Questions for all Phantom Pilots

[Drone UAV]

Hello,

I'm new to quadcopters and have never flown an Phantom but plan to buy my first very soon. I'm currently practising with a Hubsan x4 107D.

1. How did you get started?
2. Did you buy a small, trainer drone before buying a Phantom?
3. If you bought a small quadcopter first, how many hours practice did you put in before buying a Phantom?
4. Have you had any training or mentoring from experienced pilots, or are you entirely self-taught?
5. Do you regard your Phantom as a stepping stone to bigger, more complex multirotors or will you stick with it?

As you can see, I'm trying to get an idea of whether or not a structured approach is better than just buying one and jumping in at the deep end. I expect there's no right answer for everyone, but it would be interesting to know how people develop their skills.

 

[2trickpony]

Hello,

I'm new to quadcopters and have never flown an Phantom but plan to buy my first very soon. I'm currently practising with a Hubsan x4 107D.

1. How did you get started?
2. Did you buy a small, trainer drone before buying a Phantom?
3. If you bought a small quadcopter first, how many hours practice did you put in before buying a Phantom?
4. Have you had any training or mentoring from experienced pilots, or are you entirely self-taught?
5. Do you regard your Phantom as a stepping stone to bigger, more complex multirotors or will you stick with it?

As you can see, I'm trying to get an idea of whether or not a structured approach is better than just buying one and jumping in at the deep end. I expect there's no right answer for everyone, but it would be interesting to know how people develop their skills.

Hi there and welcome to the Mad House !

I started with quads a few years back with a Parrot ARDrone. It was fun to start with but I soon lost interest as it wasnt really capable of flying much further than a few hundred meters and I found it really unstable and difficult to control.

After a small break I discovered that the Phantom was available on the market so I spent around 3 months scanning lots of forums to learn as much as I could about it before finally buying one a few months back.

As I am interested in photography and video I decided to go for the P2 non vision so I could attach my Gopro camera.
These Phantoms are extremely easy to fly, even for a novice and they have many built-in safety features to help you along the way.

I dont see the Phantom as a stepping stone at the moment because there are not many quads available that will give you between 15 and 25 minutes fligh time in a compact package and are such fun to fly.

Please be warned though, if you do buy one, you will become very addicted!

Just my 2 pence but hope it helps

 

[dtdyer01]

Do you have any examples of these Drone Camera Films that you have created?

If this website http://www.dronecamerafilms.com is his, then I'm not really sure why the OP is asking this question.

 

[IrishSights]

Do you have any examples of these Drone Camera Films that you have created?

Welcome too. This is a great forum. I also lurked here for a month or 2. Just got my gear 4 days ago. Photography is my main interest. And yes it is addictive! Tons of video examples on YouTube. Search for "Dji phantom GoPro"

Go for it and have fun!

Sent from Samsung S4 via Tapatalk

 

[IrishSights]

Sorry just read my post and quoted the wrong member AND got the wrong end of the stick...a senior moment

Sent from Samsung S4 via Tapatalk

 

[Drone UAV]

Wow - good to see so many quick responses! This is obviously a busy forum. Thanks for the replies

Dronecamerafilms.com is my site but they're not my films. I started sharing some films that I'd seen on YouTube and Vimeo. If you click on any of them you can clearly see who made them and they're from a variety of professional and amateur flyers. I asked the question here because it's a dedicated Phantom forum and wondered what your choice of the best of your own films would be.

 

[Lee C]

From looking at your website id take a stab in the dark and say you are setting yourself up to become a new web supplier.

 

[Drone UAV]

From looking at your website id take a stab in the dark and say you are setting yourself up to become a new web supplier.

I have considered it but I'm not fishing for customers here. I'm new to the market, but I have a longstanding interest in aviation and although I have a pilot's licence I can't afford to fly, so flying UAVs is a compromise that is both rewarding and affordable (comparatively). I may yet start an online store but then I may just go down the aerial photography route, or both, or neither

 

[RUSHNREADY DJI]

Hello,

I'm new to quadcopters and have never flown an Phantom but plan to buy my first very soon. I'm currently practising with a Hubsan x4 107D.

1. How did you get started?
2. Did you buy a small, trainer drone before buying a Phantom?
3. If you bought a small quadcopter first, how many hours practice did you put in before buying a Phantom?
4. Have you had any training or mentoring from experienced pilots, or are you entirely self-taught?
5. Do you regard your Phantom as a stepping stone to bigger, more complex multirotors or will you stick with it?

As you can see, I'm trying to get an idea of whether or not a structured approach is better than just buying one and jumping in at the deep end. I expect there's no right answer for everyone, but it would be interesting to know how people develop their skills.

1) I had a go pro and wanted to get aerial video and photos and make videos using it
2) No i have never flown a RC plane or copter before
3) None
4) Self Taught and still teaching
5) Stick with this unless i get rich from it and can buy a bigger one

Hope this helps

 

[Drone UAV]

Yes, that helps, thanks

 

[Lostknight]

Ditto for me what Rushnready said.

 

[Visioneer]

1. How did you get started?
2. Did you buy a small, trainer drone before buying a Phantom?
3. If you bought a small quadcopter first, how many hours practice did you put in before buying a Phantom?
4. Have you had any training or mentoring from experienced pilots, or are you entirely self-taught?
5. Do you regard your Phantom as a stepping stone to bigger, more complex multirotors or will you stick with it?

