Soon to be new owner phantom 3 advanced

[mikesmiley]

Other important stuff:

Calibrate the compass *every* time you fly

No, don't do this.

 

[theTastyCat]

Hey, it's your bird - do what you want! But the vast majority of "flyaways" are due to bad compass info. Many recommend calibrating every time *unless* you're taking off from an area with a lot of metal, thus you would definitely be getting a bad calibration. If you last calibrated nearby, you should be OK. But I calibrate every single time unless it's dodgy metalwise - it takes all of 10 seconds and is cheap insurance against a flyaway.

 

[KingDad1985]

Definite truth. Also:

It's a good idea upon takeoff to climb about to chest level and let it hover for 10-20 seconds to confirm that it's stable and everything is working as it should.

Also, a lot of people (myself included) have decided that the physical risk of hand-catching is worth it vs. having it turn over upon landing. Know that the props *will* mess you up if you get caught by one! But I've not been particularly impressed by my ability to touch down flawlessly, so I usually hand-catch.

Be sure you have an SD card in before takeoff! And be sure you took the gimbal guard off.

And - balance your props! Get a DuBro prop balancer and the *separate* rod made for the P3 and balance your props, both the props and the hub, so they balance perfectly. Often DJI does a great job from the factory, but perfectly balanced props put minimal vibrational stress on every last part of the aircraft and supposedly allow max speed/maneuverability/etc. It's easy, the equipment is cheap, and you only have to do it once per prop. But order it now so it comes in in time! Can be done before the bird arrives. Some say it's not necessary but physics says it's a good idea and the old guard who have been flying props on RC since I was in diapers swear by it. Makes sense to anybody who's ever had a wheel out of balance on a vehicle.

Can you send me the amazon link to the exact items I need to balance?

 

[msinger]

Can you send me the amazon link to the exact items I need to balance?

You can find links to commonly used prop balancers and prop balancing rods here.

 

[theTastyCat]

MSinger nailed it!

 

[Richard R]

Also, there's a very rudimentary simulator built into DJI GO - but you have to have the aircraft powered on in order to use it. Spend 15 or 20 minutes in it until you're comfortable - good investment. Also, put the whole aircraft in the fridge for 30 minutes before your IMU calibration - this allows it to "warm up" as part of its preflight boot much faster. Greater minds than I came up with and tested that and it's definitely a good thing.

Other important stuff:

Calibrate the compass *every* time you fly
You have to stop recording in order to take a photo
Use www.uavforecast.com to see when good flying conditions may be
Don't fly low and slow over your neighborhood or people will think you're spying on them best to maintain a low profile whenever you can - less trouble all around.
Set a good RTH height before you take off
I'll think of more things I wish I knew when I got mine as I think of them...

GPS - you *do not* need it on the device you're using. Not having it simply means you can't use the "Follow me" feature, which is really not much more than a novelty anyway. If you absolutely need that, buy a $100 external GPS for your ipad. But no need. Bird's got all the GPS you could want built into it, and that's how it records the home point.

Calibrating the compass every time is, at least, controversial. The manual says to do it "as required" rather then every time. Check some of the other threads on this topic to look at the pros and cons of both. I personally don't, only done it a couple of times and things continue to be just fine.

 

[theTastyCat]

Well I learned something...this thread has good stuff in it.

Compass Calibration, A Complete Primer

Looks like I'll be calibrating my compass a lot less. Which I'm cool with since I look like an idiot doing the calibration dance anyway.

 

[exit 4]

Might I suggest you purchase a cheap $29 quad from amazon just to get some real feel experience with controls. The DJI simulator is nice but nothing beats the live experience of handling a quad. It's a cheap way to get a few hours behind the wheel experience. Most people here will own up to having had a small cheap quad before moving up to one of these. Given you've probably waited a while before buying this, why not wait a little longer to gain this experience. Good luck and enjoy.

 

[KingDad1985]

Might I suggest you purchase a cheap $29 quad from amazon just to get some real feel experience with controls. The DJI simulator is nice but nothing beats the live experience of handling a quad. It's a cheap way to get a few hours behind the wheel experience. Most people here will own up to having had a small cheap quad before moving up to one of these. Given you've probably waited a while before buying this, why not wait a little longer to gain this experience. Good luck and enjoy.

Not a bad idea at all. Thanks! I actually had the Traxxas alias in mind for awhile lol

 

[fastfed]

I've used, Samsung 8" A tablet,LG g4,LG V10,Shield,LG G4, LG G3 , Galaxy S7, all works flawlessly

 

[mikesmiley]

Which I'm cool with since I look like an idiot doing the calibration dance anyway.

Yeah, I've gotten some mighty funny looks. I think people were more alarmed by the strange man dancing in circles than they were by the drone itself.

 

[fastfed]

I wouldn't waste your time or money on those mini 29 dollar drones, they fly nothing like the DJI will. Trust me, this thing flies it self , literally.
it's so simple. I give it to kids to try all the time when they are around, they fly it like a pro, because unlike those 29 dollar ones, you don't even need to hold the controller, all you're doing is manipulating the direction and height.

 

[mikesmiley]

It's when you need to bring it home in ATTI mode on a breezy day that the time spent with the $29 mini will pay off.

 

[KingDad1985]

What's the biggest SD card can I use in the phantom 3 advanced? Also I see alot of different speed types. Any suggestions on the biggest and best card to use?

 

[Brew132]

I used to calibrate my drone every flight...then one time my drone just flew away for no reason and my heart was pounding as I fought to get it back...I eventually did. Now I just calibrate if I'm in a new area and when I do I take it very slow. So don't get cocky with calibration.

 

[KingDad1985]

I ordered this one....

SanDisk Extreme microSDHC and microSDXC Cards expand available memory and decrease downtime while large files transfer from phone to card or card to computer. Now the UHS-class-3-rated Extreme microSD Card gives users the speed and capacity to capture video that looks great on Full HD and 4K Ultra HD video screens. This is the 64GB edition.

• Write Speeds Up To 40mbps
• Transfer Speeds Up To 90mbps
• Microsdhc (16gb & 32gb) & Microsdxc (64gb) Form Factor
• Class 10 For Recording Full Hd Video (1080p) & Uhs Class 3 For Full Hd & 4k Ultra Hd Video
• Waterproof, Temperature proof, X-ray proof & Shockproof

I don't know much about sd cards so hopefully this one will work great

 

[Dronason]

It's when you need to bring it home in ATTI mode on a breezy day that the time spent with the $29 mini will pay off.

I fully agree. It will help you in landing approach, operating close to objects, getting in use with bird orientation and this at almost no cost and no risk.

 

[KingDad1985]

I've owned a blade cp pro before. Man was that thing hard to fly. I've also owned many micro RC helicopters which I was pretty good at. But never flown a drone. I'm going to go out to the middle of the desert (I live in southern California in the high desert) so I have a lot of open desert around me. I can't wait! Man I'm super excited! Me and my wife are both into photography. We make a pretty good living off of it and I'm sure having the drone will just add to it.

 

[CCrew]

GPS - you *do not* need it on the device you're using. Not having it simply means you can't use the "Follow me" feature, which is really not much more than a novelty anyway. If you absolutely need that, buy a $100 external GPS for your ipad. But no need. Bird's got all the GPS you could want built into it, and that's how it records the home point.

Actually you also lose dynamic home point, which IMHO is of more value than follow.

 

[msinger]

What's the biggest SD card can I use in the phantom 3 advanced?

Some people have used a 256GB memory card. 64GB is way more than most people need though. Even a 16GB memory card is sufficient in most cases if you plan on clearing the memory card after flying.