Are you a "good" drone pilot?

[Jay Pee]

Hi all,

Curiously, are you a "good" drone pilot? What makes you think so? What, why and how have you done to make yourself a "good" pilot?

I ask because 1) it would be great to hear what others have done/are doing to become "good" pilots, and 2) share some knowledge and experience with others on what they should do to become a "good" pilot, 3) there have a been a few threads ripping the dumb things that newbies do, with not a lot of explanation on what they should be doing.

Thanks!

 

[nix240z]

I think a "good" pilot is someone who does not panic when something goes wrong and you know what to do and how to work through it.

 

[Msw46]

Fly Safe and do a couse to improve flying skills

 

[Jay Pee]

I think a "good" pilot is someone who does not panic when something goes wrong and you know what to do and how to work through it.

I don't dispute what you're saying, not at all. What are those things that one should do, when something does go wrong? How does one train and prepare for such an event?

 

[N017RW]

This is no different than playing a Piano.

There's no short-cut. You need 'stick time'!

 

[Jay Pee]

This is no different than playing a Piano.

There's no short-cut. You need 'stick time'!

Right, but "stick time" doing what? I've done martial arts for YEARS, and we have a saying that, "perfect practice, makes perfect", but what is "perfect practice" in flying a drone? Practice doing what?

 

[Benjamin B.]

The same way you get to Carnegie Hall - practice, practice, practice! Many different people will offer many different types of advice. Preparing for loss of compass and GPS signal can be as simple as learning to fly proficiently in ATTI mode.

 

[flyNfrank]

I'm a good pilot because I successfully taught myself how to survive in 30+mph wind gust. I also did not argue the 3 times police came to my house due one unhappy neighbor. And, I registered my aircraft and placed the numbers like I was suppose to do. Plus I stopped 1 1/2yrs ago of making 4,000ft overhead flights.

 

[N017RW]

Practice landing, flying facing you (a.k.a. nose-in).

 

[Air Ontario]

Know the rules of flight, the regs and the weather, a veritable ground school type knowledge.

Preflight the correct things the same way every flight.

Fly, both GPS and Atti modes to gain proficiency.

Then do the same type program for the camera/video in order to gain skills.

 

[lookin4pain]

Right, but "stick time" doing what? I've done martial arts for YEARS, and we have a saying that, "perfect practice, makes perfect", but what is "perfect practice" in flying a drone? Practice doing what?

get a cheap quad copter and put some stick time in that, over water, distance where loss of signal will cause panic, flying facing in different directions and not using POV.

or use the simulator and you can get your "stick time"

I try to remember I'm not flying in a race. I'm moving a tripod around in the air to take some decent pics. If I wanted to race, I'd consider picking up one of these
Amazon.com: Horizon Blade Nano QX with Battery: Toys & Games

 

[Msw46]

I would also say concentrate on the flying 1st then master camera and video

 

[phantom1972]

I'm a good pilot because I successfully taught myself how to survive in 30+mph wind gust. I also did not argue the 3 times police came to my house due one unhappy neighbor. And, I registered my aircraft and placed the numbers like I was suppose to do. Plus I stopped 1 1/2yrs ago of making 4,000ft overhead flights.

What was the unhappy neighbor complaining about? You weren't looking in their teenage daughters bedroom window again were you? LOL

 

[John Locke]

Practice this:
1. Put a folding chair in a field and use it as a point of interest subject. Circle the chair in P-GPS mode and keep the chair in the center of the shot. Do this with different radius circles, from 15' to 50', but maintain the radius you're practicing. Fun stuff.

2. Then, once you master the POI manually, use the same chair and do a straight line flyby in P-GPS mode, however keep the chair in the shot after you pass it, flying backwards. Master the ability to fly a straight line during the flyby and maintain a constant speed. Master it flying slow and fast. Master it flying close to the chair during the flyby, about 10'.

All of this takes a while to learn, I constantly practice this to hone my skills.

If you master these maneuvers and the resulting videos are smooth and deliberate, you'll have a good start at being a good pilot.

 

[Wacker2611]

I think I'm an OK pilot, mainly because I learnt on various cheap quads which are essential to learn your orientation and how to handle wind. To be honest the one problem that I have with the Phantom is that it's actually quite boring to fly (because it's so good ) but I still love it due to what it can do. .....I hate this new trend for 'altitude hold' quads with barometers in them as it squeezes all the fun out of it. I've recently bought a 250 racer which has exposed me as the amateur that I am.

 

[Captain_Aaron]

I would like to think that I am becoming a "good" drone pilot. I think that there a few considerations:

1) How familiar are you with your bird? You should know the controls by heart. Have you actually read the manual? I am amazed at how little some drone owners know about their air craft. Practice is essential, too.

2) Have you practiced failure scenarios? What will you do if the video is lost, etc? Play with the RTH button, the settings, etc. Understand *exactly* what will happen when you need to call upon these features. Like other posters have said, know your bird and stay calm!

3) Abiding safety recommendations. Not operating the bird recklessly or in a way that could hurt property, people, animals or other air craft. "If it seems like it might be a bad idea, it probably is."

4) Be aware of your environment. Don't fly in such a way that will likely cause alarm and upset to others if you can avoid it. Be open about what you are doing if folks have questions so that they are not given the wrong idea. You can't please everyone but maintaining the right attitude is key.

5) Have some awareness of the mechanics of flight. Look at youtube videos on blade stall and transitional lift, etc.

I'm sure there are others but must my $.02

Aaron

 

[GoodnNuff]

Practice this:
1. Put a folding chair in a field and use it as a point of interest subject. Circle the chair in P-GPS mode and keep the chair in the center of the shot. Do this with different radius circles, from 15' to 50'.

2. Then, once you master the POI manually, use the same chair and do a straight line flyby in P-GPS mode, however keep the chair in the shot after you pass it, flying backwards. Master the ability to fly a straight line during the flyby and maintain a constant speed. Master it flying slow and fast. Master it flying close to the chair during the flyby, about 10'.

All of this takes a while to learn, I constantly practice this to hone my skills.

If you master these maneuvers you'll have a good start at being a good pilot.

Great Advice. I think everyone needs to be able to fly in a circle, a square, and a figure 8 as well.
And master landing.

 

[lookin4pain]

And master landing.

or hand catching

 

[GoodnNuff]

or hand catching

Anyone can hand catch. Seems many are challenged by actually landing. Landing takes a bit of skill, hand catching takes a bit of coordination. A good pilot has mastered both, IMO.

 

[eaglegoaltender]

Practice makes perfect - or so I thought - however there is a big difference between "good practice" and just "practice" and perfection, hmm what is that?

I read all I can more than once - I keep a binder of notable findings I uncover online (including here on this site) regarding flight etc. - I check out "first flight " videos and "multiple flight videos" and "near misses" or "fly-aways".

I have combined all of the above and continue with "good practice".

I took a "Ground School Course" at a local airport flight school that offered a UAV course on everything (most) there is to know from maintaining, operating, knowing and understanding not only the UAV but to include the RC, along with plenty of "do's and don'ts" related to same.

When completed, an exam is handed out where you must score 60% minimum to help with obtaining what Transport Canada calls an RFOC (restricted flight operations certificate),an RC license and certificate of completion of the course ( I learned a heck of a lot with this course).

I now say "good practice makes near perfect". Tough as it is, remaining calm and knowing what to do "next" in the event of whatever the issue might be when in the air is paramount in order to call myself a "decent UAV pilot"!

My $.02 to go along with Aaron's - that makes $.04 worth so far........