Afraid of flying the drone?...

[Rex Peters]

How many of you have anxiety about flying your expensive drone in fear of losing it?
I get anxiety and hearing all the warnings and beeps when flying...
How do you get over this anxiety?
I have had my Mavic pro for a while now and mostly go up and down so I know where my drone is..LOL

Hello Billydrone,
I for one know exactly how you feel. It’s not so much as my flying abilities as what happens if the drone does something that is not normal or expected and a fly away occurs or the drone is lost in the ocean. I think the issue is that we have read of so many posts of this happening that we think it will happen to ours. The reality is that the problems you hear about is a very small percentage of all the drones out there. Learning to fly is like learning how to drive; always apprehensive but soon enough, it becomes second nature. Flying your drone will be come second nature in no time. Slow and steady. If it takes 50 flights, who cares.
Don’t push it just because you think you should be further along.
Cheers,
Rex

 

[Dbez1]

. But still.... the best advice either get the DJI refresh and/or replacement insurance...while would suck losing a drone, having that peace of mind that it will be replaced helps with the stress.

I heartily agree with this. Your fear is likely losing your expensive drone. In Minnesota, you are probably able to get State Farm Insurance on it as an individual article for under $100. (I pay $45 per year here in western PA.)That way, if you get it stuck high up in a tree or drown it in Lake Michigan, it’s still covered and 0 deductible. You have also received many other great suggestions in this thread like flying in a wide open field until your confidence and skill increase. Now get out there and start having fun! No more straight up and back down. ???

 

[fguthrie]

I get worried when I use the smart controller with the flawed firmware and my Air 2
When you lose connect with clear sky and only 100-200ft away

Will the Air 2s have the same issues if you want to use the smart controller?
We shall see

Hey Don - I recently purchased an Air 2 and use it with the smart controller. I have not yet experienced losing connection - how often does that happen to you?

 

[Ol' Sparky]

Every time I go out, I go realizing there's a possibility that I will come home without my drone. Thanx to the members here that have suffered issues, either technological or pilot error, I have prepared as best I can to know how to handle them if/when they should arise with my drone. The knowledge shared here has already saved me a couple of times because I knew what to do when events happened. Learn from others, get Refresh or State Farm insurance, and fly away (pardon the pun). There will always be apprehension or a bit of fear every time I fly....that's what makes it so exciting. Embrace it....just make sure you have enough satellites and your home point doesn't update 1000 feet out.

 

[Deleted member 51434]

Hey Don - I recently purchased an Air 2 and use it with the smart controller. I have not yet experienced losing connection - how often does that happen to you?

Close by dropped connect - Only happened a few times

But the range problem is EVERY - time
I get about 25% range I should be getting

But the other day I wanted to get a rock in the ocean 1.5mi out
Too many errors and warning to even try

Very disappointing for my New Air 2 and my New Smart Controller

Had to pull out the old Mavic Platinum - Went to to far side around over the top Not One Error

DJI is acting like they are clueless about the buggy firmware

I'm still kicking around selling all my DJI drones to stop the frustration

So the big question is can you fly anywhere near the range that you should be getting?

I asked this question before and not one person said they could
Try just 3mi out that would be only half of the claimed 6mi range

My MAX limit is always half of what DJI claims just to be safe

 

[BillyDrone]

If you live near Minneapolis I could go flying with you and help calm your fears and answer any questions you may have

I lived in South Minneapolis all my life......I moved to Stillwater Mn a couple years ago....Minneapolis has really gotten bad over the years.

 

[jarnie]

How many of you have anxiety about flying your expensive drone in fear of losing it?
I get anxiety and hearing all the warnings and beeps when flying...
How do you get over this anxiety?
I have had my Mavic pro for a while now and mostly go up and down so I know where my drone is..LOL

I too am afraid to fly my drone where I can't see it - eg no more than say 200 feet away. I watch lots of videos posted here and feel envious of those who have created them especially those taken over water especially the ocean. I have yet to fly my drone simply looking at the monitor mainly as it is hard to see in bright sunlight even with a special hood. Maybe I will try early in the morning or late afternoon.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

I too am afraid to fly my drone where I can't see it - eg no more than say 200 feet away. I watch lots of videos posted here and feel envious of those who have created them especially those taken over water especially the ocean. I have yet to fly my drone simply looking at the monitor mainly as it is hard to see in bright sunlight even with a special hood. Maybe I will try early in the morning or late afternoon.

