Your Best Advice for New Drone Owners

[Ebjerke]

(I see that there is at "tips" thread but...

I am preparing to buy a P4P soon. This week would be good. (It kind of depends on my tax situation, because I kinda have a photography business and I need to show a profit this year so I may need to hold off on buying another write off.) Anyway, what would be your absolute best advice to a new drone operator or, put another way, what do you wish someone had told you before you had to learn it yourself, AKA, the hard way?

 

[msinger]

what would be your absolute best advice to a new drone operator

If I can only pick one thing? Read and fully understand the Phantom manual before trying to fly.

 

[Newbieguy]

Read the manual over and over. You can access it from the dji go app. The RTH feature is awesome but learn exactly how it works I can’t stress this enough. You might want to consider prop guards. These birds are easy to fly. This can cause you to get over confident. Watch out for that. Once you get the bird utilize the flight simulator. If you use it for any period of time run a fan on the drone, it will heat up. Once you start to fly it keep it on beginner mode until you get comfortable. Practice in a wide open space if possible. Always start your flight with a full battery, no exceptions. YouTube is your friend, watch as many videos as possible. I suggest a neck lanyard with this you won’t drop the RC. It is also nice to have free hands if you need them. Read the manual a lot. Have fun and fly safe. I will warn you it is a very addictive hobby!!!

 

[Technical Bob]

Buy a cheap drone to crash, then buy a decent one, imho,
It is all well and good having GPS etc on the Phantoms, but you really need to know what to do when it isnt working,
So I always suggest a toy type(if you will) to get all the functions in your mind, so if things do fail in the air you have a good idea what to do.

 

[msinger]

It is all well and good having GPS etc on the Phantoms, but you really need to know what to do when it isnt working, So I always suggest a toy type(if you will) to get all the functions in your mind, so if things do fail in the air you have a good idea what to do.

FWIW, when GPS is lost, the only thing the Phantom cannot do is hold its position horizontally. Other than that, it'll fly like it always does. My advice would be to skip the cheap drone and learn how to fly in ATTI mode in a wide open location that's free of all obstacles. That way, if GPS is ever lost mid-flight, you'll know exactly how to control the Phantom (instead of a cheap drone that does not fly like a Phantom).

 

[MapMaker53]

Once you are familiar with everything in the manual, always take your time making sure you run through your check list before launching. Those who are in a hurry to launch often forget to check things like satellite count, setting a home point, wind direction, etc. Just take your time.

Also just keep in mind you will have to become FAA Remote Pilot Certified in order to legally use it for your photography business.

 

[Bakersfield Quad]

My advice, take your time, you have lots. Buy the P4P, take it to a wide open place, grass is best. In P Mode. Tell it to take off, let It hover. Try the sticks, small movements, don't go far, stay 10 feet or so away, keep the drone pointed away from you, so controls are not reversed. Using throttle, slowly decrease altitude until the skids are just off the ground. Go back up, repeat until you feel good about that. Now do it once more, but actually touch down and disarm the props. First flight done.
Now do this until you are bored with it, the turn the bird around to face you and repeat. So you can experience reversed controls.
Drift it left and right, up and down, forward and back, always staying close and be ready to land.
Then when you are comfortable with your control, take it up 20 feet and try turning circles, coordinated turns and learn what happens when you mix sticks, yaw and roll, the is how you learn.
Take your time, land with 30% battery, don't go far until you can land with confidence. Avoid windy days at first, pick nice calm weather. Fly slowly, learn the ropes, don't push your limits.
Once you can fly well in P Mode, take it up to 50 feet and learn to fly ATTI mode.
Once you can fly in ATTI mode with confidence, you can move on to broader horizons.

 

[captainstubbie]

In my opinion, I think the advice of buying a cheap drone that you can crash and burn without breaking the bank it's not a bad idea. It's a great way to learn how to fly without the aid of GPS, should you ever have that happen with your new one and the wind starts to carry it away. It's a great way to learn the skills on how to operate the controls.

 

[mark191]

IMO you should read and read and read the manual as much as possible

 

[Meta4]

When you get it you'll find that it's much easier to fly than you imagine.
It takes about 5 minutes to learn - but a lot of practice and experience to become proficient.
Don't let the simplicity make you get too adventurous too early.
There are many things that can go wrong and you need to understand what they are and how to make sure they don't happen to you.

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.

 

[tevek]

In addition to some of the excellent suggestions noted above for first timers, I would only add that when you take off, take it straight up and let it hover at say 5 mtrs and check all the controls and ensure you have your homepoint set before wandering about. I also learnt to hand catch early in the piece due to living on a hill and the lack of level ground to bring it down to. As for buying cheaper drones to start with, I'd love to show you my shed that is full of my 'learning curve' efforts in a bid to fly in Atti mode, of which the value far exceeds any Phantom platforms currently on the market.
Take it easy and you will be rewarded.

 

[John Locke]

If you can afford to crash a $1300 drone and wait to be repaired, pay $1000 to repair it without blinking eye, then it's OK to start with a P4P. IMHO, the key skill to learn is reverse navigation, good enough so it's second nature. This is when the craft is coming home and facing you, and the left-right control is reversed. This gets a lot newbies in trouble, so learning that in spades in an open field is assignment #1, unless you already have this skill from other RC toys growing up, like me.

