn’t look at it that way. But, it’s interesting to hear about the ATTI mode. I’ll hav to give it a try........ How would it let me know?

Fly to your desired height, switch it over to Atti mode and check the speed on the app in camera view. Anything greater than 20 kph, I don't bother flying unless there is something in particular that I want to do. Fly into to the wind outbound and come back with it when you are finished.

 

[BigAl07]

Also from this experience, I want to buy a hand held device, that u hold up into the air, and it gives you the air speed. Don’t know what they r called, but know what I am looking for. Thanks to u all, for ur comments.

Here is the one we use but it's not reporting anything but the windspeed/direction at launch/landing. You'll need to utilize one of the many aps to find estimated winds aloft because more often than not it's drastically different just 100' up from what's happening on the ground where you (and your anemometer) are at.

WeatherFlow WEATHERmeter - WeatherMeter

 

[Psycho Andy]

As ohters said, it's all a matter of practice and common sense!
I began with a small toy with no gps, no altitude hold, it was a Hubsan H107C, just few bucks and it's so strong it never broke a thing, only lost some propeller! lol!
Why that? I knew it couldn't be easy to fly a drone the first time, so a 40 bucks drone seemed to be the right solution to check and learn the basics, at worst I could just loose those 40 bucks, what else?
When I bought the H107C I already read all I could find about gps, altitude hold and many features of better drones than the one I was waiting for and I saw that all the nice things that keeps "bigger" drones more stable can fail and in that case you have nothing more than what I was about to get!
That's why I spent at least a whole month practicing every free minute I had with the little bird I got and I did not consider a higher level drone until I was able to control the H107C under almost any circumstances.
Even then I did not feel comfortable with the idea of having a 500 bucks drone flying, so I checked around to see the better quality/price drone I could find and got me a H501S-S.
I ahve to say that after all the practice with the 107 it was almost paradise to have such a stable and performing aircraft! lol!
Nontheless I was very apprehensive when I first flew it 500 meters from me, and it was after at least 2 weeks of practice with the new bird! lol!
But I'm happy with my drones: it's almost 2 months that I have the Phantom 3 SE and now I'm starting to get very nice footage with it!
I never crashed the phantom, I never even got close to it luckily, and only crashed my H501S-S when I started practicing to fly close and around objects (trees, plants and so) and I only had some propellers broken, nothing more.
I'm saying all this just because I've seen many people, in socials and forums, flying their drones even 500meters away in their first fly, often with their first drone!
It's something I can't understand: those things are definetly not toys but it seems people don't understand and just arm motors and fly away!
I'm convinced that most of the fly aways, lost, brocken drones are due to this!
Let me say that from my poor experience every drone is different and you have to learn to fly it in small steps, at first keeping it close and learing how it behaves to your commands, no matter how experienced you are!
This way I kept my drones form falling or flying away 'till now.

 

[charlieb4]

As ohters said, it's all a matter of practice and common sense!
I began with a small toy with no gps, no altitude hold, it was a Hubsan H107C, just few bucks and it's so strong it never broke a thing, only lost some propeller! lol!
Why that? I knew it couldn't be easy to fly a drone the first time, so a 40 bucks drone seemed to be the right solution to check and learn the basics, at worst I could just loose those 40 bucks, what else?
When I bought the H107C I already read all I could find about gps, altitude hold and many features of better drones than the one I was waiting for and I saw that all the nice things that keeps "bigger" drones more stable can fail and in that case you have nothing more than what I was about to get!
That's why I spent at least a whole month practicing every free minute I had with the little bird I got and I did not consider a higher level drone until I was able to control the H107C under almost any circumstances.
Even then I did not feel comfortable with the idea of having a 500 bucks drone flying, so I checked around to see the better quality/price drone I could find and got me a H501S-S.
I ahve to say that after all the practice with the 107 it was almost paradise to have such a stable and performing aircraft! lol!
Nontheless I was very apprehensive when I first flew it 500 meters from me, and it was after at least 2 weeks of practice with the new bird! lol!
But I'm happy with my drones: it's almost 2 months that I have the Phantom 3 SE and now I'm starting to get very nice footage with it!
I never crashed the phantom, I never even got close to it luckily, and only crashed my H501S-S when I started practicing to fly close and around objects (trees, plants and so) and I only had some propellers broken, nothing more.
I'm saying all this just because I've seen many people, in socials and forums, flying their drones even 500meters away in their first fly, often with their first drone!
It's something I can't understand: those things are definetly not toys but it seems people don't understand and just arm motors and fly away!
I'm convinced that most of the fly aways, lost, brocken drones are due to this!
Let me say that from my poor experience every drone is different and you have to learn to fly it in small steps, at first keeping it close and learing how it behaves to your commands, no matter how experienced you are!
This way I kept my drones form falling or flying away 'till now.

