I am a retired military and completely disabled due to my job and the Golf war. One of my disabilities is abnestic disorder caused from a tramatic brain injury sustained in the war. Because of this disorder I am not able to remember things as I should. Before I start my pre-flight check I pray for guidance and wisdom  and a safe uneventful flight. I pray for a strong mind, quick reflexes when needed and a strong air frame. I have incorprated this as part of my pre-flight.

A step that your more "able" brethren should think about adopting too.

While I would never suggest not praying, I have found something which is a big help.  I have a &aposre-Flight' checklist of everything I need to do before a flight.  I go step by step each and every time before takeoff.  I fly my P3P as if I were on board.  As for praying, I've been known to utter what might pass for a prayer when I've found myself in a sticky situation.  So far, so good.
Thanks for your service soldier!

Hey mjlstudios, thank you for your service!

rolyf Posted at 2016-1-1 20:42
While I would never suggest not praying, I have found something which is a big help.  I have a 'Pre- ...

Would you mind sharing your preflight checklist with us newbies?

Mj,

If it works, do it!

Semper Fi, Brother.

Jerry

mjlstudios, It's a comfort to have you among us here on the forum. I am a firm believer in prayer even if all our prayers are not answered in the way we sometimes expect them to be answered. The first mishap I had with my unit allowed me 8 to 9 weeks of reading several forums, as well as the manual dji supplied. I keep a check list in both my backpack as well as the Seahorse case I use. Most days I pray for patience as well as wisdom whether I fly or not. I have a neighbor that also has a p3p. Him and I often times watch each other's back like a spotter of sorts. He has been in the RC flying for many years, and I have gained much insight from his presence.  Thank you for your service to this country of ours.

I haven't received my P3A yet but am working on developing a preflight checklist in the beginning.  It would be greatly appreciated if you guys wouldn't mind sharing yours so I can get an idea of what I am looking to do.  I have found so much info on these forums, but it is difficult to remember all of it, and I'm not trying to write everything down.  By the way mjlstudios I did not intend to hijack your thread, and I'm with you brother, I'm already praying and don't even have my bird yet

From one trooper to another. Good Job Sir. Keep flying save

from one Praying person to another - I pray every day. I used to tell my troops, "remember God looks after the stupid" and I pointed to myself.

to moral of the story is, God looks out for us and always keeps us in his arms. sometimes we may not like it, but hey, he is GOD and does whats right in spite of us....

Keep on flying, and trust HIM to keep us safe.

Ryano305 Posted at 2016-1-1 21:54
I haven't received my P3A yet but am working on developing a preflight checklist in the beginning.   ...

My pre-flight starts at the house. I check my P3P pack to make sure everything I will need for the flight is there. I check the aircraft for any damage, ie. cracks, motors are free spinning, gimble is free moving, props are not damaged, batteries are fully charged, RC batteries are charged and RC with no apparent damage. At the flight site I install the props and ensure they are tight. I survey the land. ie. check tree height, check to make sure no radio towers are close by, check for people and animals. I calibrate the compass, ensure I have GPS satelights and safe to fly with home point established. I hover at about 6 feet for about 30 seconds the check the way the aircraft is behaving. I check flight controls for forward, reverse, side to side, up, down and pan. I raise the aircraft to about 100 feet and check wind speed. If all that checks good, I fly.

Ryano305 Posted at 2016-1-2 02:03
Would you mind sharing your preflight checklist with us newbies?

Here's my checklist if it's of any help to anyone Pre-flight checklist.

The list can be printed double-sided and laminated and the items ticked off with a wax pencil and then wiped clean ready for the next flight. Good luck with your prayers, I hope all turns out well for you.

mjlstudios  Thank You for your service, and prayer can be a good thing

astrostar  Thanks for the pre flight check list, well done!

After my last crash, I added a new item to my check list: I now check myself mentally before flight. If I am not fully awake, alert and ready to look for any possible way my drone could crash into or have its signal blocked by an object, I don't fly. If I feel that "everything will be fine" I don't fly. I fly when I am fully aware that any mistake I make could lead to the loss of my drone. I have never had a crash when I am in that mental mode.

pete@clarkcabin Posted at 2016-1-2 15:55
mjlstudios  Thank You for your service, and prayer can be a good thing

astrostar  Thanks for the  ...

Hi Pete,
You're more than welcome - hope you find it helpful, there are just too many things to remember, especially at my age !

astrostar Posted at 2016-1-2 05:32
Here's my checklist if it's of any help to anyone Pre-flight checklist.

The list can be printed d ...

Excellent! appreciate your positive and productive post. Others on this forum could learn something from you (setting a great example on how and what to post and using your checklist)
I would add "remove gimbal protector/lens cover" to your checklist but perhaps you dont use either.

