Fear of crashing your drone

[LazyBird]

Hello everyone! Was wondering about experiences with drone crashes or mishaps and how it affected you. I reckon every newbie has two very strong set of feelings on getting a drone for the first time. The excitement of flying and the associated fear of crashing it. I certainly did. Couldn’t tell whether my hands were trembling with adrenaline or sheer nervousness. Fear of crashing or losing the drone seems to be the most common thread one finds in every new drone owner’s first account of his/her first flying experience.

I lost my first drone learning to fly and crashed the second a couple of times. But somehow the experiences helped me overcome my fear rather than aggravate it. I suppose it’s like learning to ride your first bike. Crashes are unavoidable on the learning curve. Anyone with similar experience? Or anyone lucky to have never crashed a drone?

 

[Starz]

Crashes are in fact avoidable.
Just takes a little effort with the gray matter that resides between the ears.

 

[Canuk]

I bought a old phantom 2 to learn on and it was a strong bird . I took the camera off and began to learn and crash . It has a switch to use atti mode . I also went into the programming and can put it in full manual control . In that mode it can do a flip . I think I crashed that bird about ten times . Knowing how to fly in atti mode is a good thing

 

[DanMc]

After 40+ flights on my Mavic Air, I still have a high amount of adrenaline after each flight. No crash yet, but I got the DJI refresh just in case. I figure that this first year will be the most likely timeframe to have an incident. Some may argue that incidents will happen after I'm more experienced and more willing to take chances.

 

[LazyBird]

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True. Translating that grey matter into hands-on skills to fly a drone is the challenge for new pilots. Never crashed Starz?

 

[Lets Fly]

Flying Mavic Air since Christmas and no problems. Staying within VLOS and obeying altitude and other restrictions. Using common sense really helps avoid the unwanted results.
I'll add that I have been practicing over water to be able to video my daughter rowing, and yes the nerves never seem to go away. Just be aware.

 

[PhantomFandom]

Hello everyone! Was wondering about experiences with drone crashes or mishaps and how it affected you. I reckon every newbie has two very strong set of feelings on getting a drone for the first time. The excitement of flying and the associated fear of crashing it. I certainly did. Couldn’t tell whether my hands were trembling with adrenaline or sheer nervousness. Fear of crashing or losing the drone seems to be the most common thread one finds in every new drone owner’s first account of his/her first flying experience.

I lost my first drone learning to fly and crashed the second a couple of times. But somehow the experiences helped me overcome my fear rather than aggravate it. I suppose it’s like learning to ride your first bike. Crashes are unavoidable on the learning curve. Anyone with similar experience? Or anyone lucky to have never crashed a drone?

I am one of those who luckily (knock on wood) has never crashed a drone. Had a couple of toy drones when I first started and only flew them indoors because they were so light and unstable. My first real drone was a P3P and I loved it. A lot of good times with that one, and I was hooked.

I really do think it is 99% pilot error when crashes occur. There are the rare cases of actual mechanical or software failures and that is really the only thing that makes me nervous. Nothing would feel worse than seeing a $3,000 investment drop out of the sky due to a software glitch.

Just fly safe, learn from others, and don't take unnecessary risks.

 

[msinger]

I've spent a lot of time researching incidents where other people have crashed and/or lost their drones. That information allowed me to gain a deep understanding of how DJI drones work and what I should do in order to prevent similar situations with my drones. I've compiled that information and made it shareable in the guide below. Perhaps it will be helpful for you too.

Prevent a Crash or Flyaway with Your DJI Drone (The Complete Guide)

 

[FoxhallGH]

My first drone was a DJI Mavic clone (a C-Fly Obtain). I was quite impressed with it until I tried its RTH feature ... It started to return, but then literally turned and ran! It ended up stuck up a tree and took a week to get down. During recovery, it fell out of the tree and broke the camera gimbal assembly. I just felt that I couldn't trust it anymore, so I put it back in its box and it's still there in the loft! I put aside money for a few months then purchased a Mavic Pro Platinum - the real thing! I quickly realised that's what I should have done first and that the C-Fly drone was a real waste of time and money ...
The Mav' Pro is great because you can trust it to do what you have it set up to do ...

 

[Starz]

True. Translating that grey matter into hands-on skills to fly a drone is the challenge for new pilots. Never crashed Starz?

