I was new to drone flying myself, and still new at it... I never even flew a 25.00 drone ... So i know the feeling.. I keep watching youtube videos and made up my mind and went ahead and got a P4 last november... I just took my time and went slow.. still watching videos and flying.. I'm a 70 year old man and you know we have to take it slow anyway LOL.. Plus after putting 1200.00 into a **** drone.. I didn't want to just go out and crash it the first day...As long as you don't get a wild hair up your butt, you'll be fine.. They just about fly them self.. Go ahead and get one and ENJOY
Terrified newbie
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I've ordered a refurbished P3S. I'm doing a lot of research and reading the manual over and over. I'm fortunate to live on a large farm with a lot of open space. I'm going to take it nice and easy and continue to learn all I can. I'm really excited.
I have seen a lot of advice about buying a cheap $100 or less drone so you can learn to fly without loosing too much when it crashes. Having gone that route when I was a newbie, I can tell you that I almost never took up the hobby. The cheap drones are not nearly as stable in the air as the more advanced drones. It will blow in the wind, be tricky to maneuver, and difficult to land. The more advanced drones have circuitry built into them that will allow them to hover Rock-steady and be easy to maneuver and land. But do not get complacent in flying in the P mode. Once you are comfortable with flying the Drone in the Program mode, start learning how to fly it in the sport mode in limited situations, and on days where there is almost no wind. You can always switch back to the program mode to regain control of the Drone. The cheaper drones do not have a programmed mode of operation. Be very cautious when updating the drones software. Read up on what the update provides. If you are not using the features that the update provides, my advice is not to install it. I think a lot of people on this blog have learned the hard way that not every update is the best for your drone. The quality of your iPad Air is also a big factor in your drone experience. I started out with a cheap iPad and had a lot of video pixelation. I finally went out and bought myself an iPad Pro with Wi-Fi + cellular capability. It may have been a little bit pricey, but it was well worth the investment. I have not had a single bit of pixelation since. Ever since I purchased my first real drone, a P4, I have had nothing but good flight experience with it. To date, I have over 200 hours of flight time logged. Sure, the drone has tried a few times to fly away and i have occasionally lost the video on the ipad, but I learned how to recover from that when I was learning how to fly a drone initially. The online videos and flight simulator are a real good resource to learn the things you need to know. Practice precision flying to build your proficiency. But don't set up an obstacle course like in Drone Racing League, at least not at first. Landing on the "X" when flying in program mode, then in sport mode, is a good start. Take notes from all the training videos and flight simulator, and stick them to the side of your iPad for quick reference while you are flying. Most of all, remember to HAVE FUN! Passers by will be curious. Talk to them. It's a great way to socialize and make new friends ☺
Yea what they said. I bought my Phantom 3 standard a bit over 3 months ago, and did not fly it until about 3 weeks ago. In all that time I purchased and flew about 12 different type toy grade drones. Some with RTH which only worked occasionally and then only in headless mode, a couple with altitude hold and one almost the same size as the phantom, a SYMA. The learning curve for me was a bit steep as I was intimidated by how difficult the first two were, being cell phone wifi controlled. The others with controllers were much easier, and the ones with altitude control easier still. I lost 4 of them in trees or just plain flew away. The ones that dropped out of the sky when they went out of range, survive to this day. I still remember watching my Elfie fly over the power wires across the street from me, over the neighbors house, over the huge evergreen trees on it's way to places unknown. It was a tiny dot in the sky before I could not see it anymore. Two JJRC's mini copters also simply flew away when out of range, and the SYMA lost signal and planted itself in the top of one of the aformentioned evergreens about 70 feet up. I lost or crashed enough drones to make myself very weary of what I was about to embark upon, but once I did I found the Phantom so easy to control it was a pleasure flying it and videotaping. The GPS is like a set of training wheels and the RTH does indeed work. Very cool indeed to see it turn around and fly back to you only to watch it land where you took off. Set your RTH height well above the tree tops and have a ball.
yup.
have about 20 flights, and now that i have confidence in the AC itself i am enjoying it much more.
no substitute for air time with it, just take it nice and slow. nothing wrong with baby steps.
My bird flew away after my first flight. Wind took it, nothing I could do but watch my thousands go down the toilet
Hey Newbieguy... I was in your shoes a few weeks ago. Got my first drone and was scared to death and full of questions. I put it on my coffee table and looked and thinking "man that is one cool looking thing... I hope it doesn't fly away." Ha. But I posted my concerns here on this forum and was quick put at ease. I have a good size backyard, well within the confines of Beginner Mode and have been flying as time permits, which isn't as much as I would like but I take whatever I can get.
Anyway... I too read and researched, doing all the things and finally took it out for my first flight. It's just so cool when you do. My best advice from one newbie to another, go out, start out with little flights and keep going higher and farther each time. I look at the tree tops for the wind and judge accordingly. I'm certainly not brave enough yet to go off of beginner mode, but I will soon.