Ryano305 Posted at 2016-1-1 21:03
Would you mind sharing your preflight checklist with us newbies?

Astrostar beat me to it with his excellent checklist.  Mine is very similar except that I don't have a reminder for the warning light patterns.  If you follow astrostar's list you will have done everything you can as a pilot to ensure a safe and reliable mission.
My checklist deviates slightly with astrostar's on two points.  He is happy with 8+ satellites but I don't fly without 12.  That way I figure I can can lose a couple and still be good. So far I have found no problem getting 12+. The second point is that astrostar will accept a 1000-2000 compass.  My compass is 1400-1550 and I'd be concerned about a value outside of that range.  Not being argumentative, his list is obviously based on much experience.  I even got a chuckle out of a couple things he did learn from experience such as I did.  Things like to point the antennas right (if the originals are still being used) and turn the darn camera off at flight end.
BTW, my checklist is laminated and on a lanyard which I place around my neck so it is right there item by item when I do my pre-flight.

mjlstudios@yaho Posted at 2016-1-2 02:34
My pre-flight starts at the house. I check my P3P pack to make sure everything I will need for the ...

First of all, I thank you for your service and sacrifice.  Years ago I tried to join the military as I had a decent background in electronics.  I was not accepted due to my hearing loss.  I will always have special place in my heart for those who went in my place. Bless you and your brothers in arms!

That's a very complete checklist,  the only thing different is that I don't remove the props as the hubs are plastic.  Removing and reattaching multiple times can cause wear and tear on the threads, in extreme cases may cause a prop to fly off with expensive results.   That being said, it IS personal preference and some times you do need to remove them for transport.

bletzinger Posted at 2016-1-2 20:10
Excellent! appreciate your positive and productive post. Others on this forum could learn something ...

Many thanks for your kind words. I will try and add "remove gimbal protector/lens cover" to the list - I wonder how many have flown with the lens cover on and wondered why they were getting no video showing ?

rolyf Posted at 2016-1-2 21:44
Astrostar beat me to it with his excellent checklist.  Mine is very similar except that I don't ha ...

Glad you liked the checklist. The 8+ satellites are probably the minimum acceptable. I would be very wary flying with anything less than this but as you rightly point out 12 is really good. I'll probably modify the compass values in line with the general consensus - I'll post the new checklist as soon as it's been updated.

rolyf Posted at 2016-1-2 21:44
Astrostar beat me to it with his excellent checklist.  Mine is very similar except that I don't ha ...

Just updated the Checklist...

Preflight Checklist

astrostar Posted at 2016-1-5 23:22
Just updated the Checklist...

Preflight Checklist

Thank you for your service!
I'm a vet too (Vietnam) and I pray every day to thank God that I came home whole. I'm sorry for your injuries and I pray for your continued improvement.
I can see from your post above that you're a pretty talented guy. Good work.

astrostar Posted at 2016-1-5 10:22
Just updated the Checklist...

Preflight Checklist

Astrostar may I ask what program you created this list on, and if there is someway I can modify it add a few things and take away some things?  I don't know if I need a different copy than I get from clicking your link, but from what I can tell I can not modify that pdf.  It would be greatly appreciated.

Ryano305 Posted at 2016-1-5 16:38
Astrostar may I ask what program you created this list on, and if there is someway I can modify it ...

Hi Ryano305,

The program I use is Adobe InDesign CS2, quite an old program but it does the job. There are some pdf editing programs on the net which you can try if you wish to edit the checklist, one being PDFescape I've not used it but it may be of some use.

Without wishing to open the floodgates of customised checklists for everyone, if you can let me know what you would like to add/delete I'll see what I can do.

Astrostar I really appreciate it, I have added you as a friend, and was able to mod the list myself.  I was wondering on the values section what do the IMU values, RC Exp and Gain values, and Compass mod values mean.  I have seen people say IMU values should be between .99-1.01 so not sure what your values mean?

Ryano305 Posted at 2016-1-6 00:31
Astrostar I really appreciate it, I have added you as a friend, and was able to mod the list myself. ...

Hi,

Glad you were able to mod the checklist to how you wanted it. Regarding the RC gain settings, DJI have put together a valuable thread which outlines everything in a much more eloquent fashion than I ever could...

RC settings

Once again thank you very much for your help astrostar, but I looked at the forum and it really does not tell what those values are.  I guess a better question is where should I see those values you have put.  Like what is each number or range where are they found?  Trying to understand it the best I can.
I have done some more reading and it looks like your IMU values categories are:  Gyro Mod: 0, Acc Mod: -0.99 - 1.01, Compass MOD: 1400 - 1600  as in this is where the numbers would show on the screen in my settings.  So is there a reason you would list the compass Mod value twice?  Is there two different ones I should check?  Also trying to figure out where the EXP Gain numbers go