I'm Nervous!

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Hey folks. Got the P4 three weeks ago and have flown twice. Once just to test it out. To be honest, I am a bit nervous. I am not a spring chicken and don't have the coordination some of you younger people have. My son has a P3 Standard and loves it. He can whip that thing around and do maneuvers which are pretty stunning (to me anyway); though he is away at school so no help there. I do have the ability to fly in open areas, though it will not always be that way as the purchase was pretty much to photograph commercial construction projects our company is involved in. I did video then frame capture a project (my second flight) and I was scared every time that drone flew 200 yards to one end of the project! The owner of the project was so impressed by the photos, not my flying, he took them and sent them to his whole family! His ego was stoked and stroked LOL, so it made me feel good.
But hey, to stay on track, long winded that I am. Suggestions? How to gain confidence? Does the obstacle avoidance really help? It's been kind of cold and a bit windy (10-15mph around here) though I guess 10-15mph is not much? Thanks.
 
Just keep doing what you are doing and push it a little more as you get comfortable. I was the same, at about 400-500 feet I'd get worried, then one day I went to 1300 feet away and suddenly 500 feet feels like nothing anymore. Over 1500 has me worried but I'm not planning on flying long distances much beyond that anyway.
 
DroneP4 I am no spring chicken either and I fly my little electronic pet all over. You will get used to it.

Look at it this way, by the time we are old enough to be worried about these drones, we can afford to trot out and buy a replacement before any of our family and friends starts asking embarrassing questions. Just saying....:).
 
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Hey folks. Got the P4 three weeks ago and have flown twice. Once just to test it out. To be honest, I am a bit nervous. I am not a spring chicken and don't have the coordination some of you younger people have. My son has a P3 Standard and loves it. He can whip that thing around and do maneuvers which are pretty stunning (to me anyway); though he is away at school so no help there. I do have the ability to fly in open areas, though it will not always be that way as the purchase was pretty much to photograph commercial construction projects our company is involved in. I did video then frame capture a project (my second flight) and I was scared every time that drone flew 200 yards to one end of the project! The owner of the project was so impressed by the photos, not my flying, he took them and sent them to his whole family! His ego was stoked and stroked LOL, so it made me feel good.
But hey, to stay on track, long winded that I am. Suggestions? How to gain confidence? Does the obstacle avoidance really help? It's been kind of cold and a bit windy (10-15mph around here) though I guess 10-15mph is not much? Thanks.
Take heart! I am a 62 year old female (long time photographer) who is in your shoes. I got so nervous flying, I thought I would never get out of beginner mode! Now, I am flying 2000-3000 feet at 200 feet altitude. I will give you "private link" (non public youtube link) so you can see for yourself.

My experience was thus: First, after learning to fly the thing. Try as I might, I NEVER FELT CONFIDENT JUST USING MY PHONE TO SEE where the aircraft was (I didn't think a tablet would be much better). Too. Many. problems! Tilted gimbal, gimbal pointed at the ground....I really thought I was sell my P4.

Then I ran across two things: the concept of FPV (first person view) and flying with FPV goggles. IT MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE in the world. I have two sets: Headplays, and now Flysights. I love the Headplays, but I find I'm using the FlySights more because they are portable. Note: You must mod the remote control to accept HDMI ($100, and not that hard to do). Totally worth it.

Another thing that helped me was a skin on my remote controller that told me what the controls were. Next, I'd recommend landing gear and gimbal guard (I'm using Polar Pro--filters, guards, etc).

Once i was comfortable flying with FPV goggles, my confidence began to soar (and I began to truly enjoy flying). One day I got up and just put on my goggles, and got up my courage and went for a long flight (at 140 feet), and I just sucked up my anxiety. And oh, what a glorious day I had. No, it's not very interesting to watch, but I am VERY proud of myself for trying it. Then the winter came, and not so many opportunities.

Stay in "P" mode, but get out of beginner mode when you feel safe enough. (open area) Fly it a little more each time (higher, faster). Try going sideways, backwards. In P mode I've gotten it up to 23 mph.

Here is the footage:

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I'm not making the video public because I don't need my neighbors seeing it , but my family and friends love it.

I now have many many more cuts of video as I fly more and more. I learn something new each time I fly, (not always good), but the video is absolutely worth it.


Don't give up--not yet.
 
