Hi all,

Ok so I have seen vids, but at the same time I have read of problems...

I just want to take my P3 outside and fly it far and wide and get great shots of my town and other places... but the second that thing is off the ground I just start seeing a big pile of money flying around and now look its 90m in the air and is it going backwards when I ask it to? is it going to get blown away? is it going to return home? is it descending when I ask? is it just going to fall out the sky and blow up?? then my chest feels tight...  I hit 112m high the other day but was s*itting so many bricks I could of rebuilt Hadrian's wall!!

Do you guys worry when its up there? should I be worried or is the tech in this thing so good I should just believe all the things it says in the manual?

Is there any compensation if something goes wrong?
I remember my friend telling me about his Bebop drone, where they released a firmware that had many peoples drones just flying away... but they replaced the drone free of charge if you could prove the firmware you where on and showed the flight data of it buggering off...

How likely is other things going to interfere?, if I fly it away and someone has a home wifi blasting out on the same frequency is it gonna topple out the sky? can my friend show up with his Bebop and we fly together or will that end if a fireball of death? at 120m high is the wind going to be so much different that the drone will get blown away??

How far can I fly it away in a direction? am I best being high up when I try or lower?


Anyone else worry about their drones like me? or should I just get out there and fly it?

Thanks
Bobro

I would say, if you follow all the 'best practices' for safety and common sense, if you have read the manual and understand how the quad operates and all the proper calibrations and preflight checks are complete - go fly!  Start out in a small area and get used to your quad, how it reacts to your inputs, how long the quad takes to perform maneuvers and stops.  Fly the quad a good distance but still in LOS and check the function of the RTH feature.  Fly all your batteries a few times with the quad always in LOS to check what flight times you are getting with each.  This is especially useful when you want to fly farther away from the home point and GS flights.  Start out smart and learn your quad.  Do this and I bet you will have the confidence to step out and let the quad fly without s*itting those bricks.

I felt the same way! Mini heart attacks occurring as I watched $1260 fly in front of me. It does get better over time as your confidence builds. Make sure you read the manual completely! It is very vague and someone with knowledge of the entire system needs to write a complete user friendly  instruction manual so Phantom pilots can fly and maintain their aircraft.  Make sure when you update software in your RC and aircraft, and before you fly it, complete an IMU, RC, compass and gimble calibration. This could possibly save you a lot of headaches. Perform a COMPLETE pre-flight check EACH time you fly! You will read other post where some say not to do a compass calibration each time, it's you $$$ flying around! If you have a hard landing, the aircraft tips over.....perform a IMU and compass cal. before you take off again. These are some of the things I've learned, not through the manual, but reading posts in this forum and researching the internet. Keep up with your homework and stay attuned to what is going on with other pilots, updates and what to avoid.

mjlstudios@yaho Posted at 2016-1-1 15:37
I felt the same way! Mini heart attacks occurring as I watched $1260 fly in front of me. It does get ...

I suppose I just need more flight time, I have only been on 4 flights in the back field

nrgwise Posted at 2016-1-1 14:58
I would say, if you follow all the 'best practices' for safety and common sense, if you have read th ...

Good suggestion on testing all the battery flight times... just realised one of my batteries was on an older firmware too...

I share the very same feeling, that is, when that thing is up in the air, especially high up even below 120m, I always got this weird feeling that I feel like I'm breaking many laws on earth. It is when I safely bring it back, then this feeling is replaced with a more assured and satisfactory one.

Weird, isn't it?

It always comes back down

[RCG]Balthazar Posted at 2016-1-1 08:41
It always comes back down

Now THAT is proper optimistic attitude.

I'll add to the excellent advice offered by nrgwise and mjlstudios, in that by defying gravity, aviation requires a little more discipline than earth-bound RC modeling. As mjlstudios aptly states, plan your flights and you'll be better prepared for emergencies. Begin with a checklist and then force yourself to develop a scan pattern within the GO App. Think of the GO App as your cockpit. The instrumentation is there for you within the app -> with all of the information you need to fly safely. Force yourself to look at and use the feedback it's providing. Know where the controls are on your RC and how to use them. Practice switching to ATTI mode and still controlling the aircraft. I find that aircraft orientation can be confusing when first learning to fly at the range limits of the P3 but the tools are there within the GO App to pilot safely.

May all P3 pilots fly often and fly safe in the new year!