First Timer from Cincinnati, OH

[kdearduff]

After a lot of user manual reading, youtube video viewing, and forum post browsing, I finally got my P3A in the air yesterday. In a steady wind of about 10mph, with gusts over 20mph, I was shocked at the stability of the quadcopter. Right from the initial ascent, the quad immediately changed its pitch into the wind to maintain its position. It was very cool to hear the motors speeding up and down to keep everything in balance. I've never flown any kind of flying r/c (besides a cheap toy plane I had/crashed back when I was a kid) prior to owning the P3A, but flying it was extremely easy and satisfying. I had practiced a bit in the DJI GO simulator, and had changed the thumbstick layout to an orientation that felt more intuitive for me. I believe this helped flatten the learning curve. Capturing quality video while in motion will take some time, I'm sure, but I am very pleased at how easy I found the quadcopter to maneuver after only a single, 12ish minute flight. Below is the gear I have purchased to date. I don't see myself needing much else for a while, except maybe a third battery. Hello to all, and thank you for your forum contributions. I have found a lot of great information here!

 

[dirkclod]

Welcome to the forum kdearduff
Nice looking layout ya have there.
Fly safe .

 

[gegetrane]

Yeah, welcome. 3rd battery is real nice

 

[Chris Mullins]

Hey KD, another new Cinci flyer here. Don't actually HAVE my P3A yet (scheduled for Thursday from Amazon) but on pins and needles in anticipation. So far I've only flown the smaller Hubsan and Syma varieties.

So how has it been flying in southwest Ohio? Any fav spots? People distrustful?

When flying my Hubsan or Syma in West Chester, I get varying reactions from fascination to disgust (because clearly I'm only doing this to catch sunbathing women in the dead of Winter). Which is odd since most everyone in WC works for GE or PnG in some capacity or anything.

Curious as to your experiences thus far.

 

[kdearduff]

I've only had it out three times to date, on days when warm weather has blown in. I have found it shockingly easy to fly, even in very strong winds. I've flown each time in the neighborhood my folks live in, as it is somewhat in the country, and each lot is a minimum of 5 acres. I haven't flown with beginner mode disabled, but most likely will on my next flight. There are only about 10 houses in my parents' neighborhood, but several neighbors have driven by while I was flying. Everyone seems curious, with most stopping their car to watch for a minute or two. All smiles and friendly waves, no scorns or anything like that. The neighbors keep to themselves for the most part, so these aren't people I, nor my parents, really know at all.

I did setup my thumbstick controls with a custom setting that works very well for me. My right thumbstick: up = ascent, down = descent, right = rotate clockwise, left = rotate counter-clockwise. Left thumbstick: up = forward, down = backward, right = strafe right, left = strafe left

The only issue I have had is that one of my two batteries doesn't seem to want to charge up to 100% sometimes. After charging until all 4 lights were green and the battery turned off, I plugged it into the quad only to find it was at 47%. I had to put it back on the charger to get it to 100%. This has happened a few times. The other battery always charges to 100% with no issues. I have also learned to not fly between about 1pm and 4pm on account of the sun. It makes it really hard to see the quad, and nearly impossible to see the ipad screen on the controller, even with a hood.

Hope this helps!

 

[Chris Mullins]

Any interest in flying together? Been a few weeks and I've got a few flights under my belt. Would be nice to know someone in the same metro area with similar interests.