Just bought a Phantom 3 4k. Need advice

[Owen S]

My drone will be arriving tomorrow, July 1st. I have a Syma X5C which got me to love drones, and I'm fairly good at flying it, so basic flying advice isn't super necessary.

What are some things I should do right out of the box? For reference, I'm running a Galaxy S7 for the control, as my iPad 2 is not compatible. Whether it be app suggestions, tips, tricks, etc. please let me know what you all have learned!

Thanks in advance.

-Owen

 

[msinger]

Welcome to Phantom Pilots!

Check out PhantomHelp.com. You'll find a link to download the Phantom manual in the "Must-Haves" section and lots of other useful tips there.

 

[Verydrone]

As a good app I recommend "B4UFLY" by the FAA. It gives you a map with location where you can't fly because of airport restriction area or something else. Use it before every take off to be sure you are allowed to fly

Welcome to Phantom Pilots and have a lot of fun with your P3 4K!

 

[Owen S]

Another question too- I see that you have to activate your phantom on the app before flying. Does it matter that I bought mine use or will I be able to activate it?

 

[erlik-khan]

I recently got the P34k as well. It's a nice airship. I also fell into the hobby on the syma x5c, funny. Look into threads here about problems people have had with the firmware updates. I've read some people having problems after updating to the latest. I have not had any problems with the firmware which i updated before my first flight. But it's something to look into.
Inspect your ship thoroughly before every flight, especially the first.
Try learning all the camera functions on the ground so you dont waste precious airtime just trying to find the shutter speed function or something which i did. If you turn everything on you can sit on the ground just using the app to figure out the menu functions. Making flying less stressfull when you're not trying to find the right menu in the sky on a windy day.

Most of all!! Never panic! Know your exit plans and keep calm in the event of problems. And have FUN!

 

[Verydrone]

Another question too- I see that you have to activate your phantom on the app before flying. Does it matter that I bought mine use or will I be able to activate it?

It will be activated automatically on the app the first time you will turn on your drone.

 

[Owen S]

I recently got the P34k as well. It's a nice airship. I also fell into the hobby on the syma x5c, funny. Look into threads here about problems people have had with the firmware updates. I've read some people having problems after updating to the latest. I have not had any problems with the firmware which i updated before my first flight. But it's something to look into.
Inspect your ship thoroughly before every flight, especially the first.
Try learning all the camera functions on the ground so you dont waste precious airtime just trying to find the shutter speed function or something which i did. If you turn everything on you can sit on the ground just using the app to figure out the menu functions. Making flying less stressfull when you're not trying to find the right menu in the sky on a windy day.

Most of all!! Never panic! Know your exit plans and keep calm in the event of problems. And have FUN!

Thanks for the advice!!

 

[Storm]

I didn't realize the x5c-1 was so popular as a starter. I had fun learning with mine, and its tough in a crash!

 

[hot11119]

I would suggest UAV Forecast app too. know all the weather conditions before launch

 

[Owen S]

and its tough in a crash!

I use mine to exercise my dog (sometimes) up at a park near my house. She's caught it and bitten holes all over the thing and it refuses to break. Otherwise, I put mine on high mode and try to dodge poles, etc. to get used to flying. Super fun either way!

 

[hot11119]

Welcome to Phantom Pilots!

Check out PhantomHelp.com. You'll find a link to download the Phantom manual in the "Must-Haves" section and lots of other useful tips there.

wow. phantomhelp.com has so much info! i didnt know what prop balancing is until now. that sounds kinda hardcore tbh! is balancing really necessary and how often?

 

[Storm]

Lol, awesome. I passed mine on to a friend to learn

 

[msinger]

is balancing really necessary and how often?

Is it absolutely necessary? Not if you're using DJI props (which I recommend). They are usually pretty close to balanced right out of the box. If you like a well oiled machine, then balancing is something easy to do. I usually only balance mine once when I change to a new set.

 

[Richard-NH]

Whether it be app suggestions, tips, tricks, etc. please let me know what you all have learned!

Thanks in advance.

-Owen

4K is a great machine.

Suggestions:
- Start easy and safe. I used a big open playing field.
- Get familiar with RTH and what happens as the battery goes down to critical
- Then work on the waypoints feature, flying around point of interest, and the other modes
- Figure out how you are going to process the video

Good flying!

 

[knipfer]

I agree with Richard on getting familiar with RTH. That is one thing I wish I would have done because on my first signal loss I panicked a bit. Before I fly I usually check consistency with all four motors and then hover for about 30 seconds to make sure everything seems stable. Always make sure your home point is accurate and your RTH altitude is based on the max height of any obstructions your flying around (so set it higher!).


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots mobile app