Novice Drone Pilot Welcomes hints, tips & advice

[DJRick]

Hi everyone,

I am new to the world of drones. I recently purchased a DJI Phantom 3 Professional, which I haven't flown yet. I want to do everything right, so I am spending some time reading up and watching youtube videos etc. I am excited about my first flight and I would welcome any hints, tips or advice from anyone out there.

By the way.....I am in Scotland

Thanks for reading this and I look forward to your response

Cheers

Rick

 

[deltamike]

Hi Rick,

What country are you in? It would be helpful to enter your country in your profile.

The first thing is to check that you are going to fly in safe airspace / areas, then start to learn to fly.

One great failing of beginners is that they read the manual but do not understand it.

The flight simulator is a boon. Have at least five hours practice on it and you will be well on your way. Its boring but necessary.

And heres another tip.

I don't know if this works for all DJI models but it did for my P3a, and its worth knowing.

I lost my aircraft but found it again without a tracker.

I lodged in a tree going backwards, I cut the motors but because I was looking at the screen I lost contact with the a/c with eyeball Mk1, but I could see on the Go app that I was at an altitude of 6 feet.

I walked to the row of trees 300 feet away still looking at my screen map on the controller. I could see the red pointer a/c position. As I walked I saw the blue circle (Home Point) slowly moving. It dawned on me that this was the map position of the controller that I was carrying.

I walked towards the a/c symbol so that the blue circle and the aircraft symbol merged and nearly trod on the a/c in the very tall grass. It had fallen out of the tree and suffered a broken prop with no other damage.

I was unaware that the home point actually would move on the map showing the position of the controller. Common sense I suppose but I was unaware of it.

That will help sometime or other. Don't forget that it is so easy to eye contact with the a/c and when you do NEVER fly backwards while looking at the screen unless you have someone spotting for you or are in an open area. Always fly forward and turn the a/c to the direction of travel. Trees and bushes have a nasty habit of jumping out at the a/c.

Again common sense and I learnt the hard way.

U tube has lots of useful advice one of which is :-

8 Tips To NOT Crash Your Phantom/Mavic Drone || TUTORIAL By Drone Film Guide - YouTube

Another useful channel is :-

DJI Phantom | How to avoid crashes and fly aways | TOP 13 HINTS - YouTube

Most of it is applicable to P3's.

Finally, learn to fly in Atti mode and get used to it. Flying in that mode has certainly saved quite a few a/c.

See :-

Learn how to fly in ATTI Mode | DJI Phantom 3 + 4 - YouTube

Finally, this paint job helps to determine the orientation in flight and makes the a/c more visible.

I also have a Flytron clear strobe light fitted to the rear of the a/c which helps to determine orientation.

Best of luck

 

[Oso]

I would welcome any hints, tips or advice from anyone out there.

Welcome to the forum!

If you are interested, click here for some tips that I often share with new P3A/P3P owners.

Cheers!

 

[msinger]

I would welcome any hints, tips or advice from anyone out there

Here are some items you might find useful:

• Phantom Manual & Release Notes (the manual does not come in the box)
• Firmware Update Instructions
• Most Common Pilot Mistakes
• PhantomHelp.com (lots of Phantom tips & accessories)

 

[deltamike]

Hi everyone,



By the way.....I am in Scotland





Rick

Thanks Rick.

If you have not already done so, check the CAA rules for flying UAV's.

Flying drones | UK Civil Aviation Authority

To protect yourself in the case of an accident, insurance is a good idea. e.g. (BMFA) British Model Flying Association (UK). Click on the link to view their web site :-

British Model Flying Association

It costs £33 at the time of writing.

The next thing to do is join a flying club to learn the ropes. Its more than likely there will be members only too glad to help out with advice.

You might like to try the following apps.

The first one shows UK airspace and includes NOTAMS.

UK AirspaceAVOID for Pilots – Android Apps on Google Play

And :-

No Fly Drones

If you have any questions just ask, but try doing a search first. Its more than likely it has already been asked.

 

[DJRick]

Hi Rick,

What country are you in? It would be helpful to enter your country in your profile.

The first thing is to check that you are going to fly in safe airspace / areas, then start to learn to fly.

One great failing of beginners is that they read the manual but do not understand it.

The flight simulator is a boon. Have at least five hours practice on it and you will be well on your way. Its boring but necessary.

And heres another tip.

I don't know if this works for all DJI models but it did for my P3a, and its worth knowing.

I lost my aircraft but found it again without a tracker.

I lodged in a tree going backwards, I cut the motors but because I was looking at the screen I lost contact with the a/c with eyeball Mk1, but I could see on the Go app that I was at an altitude of 6 feet.

I walked to the row of trees 300 feet away still looking at my screen map on the controller. I could see the red pointer a/c position. As I walked I saw the blue circle (Home Point) slowly moving. It dawned on me that this was the map position of the controller that I was carrying.

I walked towards the a/c symbol so that the blue circle and the aircraft symbol merged and nearly trod on the a/c in the very tall grass. It had fallen out of the tree and suffered a broken prop with no other damage.

I was unaware that the home point actually would move on the map showing the position of the controller. Common sense I suppose but I was unaware of it.

That will help sometime or other. Don't forget that it is so easy to eye contact with the a/c and when you do NEVER fly backwards while looking at the screen unless you have someone spotting for you or are in an open area. Always fly forward and turn the a/c to the direction of travel. Trees and bushes have a nasty habit of jumping out at the a/c.

Again common sense and I learnt the hard way.

U tube has lots of useful advice one of which is :-

8 Tips To NOT Crash Your Phantom/Mavic Drone || TUTORIAL By Drone Film Guide - YouTube

Another useful channel is :-

DJI Phantom | How to avoid crashes and fly aways | TOP 13 HINTS - YouTube

Most of it is applicable to P3's.

Finally, learn to fly in Atti mode and get used to it. Flying in that mode has certainly saved quite a few a/c.

See :-

Learn how to fly in ATTI Mode | DJI Phantom 3 + 4 - YouTube

Finally, this paint job helps to determine the orientation in flight and makes the a/c more visible.

View attachment 82966 View attachment 82966

I also have a Flytron clear strobe light fitted to the rear of the a/c which helps to determine orientation.

Best of luck

Thank you kindly for all your helpful hints, tips and information etc, I really appreciate it

 

[DJRick]

Thank you kindly for all your helpful tips, advice & information. I will be planning my first test flight in the near future and I will of course let you know how I get on. Naturally, I will be very nervous, but I am excited.

 

[Philltayl]

Hi Rick.

just try not to treat it like a Play Station/ Xbox game. Small control movements on the sticks and you won't get any surprises.....