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Look at it this way, by the time we are old enough to be worried about these drones, we can afford to trot out and buy a replacement before any of our family and friends starts asking embarrassing questions. Just saying....:).
Haha, that's my plan. Quick trip to Best Buy using my business credit card and no one (including the wife unit) will be any the wiser ;)
 
Then I ran across two things: the concept of FPV (first person view) and flying with FPV goggles. IT MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE in the world. I have two sets: Headplays, and now Flysights. I love the Headplays, but I find I'm using the FlySights more because they are portable. Note: You must mod the remote control to accept HDMI ($100, and not that hard to do). Totally worth it.
I don't use goggles but in some ways your story is similar to mine. I started with a phone then went to a big tablet. Over 20-30 or so flights I gradually built more and more trust with what I saw on the screen vs. watching the drone. At the beginning this was just for the sake of better footage like adjusting the camera and horizon. Then I started panning down to make sure I was where I thought I was over trees etc. All of this was never much further than a few hundred feet away and not particularly high up. Then like you, I just felt in the right mood one day, sucked it up and gradually a hundred feet at a time pushed it out to a 1/4 mile. That's when I looked up visually and realized I couldn't find it in the sky, me legs started shaking so I pressed RTH :) A few more longish flights later and I'm more than comfortable to fly it back with the screen only.

It just takes time.
 
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I know exactly how you feel I was extremely nervous after only two flights as well. My first 6 flights were in a soccer field at a altitude less than 60 feet. It took 6 more flights before 200 feet high and 300 yards away was comfortable. Take your time and get comfortable with you P4. Concentrate on flying first and filming second., As with most things competence comes with practice.
 
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It maybe that older folks (I'm 53) that are more cautious than younger people. I've seen some guys fly 1/2 a mile away on their first flight, although it's typically in a why did I crash thread ;)
 
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I don't use goggles but in some ways your story is similar to mine. I started with a phone then went to a big tablet. Over 20-30 or so flights I gradually built more and more trust with what I saw on the screen vs. watching the drone. At the beginning this was just for the sake of better footage like adjusting the camera and horizon. Then I started panning down to make sure I was where I thought I was over trees etc. All of this was never much further than a few hundred feet away and not particularly high up. Then like you, I just felt in the right mood one day, sucked it up and gradually a hundred feet at a time pushed it out to a 1/4 mile. That's when I looked up visually and realized I couldn't find it in the sky, me legs started shaking so I pressed RTH :) A few more longish flights later and I'm more than comfortable to fly it back with the screen only.

It just takes time.
I am still doing the panning thing to see where I am at times (I'm always trying to learn new things) --one flight I did that and I was hovering right over a deep pond. My stomach just lurched (felt like I was going to fall down in it!), and my legs went weak, but thankfully the aircraft was in sight so I brought it home. It takes time to realize the platform is really very stable in flight, and you can think your way through it.
 
It maybe that older folks (I'm 53) that are more cautious than younger people. I've seen some guys fly 1/2 a mile away on their first flight, although it's typically in a why did I crash thread ;)

I've seen so many of these now, and it baffles me, because the attitude is almost -- "I'm proud of myself for doing this (behaving like a moron)" -- like maybe that it's no big deal to crash a $$$$ aircraft--me, well, I'd be kinda ticked off at myself for letting it happen, if it could've been avoided. More than most, sure, I can afford another one, it's just the principle of the thing.
 
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I've seen so many of these now, and it baffles me, because the attitude is almost -- "I'm proud of myself for doing this (behaving like a moron)" -- like maybe that it's no big deal to crash a $$$$ aircraft--me, well, I'd be kinda ticked off at myself for letting it happen, if it could've been avoided. More than most, sure, I can afford another one, it's just the principle of the thing.
That's the irony, I can easily afford to replace my P4, probably more so than some of the folks that crash early on. I just prefer not to crash and use that $900 on something else ;)
 
I am still doing the panning thing to see where I am at times (I'm always trying to learn new things) --one flight I did that and I was hovering right over a deep pond. My stomach just lurched (felt like I was going to fall down in it!), and my legs went weak, but thankfully the aircraft was in sight so I brought it home. It takes time to realize the platform is really very stable in flight, and you can think your way through it.
I did that with a huge tree about 800 feet away from my house. I'm not exactly how high it is so I was at 160' and was about to go a bit higher so I panned just before hand. I was right on top of it but from that distance visually I didn't know, what a shock. So I know it's less than 160 feet now I guess.