My sister and brother-in-law bought a some land they want to build a house on... this is my drive to practice and get myself off of beginner mode so that they can get a bird's eye view of their new homestead.
Perhaps you did not have the multi position option checked in the go app, letting you use either GPS in position one or the pilot mode in position 2.I think these are set as a default however. In position one the drone should have just hovered there when you let go of the sticks. If you were to toggle P2 back and forth, it would have gone into RTH position and landed where it took off from. Something is not right with this picture.
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FCOL - a PC that can handle 4K is about the same cost as a Spark or a good tablet.
At some point you will have a computer built this decade. You will then be able to handle 4K. I always capture with the best quality possible and archive it that way.
suggest you move up to the 4 and use Gazelle web site to pickup an ipad air 2. Cost a bit more but the tablet screams! and has more sensors to see outside trees and furniture inside an area.
I would suggest that you Follow John Locke Comment on Post # 30 . ( Post Number )will be on the right of all the comments I bought Prop Guards that were easy to install from China, I am currently using Red for ( the Left Toggle ( 4) Controls ) and Blue for the right ( 4 ) Toggle controls . I also have a few other colors. This also helps me see my P 3 Pro in the sky, and I can see the rotation to bring it back home. I have an I-Pad, also, which I need Practice on but it has a lot of Glare, so I fly late in the evening.If you add Prop Guide use the New Screws and don't over tighten them. I think Prop Guards also strengthen the motor arms and Quad arms- goldnugget-
Charlotte,N.C..
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I'd get a used Phantom 4 for the money you plan on spending for a new P3 Pro.
They are a lot more stable and have better range. And a lot more precise.
It's pretty easy to learn if you're in a big field. Once you get better, you can start landing in tighter spaces like balconies. THey're much easier than RC airplanes.
You could leave it in the sky for 10-20 seconds to go grab a beer and nothing would happen.
They are a lot more stable and have better range. And a lot more precise.
It's pretty easy to learn if you're in a big field. Once you get better, you can start landing in tighter spaces like balconies. THey're much easier than RC airplanes.
You could leave it in the sky for 10-20 seconds to go grab a beer and nothing would happen.
I use an iPad with a P3 Advanced. I was skeptical about spending the money when I bought mine. They are an awesome flying machine and unless you have to have 4K video, buy the Advanced. They pretty much fly themselves with the GPS
I'm a chicken, too. I've been flying Phantoms for almost 4 years now, and it's still scary sometimes - especially over water. My advice is, the first several flights, go to the local high school soccer field or something similar. No trees, no buildings, nothing to hit. And remember, if you're in GPS mode, if you start to feel like you're losing control, let go of the controls and the 'copter will stop and hover where it is. You can get your composure back and continue. In those early flights, don't get too far away, don't go too high, etc. Just get the feel of it.
Another thing is, when you turn it around and head back - if it's pointing AT you, the controls are opposite. Left is right, etc. Get used to that. Sometimes I fly a circle, other times I just back it home, so all controls are correct. Lots of experiments in a safe, obstacle-free environment is what you need to start with.
Auto takeoff is good. Auto land is OK, but I think it's a bit rough. With practice, you'll be able to do a much softer landing manually.
I just looked above. Someone suggested starting with a cheaper version. I did that too... and lost it after one day. Got above the trees, the wind caught it, and away it went. It was difficult to fly, with no GPS I was constantly correcting, etc. Maybe OK advice, but it was nothing like the Phantom.
Agreed. I think it was $200 more for the Pro, and the only difference I could see was the 4K. I'm all set up for 1080p, so I didn't see the need to spend the extra $$.
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Hi Newbieguy, I've been flying with my P3S for about a week and I had the same feelings you did...and to some degree, I still do. A little fear is good, it keeps you from becoming complacent. The hardest thing for me is what primevil said about controlling the drone when it's facing you; that constant mindset reversal is scary; that's actually what I spend most of time practicing on, when I go up. My other biggest concern is not knowing how tall something is as I approach it, the term depth perception keeps coming up and it definitely applies here. When you look in your monitor (phone/tables) things look far away, but when you finally find your drone in the sky, it's actually much closer to that tree than you realize. Where you stand plays a big part as well; line of sight. Conversely, I think it's important not to be afraid of it...there's a fine line. Looks like a nice group of people in these forums, which is a huge help.
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I believe given the fact that you are reading and watching YouTube videos (and joining this forum) in advance of buying that you'll be a conscientious and safe pilot who wants to follow all instructions in the manual and do things correctly. This is a similar trait to a good scuba diver or car driver - being concerned is half the battle rather than being gun-ho and/or thinking you're buying a fully autonomous toy as can easily happen given DJI's sleek adverts/commercials claiming such ease of flying.
Welcome to the forum and I wish you many years of fun and responsible flying.
Welcome to the forum and I wish you many years of fun and responsible flying.
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