I got the drone, now what ?

[snamvar57]

I bought a P4P from eBay on impulse and loving it. I am a software engineer, so read most of the manual, updated the firmware, watched lots of videos on YouTube and read so much on the message boards that's ridiculous. Information overload to the max,
Besides flying it indoors, I have filed it once in my front yard for about 20 minutes. Too much distraction from neighbors.
I live in San Francisco Bay Area/South bay/San Jose and went to Sunnyvale Bayland park with a friend during weekday just to watch others flying their Magic pro etc. it was not too crowded and the permitted flying area is clearly marked. The only issue is it can be somewhat windy as it is next to the bay.
What do I need to do to progress faster ? Classes? Meetup groups? RC clubs ? I do have some fear of having it too far etc.
Thanks in advance.
-Sam

 

[skellyrocker]

I had the same fear to start with. Just keep going at your own pace and you'll soon be flying further out. Fly however is most comfortable and then just go a little further out each time. As your confidence and experience grow you'll soon be at max VLOS.

 

[Deleted member 62848]

I bought a P4P from eBay on impulse and loving it. I am a software engineer, so read most of the manual, updated the firmware, watched lots of videos on YouTube and read so much on the message boards that's ridiculous. Information overload to the max,
Besides flying it indoors, I have filed it once in my front yard for about 20 minutes. Too much distraction from neighbors.
I live in San Francisco Bay Area/South bay/San Jose and went to Sunnyvale Bayland park with a friend during weekday just to watch others flying their Magic pro etc. it was not too crowded and the permitted flying area is clearly marked. The only issue is it can be somewhat windy as it is next to the bay.
What do I need to do to progress faster ? Classes? Meetup groups? RC clubs ? I do have some fear of having it too far etc.
Thanks in advance.
-Sam

Nothing wrong with backyard if you got backyard all those small flights good confidence booster to prevent mishaps from distraction like people,,,also good practice,,then when your off flying it looks good !,also good knowledge to read over,,learn and pic up heaps from this forum to,,,more you know can help when things go bad,,like most I been flying for years but still learning today,,happy flying

 

[Meta4]

Besides flying it indoors, I have filed it once in my front yard for about 20 minutes. Too much distraction from neighbors.
What do I need to do to progress faster ? Classes? Meetup groups? RC clubs ? I do have some fear of having it too far etc.

The Phantom is very easy to fly and doesn't take long to learn the basics.
There are 100 things that can go wrong and it takes a while to understand them and how to make sure they don't happen to you.
Don't get too adventurous too early and you'll be fine.
Don't try flying indoors yet. Do your early flying outdoors in a large open area, well away from trees, buildings and other obstacles.
RTH is possibly the most important section of the manual and is particularly worth studying.
When you've read and understood it, go and practice (in a large open area etc) so you know how it works and how to use it and how to cancel RTH and resume control.

 

[snamvar57]

Thank you. I learnt the hard way that P4P is not meant to be flown indoors. Even though it hovers nice and steady in an open area indoors, I crashed it to the ceiling. Classic beginner scenario I guess. One leg became limb a bit, but all working. Fixed it with some scotch tape.
This is one of the more expensive drones out there. Should I buy a cheaper drone and practice first before using P4P ?
I think it is like learning to ride a bicycle or drive a car. Learn and understand the basics, practice and practice.
Cheers

 

[JockC]

I bought a P4P from eBay on impulse and loving it. I am a software engineer, so read most of the manual, updated the firmware, watched lots of videos on YouTube and read so much on the message boards that's ridiculous. Information overload to the max,
Besides flying it indoors, I have filed it once in my front yard for about 20 minutes. Too much distraction from neighbors.
I live in San Francisco Bay Area/South bay/San Jose and went to Sunnyvale Bayland park with a friend during weekday just to watch others flying their Magic pro etc. it was not too crowded and the permitted flying area is clearly marked. The only issue is it can be somewhat windy as it is next to the bay.
What do I need to do to progress faster ? Classes? Meetup groups? RC clubs ? I do have some fear of having it too far etc.
Thanks in advance.
-Sam

You should try up around the Steven's Creek Reservoir (near Sunnyvale). I think that would make for some interesting photography.

 

[Providian623]

Congratulations on your purchase. It's a learning experience every time I fly. Like everything else, the more you fly, the better you skills become. Read as much of the forum as you can. There are some great people here who have had numerous experiences and are more than willing to share. They are also great at figuring out what went wrong on a crash (hopefully you never experience one).

 

[snamvar57]

Thanks. I want to start outdoors in a field, so I can land easily or recover the drone in case of a crash. I read that P4P does not always detect the water underneath correctly, do it could hit the water. I like to get to the point where I can fly over Lake Tahoe. That would be awesome.

