First Quad flight - Remove Camera?

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I saw on you-tube a post saying that if you are a novice, first time flyer of a Quad-copter (I am) that you should remove the camera and gimbal from the Vision + before flying it for the first time while becoming familiar with the controls, the lights and just learning to control the aircraft. It is to be expected that a new pilot (me) will crash the Phantom the first few times out. I'd hate to break the camera/gimbal while learning! This makes sense to me, but is it a good idea? I am waiting for my new Vision + to be delivered and will be flying it for the first time this week. What do you think?
 
FiremistSLK said:
I saw on you-tube a post saying that if you are a novice, first time flyer of a Quad-copter (I am) that you should remove the camera and gimbal from the Vision + before flying it for the first time while becoming familiar with the controls, the lights and just learning to control the aircraft. It is to be expected that a new pilot (me) will crash the Phantom the first few times out. I'd hate to break the camera/gimbal while learning! This makes sense to me, but is it a good idea? I am waiting for my new Vision + to be delivered and will be flying it for the first time this week. What do you think?

Better to just fly it as it is.
My mate flew his for the first time without having ever flown anything and managed just fine including taking off and landing.
 
FiremistSLK said:
I saw on you-tube a post saying that if you are a novice, first time flyer of a Quad-copter (I am) that you should remove the camera and gimbal from the Vision + before flying it for the first time while becoming familiar with the controls, the lights and just learning to control the aircraft. It is to be expected that a new pilot (me) will crash the Phantom the first few times out. I'd hate to break the camera/gimbal while learning! This makes sense to me, but is it a good idea? I am waiting for my new Vision + to be delivered and will be flying it for the first time this week. What do you think?

All I have to say about the post you saw on youtube is that it is crap.... why would DJI mount the gimbal and camera in the first place instead of having it as a separate boxed item like the FC40.
A good read of the manual will describe to a beginner how to become familiar with the bird...
It will also advise how to make your first few flights to become comfortable flying and what it is capable of.

These birds are really easy to fly even if you are a novice. If you have a good satellite lock all you have to do is give it a bit of stick to take of and once the bird is high enough to not be affected by ground affect you can just put down the controller and it will stay put until the batteries run down and land by itself...
 
I got my feet wet with a "cheap Quad" that my son gave me for fathers day. I think it cost about $65.00. It even included a small camera for that price. It was strickley manual flying which is what you want to learn with. I loved it so much that I wore it out. Then I bought my vision plus. I still managed to crash it and break my camera. But the fault came from not fully understanding the operating system on the Phantom, not from lack of control skills.
I think I would vote for removing the camera until you understand the bird and feel comfortable with it,s many unique characteristics. New gimble/camera,s are about $675.00. Rarely can they be repaired after a serious crash.
Just my opinion for what it,s worth.
 
But your gains will probably need adjusted if you do
 
FiremistSLK said:
I saw on you-tube a post saying that if you are a novice, first time flyer of a Quad-copter (I am) that you should remove the camera and gimbal from the Vision + before flying it for the first time while becoming familiar with the controls, the lights and just learning to control the aircraft. It is to be expected that a new pilot (me) will crash the Phantom the first few times out. I'd hate to break the camera/gimbal while learning! This makes sense to me, but is it a good idea? I am waiting for my new Vision + to be delivered and will be flying it for the first time this week. What do you think?

The time spent removing, and possibly damaging, the camera/gimbal assembly would be best spent fully reading the manual a few times until you thoroughly understanding the aircraft. Make a pre-flight checklist and follow it. Understand what the LED codes mean, and make sure you understand how to regain manual control should the aircraft go into RTH or Auto-Land modes. When you first fly, FLY SLOWLY, and do the basic flight training exercises in the manual. Altitude is your friend, so stay higher than the highest object so you don't inadvertently crash into things. As you become familiar with the aircraft's responses to your inputs, you will gain confidence.
 
Did the youtube video tell you that if you remove the camera/gimbal you will lose all telemetry.
That would have you flying without instruments.
No idea of satellites, battery level, speed, height, distance, direction.
These things are important flying and learning and make it easier.
Hard to see why anyone would advocate crippling a Phantom like that.