No

 

[TheWolfen]

Hello everyone! Was wondering about experiences with drone crashes or mishaps and how it affected you. I reckon every newbie has two very strong set of feelings on getting a drone for the first time. The excitement of flying and the associated fear of crashing it. I certainly did. Couldn’t tell whether my hands were trembling with adrenaline or sheer nervousness. Fear of crashing or losing the drone seems to be the most common thread one finds in every new drone owner’s first account of his/her first flying experience.

I lost my first drone learning to fly and crashed the second a couple of times. But somehow the experiences helped me overcome my fear rather than aggravate it. I suppose it’s like learning to ride your first bike. Crashes are unavoidable on the learning curve. Anyone with similar experience? Or anyone lucky to have never crashed a drone?

My only major crash was with an earlier drone, a Blade Chroma. It was caused by a signal issue that shouldn't have happened (because it isn't nearly as good a product as anything DJI) and a RTH altitude that was about 1 feet too low. Well that and no obstacle avoidance. Had to hike 1/4 mile thru heavy cactus up the side of Picacho Peak in Southern AZ. Damage was incredibly minor for the spectacular tumble down a cliff it took but also prompted me to get the Mavic.

It did make me much more cautious even after I got my Mavic, but I eventually got over it as the Mavic is just so much better an aircraft. I'm not anxious flying at all now unless I'm flying at a range I've not done before. I just watch signal strength and I'm good.

 

[Decal Josh]

Speak for yourself. I’m selling mine because I can’t trust it, been nothing but problems since day one and DJI customer service has done nothing remotely close to helping. I have a lot invested and now I have to face a big loss. Never buying DJI anything ever again.

 

[LazyBird]

with

That’s quite a repository of useful information. Very helpful, thanks. Wish I had access to something similar when I started.

 

[LazyBird]

It did make me much more cautious even after I got my Mavic, but I eventually got over it as the Mavic is just so much better an aircraft.

Having the same experience. The DJI drones are incredibly stable and reliable compared to the drone with no GPS I had before. So any mishap will have to be my fault.

 

[LookToTheNorth]

Hello everyone! Was wondering about experiences with drone crashes or mishaps and how it affected you. I reckon every newbie has two very strong set of feelings on getting a drone for the first time. The excitement of flying and the associated fear of crashing it. I certainly did. Couldn’t tell whether my hands were trembling with adrenaline or sheer nervousness. Fear of crashing or losing the drone seems to be the most common thread one finds in every new drone owner’s first account of his/her first flying experience.

I lost my first drone learning to fly and crashed the second a couple of times. But somehow the experiences helped me overcome my fear rather than aggravate it. I suppose it’s like learning to ride your first bike. Crashes are unavoidable on the learning curve. Anyone with similar experience? Or anyone lucky to have never crashed a drone?

Took me about 1 month of flying before my legs would stop shaking. I had to cut short my flight many times because anxiety got the best of me.

 

[Starz]

Took me about 1 month of flying before my legs would stop shaking. I had to cut short my flight many times because anxiety got the best of me.

Perfectly normal.
I still shake at times.
Probably acquired that from the ultralight that I flew back in the 80’s

 

[LookToTheNorth]

Just looked up ultralight. Your a brave man

 

[twodog]

Been flying for a few months now and my arms are still more tired than they should be after holding the remote for an hour or so because of the unavoidable tension. I have refresh but often fly over a river that would wash the bird away so I am resigned to the price tag of a replacement should disaster happen. I feel that the risk of losing the drone combined with the complexity of the process creates a sense of excitement every time I fly. Flying a drone properly is kind of hard and requires a lot of thought and effort - just think of how many people could never get through the setup and updating we went through just to make our first flights. Part of me hopes it remains a challenge and does not become too accessible. Anyhow, get out there and enjoy it while we can

 

[Starz]

Just looked up ultralight. Your a brave man

Same process. Gray matter utilization. There was a member of our group that did not survive the hobby. We explained to him one day that he should not fly in the manner he was flying, but he chose to not listen. I will not run to a crash scene again. 911 was not going to help.
I just try to pay attention to what I’m doing. Don’t get me wrong, I have made my share of mistakes.

 

[dronerdave]

I was very cautious flying my MP when it was new. Flying over water took a few flights until I felt more comfortable about it. Anytime I have some kind of flight problems (gimble shaking, loose video, bird strikes and what not) it creeps me out and usually takes a couple of issue free flights before I'm back to normal. But I fly fixed wing a lot more than my MP. Been doing it over a year and I still shake a bit on the flight line. First thing they tell you is not to get to loving your aircraft and watching other pilots crash 10-15,000 dollar jets make me a bit less nauseous when I crash. I just pick up the pieces and go on my way...