I had the Syma X5 SC over an month, before I ordered my P3 SE. Btw, let me know when u crash ur P3 SE......lol.

 

[DroneNewComer1]

Hi All,
Brought a Phantom 3 SE, and love it. Like everything else, u have to fly it and practice, practice, practice, and more practice. Yes, someone told me, u will crash it. Everyone will, at one time another. It's all in a learning experiences. Have had crash my drone three times. First one was so minimal, just a scratch, putting an two inch slash into my window screen. And the first (hurted ego). No problem with the drone. Second one, had to change the 4 props, as a little clip to the branch of the tree, and fell to the ground on top of a concrete driveway. that was RTH flight. Ouch!!! The third one, was the killer. Most damage. Were able to get parts for the drone and fix myself. Left leg damage to hard landing. The gimbal was an issue. Just one gimbal bent. Everything else is ok, including the camera. On the third crash, everything I did wrong was to what contribute to the crash. Failure to check the battery, failure to check the wind speed, learned to increase battery percent from 25% to 30% for RTH. Learned to check everything on the DJI Go App for anything no matter what. My conclusion is, since the camera and the gimbal combination is over $300 dollars a pop. It's expensive to keep repairing.......lol. So, I have to sent the camera/gimbal to New Jersey, so they can sent it to DJI in California for repair. So, my conclusion of what I've learn here, is not to ever buy an DJI Phantom drone again,........unless DJI makes the legs on the Phantom's drone minimal 1 inch longer, and stronger, to help protect gimbal camera. Than, maybe I'll think of buying a Phantom........... That's my two cents.

A very realistic sharing!! I am not ready to give up yet.

 

[MotorCycle-Man]

Hi All,
Brought a Phantom 3 SE, and love it. Like everything else, u have to fly it and practice, practice, practice, and more practice. Yes, someone told me, u will crash it. Everyone will, at one time another. It's all in a learning experiences. Have had crash my drone three times. First one was so minimal, just a scratch, putting an two inch slash into my window screen. And the first (hurted ego). No problem with the drone. Second one, had to change the 4 props, as a little clip to the branch of the tree, and fell to the ground on top of a concrete driveway. that was RTH flight. Ouch!!! The third one, was the killer. Most damage. Were able to get parts for the drone and fix myself. Left leg damage to hard landing. The gimbal was an issue. Just one gimbal bent. Everything else is ok, including the camera. On the third crash, everything I did wrong was to what contribute to the crash. Failure to check the battery, failure to check the wind speed, learned to increase battery percent from 25% to 30% for RTH. Learned to check everything on the DJI Go App for anything no matter what. My conclusion is, since the camera and the gimbal combination is over $300 dollars a pop. It's expensive to keep repairing.......lol. So, I have to sent the camera/gimbal to New Jersey, so they can sent it to DJI in California for repair. So, my conclusion of what I've learn here, is not to ever buy an DJI Phantom drone again,........unless DJI makes the legs on the Phantom's drone minimal 1 inch longer, and stronger, to help protect gimbal camera. Than, maybe I'll think of buying a Phantom........... That's my two cents.

Honest "Charlie" i think that you might have a better influence on what you want to have done to a Dji drone If you posted what you need in a drone on the Dji Company site.....I'm sure ever body else in the world sure is happy with the landing "legs" on a Phantom drone....you should know that for way less then $20.00 you can buy the leg gear extenders and add them to a Phantom drone and be happy for the rest of your life with your Phantom..Good luck in your next pursuit of a hobby !......i think on your drone you needed large springs in place of the legs to bounce it back in the air...Good Luck and have a wonderful week.

