I'm as new as they come to flying UAV's.  I got my first one Friday night.  On Saturday I went through everything, read the manuals, and went through a battery in the flight simulator mode.  Today, I took it up in the air for the first time.  In beginner mode of course.  That thing is awesome.  I had a great time with it.  Everything went smoothly, no crashes.  I did a lot of take offs and landings and a lot of forward, back, side to side movements.  I figure at least another week in beginner mode and then I can slowly take the training wheels off.  I am a happy camper and looking forward to becoming more proficient with flying and using the camera.

  

Good to hear Mark.
Dont forget to set all of the 'safety' options on unless you have good reason not to. Examples: RTH on signal loss; all avoidance sensors on; set battery warning higher than the 20% (I think that's the default anyway - I set mine for 50%). Regarding the latter, use the battery down to 50%, recharge it fully, and do that for at least the first 5 flights to train the battery properly.

Very Nice!

That happy feeling never wears off for me.

Welcome to the club...Beside what Punchy said, always check the props and AC before and after each flyght. Know your surroundings, cell towers, high power line, wind gust etc. You can also download UAV FORECAST gives you a lot of info about the weather, kpc, etc...

Aloha Mark,

     Good news!  Take your time and think safety.  Imagine what could happen before it happens.  If it does not happen, rethink your strategy.

Aloha and Drone On!

nice to hear. Keep up on your reading and youtube and learn as much as you can. i am curious how many of us are 50+ old guys vs younger but thats for another thread!

eliot may Posted at 2017-2-27 02:47
nice to hear. Keep up on your reading and youtube and learn as much as you can. i am curious how many of us are 50+ old guys vs younger but thats for another thread!

Come on Eliot, us older guys know old age aint for sissies.

Happy the first flight was good for you, it will help calm your nerves a bit.

Good job MarkG, good exercise for to get used to sticks,

Try flying P4P with the back facing you as much as you can, it will get your brain and fingers used to left right yaw right yaw left etc.

Your P4P will fly at the same speed forward backwards and sideways , when you've mastered this try practicing opposite,

It's also good exercise to use on the flight simulator. Good Luck..

Nice one Mark, glad you enjoyed it, they are good fun, do lots of reading on this and other forums, dont get the horrors about other peoples posts,  just be aware things can go wrong and be prepared when they do, once you are confident about your flying, and you pick a day with very little wind, in a field with soft grass, start practising in ATTI mode, get the bird in the air 4 metres or so and then flick switch too ATTI mode so all of the input is done by you, if things start to not feel right, flick it back into P mode and it will instantly look after itself, you should practice this every time you fly, you can use the last 10 mins  of the battery power when you have had your flight, I would have lost my P4P in January if  I hadnt been very good at ATTI flying, good luck and enjoy your P4P look forward to hearing more of your flights.

Welcome to the club, Mark! To me that excitement of starting the props and taking off never goes away, even after years. It is an amazing hobby to have.

Punchbuggy Posted at 2017-2-26 19:08
Good to hear Mark.
Dont forget to set all of the 'safety' options on unless you have good reason not to. Examples: RTH on signal loss; all avoidance sensors on; set battery warning higher than the 20% (I think that's the default anyway - I set mine for 50%). Regarding the latter, use the battery down to 50%, recharge it fully, and do that for at least the first 5 flights to train the battery properly.

Thanks for the advice Punchbuggy!  I have a pre-flight checklist I'm working from.  I appreciate all of the tips I can get.  If it's not on my pre-flight checklist I will add it.

HighCamera Posted at 2017-2-26 19:08
Very Nice!

That happy feeling never wears off for me.

I'm hoping that feeling stays with me for a long time.  My son came out and watched me fly and now he wants to get one.  Always good to find things to do with our kids.

dronist Posted at 2017-2-26 22:44
Welcome to the club...Beside what Punchy said, always check the props and AC before and after each flyght. Know your surroundings, cell towers, high power line, wind gust etc. You can also download UAV FORECAST gives you a lot of info about the weather, kpc, etc...