If you'd like to start with a lower cost drone, don't get the cheapest one, get one that has a barometer to maintain altitude hold, like the Husban H501S for $225 which also has GPS. That kind of trainer would be very much like flying in ATTI with a P4P, which you definitely want to learn. If you don't crash it during training, it's a good little craft to hand down to your kids, or a friend.

 

[Ebjerke]

Wow, thanks so much for all the advice! Excellent stuff that I will definitely endeavor to follow!

 

[KennyJr]

The RTH feature is awesome but learn exactly how it works I can’t stress this enough.

I second this. While RTH is nice, it isn't always the best way to bring it home unless you're in an open area. I tested it once with my P3P in an open field and it will land up to 15 feet from the takeoff point.

To test this I'd take it up and fly in one direction the hit the RTH button, then repeat. Then I'd fly it in a different direction and repeat. It always landed somewhere within a 15 foot radius of the takeoff point.

 

[tevek]

I second this. While RTH is nice, it isn't always the best way to bring it home unless you're in an open area. I tested it once with my P3P in an open field and it will land up to 15 feet from the takeoff point.

To test this I'd take it up and fly in one direction the hit the RTH button, then repeat. Then I'd fly it in a different direction and repeat. It always landed somewhere within a 15 foot radius of the takeoff point.

Valid point but for many newcomers understanding how and when RTH works is often the difference between having it fly back to your vicinity and never seeing it again. Also within 20 mtrs and you hit RTH, it will land where it is. Hopefully on land and not in the ocean near to where you took off from...

 

[Ebjerke]

If you can afford to crash a $1300 drone and wait to be repaired, pay $1000 to repair it without blinking eye, then it's OK to start with a P4P. IMHO, the key skill to learn is reverse navigation, good enough so it's second nature. This is when the craft is coming home and facing you, and the left-right control is reversed. This gets a lot newbies in trouble, so learning that in spades in an open field is assignment #1, unless you already have this skill from other RC toys growing up, like me.

If you'd like to start with a lower cost drone, don't get the cheapest one, get one that has a barometer to maintain altitude hold, like the Husban H501S for $225 which also has GPS. That kind of trainer would be very much like flying in ATTI with a P4P, which you definitely want to learn. If you don't crash it during training, it's a good little craft to hand down to your kids, or a friend.

 

[Ebjerke]

Thanks so much! I just watched the video you linked to for the Husban.

 

[John Locke]

Since you're into photography, video may not be of much interest. However, if it is, then here's a few tidbits to digest.

1. If recording in 1080 resolution, most i5 computers less than 3yrs old with Win7 or later can do a reasonable job of editing and rendering drone videos. You can get by with a cheap editor, like Adobe Premeire Elements, or Pinnacle Studio, among others.
2. If you have plans to record and edit 4K resolution video, you will need a higher end computer with a graphics accelerator, which is a typical gaming computer less than 1yr preferred with quad core i7, and a GTX1080 graphics board. This will make life easy to edit 4K with good efficiency.

Note: Lower end i5 computers, up to 3yrs old (Haswell or newer CPU) with no graphic acceleration card can edit 4K video with Premeire Pro using a proxy file, which is a lower resolution version to edit and see the edit playbacks in low resolution while keeping the video smooth during preview. But when final render occurs, the program uses the full resolution 4K video to edit, using the proxy markers to trigger each edit instruction, during the final render process. The render process in this case takes a long time, usually overnight is needed, because of the lower end computer.

 

[Ebjerke]

Since you're into photography, video may not be of much interest. However, if it is, then here's a few tidbits to digest.

1. If recording in 1080 resolution, most i5 computers less than 3yrs old with Win7 or later can do a reasonable job of editing and rendering drone videos. You can get by with a cheap editor, like Adobe Premeire Elements, or Pinnacle Studio, among others.
2. If you have plans to record and edit 4K resolution video, you will need a higher end computer with a graphics accelerator, which is a typical gaming computer less than 1yr preferred with quad core i7, and a GTX1080 graphics board. This will make life easy to edit 4K with good efficiency.

Note: Lower end i5 computers, up to 3yrs old (Haswell or newer CPU) with no graphic acceleration card can edit 4K video with Premeire Pro using a proxy file, which is a lower resolution version to edit and see the edit playbacks in low resolution while keeping the video smooth during preview. But when final render occurs, the program uses the full resolution 4K video to edit, using the proxy markers to trigger each edit instruction, during the final render process. The render process in this case takes a long time, usually overnight is needed, because of the lower end computer.

Excellent! Thanks for that advice! I have a four-year-old iMac with a 2.7 Ghz i5. I do plan to learn video editing, so your tip on using a proxy file might be what I do. I have NEVER edited video before, but it is about time I start.

 

[tkflyfisher7]

Honestly, the best advice someone ever told me was to have fun and enjoy what I do with my leisure time. I enjoyed learning about drones, their capabilities, etc prior to buying one. Once I bought one, practicing with it in a small area until I got confident with it. Now, all I do is have fun with it. I bring it all over with me, enjoy my time, and try to educate people about my drone and flying uavs when they ask questions. Simply put: HAVE FUN!