What You Should Have Been Told

[Phil Tuggle]

Ditto to @trevsdad, especially if you are in the Western or NE states of the USA - Crazy differences in magnetic declination from place to place. But, yeah, local things (lots of metal and soil ore types) play a huge role.

 

[pomonabill220]

Another problem where I'm from (NY, CT) it's the snooty rich parents who buy their 15 year olds drones for xmas because they watched some YouTube Vlog of Casey Neistat flying over the Emire State building and they want to try it to be cool.

And they are some of the people that have caused all of us grief with the public and FAA... probably don't even register with the FAA either!

 

[Acme Rockets]

I'm not an expert at this stuff by any means. But, I found the Phantom Training Guide useful when I was trying to build some confidence in flying my Phantom. I would suggest flying all of the exercises a few times. It helped me.

http://download.dji-innovations.com.../Phantom_2_Vision_Pilot_Training_Guide_en.pdf

 

[jayeverts]

Be careful, but don't be scared. I have flown rc helicopters (real ones, not the $40-200 toys you buy at the mall) and these drones are very stable and easy. Those had NO GPS or stabilization. You let go of the sticks and it goes down, you control the sticks and they can go down.

Being scared with these can cause you to fly into something. Small and controlled movements. If you nervous then let go of the sticks for a second and breath. With your fingers on the sticks you can hit something, with them off it simply sits there why you regain your composure and evaluate the situation.

Again, be careful, but not scared.

 

[pomonabill220]

Again, be careful, but not scared.

Very good advice! Probably the worst thing any pilot can be is scared before anything happens.
One big point of flying quads is the fun and enjoyment one should get... they are not supposed to create sleepless nights and terror!

Enjoy your flying experience!

 

[Don Holmes]

I think that if I knew how negatively drones were perceived by the public, I may have reconsidered purchasing one. It seems that on a fairly regular basis they receive an inordinate amount of negative press. Granted, they are not an essential item (like automobiles), but can you imagine what it would look like if every time a pimply faced teenager laid rubber on some back road it was plastered across the tabloids? I read that since the FAA started requiring it, 770,000 people have registered their drones in the United States alone. What percentage of those people do you think are doing improper things with their drones? I am truly afraid that within a very short period of time, our hobby, or business will be regulated out of existence.

Maybe the hobby will be regulated to the point of making it an enthusiast only kind of thing, but the business of UAV Photography is going nowhere but up. All other businesses that using them, such as Oil Field and Farm Survey, Infrastructure Inspection, Field Inventory, seem to be doing great and will have their own lobbyist working overtime, but it will flourish.

 

[Bill S]

Learn to fly manually with GPS including flying back where the orientation is backwards. You can learn this with inexpensive quads as well. Get away from folks.

 

[tommycoe]

Do this before buying a DJI drone...
-> Get yourself in your car and driving down the highway.
-> Open your window.
-> Reach into your back pocket and pull out your wallet.
-> Take out 5 $20 bills. Now, toss them out the window.
-> Take out 5 more. Toss them out too.
-> Do it again
-> And again

If this bothers you, your not ready to own a DJI drone.

Well that was weird. Way to scare people out of the hobby. I personally know guys with original P2s with 250 batt charges and never spent another dime other than initial purchase.

I have Phantom 1 with a GoPro 3 Camera that I have flown so many hours, I'm on my third set of four batteries, and I've had to replace the motors from worn batteries. From all those hours of flight, I have never had a flyaway, or a crash. I recently bought a P3P, and only hope to get the same service from that quad. So, if anyone will take their time, and learn all the controls and don't get panicked, there is no reason to ever experience a problem. Oh, my P1 still has the original props!

 

[DougAles]

...the business of UAV Photography is going nowhere but up...

That's funny right there.

 

[DougAles]

I have Phantom 1 with a GoPro 3 Camera that I have flown so many hours, I'm on my third set of four batteries, and I've had to replace the motors from worn batteries. From all those hours of flight, I have never had a flyaway, or a crash. I recently bought a P3P, and only hope to get the same service from that quad. So, if anyone will take their time, and learn all the controls and don't get panicked, there is no reason to ever experience a problem. Oh, my P1 still has the original props!

Jimmy...I'm happy you are happy.

Me? There is no way my drones will last that long. As my skills grow so does my desire to take risk. This week I flew through a cave, and flew beyond signal range 3 times.

Here is one of three flights today as I was livrstreaming to Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10212524175557039

 

[blackcrusader]

I've had my first drone ever, a P4P for about a week now. I'm a total scaredy cat with it. As I gain confidence, however, I'm flying it alittle further.

I've read the manuals, Watched the videos.

But what do you wish you had been told when you first started flying your drone? What advice do you wish you had been given, or maybe been told one more time?

They should have told me it was addictive. Flown over 100 miles, 18 hours of flight time, in the less than 10 weeks I've had my drone.