Be hard to find it if it went down in some of your surrounding country jarnie.
Early morning / late afternoon really is the best time to do any sort of photography and video, plan that depending on the side of the range you're on.

 

[NG Wildman]

I was flying my drone once and the DJI Go 4 app got disconnected on my Galaxy S10....I could not see my drone anywhere and it was out of eye site.... I thought I lost my drone forever....
I had to completely rely on the remote controller itself it guide my Mavic Pro back to me.....

Happened to me with my Mavic 2 Pro... left my buddy and took off to find it on my pontoon boat...I looped around the island (it took off an me from 200 feet away on the way back) and couldn't find it. I tried to reacquire the drone by turning on and off the Trans and the App. No luck. I made it back to the dock and...low and behold...there she was sitting exactly where I launched her from.
Always set the RTH to a height above the tallest obstacle...it does in fact work.

 

[Whizz]

I only get anxious in busy areas....like around my house. Tons of trees and wires. Can't tell you how close I've come to clipping the power lines...lol. And over water raises my BP....why I bought a lifejacket and skin for mine. . But still.... the best advice either get the DJI refresh and/or replacement insurance...while would suck losing a drone, having that peace of mind that it will be replaced helps with the stress.

I have d j i refresh what worries me is if you cant retreive the drone as its not covered , do you or anyone know of a company that covers loss for a reasonable price im based in the uk

 

[stusmavic]

I remember one time I flew up through some power lines, my mini flew faultless BTW.
On returning I lost sight of it and got in a bit of a panic as I couldn't bring it down too low for fear of hitting the lines, I could hear it but not see it. I realized I has flown slightly past my location so all was ok then once I'd spotted it, panic over. I brought it down between the lines then landed without any drama.

 

[cgmaxed]

How many of you have anxiety about flying your expensive drone in fear of losing it?
I get anxiety and hearing all the warnings and beeps when flying...
How do you get over this anxiety?
I have had my Mavic pro for a while now and mostly go up and down so I know where my drone is..LOL

When I first started about 1.5 years ago, i was very nervous every time I flew my drone. I fly over mostly inaccessible swampy florida land and canals or gated communities, so I can't get access very easily or at all if I crash. I lost 2 of my 1,500 dollar drones within the 1st 6 months of my flying. I've gotten more cautious and careful since then and have not lost any over the past year. I stopped taking any significant risks during flying. The anxiety stays with me up to today, but it is not nearly as bad as it was when I first started. It just takes time, experience, a sense of confidence that your drone is reliable and air worthy. Anyway, the initial anxiety sometimes stopped me from flying sometimes. I only get a little nervous now, especially when I buy a new drone, because I can never be sure how air worthy an individual drone is. Some are actually more sound than others. I have had a few that had manufacturing defects and had to be returned. This included autel and DJI

 

[BillyDrone]

Happened to me with my Mavic 2 Pro... left my buddy and took off to find it on my pontoon boat...I looped around the island (it took off an me from 200 feet away on the way back) and couldn't find it. I tried to reacquire the drone by turning on and off the Trans and the App. No luck. I made it back to the dock and...low and behold...there she was sitting exactly where I launched her from.
Always set the RTH to a height above the tallest obstacle...it does in fact work.

LOL

 

[julius13]

I’ve been flying as a part 107 pilot for 5 years now. I still get a little nervous when flying in urban areas. I had one of my Mavic 2 pros malfunction a couple of years ago and it tumbled from 372 ft. Keeps me on my toes now. I’m past the point of caring about losing a drone, I just don’t want to have an incident on the ground with an innocent bystander. BUT, you can’t let fear hold you back. I fly a lot for work so I’m up and out relatively quick. I do enjoy just getting out to new places and exploring. So if you can do that your anxious feelings will diminish tremendously. Happy Trails.