1. Flew fixed wing RC 40 years ago, coaxial helicopter on occasion for the past 3 years
2. No, but I've gotten a Ares Ethos QX130 to play with since.
3. NA
4. With regard to the heli and quads, self taught. A friend got me into fixed wing.
5. Bigger is intriguing, but probably not ... I'm primarily a hobbyist and the entry fee is a bit high for the use I'd make of it. I have other hobbies vying for my resources.

 

[LuvMyTJ]

Are you collecting this information to be used as marketing research for your web site store? :?:

 

[gen3benz]

1. My girl bought me a P1 for my birthday
2. Trainer drone? Whats that?
3. Huh?
4. Training? These things practically fly themselves. :lol:
5. Phantom por vida!

 

[DanCH]

1. How did you get started?
2. Did you buy a small, trainer drone before buying a Phantom?
3. If you bought a small quadcopter first, how many hours practice did you put in before buying a Phantom?
4. Have you had any training or mentoring from experienced pilots, or are you entirely self-taught?
5. Do you regard your Phantom as a stepping stone to bigger, more complex multirotors or will you stick with it?

1) For the last 6 years or so I've been messing around with a bunch of simple RC helicopters. At my local RC shop I picked up a Blue Nano Arrow (mini quadcopter) and had a blast with it. Did more research and found out about FPV. Was desperate to get into FPV and found that the Phantom was a quick way to get into the hobby.
2) Yes, the Blue Nano Arrow. Flew it for about 3-4 weeks before getting a Phantom v1.1.1 with an FPV kit. Since then I've picked up an Hubsan X4 and a H107D for rainy days.
3) I have no idea about how many hours, but I flew it (and still fly it) quite a lot. I also fly my Hubsan H107D around the house using FPV for fun when the weather isn't so great.
4) All the practice I've had over the years with flying simple RC helis was all far more difficult than flying a Phantom, so I was quite well prepared without any mentoring. However to start to understand what proper quadcopters are about I did 2-3 weeks of research on forums like this before taking the plunge.
5) I plan to build a TBS disco in the future. I want to be able to repair and replace after crashes. I've done one bit of soldering on my Phantom, but I have a lot to learn in this regard. However I can't see myself letting go of the Phantom (until I possibly break it).

 

[Drone UAV]

Are you collecting this information to be used as marketing research for your web site store? :?:

Yes and no. It's not my main reason for posting here. I'm just trying to get feel for the stepping stones from someone having their interest sparked and ending up with a Phantom, or any other multirotor. I'm interested in the industry so all knowledge gained by listening to owners is valuable. I don't know how I will fit in to it at the moment. I may just go out and buy a Phantom and start doing what you're doing and leave it at that, but I have got an entrepreneurial side too.

Thank you to all those who have replied since my last thanks

 

[LuvMyTJ]

But you already have a store on your website. Aren't you already an entrepreneur in the industry?

http://www.dronecamerafilms.com/store

Just trying to figure out if your here for buddies or here for customers. If you had come here and just came out with the fact that you are reseller you could of built up some trust. This beating around the bush stuff really will not help your cause.

 

[C-Mac13]

1. Been trying to attach my GoPro to something for a while and didn't want to spent $2,000.
2. Been flying a Blade msr for a few months.
3. See above.
4. Self taught.
5. God I hope not. I'm actually quite happy with this platform. It suits my filming needs.

 

[Drone UAV]

But you already have a store on your website. Aren't you already an entrepreneur in the industry?

http://www.dronecamerafilms.com/store

Just trying to figure out if your here for buddies or here for customers. If you had come here and just came out with the fact that you are reseller you could of built up some trust. This beating around the bush stuff really will not help your cause.

Look closely at the store -it's all affiliate links. I'm not running an e-commerce store - yet. I'm not a reseller - yet. I'm not beating about the bush - ask me any question you like.

I'm just a bloke in the UK with a little aviation experience who is interested in this new world of UAV. So far that amounts to doing some research, playing with a Hubsan 107D, putting up three thin websites, and considering the options. I have a full time job in the IT industry and I may just buy a Phantom and use it for my own amusement and never enter into any kind of UAV business.

I haven't sold a single UAV but the websites and the social media accounts that I've opened are promoting the acceptance of UAV and spreading the news. So far there is no reward in it for me but I'm doing it because I'm interested.

 

[2trickpony]

But you already have a store on your website. Aren't you already an entrepreneur in the industry?

http://www.dronecamerafilms.com/store

Just trying to figure out if your here for buddies or here for customers. If you had come here and just came out with the fact that you are reseller you could of built up some trust. This beating around the bush stuff really will not help your cause.

Look closely at the store -it's all affiliate links. I'm not running an e-commerce store - yet. I'm not a reseller - yet. I'm not beating about the bush - ask me any question you like.

I'm just a bloke in the UK with a little aviation experience who is interested in this new world of UAV. So far that amounts to doing some research, playing with a Hubsan 107D, putting up three thin websites, and considering the options. I have a full time job in the IT industry and I may just buy a Phantom and use it for my own amusement and never enter into any kind of UAV business.

I haven't sold a single UAV but the websites and the social media accounts that I've opened are promoting the acceptance of UAV and spreading the news. So far there is no reward in it for me but I'm doing it because I'm interested.

Thanks for finally admitting that you're one of those affiliate scamstresses.

I thought this thread smelled like spam...

Why have you put a dot in front of your name Quadzilla?