 

[charlieb4]

Honest "Charlie" i think that you might have a better influence on what you want to have done to a Dji drone If you posted what you need in a drone on the Dji Company site.....I'm sure ever body else in the world sure is happy with the landing "legs" on a Phantom drone....you should know that for way less then $20.00 you can buy the leg gear extenders and add them to a Phantom drone and be happy for the rest of your life with your Phantom..Good luck in your next pursuit of a hobby !......i think on your drone you needed large springs in place of the legs to bounce it back in the air...Good Luck and have a wonderful week.

Lol..(bounce back), now that I would love!! Even on Ebay, someone sell a somewhat like bottle caps that goes on below ur motors, and yes, u have to either drink 4 Coke or Pepsi plastic bottles to empty, and attach them to the so call, "caps!" to make ur drone float on the water. Yes, I am aware of the landing legs, and have look at the over more than a few times. I think a longer legs by DJI will be much more stronger than those attachment. Just my thoughts. Thanks for ur time and ur comments. Thank You!

 

[JazzAir]

I flew a $54.00 No Gps or a decent camera for 5 months and i had 8 batteries and it flew for 5 to 6 mins on a battery.....I had a blast with that "Toy Drone"......i crashed it a few times low down But never broke a prop or broke the parts that hold the engines....I got really good at controlling it ALL THE time...then the day come when i was ready to a REAL DRONE......i bought a Super Great Dji P-3SE and have near 12 hours of Flight times and Too date I Have No crashes and i have to admit......That itty bitty Toy drone was quite a large part of how i maintain my flights so nicely on the P-3SE..especially the reversed controls when its heading back to YOU......well thats my 2 cents worth ! Some people can tear up a iron anvil with a rubber hammer !

Same experience here. Learning in the cheap is priceless on this instance.

 

[Jerry H]

If you find landing your drone in tough conditions, just hand-catch it instead of trying to land it all the way to the ground. I found this the hard way when my Xiaomi drone props collected the veranda railings and got damaged hard. Since then in even some windy conditions, i just hand-catch the drone. Same with my P3SE which I just received. Hand-catch it in windy conditions.

I find in windy conditions, drones with any sort of drag (things dangling like legs, camera/gimbals etc) in high winds tend to get the drone tossed around. The Mavic/Spark seem to be more stable in this regard and make landings a little easier in the high winds. Flown the Mavic/Spark few hundred times, Xiaomi and few dozen and Phantom just a handful but the trends are there.[/Quote
I am now a strict "hand catch" guy. Tired of tip overs when landing. I don' have a nice level concrete driveway to land on and fly out in the boonies quite a bit. Can' go wrong with hand catching. Also found out that bruised finger tips heal rather quickly and actually help you become a great hand catcher lol.

 

[rodgerbwg]

Hi All,
Brought a Phantom 3 SE, and love it. Like everything else, u have to fly it and practice, practice, practice, and more practice. Yes, someone told me, u will crash it. Everyone will, at one time another. It's all in a learning experiences. Have had crash my drone three times. First one was so minimal, just a scratch, putting an two inch slash into my window screen. And the first (hurted ego). No problem with the drone. Second one, had to change the 4 props, as a little clip to the branch of the tree, and fell to the ground on top of a concrete driveway. that was RTH flight. Ouch!!! The third one, was the killer. Most damage. Were able to get parts for the drone and fix myself. Left leg damage to hard landing. The gimbal was an issue. Just one gimbal bent. Everything else is ok, including the camera. On the third crash, everything I did wrong was to what contribute to the crash. Failure to check the battery, failure to check the wind speed, learned to increase battery percent from 25% to 30% for RTH. Learned to check everything on the DJI Go App for anything no matter what. My conclusion is, since the camera and the gimbal combination is over $300 dollars a pop. It's expensive to keep repairing.......lol. So, I have to sent the camera/gimbal to New Jersey, so they can sent it to DJI in California for repair. So, my conclusion of what I've learn here, is not to ever buy an DJI Phantom drone again,........unless DJI makes the legs on the Phantom's drone minimal 1 inch longer, and stronger, to help protect gimbal camera. Than, maybe I'll think of buying a Phantom........... That's my two cents.