What you need to do is (after lots of reading to understand how the Phantom works) find a clear, open area, well away from trees and buildings and fly.
Avoid doing anything too adventurous - take it easy and gain experience.
As for learning on a cheaper bird - the Phantom is easier to fly than anything else you could get.
Save the $$ for spare props or a decent case.
 
Removing and reinstalling the gimbal is a bit of a PITA and you could damage the gimbal if you're not careful however the gimbal will be safer if it is on the bench instead of mounted on the Phantom in case of a crash so in the end your call.
FYI gains don't need to be adjusted, the unit will be more responsive and you'll get longer flight times out of the battery if you fly without Gimbal. Magnetic compass will need to be calibrated since the permanent magnetic distortions change if the gimbal is removed or reinstalled.
Telemetry is a luxury option item and the Phantom can be flown safely without it. Just pay attention to the relevant LED indications/codes.
 
I would highly recommend removing the gimbal for the first few tanks of gas. You do not risk hurting the camera/gimbal. I have seen out of the box, small crash during testing, subsequently gimbal starting doing the Irish jig. Anon-warranty repair here in NY is $739.
 
What's wrong with an Irish jig eh? Lol

Sent from Samsung S4 via Tapatalk
 
Meta4 said:
Did the youtube video tell you that if you remove the camera/gimbal you will lose all telemetry.
That would have you flying without instruments.
No idea of satellites, battery level, speed, height, distance, direction.

I am flying my P2V+ now without my Gimbal and Camera. Not by choice of course. Its because the Gimbal & Camera have been sent for repairs.

I can tell you that No Gimbal & Camera = No Wifi = No Vision App

No Vision App = "No idea of satellites, battery level, speed, height, distance, direction." Also no radar position or FPV.

It sucks!!

I have to constantly keep close watch on the bird to make sure the Green LEDs don't turn yellow mid-flight as that means I have lost GPS fix...
 
Hi

I read your post about removing the camera for initial flight. I have already crashed mine and broken the gimbal. I now want to take the camera and gimbal off but with it off, when I try power it up, the battery lights merely go off again without initialising the craft. Is there something I am missing that I need to do to remove the camera and get it going again? Please help.

Kind Regards
Mark
 
memaus03 said:
Hi

I read your post about removing the camera for initial flight. I have already crashed mine and broken the gimbal. I now want to take the camera and gimbal off but with it off, when I try power it up, the battery lights merely go off again without initialising the craft. Is there something I am missing that I need to do to remove the camera and get it going again? Please help.

Kind Regards
Mark

Try another battery.
Plug in PC and do advanced IMU when cold.
Try taking off on a cardboard box
you could have a broken GPS
 
Here's an update.... First of all, many THANKS to all who responded to my question.... "First Quad Flight - Remove camera?" Well, as most of you suggested, I did NOT remove the gimbal and camera. I did not want to loose the telemetry if I did, so I just took it SLOW... Lift off from a solid surface, climb to 10 feet, rotate left, rotate right, move left, move right, etc. Then I flew square patterns and landed it a few times. Then with the later flights, I tested the S2 HOME mode and the xmitter power off RTH mode. All worked flawlessly! My confidence in the aircraft and myself has improved each day. I agree with all who said this aircraft is super easy to fly. IT IS! So just do as everyone says. Before your first flight..... READ THE MANUAL from cover to cover.... TWICE... Learn the meaning of the light signals on the Phantom and how to interpret them. Then go out and fly it. Thanks to all for the good advise..... John
 
Whether you remove it or not, I'd strongly suggest you install some kind of gimbal protection: a shield that mounts at the bottom of the landing gear to help prevent physical intrusion into that space, and/or a bracket that mounts to the gimbal arm to help prevent physical separation at the gimbal's weak point (the roll motor). When the gimbal separates, it will usually break the vital flex cable.
 
Okay.... I can understand this logic of preventing intrusion into the gimbal space or a bracket that mounts to the gimbal arm. Do you know of any such brackets? Does anyone make these for our Phantoms?
 
Try Djiphantomfix.com. I got it after seeing it reviewed by Simon Newton. The chap who sells them is an ok dude and on the ball with his service. I've fitted mine, it's about 4 grams, peanuts, and it doesn't bother the gimbal at all. Whether it works, well, we won't know until that fateful day, but I prefer not ever having to find out.
 

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