 

[Richard R]

Yes, water can confuse the VPS, but it only works up to about 10 meters. And I'm willing to bet that you will be flying a lot higher than that over Tahoe. The barometric altitude sensor doesn't really care what is below it, it's strictly pressure. Just remember that the altitude shown in any app is the height above the starting or Home location not the height above the ground directly below the bird. So watch out for any terrain elevation changes.

 

[msinger]

Should I buy a cheaper drone and practice first before using P4P?
I think it is like learning to ride a bicycle or drive a car.

You got it. You could be a pro at riding a bike, but still have absolutely no idea how to drive a car. It would be better to practice with your P4P since that's what you're trying to learn. Fly in a wide open location with no obstacles. At that point, you'll only be able to crash into the ground. While possible, it's not easily done.

I read that P4P does not always detect the water underneath correctly, do it could hit the water. I like to get to the point where I can fly over Lake Tahoe.

You shouldn't have a problem doing this if you're not flying close to the surface of the water. When high up in the air, it's no different than flying over solid ground.

 

[Sprtbkryder]

Whatever you fixed with tape I think I would just go ahead and replace the part.

 

[snamvar57]

Hi Sprtbryder,
Good point you brought up. I just tried to show the damage by posting photos here and realized I can't. After I crashed it inside by hitting the ceiling, I picked it up and noticed that the pieces under the joints right below the front and real sensor have popped out on one side and that side legs are stretched further outside. I could see the wires under the clips that had popped out. There was no damage to the wiring or body. I placed the popped plastic clips back in place and tried to move the side legs inwards and have them click in place. But it did not click in place. I wanted to keep the popped clips in place and secured with top and bottom part of the joint. Scotch tape was one of the answers. I was thinking of stapling it in place, but did not want to damage the wiring beneath the joints.
Any idea as to have a better more permanent fix ?
Thanks.

 

[John Locke]

Things you should master before getting too adventurous:
1. Reverse navigation (left and right is backwards when craft is point at you) so it becomes second nature
2. RTH. Understand how to enable it, and disable it to take back control. Do this 20 times so you know it well.
3. Setting RTH height specific to your surroundings when flying.
4. Battery gauge. Understand what the warnings do and how to set them to your preference. Set to 40% for the first month so it goes off all the time while you fly.
5. Locate and watch the signal strength meters all the time. Watch them closely so you know when you're getting on the fringe of range capability.
6. Learn to fly. Take off manually, land manually. Use the simulator to help.

 

[Sprtbkryder]

Hi Sprtbryder,
Good point you brought up. I just tried to show the damage by posting photos here and realized I can't. After I crashed it inside by hitting the ceiling, I picked it up and noticed that the pieces under the joints right below the front and real sensor have popped out on one side and that side legs are stretched further outside. I could see the wires under the clips that had popped out. There was no damage to the wiring or body. I placed the popped plastic clips back in place and tried to move the side legs inwards and have them click in place. But it did not click in place. I wanted to keep the popped clips in place and secured with top and bottom part of the joint. Scotch tape was one of the answers. I was thinking of stapling it in place, but did not want to damage the wiring beneath the joints.
Any idea as to have a better more permanent fix ?
Thanks.

I would need to see a pic to know what to tell you.

 

[gingerbloke]

I bought a Hubsan Q4 before I flew my first phantom (2v3) and I reckon playing with that saved me £££
If you can hover and fly a Q4 indoors, backwards, circling,etc the move up to a Phantom (which holds altitude for you and is much more stable) will be very easy, which frees up your mind for all the modes/RTH/etc

 

[snamvar57]

Thanks for your inputs. After realizing how the landing gear are connected to the body (screw) of P4P, I have purchased the landing gear from eBay to replace it. There are couple of videos on YouTube on that.
I have purchased a Syma X5C-1 to practice manual flying. I also like to learn the the more advanced and fun features of P4P. The drone pretty much does everything by itself. Just have to learn to set everything up correctly. Have to know all different RTH sequences etc. I can do the two in parallel. Autonomous flying sounds amazing.
Any idea as how Autopilot compares to Litchi ?
Litchi for iOS can be bought with Litchi for dji Oasmo for $5 cheaper bought individually. Do I need the latter ?
Thanks.

 

[DanMan32]

The X5C is a nice quad. I regretted trading up to an X5SW which I find less stable. That was just before my dad offered to get me a P3 for Christmas where we got a deal for a P3A package. I love flying both, but I have more opportunities with the P3 since it can fly just fine in moderate winds. They're just different, probably like driving a car Vs a motorcycle.
Enjoy, move at your own pace but don't be afraid to venture out.
When in doubt about accidents, fly above the obstacles.
Of course at least once flying up is exactly what got me in trouble.[emoji6]