Hours until you feel proficient?

[Richard R]

Even the most experienced pilots can get into trouble when they lose situation awareness (SA). It will rarely be the tree in front of you that eats your bird (don't ask how I know!). I soloed in 15 hours when getting my private ticket, but still had and have a lot to learn. Same with flying these birds. Like the others have said there are so many things that you really need to be aware of and keep track of in order to fly safely. By the time you have run through a couple of batteries, you should have the basic skills to fly a phantom. But even after 100's of hours, it only takes one mental lapse to wipe you out! Like the saying goes "it only takes one o'sh@&@t to wipe out a hundred ataboys!"

 

[Meta4]

How frequently do they crash on their own for no apparent reason?

I'm tempted to say ... only once.
But a better answer is that the Phantoms are very reliable and very rarely crash for no apparent reason.

I thought that the Pro 4 would indicate when it was time to return with enough battery reserve? Also, is it difficult to see the white phantom at that distance against the sky back ground or would I need binoculars?

It does but it doesn't take into account how far you are or the wind speed, it will tell you the battery is getting low and you need to land soon but it doesn't tell you that since you are X amount of miles away that you need to return at a certain point.

The programming in the Go app does take distance from home into account as well as battery level.
Low battery RTH will trigger sooner if you are out at a distance than if your Phantom is nearby.
Watch the little yellow H on the green/yellow/red timeline near the top of the screen.
You have to factor in the influence of wind for your self.

 

[Teamfour]

I believe he is referring to the fact that Part 107 requires recurrent testing every 24 months. The regs don't expire, but your certification does!




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I believe the Part 107 cert is valid for three years.


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[bischofftep]

I believe the Part 107 cert is valid for three years.

From the Part 107 Advisory Circular:

6.7.2 Recurrent Training Course.
After a pilot receives a remote pilot certificate with an sUAS rating, that person must retain and periodically update the required aeronautical knowledge to continue to operate a small UA in the NAS. As a renewal process, the remote pilot must complete either a recurrent training course or a recurrent knowledge test within 24 calendar months of passing either an initial or recurrent aeronautical knowledge test.

Hope this helps!