Am I Just Paranoid or What?!

[Dragon2650]

Hey All,

New dronie, new member...First of all, thanks to everyone for all of the insight, tips and info on this forum! I've had my Air for about 2 weeks now. I can't wait to use my drone when traveling! Thank goodness my back yard is a park where I have free reign to practice flying, and I'm still getting used to the controls, features and flying a quad. I crashed once into a palm tree branch because of my own stupidity, but no damage done ( got too close and forgot the left/right controls were backwards when flying toward you! DUH!). Typical rookie mistake. I've been practicing a lot, every chance I get, however, when I explore the neighborhood further and further away, or going higher and higher, I seem to get paranoid about crashing or losing my Air or something going wrong. I guess this is normal for a beginner. Before each flight I make sure I calibrate, GPS signal is good, all systems are normal, etc...Question is, how do (or did) you get over the fact that if/when you can't directly see the Air or have a hard time seeing it (Yes, I know, you're supposed to keep VLOS), that you learn how to control it strictly based on the video on the controller/phone screen? What about flying VLOS but far away (i.e., filming tall buildings, etc.)? Are there any suggestions as to how to get over the fear and how to learn to control the bird simply based on the data and camera view? Is it simply practice and technique (experience) or is there any tips to share? Does the FPV camera setting help (I haven't tried it yet)? Please don't bash me too bad! I'm an over 60 gentleman and don't always see and hear as well as I used to, so seeing the Air at 300-500 feet after looking at the controller/screen is sometimes difficult. But thanks anyway for the experiences, tips and suggestions in advance!

 

[InvisibleName]

Look at the map & follow the green line back to you. Keep an eye on the video feed for any obstructions, maintain altitude if not sure. If ALL else fails, RTH but only as a last resort

 

[Dragon2650]

Thanks! Never thought of following the track...

 

[InvisibleName]

Thanks! Never thought of following the track...

And if you are going to use RTH, make sure you’ve checked the RTH altitude & that it’s set to Return to Home (not Hover or Land) before you take off

 

[BD0G]

Statefarm insurance is your friend.
Coverage for $5 a month! Anything happens and I mean anything - submit claim and your bird is covered.
Personal Articles Policy just for the Mavic Air and perhaps some related accessories.

Then fly with less stress.
Not available in all states - CA being one of them

 

[charlas]

Practice makes perfect etc, I tend to find it's as easy to fly from the screen as visual (the controls don't reverse when flying onboard after all) but you will find that it just 'clicks' your brain just automatically drives the finger memory that if the craft is pointing you it's reversed. Suppose its like driving, there's an awful lot of driving that's 'autopilot' but was difficult to do when you first started.

Just fly it, make sure you have DJI refresh, and use the tools available to you, the map, the onboard and the data, it soon starts to make sense.

 

[CanadaDrone]

I started off just like you, in fact on my first couple flights my thumbs were shaking. I was worried about losing my $1000 drone, I was worried about errors and paying attention to all the info on the screen, I was worried what other people around me thought, etc.

After a little while, I calmed right down, it's like anything else and comfort comes with experience. Get out there and fly as much as possible. Everyone who has ever come up to me while flying has been "woah that's so cool" rather than to ask me to put it away or something like that.

Flying at the sight limits or beyond line of sight takes a while to get used to, but the super-steady video feed on the screen was always my source of comfort. You get to trust the drone more and more over time. To come home, just point the arrow back along the green map line and when you get line of sight back, resume flight as normal. Or, if you are sure there are no obstacles or more importantly, anything above the drone, you can initiate RTH and then cancel it a few seconds later and just use the right stick to fly home as normal.

Another thing I did was buy cheap drones off Amazon to build muscle memory for the controls. By the time I got my Air it was second nature to me.

 

[AeroMirage]

Time will heal the uncertainty. A good indicator is when you no longer have to think about which stick does what. When it comes naturally, you are there.
Remember learning to drive a car? Took a little while for reactions to become natural.