Big *** tree, this is my wife at the bottom, she's 5'9"
1902858_10203219416341378_3975970401716511476_n.jpg
 
I did that with a huge tree about 800 feet away from my house. I'm not exactly how high it is so I was at 160' and was about to go a bit higher so I panned just before hand. I was right on top of it but from that distance visually I didn't know, what a shock. So I know it's less than 160 feet now I guess.

Big *** tree, this is my wife at the bottom, she's 5'9"View attachment 74539
Great picture!
 
You know, it's really a testament to the clarity of the P$ video that while you are flying, that you are having these kinds of physical reactions--in real time, as opposed to later when reviewing the SD card (at least that is my experience). I am a little tired out after a couple of flights--my concentration levels are very high. I guess I'm not the only one who is thinking, wow, I'm really *flying* this thing!
 
Hey folks. Got the P4 three weeks ago and have flown twice. Once just to test it out. To be honest, I am a bit nervous. I am not a spring chicken and don't have the coordination some of you younger people have. My son has a P3 Standard and loves it. He can whip that thing around and do maneuvers which are pretty stunning (to me anyway); though he is away at school so no help there. I do have the ability to fly in open areas, though it will not always be that way as the purchase was pretty much to photograph commercial construction projects our company is involved in. I did video then frame capture a project (my second flight) and I was scared every time that drone flew 200 yards to one end of the project! The owner of the project was so impressed by the photos, not my flying, he took them and sent them to his whole family! His ego was stoked and stroked LOL, so it made me feel good.
But hey, to stay on track, long winded that I am. Suggestions? How to gain confidence? Does the obstacle avoidance really help? It's been kind of cold and a bit windy (10-15mph around here) though I guess 10-15mph is not much? Thanks.

Since you can fly in open areas, take a friend with you with some binoculars to act as a spotter and then go ahead and push your P4 out to some further distances, even get a windsurfer antenna to help with better signal and you'll see you have nothing to worry about..


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots
 
It maybe that older folks (I'm 53) that are more cautious than younger people. I've seen some guys fly 1/2 a mile away on their first flight, although it's typically in a why did I crash thread ;)

I'm 31, and I think the same way as you... I've had mine since Christmas as a gift from my better half. I was so nervous to get out of Beginner Mode the first few times I flew it... And even now, I usually stay very close. The one and only time I ventured my farthest distance was on my last flight around my neighborhood to get practice flying and to test the range. It made me beyond nervous and I turned around. I don't get how people decide to go nuts trying to go really high and really far, especially when they're new at it. Then you get the "I crashed my drone" threads.

This is as far as I dared to venture so far, and only because I know the area really well... I believe my max height was 213ft, and max distance was 1576ft away (0.3 miles). Like I said, I turned around because I got nervous. Since it's winter here (not even snow unfortunately), I've been only concentrating on learning to be better at flying and later will try and get better at taking pictures/videos.

0bb7e9f63ac2ce3c072cfa7828d2e411.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

Edit: Ignore the drone name lol.. Couldn't be creative and I had just watched a Star Wars movie when I got it. Figured I'd be a dork even though BB8 is a droid not a drone :)
 
I agree it's nerve-racking at first. I got my P4 for Xmas and flew every day after Christmas in a field that allowed me to explore how the bird moves in response. It took me seven flights to do anything but go around the field and go up to 200 feet and come straight back down. Now I'm going a half mile to a mile away with no problems. The crash posts here can get you a little nervous, you just have to remember re the forum but the whole world can post, people that have successful flights usually don't post, it's the people looking for help that crashed that post, so it seems like there's a lot of them. That being said I still have a few butterflies every time I take off…
 
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Wow, thank you all for your votes of confidence, sharing your stories and recommendations. Nice to know I am not alone in going through what I am. What a great group of people! This is a frame capture photo from the second time I flew (of one of our projects) the photo the owner loved, LOL. I did leave out the "nervous pilot" in the pic I sent him
DJI_0005 smaller with pilot file.jpg
 
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Y'all crack me up, at least your not in the P4. Try being a test pilot for our military contractors, then you will honestly have to be scared, worried, flying a toy around that's not that expensive should not be a scary or nervous endeavor
 

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