Polar Pro makes a Gimbal Guard. I don't think you are being fair to yourself or DJI.

 

[GPS_Ken]

Also from this experience, I want to buy a hand held device, that u hold up into the air, and it gives you the air speed. Don’t know what they r called, but know what I am looking for. Thanks to u all, for ur comments.

If you have any tall trees around, watch the tops of the trees for movement. With a small abount of experience, you can get a good idea of wind speed.

 

[Tim Dawes]

Yes, I’m aware of that. I have seen them. I’m just afraid of keep adding more weight to the drone itself. The more stuff I add to the drone, the more it weights. Loosing less time with the battery.

Phantoms can manage extra weight :

I seldom fly more than 15 minutes/ flight. I think the longest I ever made was 21 minutes which seemed way more than enough. For extra fight time I simply land and pop in a fresh battery.

 

[FlashBuddy]

Get in the habit of customizing settings for a particular flight. If going for distance you might dial in RTH differently. If going for an amazing video location shoot, dial in videos settings for your best results. Phantoms can take a lot of wind but flying close to trees or buildings might not be a good idea on that day.

I had to eventually fall over backwards on my motorcycle in an effort to achieve a perfect wheelie and yesterday I had to crash my P4P in learning just how close I can fly low around trees on a Windy day. I'm a better pilot today (assumes I've learned something) as are you for the experience.

 

[Stazz]

I flew a $54.00 No Gps or a decent camera for 5 months and i had 8 batteries and it flew for 5 to 6 mins on a battery.....I had a blast with that "Toy Drone"......i crashed it a few times low down But never broke a prop or broke the parts that hold the engines....I got really good at controlling it ALL THE time...then the day come when i was ready to a REAL DRONE......i bought a Super Great Dji P-3SE and have near 12 hours of Flight times and Too date I Have No crashes and i have to admit......That itty bitty Toy drone was quite a large part of how i maintain my flights so nicely on the P-3SE..especially the reversed controls when its heading back to YOU......well thats my 2 cents worth ! Some people can tear up a iron anvil with a rubber hammer !

Yup, I started with a cheaper toy grade with a camera aswell, It is a Holy Stone 300, pretty big bird. Flying in headless mode first then free flying, couple crashes nothing devastating, it had a tendency to decend really fast and bounce no matter how much input you gave it, bla bla bla, Anyways I then upgraded to my Standard, I’ve flown just over 30 hours on it and find it to be the most stable and responsive unit I could of asked for, I have not had any scares and kinda feel that I unless there was total mechanical failure The only way it would crash is if I forced it to

 

[Stazz]

Lic

Also from this experience, I want to buy a hand held device, that u hold up into the air, and it gives you the air speed. Don’t know what they r called, but know what I am looking for. Thanks to u all, for ur comments.

lick your finger

 

[charlieb4]

Get in the habit of customizing settings for a particular flight. If going for distance you might dial in RTH differently. If going for an amazing video location shoot, dial in videos settings for your best results. Phantoms can take a lot of wind but flying close to trees or buildings might not be a good idea on that day.

I had to eventually fall over backwards on my motorcycle in an effort to achieve a perfect wheelie and yesterday I had to crash my P4P in learning just how close I can fly low around trees on a Windy day. I'm a better pilot today (assumes I've learned something) as are you for the experience.

Can U please help, explain better on the customizing part. That's kinda my next step on learning, as I haven't gotten there, exploring......(mahn, still a lot to learn)....lol.

 

[charlieb4]

Polar Pro makes a Gimbal Guard. I don't think you are being fair to yourself or DJI.

I think I'll go for that. I have a strong feelings, that will help to keep the legs stabilize, preventing bending of legs.

 

[charlieb4]

Lic

lick your finger

.......lol. It doesn't help 200' in the air......

 

[Travels with Yoly]

It seems to me that the OP's real concern is not the equipment needed to save his drone from crash damage but simply the costs involved in making repairs. This is a simple "no-brainer" ..... drone insurance ! State Farm insures my P3A the same as my Lumix camera and other personal belongings. It costs $60 a year and has no deductible. It covers comprehensively for fire, theft, loss and damage.