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:
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.