Just make sure you viewed and understood all the video's, get to a wide open field and fly!! For every crash there are thousands of uneventful flights............. Have Fun!Admittedly, I am just expecting my P3A to arrive any day but darned if I'm not afraid to even put the bird in the air after everything I'm reading in this blog.
First, there seems to be a plethora of contributors, new or seasoned flyers, that are experiencing cracks in their plastic around the screws. For the most part, I'm not concerned about that. It seems the problem is recognized and DJI is being accountable. The downside is simply the hassle of RMA and time lost. It is what it is.
Second, regarding firmware and updates and P3's dropping out of the air. Holy mackerel DJI!! I've read a lot of these posts by diehard, loyal and often seasoned pilots that are losing control of their P3's lately. For me, a new pilot, it seems like the incidence is way too big to ignore and frankly, has me scared to even fly my new bird until I feel others from the community feel as though things are fixed. That's just terrible to feel that way so I hope you're on top of this DJI bc if I'm feeling this way and writing about it then there's 10 more enthusiasts out there that feel the same way and are sitting on the proverbial fence!!!
Thank you, to this Phantom Pilot community, for posting all of the relevant personal experiences, good, bad and indifferent. The material is very important and I appreciate all of the details!
DJI...you just shouldn't have a community of pilots worried about flying their quads. It's bad for business. So hopefully you're all wrestling with the problems so that we can all return to being confident our P3's will fly above the earth and return to terra firma safely! Thank you!!!
DJI: New P3A Purchaser AFRAID to Fly!
- Thread starter McVenturesRC
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Just make sure you viewed and understood all the video's, get to a wide open field and fly!! For every crash there are thousands of uneventful flights............. Have Fun!
Great advice. I finally got a break in the clouds today and flew my new P3A for the first time. Nervous as heck but I took everyone's suggestions and returned safe and sound and of course was a blast. I appreciate your advice on mastering different patterns. That's my next goal.
McVenturesRC
Start slowly, be careful, and you'll gain confidence in the craft and in yourself.
Here's an example over lakes and hills....
Start slowly, be careful, and you'll gain confidence in the craft and in yourself.
Here's an example over lakes and hills....
Go fly and have fun. Everyone was nervous at some point. Develop a good pre-flight check list and run through it before you fly every time.
After reading all these posts I guess I was a bit eager when I received my P3P. It was raining and already dark when I unpacked it.
So.... My first flight was inside my house! But I don't fly indoors anymore.
So.... My first flight was inside my house! But I don't fly indoors anymore.
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Ha congratulations on your first step in joining in on drone world. Its a little scary but a controlled scary if you follow the setup rules with due diligence. This is my third DJI bird and only because of step ups in progress to technology. I started with the Phantom 2 vision+ two years ago and the only crash I had was my fault, I got to close to some trees and down I went, $500 later (broken camera and gimbal & two broken props) I'm up and flying (sold that last year).
Then the Inspire 1 popped up and I got it, back into the learning curve I went. First flight (10 seconds) crash, the warranty covered the replacement parts and labor. This is where the issues with the IMU surfaced (important calibrate) and firmware upgrade check, two must does. No more crashes. Then came the Phantom 3 Professional yes I brought it and no crashes because I learned from the other two birds what and what not to do, I maintain the two later drones now.
As a new-be find a vacant field flat with no trees and hopefully no spectators. spectators make you take chances you wouldn't normally. Before your first flight do a IMU calibration and before each flight do a compass calibration. Learn the remote controls (ups and downs) and how to read the error messages if any. Pay more attention visually to the drone then the remote visual (important). Remember your drone doesn't know what a telephone wire, tree, building or other obstacle is in its way. When you use the "Return To Home" function and you will, pay attention to elevation (important). After a few flights you'll start trusting your drone more and then comes the fun.
Enjoy. Hope this helps !
Check your compass mod before every flight . Only calibrate your compass if your mod numbers fall outside of 450-550 . 500 is the magic number so you want it as close to that as possible . Only calibrate when necessary there's no point in risking introducing a bad compass calibration . I probably only calibrate once every 2 months or so. Don't take off near or on top of metal objects . If your bird is acting weird switch to atti mode and get it home as quick and as safe as possible .
the heck with all these old timers I am a 1 monther here. had it for just a month. flown 4 times. OK now - I suggest look up on DJI A newbie Flight class from DJI and take one - great confidence builder. I was terrified too x2 * we have 2 pro's . Second PUT IT ON BEGINNER ! you go only go 300 ft in any direction period. Practice, practice ,practice.
And I totally agree with the above be in an open field no wires trees etc. Make sure you do your compass every time. also what helped me is watch a crap load of youtubes of what to do and what not to do.
get over you nerves and go fly ! its so much fun !