 

[swooshdave]

I was much more relaxed after learning to fly a $50 drone first. When it crashed I didn't mind.

 

[Dragon2650]

Thanks everyone! Great advice!

 

[msinger]

Are there any suggestions as to how to get over the fear and how to learn to control the bird simply based on the data and camera view?

Learn how to use the attitude indicator. It'll help you figure out what your bird is doing in the air and help you steer it back to the home point when you're ready to go home. Here's a good video that explains how the attitude indicator works:

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[Dragon2650]

Thanks again MSinger! I subscribed!

 

[msinger]

That's a great YouTube channel. I really enjoy his videos.

 

[rstekeur]

Once you get out past a mile, try doing it over water. That will really make you pucker.

 

[Dragon2650]

I hear ya!

 

[charlas]

First place I flew mine (well first serious flights) was out over the sea, at first you get a little 'urm' but then it's just not a problem once you get used to it and happy that you know or understand what's going to happen when you give it inputs.

Some footage out over the sea in this video

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[Pilot25dmc]

The more you fly the more confident you will get.

I used to freak out all the time but 3 years later I will happily fly out half a mile over the sea to get a good shot.

 

[rstekeur]

It does take some faith in your equipment. I had a DJI F450 a few years ago drop out of the sky for what ever reason I still don't know, probably prop motor or esc, but it went in the middle of a lake and I never saw it again. Nice shot

 

[charlas]

Yeah, After a while you get to know what it can do, and what's probably best avoided

Like this shot 250m up over the top of the Grand Bali hotel, at one point I wouldn't have done that, let alone got the drone to 'follow' us up in the outside glass lift on the building (in one of my Videos, at about 1:01 linked below)

View media item 1958
You get used to it, believe me

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[LucasMavic]

Hey All,

New dronie, new member...First of all, thanks to everyone for all of the insight, tips and info on this forum! I've had my Air for about 2 weeks now. I can't wait to use my drone when traveling! Thank goodness my back yard is a park where I have free reign to practice flying, and I'm still getting used to the controls, features and flying a quad. I crashed once into a palm tree branch because of my own stupidity, but no damage done ( got too close and forgot the left/right controls were backwards when flying toward you! DUH!). Typical rookie mistake. I've been practicing a lot, every chance I get, however, when I explore the neighborhood further and further away, or going higher and higher, I seem to get paranoid about crashing or losing my Air or something going wrong. I guess this is normal for a beginner. Before each flight I make sure I calibrate, GPS signal is good, all systems are normal, etc...Question is, how do (or did) you get over the fact that if/when you can't directly see the Air or have a hard time seeing it (Yes, I know, you're supposed to keep VLOS), that you learn how to control it strictly based on the video on the controller/phone screen? What about flying VLOS but far away (i.e., filming tall buildings, etc.)? Are there any suggestions as to how to get over the fear and how to learn to control the bird simply based on the data and camera view? Is it simply practice and technique (experience) or is there any tips to share? Does the FPV camera setting help (I haven't tried it yet)? Please don't bash me too bad! I'm an over 60 gentleman and don't always see and hear as well as I used to, so seeing the Air at 300-500 feet after looking at the controller/screen is sometimes difficult. But thanks anyway for the experiences, tips and suggestions in advance!

Hi There,

I hear you there!

You can consider purchasing Apple iPad mini or just an iPad, probably mini would be better, then you can get really nice holders with mounting kit so you can connect it to your controller, that way you will see more on the screen.

The other suggestion is to always keep the right altitude, basically keep it higher than highest object in the area, that way you would be unlikely to crash it.

It’s a wonderful hobby, don’t let it go, practise !

I can also suggest to get a cheap drone to practice, the one which doesn’t come with GPS, you would not need camera for it either, something which won’t make you cry if it will crash. I know Syma is making some cheap drones which would be great to learn basics...