Read the manual and a bit confused

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So after receiving my P2V+ yesterday, I gave the official manual a thorough read-through.

After watching a lot of "newbie" and first flight videos and instructionals, I notice they all say that while you are "training", make sure you have a clear, level landing surface.

In the DJI manual, it says to practice landing on a few different spots, and to test out the RTH function.

So, which one??

Also, the manual suggests prop guards, but form what I have watched and read on here, they can make landing more difficult.

So, again, which way?
 
Practice landing in an open field. Once you can do that, try landing in a less open area. Basically, when training once you've gotten one thing down, make it slightly more difficult. Eventually getting to the point where you can take full control of the bird if something unexpected were to happen (wind gust, loss of gps, etc).

While in the open field practicing landing, also try RTH. It will take some pressure off knowing that it actually works quite well.

I found prop guards to be a hindrance, flight was more sluggish and was always afraid of the dreaded vortex ring state, which is more prevalent when using prop guards.
 
skyexposure said:
After watching a lot of "newbie" and first flight videos and instructionals, I notice they all say that while you are "training", make sure you have a clear, level landing surface.

In the DJI manual, it says to practice landing on a few different spots, and to test out the RTH function.

So, which one??

I don't see why they can't be the same. Several different areas that are clear and level. Don't lane on several different hills.

I'd recommend staying away from parking lots and hard surfaces as the drone _will_ tip over at some point when landing. Grass is good as the props will have a nice soft place to stop running when this happens. Or use prop guards.
 
If you're only a bit confused, you're doing well. :)

I use a piece of plywood to land on.
 
I never land on the ground, NEVER, just reach up, grab one side of landing gear, lock down throttle with other hand to kill motors
 
I might try grabbing it to land, but probably won't have the guts the first time out.

I might try the travel case that came with my kit.
 
skyexposure said:
I might try the travel case that came with my kit.

NO! don't do it! land on a large flat surface, like a football field
 
skyexposure, when using RTH, it's best to move the S1 switch to the middle position and then back up to the top position to recover control once your Phantom returns back to the home point position. That way, you'll be able to land it yourself. If you let the RTH feature land, it might descend too quickly and end up in VRS.
 
Work with landing on a solid surface like a driveway or parking lot. The issue I have with grass is that the camera is only maybe a 1/2 inch up from the landing gear. So if you land in the grass and its damp you might get water into the gimbal or camera lens. Also if the camera is facing down might damage the lens on an un-level surface. Say a gravel driveway. I make a point of leveling off the camera before I land.

Remember as the copter gets closer to the ground, ground effects come into play and the copter will actually experience more lift and require less power to stay in the air. That can mess with a soft landing.

Hand catching can be dangerous and I have seen people require stitches after a botched catch. To me its not worth it just learn how to fly it and the need to hand catch would only be in an emergency.

Practice with the RTH feature and how to retake control when it is in this mode. I personally had an issue when I took off too close to the garage and when the copter was coming home (RTH) it was going to hit the roof of the garage. Luckily I knew what too do and didn't act helpless watching the copter hit the house LOL.

Finally I took the advice of another and cut plastic coat hangers and attached the plastic rods to the legs to widen the base of the copter. This prevents tip overs while I learned how to land and take off. They cost nothing just some tape and coat hangers and when you feel confident take them off.
 
My opinion. I am assuming you are new to this. Prop guards are fine. As far as effecting your performance, don't worry. I doubt you will start going for speed records or stunt flying. They will protect your props and the quad is a bit easier to see. At first, just hover the Phantom out aways to make sure it's ok. This is not the time for range testing. Learn the functions of the switches and how they affect flight. It's best to start on calm days. This way you can see if the Phantom is stable. If trying to fly in gusty winds, you won't really know. Learn how to do the calibrations properly. Much advice on youtube may be incorrect. Much is good. You will have to figure out what is crap. Take it slow and learn your Phantom. I saw a video last night where a guy with a vision on his second flight ...at night...slams into his own roof. Lots of damage. He powered up and took off at about 27 seconds into the video.How could it have possibly locked on to satellites is such a short time. No compass dance but he may have done that on first flight. He was on concrete which has rebar or mesh....not a good idea for the compass. Well, he will be out of the air for a bit. Broke all props and trashed the gimble. Your quad....your choices.
 

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