And I totally agree with the above be in an open field no wires trees etc. Make sure you do your compass every time. also what helped me is watch a crap load of youtubes of what to do and what not to do.
get over you nerves and go fly ! its so much fun !
Start researching area to fly. My first flight there was too man people around and it was only 1 acre. I was terrified and shut the bird down right away and went home thinking I made a bad purchase. The next day I found 10 open acres to fly in. I'm hooked and confident now. Try looking for open space on Yelp or a farmers field if you live in the Midwest. It's super important to have excessive space your first few flights so when you make mistakes you don't have to worry about hitting anything. In a few flights you'll feel confident.
Have been flying the Phantoms for over a year. Yep have had a couple of minor crashes due to depth perception. Other than that have had hundreds of fantastic, cheek tightening flights. With all electronics their is alway chance of a failure but sitting there looking at is you have failed already. Go fly and enjoy the experience. Get some really good videos and you'll be hooked. They say their are over a million and a half of these things in the air in a year so younarenhearing only the bad side. I could tell you the beauty of hundreds of successful flight but those are not as interesting as someone flying off or hitting a building or tree. That's less than the10% figure. Go fly and enjoy.
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I hear you about hesitating to fly. My P3P is about a month old, and I've flown it four times, all near my home.
I was inspired to buy mine by a couple of brothers who were on my dive trip boat in Indonesia in September, who made a video combining air, land, and underwater, best watched full-screen with headphones.
Start small in an open area. Try the Return to Home button when you're near there with no obstacles between you and it. For beginners, use the left-joystick hold-down 3 second stop option over a clear area; not the two-stick instant stop-pull-center down one to kill the props..
I'm almost 75 and never played video games, so my vids are mostly one control at a time. If I can do it, so can you. That's what video editing is for! For PC, I like Vegas Movie Studio version 12 for up to 1080p. You may need later versions for 4k. Research it. Very affordable. The platinum version is great. Skip the suite if you're not going to produce DVD multiples or get fancy with sound. The options in the Movie Studio Platinum are enough for most.
Now get out and have fun, but always obey all safety regs, and don't make it harder for all the rest of us to enjoy our hobby.
I was inspired to buy mine by a couple of brothers who were on my dive trip boat in Indonesia in September, who made a video combining air, land, and underwater, best watched full-screen with headphones.
Start small in an open area. Try the Return to Home button when you're near there with no obstacles between you and it. For beginners, use the left-joystick hold-down 3 second stop option over a clear area; not the two-stick instant stop-pull-center down one to kill the props..
I'm almost 75 and never played video games, so my vids are mostly one control at a time. If I can do it, so can you. That's what video editing is for! For PC, I like Vegas Movie Studio version 12 for up to 1080p. You may need later versions for 4k. Research it. Very affordable. The platinum version is great. Skip the suite if you're not going to produce DVD multiples or get fancy with sound. The options in the Movie Studio Platinum are enough for most.
Now get out and have fun, but always obey all safety regs, and don't make it harder for all the rest of us to enjoy our hobby.
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Personally, I rarely do compass calibrations. I just have a quick look at the mod value (if I remember) before a flight, if it looks OK, I go. The only compass problems I've had have been my fault, ie moving the phantom after its warmed up (a no no) and (I can laugh now) putting it on the passenger seat of the car with it still turned on to mess with the app setting. It went absolutely haywire, and I was lucky to able to switch it quickly to atti and get it landed before it gave someone a haircut they didn't need.
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I've flown about 7 flights with my P3A, some around 1,600' away. Nothing crazy. The bird flies great and the rc is great. I have gained confidence in the hardware flying. Yesterday was the first time I had a full app disconnect while 350' out and 150' up. I was able to fly no problem, but the app took about 30 seconds to come back online. This would not be the greatest of situations for a new flier. I lack confidence mostly in the app. I won't get into details, but my air 2 has been a great device for flying and I'm fully up to speed on the quirks people are reporting,to this end. Now it happened to me. I actually suspect it's the short 3rd party lightening cable. In any case, there's legitimate reason to be cautious and remain cautious at all times. You're really only as good as your ability to recover from a problem. Problem free flights are wonderful and they do help to build confidence. But be aware that especially with this product, you will run into problem situations. It's inevitable. Don't fear flying, but never lose respect for it or take it for granted all will be well always. That keeps you honest and more responsible up there.
Can't agree more, not everyone has bad experiences. I have the P3P and use an Ipad Mini 2 (not cellular) with all the latest firmware upgrades. My first flight was at an open field to get used to the feel of it as I had NEVER flown a Quadcopter/Drone before and when I was onto the second battery I was flying it 300ft up and 800ft away and taking some great video and photos. All I can say is do your homework and do a Maiden flight and take time to familiarise yourself with the controls and the handling, when you've done that that's when the fun begins.
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