Thanks for the advice Dronist!  There's always something to look out for that a person doesn't normally pay any attention to.  I'll definitely get the UAV Forecast app.

Cetacean Posted at 2017-2-26 23:34
Aloha Mark,

     Good news!  Take your time and think safety.  Imagine what could happen before it happens.  If it does not happen, rethink your strategy.

Aloha Cetacean!

Your advice makes me feel like I'm working again.  We always used the saying "keep your head on a swivel".  Safety First!!

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-2-27 04:19
Good job MarkG, good exercise for to get used to sticks,

Try flying P4P with the back facing you as much as you can, it will get your brain and fingers used to left right yaw right yaw left etc.

Hallmark, thanks for the advice.

The controls on the RC kind of remind me of my excavator controls.  It's all great when you have the cab facing forward but when you spin the cab around and face backwards, forward is now backward.  Practice! Practice! Practice!

Snowwolfwarrior Posted at 2017-2-27 05:00
Nice one Mark, glad you enjoyed it, they are good fun, do lots of reading on this and other forums, dont get the horrors about other peoples posts,  just be aware things can go wrong and be prepared when they do, once you are confident about your flying, and you pick a day with very little wind, in a field with soft grass, start practising in ATTI mode, get the bird in the air 4 metres or so and then flick switch too ATTI mode so all of the input is done by you, if things start to not feel right, flick it back into P mode and it will instantly look after itself, you should practice this every time you fly, you can use the last 10 mins  of the battery power when you have had your flight, I would have lost my P4P in January if  I hadnt been very good at ATTI flying, good luck and enjoy your P4P look forward to hearing more of your flights.

Snowwolfwarrior, great advice!  Thank you!

I always strive to be proficient enough in what I do that if something doesn't go correctly I have options and the ability to compensate.

eliot may Posted at 2017-2-27 02:47
nice to hear. Keep up on your reading and youtube and learn as much as you can. i am curious how many of us are 50+ old guys vs younger but thats for another thread!

Heeeey! 50+ IS young! Just remember that with age comes wisdom. :-)

MarkG Posted at 2017-2-27 07:38
I'm hoping that feeling stays with me for a long time.  My son came out and watched me fly and now he wants to get one.  Always good to find things to do with our kids.

Well, the P3S is now an incredible price after all...  ;-)

MarkG Posted at 2017-2-27 07:51
Aloha Cetacean!

Your advice makes me feel like I'm working again.  We always used the saying "keep your head on a swivel".  Safety First!!

Aloha Mark,

     When you get to be my age, you will be glad you had any chance to keep your head on a swivel.  My Flight Engineer brother and I are the only ones who do not have neck problems in our family!

Aloha and Drone On!

Cetacean Posted at 2017-2-27 18:50
Aloha Mark,

     When you get to be my age, you will be glad you had any chance to keep your head on a swivel.  My Flight Engineer brother and I are the only ones who do not have neck problems in our family!

I wasn't able to avoid the neck problems.  Had a ceiling fall on my head while at a fire.  Now my head swiveling is done by turning my body.  Still works just takes a little more effort.

Good news is so rare on here. ;-$

Nice to read of a happy, eager to participate pilot.


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MarkG Posted at 2017-2-28 15:37
I wasn't able to avoid the neck problems.  Had a ceiling fall on my head while at a fire.  Now my head swiveling is done by turning my body.  Still works just takes a little more effort.

Aloha Mark,

     Ouch!  Take care now!

Aloha and Drone On!

MarkG Posted at 2017-2-28 15:37
I wasn't able to avoid the neck problems.  Had a ceiling fall on my head while at a fire.  Now my head swiveling is done by turning my body.  Still works just takes a little more effort.

My bro'in law is an inspector with our local F.D. They sure must make a lot of life long friends, when they move the members around, to different halls every 4 months. ;-)



Admirable life commitment.


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