I am a newbie and I haven't flown yet. I realize that the likelhood of me crashing is extremely high. Everyday in this forum, I read of lost drones, crashes, fly aways, so on and so forth. Is this "normal" in terms of drone flying? I don't know, maybe I just need a pep talk. Thanks!

I would recommend flying something smaller first if you're new to quads. Personally, the assist features are great, but if you're not familiar with the basics of flying quad, there could be some serious issues.

Loss of GPS and going into Attitude mode could cause you to crash, or lose your Inspire 1 if you're not familiar with how quads move/behave in different orientations.

Just my 2 cents. Welcome to the community, good luck and happy flying.  

You'll do fine , read and follow the directions a few times and try to find someone who already has a dji phantom or inspire preferably to help and advise you a little , you could buy the small cheap non GPS Hubsan drone which will help you get over first time gitters with the inspire , actually the hubsan will be some what harder to fly at first than a properly setup dji product , but it can survive almost any crash or misadventure you might encounter it's quite small and fun to fly indoor or out ...    Use the forums but Don't get discouraged by every thing you read on forums some are valid issues and some user errors . I like using youtube for tutorials if I need to or just for confirmation..... and you can weed out the BS pretty quick and find the correct solutions and answers you need . Good luck to you then !

Dronefly .com , has some decent video tutorials on YouTube or the link on thier website . Good people at dronefly.

I have a Cheerson CX-10 to practice and keep control skills sharp. It's a really fun mini-drone. Lotta indoor fun with the cats.

I honest ly haven had any problems with around dozen flights (weather in Sweden sucks and still gets dark early) Mainly flown GPS but also some atti to get familiar with these controls in case of losing GPS signal but this has not happened to be yet.

I'm quite confident in flying due having owned few quads before with no GPS so not too worried losing signal when bird is close by or as least when you still have video feed.

Like someone posted earlier too, I would recommend to get small/cheap quad for playing. When you manage to fly those somewhat decent you have no issues with Inspire even when losing GPS

Also, I feel your pain and insecurity since a have some of the same feelings due hanging around this forum a lot. It feels there are lots of issues but it's really hard to tell the actual percentage. You/we all should remember that at current day and age every incident is posted in to forums and social media which might make it seem everyone have problems even when that's not the case

Abe, let's be honest (see what I did there?), it is a nerve wrecking endevour.  However, I'd never flown before either. I just did tons of research (watched videos, read a lot from this forum, etc), and when I finally got around to taking my Inspire out for the first time yesterday (video in separate thread) I was extremely cautious. I plan to roll with that exact same level of caution for my next few outings until I start to feel very comfortable. You'll be fine if you do your research and do all the preflight stuff you need to do.

I second what Jake implied about caution being the best method for dealing with risk.    Also agree with those above who talked about using a less expensive substitute if you feel too nervous.

I would add that Inpsire's built in safety features make it very possible to fly the Inspire in a moderate and conservative way.  They have done a pretty good job of providing for a variety of skill levels.   You're going to be more nervous because of the cost, no doubt.  It is just like anything in life. Some people fail their driver's test initially because they are too nervous, not because they don't have the native ability to drive well.

If you want to practice with a less expensive deal then nothing wrong with that.  You may end up doing both!  I doubt you're going to be out flying your inexpensive practice model for very long before you eye that Inspire controller with more confidence.  On the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised if a few simple flights with the Inspire give you heaps of confidence.  It is fun to fly even if you just hover it a few meters up and within a small area.

Hi Abe

I think I read myself scared on the forum.

When I finally took the Inspire up, I realised it was far more scary flying my Phantom!
This is one awesome bird, just use common sense, calibrate the bird, do due diligence checks before taking off, and ENJOY!
I recon its one of the easiest drones to fly actually, with clearly the best footage to be had!

Thanks everyone! I feel more empowered now. My spare batteries are arriving this weekend. I'll go test it out in a secluded (safe) park. Wish me luck.

Buy one of these!  Fly it like you stole it!!   Have some fun in expert mode.  Then flying will be second nature and if you get in trouble instincts will save you.

Hubsan X4