Will the Butterflies ever leave?

I have owned and flown a Robinson R22 and Beach Bonanza in instrument conditions and always got butterflies before each flight. Now that I'm flying a P4 with DJI Go and Litchi I was surprised to experience those same butterflies even though I'm safely on the ground. They never go away. That's what makes "Old Pilots"; there are very few "old" and "bold" pilots in man-carrying aircraft.
 
I have taken my P3P up for about 5-6 times now and taking it really slow. I mostly take it to an empty parking lot which is really cool. It has the painted lines for parking spaces which makes for a great visual as far as keeping it straight. I take it about 10 ft high, and go out about 100 ft and just do a square type pattern and bring it back. I will then just take it straight up to about 250 ft and hover, pan it 360 degrees and bring it straight down. I am doing all of this in P mode and have not attempted a "real flight" yet as I plan to do a lot of practicing in ATTI mode before my maiden voyage. I also want to practice the F mode for the Course Lock feature as well but havent had enough time to really play with it. Its really hot now in Texas so I keep the flights short.

But holy bat ***** Batman, I get butterflies every time I take it up. But in a good way. LOL. Do you experienced flyers still get em?


Hey Pay,
The butterflies is the best part of experiencing a new thing.
I have had mine for a year and when I get in the situation of getting that perfect shot or video, I get nervous and I love it !!!!
 
When you get into the habit of (after doing the hover test) getting it up above any obstacles and then just looking at the screen instead of the craft, the butterflies will soon stop. If at any time you get into diffs, slowly release the sticks and let it hover to give you some thinking time. LOS, doesn't mean you actually have to be looking at it.
 
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I always get a few butterflies on my first flight of the day. I recently crashed my P3P, and most of the long time veterans of drone flying I spoke with just laughed and basically said ... It's not if you crash, but when! With that said, fly safe and responsible, and enjoy the hobby. BTW, after a long day of flying, the best part for me is the anticipation of watching the vids I shot. I'm almost always exhausted and relieved (in a good way) after a day of flying, especially if I pushed it a bit to get a good shot. Lastly, flying with a friend or other enthusiasts always is better for me, and brings down my anxiety!


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I have taken my P3P up for about 5-6 times now and taking it really slow. I mostly take it to an empty parking lot which is really cool. It has the painted lines for parking spaces which makes for a great visual as far as keeping it straight. I take it about 10 ft high, and go out about 100 ft and just do a square type pattern and bring it back. I will then just take it straight up to about 250 ft and hover, pan it 360 degrees and bring it straight down. I am doing all of this in P mode and have not attempted a "real flight" yet as I plan to do a lot of practicing in ATTI mode before my maiden voyage. I also want to practice the F mode for the Course Lock feature as well but havent had enough time to really play with it. Its really hot now in Texas so I keep the flights short.

But holy bat ***** Batman, I get butterflies every time I take it up. But in a good way. LOL. Do you experienced flyers still get em?
Last week I shot this video -
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- and was wearing my Apple Watch, which also measures heart rate.

My heart rate shot up to 138bpm whilst flying my P3A on this "mission".
 
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I gained a lot of confidence to fly over a mile over a massive lake. When bringing her home, a gush of wind put me out of GPS mode and it was too far away to see which way it was facing for orientation and it flipped into Atti mode.

It was a needed reminder to keep the nerves active. I got it back just fine but it was shaky and I almost waterlogged it twice trying to tumble it on back through the wind.
 
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Last week I shot this video -
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.
- and was wearing my Apple Watch, which also measures heart rate.

My heart rate shot up to 138bpm whilst flying my P3A on this "mission".
Very cool video!
 
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I still get them after owning my phantom for over a year now and lots of flight, it gets easier the more you do it just learn to trust the bird and let it do what it was designed to do, just did an 11,000 feet flight tonight and still get the jitters but its fun
 
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Not really felt that hint of fear since the Phantom one and Vision plus in 2014.
Going back to OP I'd take it much higher than 10 feet to get the feel of 'drivng about'- more like 100 feet - above the height of anything remotely close by you might hit if momentarily dis-orientated.
The results of falling from 100 feet will not be much worse than 10 feet.

Do still get the odd heart stopping moment when not able to confirm it's where I think it is.
In visual range you only need glance away a moment and it's hard to spot again.
Sometimes cloud moving background can create a strong feeling it's moving away when it should be stationary - that can give a brief flutter too

So true !



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But holy bat ***** Batman, I get butterflies every time I take it up. But in a good way. LOL. Do you experienced flyers still get em?

Yes! Especially every time I use a feature that I have never tried before, knowing full well that failure means it's all over. I am about to send my P3A on a 3 mile long litchi mission that was designed using Google Earth as a basis, keeping a steady 40m AGL up and down the side of a mountain. The flight will take the craft 800 feet higher than the home point, but always 40m "high". Fortunately I believe the whole mission is LOS and not further than 4000 feet out, so hopefully I will be in touch with the craft as it makes it way along the path. It SHOULD all work. Butterflies for sure.
 
