Here's my recommendations:
1. Read and absorb all you have time for on this forum and Youtube.
2. Download the DJI Go app early. Watch the videos and read the manual.
3. I have not updated the firmware and have been flying it right out of the box with 1.1.9+. Works great as is.
4. Charge the battery fully, then use the included simulator to familiarize yourself with the functions. It operates like the P3 does in flight. Practice with all the flight modes. Set your Failsafe RTH. Practice using the RTH function, and how to cancel it when necessary. Use a whole battery down to 50% on the simulator if you have the patience.
5. When the simulator becomes boring, you're ready for the maiden. Charge battery to 100%.
6. Have a game plan. Consider a short planned flight with easy objectives. (take off, gain altitude, head out, turn back, head home, land)
7. Cloudy, calm day would be best. Start in a large open area, free from obstructions. SET your Failsafe RTH to a minimum height higher than the surroundings. (I use 60 M ~ 200 feet as a safe minimum altitude. No trees higher than that around here.)
8. Calibrate your compass before the first take off in a ferrous free environment.
9. Set your Failsafe RTH (while connected to P3) and ENSURE you have a GOOD GPS Home Lock (Safe to Fly GPS) before attempting to take off.
10. I'd use beginner mode if you have no experience. This will keep her close at first. P-GPS mode always (at first).
11. Use the Auto Takeoff. Be deliberate and plan your moves. Gain some altitude. Use small control movements until you are familiar with how she handles.
12. Remember to just let go of the sticks if in trouble. P3 will stop and hover in place. Calm yourself and make small control movements to get her out of that trouble.
13. Practice landing. One of the hardest, and most nerve wracking parts of the flight. It will auto land, but you need to know how to set it down when necessary.
14. Only using the battery down to 50% for the first few flights is recommended. Your nerves will be shot way before that in the beginning.
15. Recharge and repeat. Best practice is actually flying. Small improvements in distance and altitude each flight. Walk before you run. Practice the RTH function on subsequent flights. Practice how to cancel it.
Maybe your maiden (after compass calibration and GPS Home Lock) consists of:
Auto Take off to 4 ft.
Gain altitude to 20-30 feet
Fly straight ahead (slowly) to edge of beginner mode (100 feet)
Turn around and fly back to you, again slowly.
Land and stop motors (left stick down for 3 seconds)
Repeat. Should be able to get a good 10-12 minutes of flying before battery is 50%
That's my list for success, from 30 years of RC experience, 20 years of helicopter flying, 2 months of P3 flying, and hundreds of hours of reading and watching. Hope it's a help to you and yours. Others will add to this that have much more knowledge than me.
SD
