Questions from a newbie..

[MotorCycle-Man]

UP......close and 35 feet away at say...........5 or more feet high off the ground...This "day glo tape" is glued to a cut off pop sickle stick velcroed to the front landing gear legs works for me to properly orientate the drone down low and even in the air WITHOUT looking down at the screen and >>>>Instantly<<<<....I know what direction my P3 Se is headed and what i need to do to bring it to me or away from me...what works nicely for me....Just might nicely work for others too !

 

[Fly Dawg]

Just might nicely work for others too !

Ehhhh....Maybe. I prefer the cree strobes. Easily visible for at least 1200 ft in bright daylight. And for sure at twilight and evening even farther.

 

[MotorCycle-Man]

HA ha.......true BUT mine don't use battery's LOL

Mine are for close UP.......not way way way out their !

I have a neat set of homemade LED strobes for evening flights !

 

[Fly Dawg]

I have a neat set of homemade LED strobes for evening flights !

Made those before myself, but it's the weight factor that is the benefit of the crees. I have two sets of Lume cubes that I have used before but they are really too heavy, as excellent as they are. The crees are roughly 1" by 1" total size including battery and the weight is negligible, and are 10 times the brightness. At night visable from 3500 ft, if necessary. But I don't generally fly beyond VLOS day or night. Even with autonomous missions.

 

[Rodee34]

UP......close and 35 feet away at say...........5 or more feet high off the ground...This "day glo tape" is glued to a cut off pop sickle stick velcroed to the front landing gear legs works for me to properly orientate the drone down low and even in the air WITHOUT looking down at the screen and >>>>Instantly<<<<....I know what direction my P3 Se is headed and what i need to do to bring it to me or away from me...what works nicely for me....Just might nicely work for others too !View attachment 105840

What a great idea. Thank you for the pic too! I’m trying to remember the “red in the front, green in the back.” This just helps more, especially when I’m flying just past rooftop altitude and staying on the yard. I look up at the AC more than the screen, since it’s right there in front of me. I’ve never played with those nintendo type games, so the controller was a tad foreign to me. Thanks!

 

[Rodee34]

Ehhhh....Maybe. I prefer the cree strobes. Easily visible for at least 1200 ft in bright daylight. And for sure at twilight and evening even farther.

Great idea, expecially when I get a little more adventurous!

 

[Rodee34]

I was going to put those google eyes on.. but someone mentioned the weight... so I didn’t.

 

[Fly Dawg]

You can watch the how to videos on YouTube! Have fun...

Not nice.....

 

[MotorCycle-Man]

*Rodee.......Thank You so much for the n i c e PM back....sounds like your sure going to make a great "Safe" Drone operator !
We are here to HELP you with any thing that to ask....and on Upper right side this of page well see the tiny magnifying glass thats where you can type in and search older and newer threads for problems fixes too ! Thank you again for the PM message.

 

[Rodee34]

I’m sure one day I’ll be running in here to find replacement parts from a crash.. . it’s just a matter of time . I’m just thankful for the help and suggestions here. I’ve got a long way to go.

I’ve been searching thru some old posts about batteries etc. and looking at some excellent photos and movies. The YouTube videos are really helpful too. (Good place to learn “calibration.” ha!)

 

[Rodee34]

You can watch the how to videos on YouTube! Have fun...I don't have a p4 but I think you can put it headless mode so when you pull the stick it comes back to you, when you push it flies away from you, left is left and right is right, makes things a lot easier! Then you can work on the camera! Am I right guys?

You are so right, flying first, camera third!!

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

You've got some great advice. I just want to add the following:

I've read where some lose signal (or something) over water, is that an issue?

As already mentioned, over water is one of the safest places to fly. The "or something" might be that you read about the Vision Position System (VPS), if your craft even has it. See your manual, as it warns that it may not work properly over some surfaces, such as water. But that doesn't mean that you will lose control of your craft -- it just means that the VPS is not reliable at that point, so do not depend on it (my manual says "Operate the aircraft with great caution" in those situations).

Really, if you don't know that you need VPS (which is helpful in tight spots, such as indoors), then you don't even need to have it on.

Or you may have read something else entirely, but flying over water is safe when you have proper controller to aircraft signal (can see the camera signal on your controller app) and there are plenty of satellites acquired (there's a number next to the satellite icon on your controller app -- it's usually over a count of 10).

Chris

 

[WhidbeyDroneDude]

Just a quick note on your comment that the app was warning you about being in an aircraft zone. Make sure that you are up to date on the rules and regs of drone flight. Even as a recreational pilot you are obligated (both legally and ethically) to comply with safe practices. If your app is warning that you are in an aircraft zone make sure you know what that means!

It sounds like you are having fun and learning by keeping the drone close to you but you are eventually going to get further and want to fly higher. In fact I would recommend that you do gain some altitude because as a newbie it takes away some of the stress of running into obstacles (trees, power poles, houses, etc). However, be aware of your surroundings and make sure you know what you are doing before flying up and into the territory of manned flight.