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LOL. What could possibly go wrong huh? Sounds like a great trip, post the video if you can. It sounds very interesting.
 
I have taken my P3P up for about 5-6 times now and taking it really slow. I mostly take it to an empty parking lot which is really cool. It has the painted lines for parking spaces which makes for a great visual as far as keeping it straight. I take it about 10 ft high, and go out about 100 ft and just do a square type pattern and bring it back. I will then just take it straight up to about 250 ft and hover, pan it 360 degrees and bring it straight down. I am doing all of this in P mode and have not attempted a "real flight" yet as I plan to do a lot of practicing in ATTI mode before my maiden voyage. I also want to practice the F mode for the Course Lock feature as well but havent had enough time to really play with it. Its really hot now in Texas so I keep the flights short.

But holy bat ***** Batman, I get butterflies every time I take it up. But in a good way. LOL. Do you experienced flyers still get em?

What a great thread!! I'm a new phantom 4 owner, it will be a week on Sunday! I've got about 20 flights under my belt, getting more and more confident flying it each time. it's raining in Columbus, Ohio right now so I'm here reading these great posts! I get huge butterflies when I get her up a couple hundred feet, haven't flown too far away just yet, but she's been out a few hundred yards, and a couple hundred feet up! It's exhilarating!!!! Haven't tried atti mode yet, but I'm thinking I should, that's gonna be a rush lol


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I hear ya man. LOL. The good thing about switching to ATTI mode is the simplicity of it. A simple slide of a switch and its back in P mode. Of course assuming it does what its supposed to do.
 
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Yeah, so it was another rainy day here in Columbus, so didn't get to take her out to play with ATTI mode, but i did mess around with it a bit on the simulator in the DJI Go app, played around with different wind speeds and directions, so i'm feeling pretty good about it! Every time i take her up, i go a little higher and a little further out, hearts pounding the whole time!! Its alot of fun.
 
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I love the rush, I get it every time I fly. The butterflies have settled into that feeling of exhilaration, that comes with confidence after lots of practice.
 
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It's only been about 3 months since I got my P3P. I don't know if butterflies will ever leave. Every time I read that someone crashed or someone lost their drone, I think I could be next. I already had a minor crash and glad no serious damage. I swore that would never happen again. I read about people doing their pre checks and plan their missions right but somehow something still goes wrong. I always worry about that just before I launch. But then after I get the bird in the air, instinct takes over and 15 minutes seems like 3 minutes. Sometimes because of too much concentration, I forget to have fun. Sometimes I forget to get those great shots because I'm worrying about something going wrong, looking at battery level, gps status, etc. But one thing that always happens after the bird is back on the ground, especially after a long successful waypoint mission, I'm always amazed what the bird just accomplished. Then I just want to pop that next battery in and do it again. I have to learn not to worry too much and just go and have fun. After all that's what it's all about. Hopefully one day there will be less butterflies. It's good to have some to keep you alert.


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It's only been about 3 months since I got my P3P. I don't know if butterflies will ever leave. Every time I read that someone crashed or someone lost their drone, I think I could be next. I already had a minor crash and glad no serious damage. I swore that would never happen again. I read about people doing their pre checks and plan their missions right but somehow something still goes wrong. I always worry about that just before I launch. But then after I get the bird in the air, instinct takes over and 15 minutes seems like 3 minutes. Sometimes because of too much concentration, I forget to have fun. Sometimes I forget to get those great shots because I'm worrying about something going wrong, looking at battery level, gps status, etc. But one thing that always happens after the bird is back on the ground, especially after a long successful waypoint mission, I'm always amazed what the bird just accomplished. Then I just want to pop that next battery in and do it again. I have to learn not to worry too much and just go and have fun. After all that's what it's all about. Hopefully one day there will be less butterflies. It's good to have some to keep you alert.

Well said.



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It's only been about 3 months since I got my P3P. I don't know if butterflies will ever leave. Every time I read that someone crashed or someone lost their drone, I think I could be next. I already had a minor crash and glad no serious damage. I swore that would never happen again. I read about people doing their pre checks and plan their missions right but somehow something still goes wrong. I always worry about that just before I launch. But then after I get the bird in the air, instinct takes over and 15 minutes seems like 3 minutes. Sometimes because of too much concentration, I forget to have fun. Sometimes I forget to get those great shots because I'm worrying about something going wrong, looking at battery level, gps status, etc. But one thing that always happens after the bird is back on the ground, especially after a long successful waypoint mission, I'm always amazed what the bird just accomplished. Then I just want to pop that next battery in and do it again. I have to learn not to worry too much and just go and have fun. After all that's what it's all about. Hopefully one day there will be less butterflies. It's good to have some to keep you alert.


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Me too.


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