 

[robca]

As other people have said: learn to actually fly. Do not learn to rely on GPS and RTH. The majority of so-called fly aways are from people who see the drone behave strangely (usually due to compass or GPS issues) and issue an RTH command (which will not work if GPS has problems) or react the wrong way. A modern DJI drone is "too easy to fly", thanks to all the clever assistance technology. Problem is, once you lose the assist, it's still a drone and can behave in surprising ways

Buy a cheap toy drone ($30 or so) and learn to fly that one, even indoor. Learn how to control a drone that doesn't hover in place, but drifts. Learn to fly it in every orientation. Learn how to react quickly and instinctively. Those drones are cheap and almost indestructible. And much harder to fly than a Phantom (which is good).

If one day your Phantom does something strange, you will be able to flip it into ATTI mode and fly back safely, instead of being one more casualty of a "too easy to fly" drone. And you'll have the confidence to know you can take control if there is a problem

 

[blackcrusader]

They never warned me I would get views like this. What's really funny is when people drive up and have pea soup fog and want to see a sunrise or sunset. The looks on their faces when I explain I am taking these video's 1600 feet up and more than 1.5 - 2 miles away. I had one guys wife tell her husband, quick, lets get in the car and go there. I asked her did her car fly. She didn't get it. Her husband is chuckling to himself shaking his head as his wife is insisting they go to where I am taking the video as she is watching it live on my phone.

The sheer look of amazement on people's faces it worth it. I should wear my go pro to film some of my encounters.

 

[rhfrhf]

I wish I knew what an awful company DJI was and purchased. From a different company

 

[Badaxed]

Do this before buying a DJI drone...
-> Get yourself in your car and driving down the highway.
-> Open your window.
-> Reach into your back pocket and pull out your wallet.

"
-> Take out 5 $20 bills. Now, toss them out the window.
-> Take out 5 more. Toss them out too.
-> Do it again
-> And again

If this bothers you, your not ready to own a DJI drone.[/QUOTE

Do this also if you are buying a boat. "Boat is an anachronism" for "B"ring "O"ut "A"nother "T"housand . Dollars

 

[K9VXV]

Buy yourself a cheap but decently stable practice UAS like a Syma X5HC and practice control. You can review its video to see how well you do and if you lose it or get it snagged it's not the end of the world compared to your Phantom. I was surprised to realize they my Syma drifts a little less up and down than my P4P when it is running in ATTI mode. Get out and fly everyday if you can. Don't be scared. I ended up picking up the state farm personal articles coverage. Now my D4 and P4P are covered.

Taker care,

Jesse

 

[DougAles]

As other people have said: learn to actually fly. Do not learn to rely on GPS and RTH. The majority of so-called fly aways are from people who see the drone behave strangely (usually due to compass or GPS issues) and issue an RTH command (which will not work if GPS has problems) or react the wrong way. A modern DJI drone is "too easy to fly", thanks to all the clever assistance technology. Problem is, once you lose the assist, it's still a drone and can behave in surprising ways

Buy a cheap toy drone ($30 or so) and learn to fly that one, even indoor. Learn how to control a drone that doesn't hover in place, but drifts. Learn to fly it in every orientation. Learn how to react quickly and instinctively. Those drones are cheap and almost indestructible. And much harder to fly than a Phantom (which is good).

If one day your Phantom does something strange, you will be able to flip it into ATTI mode and fly back safely, instead of being one more casualty of a "too easy to fly" drone. And you'll have the confidence to know you can take control if there is a problem

True. Had my compass fail mid-flight today. This put the drone into ATTI also known as no GPS manual mode. It ended well with no issue. Next, I need to contact DJI to see what they say.

 

[JimmysWoodshop]

True. Had my compass fail mid-flight today. This put the drone into ATTI also known as no GPS manual mode. It ended well with no issue. Next, I need to contact DJI to see what they say.

Don't even bother. Just order a new compass on Amazon and it takes a few minutes to install. DJI will do it for you for free but you may or may not get your same drone back, maybe within a couple years...that's IF you can get through to talk to some one lol.

 

[Boont]

The only issue I have had so far (6-8 days flying every day) is when I rotate the P3 Stnd. and get confused as the control stick is now reversed. Forward is now reverse etc. I wonder if the software could be changed to disregard which way the drone is facing and just treat it as an almost round object. When the camera is facing away from you, the forward stick is pushed away from you to move the drone away from you. When the camera is facing you, the forward stick is still pushed away from you to move the drone away from you. Since we are only virtual pilots of these aircraft at best, why not treat them as such?

 

[JimmysWoodshop]

The only issue I have had so far (6-8 days flying every day) is when I rotate the P3 Stnd. and get confused as the control stick is now reversed. Forward is now reverse etc. I wonder if the software could be changed to disregard which way the drone is facing and just treat it as an almost round object. When the camera is facing away from you, the forward stick is pushed away from you to move the drone away from you. When the camera is facing you, the forward stick is still pushed away from you to move the drone away from you. Since we are only virtual pilots of these aircraft at best, why not treat them as such?

I respectfully encourage you to read the manual. What you're referring to is called home-lock or "headless" mode and are critical features of our drones that can get you out of a jam when in trouble (as you have already experienced with orientation problems). Most quads over $100 have this feature. It's wonderful and exciting I'll bet, flying so much so early, but it's always best to familiarize yourself with the Phantoms features and failsafes before even flying. Use the simulator to test these features and flight modes BEFORE having to test them in a real world panic situation.