You are having fun and that is important but don’t forget you are flying an aircraft not a toy. We all have to remember that!

Enjoy a yourself!

 

[Rodee34]

You've got some great advice. I just want to add the following:



As already mentioned, over water is one of the safest places to fly. The "or something" might be that you read about the Vision Position System (VPS), if your craft even has it. See your manual, as it warns that it may not work properly over some surfaces, such as water. But that doesn't mean that you will lose control of your craft -- it just means that the VPS is not reliable at that point, so do not depend on it (my manual says "Operate the aircraft with great caution" in those situations).

Really, if you don't know that you need VPS (which is helpful in tight spots, such as indoors), then you don't even need to have it on.

Or you may have read something else entirely, but flying over water is safe when you have proper controller to aircraft signal (can see the camera signal on your controller app) and there are plenty of satellites acquired (there's a number next to the satellite icon on your controller app -- it's usually over a count of 10).

Chris

Yes, this P3 SE has VPS - Ha! That made me laugh to think I could fly it indoors. Maybe someday..

Yea, the reason I asked about water was the guy I bought it from said he went over some trees, and a small lake and he lost his signal for a little bit, then I think he said it started back home on its own. Then another guy on this forum had his drop into a lake. Kinda had me wondering. Thank you!

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

Yea, the reason I asked about water was the guy I bought it from said he went over some trees, and a small lake and he lost his signal for a little bit, then I think he said it started back home on its own. Then another guy on this forum had his drop into a lake. Kinda had me wondering. Thank you!

In the first case, the trees were probably the obstacle, the lake a coincident.

In the second case, it was an unfortunate that he was over a lake when his UAV dropped out of the sky; but as I told a friend when he asked if I wasn't afraid of flying over water, "What, you would rather it dropped onto concrete? It's toast either way of it falls out of the sky at that altitude."

Chris

 

[Rodee34]

Just a quick note on your comment that the app was warning you about being in an aircraft zone. Make sure that you are up to date on the rules and regs of drone flight. Even as a recreational pilot you are obligated (both legally and ethically) to comply with safe practices. If your app is warning that you are in an aircraft zone make sure you know what that means!

It sounds like you are having fun and learning by keeping the drone close to you but you are eventually going to get further and want to fly higher. In fact I would recommend that you do gain some altitude because as a newbie it takes away some of the stress of running into obstacles (trees, power poles, houses, etc). However, be aware of your surroundings and make sure you know what you are doing before flying up and into the territory of manned flight.

You are having fun and that is important but don’t forget you are flying an aircraft not a toy. We all have to remember that!

Enjoy a yourself!

Thank you. The warning I got was that I was in an unpaved airstrip area and needed to be cautious. I know there are homes around a community airstrip about 9 or 10 miles away, and a hospital with a helicopter landing spot on the rooftop about 3 miles from here. I saw a helicopter the other day, but my AC wasn't 50 feet off the ground, so I wasn't a distraction. I'm out of the beginner mode, but still staying close to home. Today, I'll venture further out and higher. <..gulp!..>

 

[Penguin_Fart]

Is it ok to paint the underside of the front two blades so I could tell where the "front" is?

Where is a good place to buy spare batteries?

Will the drone lose signal when it goes behind a building or behind trees if it isn't flying high enough?

I've read where some lose signal (or something) over water, is that an issue?

If I'm understanding correctly, I only need to calibrate the compass if it asks me to, right?

I just put the new SanDisk 64GB Extreme Plus card in today. I'm hoping it will ask me to format it when I turn it on. I guess I'll see in a few minutes - going outside to sit in the middle of my yard and practice crazy eights.

Thanks for all your help! Sorry about all the questions.

I am VERY new to the PHANTOM scene like you. I picked up for two hundred dollars TWO PHANTOMS- a 2 VISION+ and an FC40. I did not paint my props, but installed the white prop guards on the back, and coloured prop guards up front. I also used some coloured electrical tape on the front landing struts to help me tell is PHRED or BERDIE [ names of my two PHANTOMS ] are flying away-from or towards me.

 

[grego122]

What ever I said was not intended to be not nice just trying to help!
So I'll just not make any suggestions in the future!
Sorry if I hurt any feelings not my intentions!

 

[Rodee34]

What ever I said was not intended to be not nice just trying to help!
So I'll just not make any suggestions in the future!
Sorry if I hurt any feelings not my intentions!

No worries here! Someday I’ll be able to help someone else that’s new. I appreciate everybody’s help. Not everyone takes the time to reach out and try to explain sometimes the very obvious. And that time could be spent doing something fun... like flying!!

 

[dewens]

I noticed this was in the SE section after my reply. I'm a p4p pilot, so..... Does the rest of what I said still hold true? If not I need to correct it.

Thanks.

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