OK - here are the results of today's first flight!
Went to a park about a mile from home, baseball diamonds, lacrosse, etc. VERY few folks there and nobody near me except my wife (she's a bit geeky herself, fortunately)
Got all ready, tablet very difficult to see, will probably be in the market for a sunshade. But, cranked the brightness all the way and it was passable.
Did the gps dance, flawless - acquired 7 satellites in less than a minute! Ready for take-off! Almost no wind today, 73 degrees, sunny.
Took the advice of several members here and gave it full throttle just 'til it got to about 20 ft, then backed off, hovered rock-solid! Took it up a bit to practice making a large square. Pivoted the fuselage 90 degrees and tried some more maneuvers. Practiced up/down, sideways flight, back/forward, reversed the bird so it was looking at me and got a feel for that control position, all the while taking flights off to nowhere to play a bit with the camera.
First landing was nice and soft, but the grass area was a bit uneven and the Phantom tipped and grass stained two props. I got it shut down very quickly so, no damage. Flew some more and hand-caught the second landing to avoid another tip. Changed batteries and did it all over again, hand-caught the landing.
One thing I thought of as I was packing up to leave. I had forgotten to wipe the lens that got some dew on it so, not sure how the remaining video will look. Oh well, that's what today was supposed to be, and was, a learning experience.
Ok, I'm hooked ... and the wife enjoyed the ride too, while taking video. Don't know how good that will be as the sun was washing out the camera live-view screen - we'll see. The craft controls VERY easily! I slightly regret buying the Hubsan to practice with, as I find the Phantom MUCH easier to control with its great FC system.
I'll post some pics and video once I figure how to, for anyone who may have an interest.