 

[careless]

Best way to get over the fear of flying is to buy insurance, It worked for me State Farm is the best.

 

[fguthrie]

Close by dropped connect - Only happened a few times

But the range problem is EVERY - time
I get about 25% range I should be getting

But the other day I wanted to get a rock in the ocean 1.5mi out
Too many errors and warning to even try

Very disappointing for my New Air 2 and my New Smart Controller

Had to pull out the old Mavic Platinum - Went to to far side around over the top Not One Error

DJI is acting like they are clueless about the buggy firmware

I'm still kicking around selling all my DJI drones to stop the frustration

So the big question is can you fly anywhere near the range that you should be getting?

I asked this question before and not one person said they could
Try just 3mi out that would be only half of the claimed 6mi range

My MAX limit is always half of what DJI claims just to be safe

Good info - I'll have to experiment a bit. I hardly ever go more than a mile out anyway though, so typically I guess the range issue will not be an issue for me.

 

[ScottsMA2]

I also get quite anxious when when flying away from anything more than up and down or a tight circle around my home. (Lost my fist ever "cheap" drone to a flyaway years ago!). But believe it or not, my actual biggest fear is of some redneck neighbor shooting at my drone. Everytime I am up hovering 200 or 300 ft High, I just know that one of them is it going to take a shot at it. Years ago where I live everybody was quite peaceful and got along very well. Over the years we've gotten a lot of neighbors who are paranoid are would just think it's fun to shoot it down. I'm talking about people who have moved into a residential neighborhood that have no problem exploding tannerite at all times of the day and evening and firing multiple semi-automatic weapons when you're out just enjoying the sunshine. I wish that wasn't something I had to worry about but I've seen several videos and I've heard stories of people taking shots at drones. Other than that, my MA2 has actually helped me to enhance my flying skills and has given me more confidence in what a quality drone can do. Happy flying!

 

[Droniac]

How many of you have anxiety about flying your expensive drone in fear of losing it?
I get anxiety and hearing all the warnings and beeps when flying...
How do you get over this anxiety?
I have had my Mavic pro for a while now and mostly go up and down so I know where my drone is..LOL

How many of you have anxiety about flying your expensive drone in fear of losing it?
I get anxiety and hearing all the warnings and beeps when flying...
How do you get over this anxiety?
I have had my Mavic pro for a while now and mostly go up and down so I know where my drone is..LOL

Credit Where you at?? Credit is due for being so candid. As a newbie and bless the Mav2 before flight... that’s exactly what I fear. In time I’m certain I’ll gain confidence with practice flying and crashing as I have been. More flying now. Less anxiety. If not I’m moving in to harder drugs. Jk, of course. Enjoy every aspect of it that you can. That will distract you plenty imo. -Godspeed

 

[Droniac]

Yep, felt the same fresh into this with flying ... my recipe to cure that was to learn all about how & why they can fly as stable as they do. And then started to learn how to read/interpret the flight logs. After a while I knew the weaker spots in the total system & could avoid making mistakes just there. Log reading was also really good in order to find reasons for all surprising oddities. So start up & hang around the forum section "Mavic Crash & Flyaway Assistance"... that calmed me down

Not unlike old man mav. Excellent advice. I myself will benefit from that approach. Godspeed

 

[Droniac]

Everyone goes thru this to some degree when they first get there drone.
I remember my very first flight in my girlfriends back yard , I went straight up with the phantom about 50 ft and just hovered , when along came a hawk carrying a Snake and smashed right into it and the drone flew away.

Three things happened : My girl said " Oh No "
We got in the car searching for the drone and asking people permission to go in there back yard. Never found it.

DJI Replaced my entire drone for free with %100 coupon

Moral of the story if something is going to happen, its simply going to happen all you can do is act like a real pilot >
Check your drone : walk around it : Check with the Air Data and trust in the Technology and have a few emergency skills down pat. RTH being one of them.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Mavic in the Rain and Land on the Water.

Appears to me you threatened the predator by trying to snatch that snake! Lol plus you were wearing a raincoat probably. Lol. ??? funny/cool story. Godspeed