What do do I need to know before my first flight?

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Hi all,

So my phantom 3 advanced is due to arrive tomorrow and obviously I am excited to get out there and get going. I have watched all of the videos I can find and read a ton of info, but I want to make sure I'm not missing anything. I will be reading the manual before starting.

My question to all of you is, what do you wish you had known before your first flight? Any mishaps that you encountered that I could avoid?

Thanks,
 
I wish I'd have known not to fly over the Phillies game today.

Kidding. Just remember to .bin the root and to take it easy until you get used to it.
 
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Good question.
My slip up was, once I landed I shut the motors down the way I had shut them down on my 1.1.1 and my P2.
The CSC where you pull both toggles down to the centre.
I did this and the P3P cartwheeled along the lawn into a concrete raised path.
Although the manual shows this as one of the two ways to shut down - I use the alternative method;
(Mode 2 controller) I hold the left toggle down and after three secondes the motors stop.
I have been hand catching my P2 & P3 since then as well but I must go back to traditional landings - I think
its a little lame.(for me)
 
Don't forget to put it in beginner mode. I am sure you know all about this if you read the manual. LOL take it easy on the first number of flights. I had to stop thinking of the phantom as a race car and think of it as a flying camera platform. As soon as I got that mind set all has been fantastic.
 
Don't forget to put it in beginner mode. I am sure you know all about this if you read the manual. LOL take it easy on the first number of flights. I had to stop thinking of the phantom as a race car and think of it as a flying camera platform. As soon as I got that mind set all has been fantastic.
Perfect way to look at it. This is a camera platform. Your shots should be subtle. If you want to race something, there's a ton of sub-$100 quads you can have fun with...
 
The Phantom 3 is much easier to fly than you imagine.
The trick is to not let this fool you into getting too adventurous too early.
Do your early flights in a large open area, well away from trees, buildings and obstacles.
Be afraid, very afraid of trees, buildings etc. They are involved in most incidents.
Read up on return to home procedures, practise using RTH and cancelling it so you understand how it works and how you can resume control in an RTH situation.
 
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The very first thing after charging the batteries is to do some Caibrations. The main one is the IMU. The copter needs to be completely level front to back and left to right before starting the cal. Do the RC and then outside the compass calibration. These are important in setting up the copter after shipping and for your area of use. Start with short flights to get use to the quads operation. There are some good videos on starting up and pilot training. Take your time and enjoy.
 
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While nothing went wrong, I'd recommend learning how to hand catch as soon as possible. There are many people who land on the ground every time but I just don't find the need. It's still each for the P3 to tip over... though it's far less likely then with prior models.
 
Understand the telemetry - radar - battery - height - distance etc before understanding camera settings.
Make sure you are clear on RTH and what it does indoors and outdoors.
Don't be cocky - this is when ability exceeds confidence.
And if you don't know, ask here. The manual can be ambiguous sometimes.
 
Thanks for the tips guys. I habe seen mat of the videos posted but there were some that were new to me and very helpful.

A question on firmware. I can just upgrade to the newest firmware out of the box right?
Thanks again
 
This thread is relevant to my interests... my P3 Pro should be arriving today. Lots of trees in my yard but I have experience with a Trex 450 helicopter so I don't expect it to be that difficult. Just worried about RTH. I'm going to just lift off and perform some basic movements, left, right, forward, back, 360's etc and then worry about the video. No upside down flying for me. ;)
 
While nothing went wrong, I'd recommend learning how to hand catch as soon as possible. There are many people who land on the ground every time but I just don't find the need. It's still each for the P3 to tip over... though it's far less likely then with prior models.

I recommend learning how not to hand catch as so many people have been injured and mishaps. Just learn how to land the bird properly. People that hand catch are not confident at landing it properly.
I actually like the feeling of having a perfect landing.

Always hand catch your phantom !!

Never hand catch your phantom. Unless, in an emergency.

Overall, get use to doing proper maintenance and make a checklist before taking off each flight.
Break in your batteries properly - First 10 flight you should only use 50% (10 mins) of flight. then recharge battery to 100% and repeat process. Make sure you update firmware. Make sure you understand and properly setup the compass calibration. Make sure you calibrate IMU. Make sure you check your batteries health and voltage before each flight. Make sure you know and understand what VRS (Vortex Ring State) is and how to avoid it. All these steps sound scary. But, they actually insure you will have a safe flight ALWAYS!.. These steps should be basic pre flight checklist. You can actually get very accustomed to these steps every flight and finish this checklist in less than 15 minutes.


Checking and updating firmware.
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Vortex Ring State
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Check batteries life.
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Compass calibration, Pre Flight checklist, how to take off, Powering on copter
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There's nothing wrong with hand catching. Just make sure you're upwind, if there is any, and keep it high above your head.
 
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There's nothing wrong with hand catching. Just make sure you're upwind, if there is any, and keep it high above your head.

Don't care how many people argue this. It makes no sense to risk injuring yourself or damaging your quad in the event you fail at hand catching. Just land the bird properly. Hand catching is not proper and DJI did not add all these fancy compass calibrations, GPS positioning, Auto- land and RTH just for you to hand catch. Go ahead and listen to these guys telling you to hand catch and in the event you get cut, lose a finger or damage your quad. I will be sure to comment on your post/video and say "told you so"
 
My question to all of you is, what do you wish you had known before your first flight? Any mishaps that you encountered that I could avoid?

If you do make a mistake and bust a prop or worse, be careful about admitting anything here. There's always at least one Captain Obvious who will berate you to make you feel worse.
 
We hand catch my Phantom all the time. However I never fly to the catch person. I hover above head height and if the bird seems stable, she advances and grabs it. When she feels that she has it she nods and I stop the motors. This keeps dirt and other debris out of your magnetized motors. I haven't tried catching while I was flying it myself.
 
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Don't care how many people argue this. It makes no sense to risk injuring yourself or damaging your quad in the event you fail at hand catching. Just land the bird properly. Hand catching is not proper and DJI did not add all these fancy compass calibrations, GPS positioning, Auto- land and RTH just for you to hand catch. Go ahead and listen to these guys telling you to hand catch and in the event you get cut, lose a finger or damage your quad. I will be sure to comment on your post/video and say "told you so"

The techs at the place I bought my P2 from hand catch as well. It does keep dirt and debris out. Not so worrisome on a driveway. But in the dirt. I launch from the carrying case and hand catch. Do as you like. There are risks with these things. Just have to be mindful of them.
 
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