I need to get more comfortable flying

[Bad Santa]

Today I had a good opportunity to do some awesome visual flights.
Before I headed out, I made sure my batteries were charged, including my controller.
Checked my hardware and made sure I had the right SD cards in the drone and controller.

I chickened out.

It was breezy. Probably 10mph
There were cliffs.
There were trees.
There was a LOT of water. Salt water.
There was sand.

I had a few launch points where the wind wasn't bad but the cliffs were around 100 feet above water. No chance to retrieve the drone in case of failure.
I had launch points where the wind was blowing towards me from the target. Easy to retrieve but there was an ocean and sand to worry about.

Lots of good spots I'd love to have video of.

But I'm a chicken, especially since replacements are not getting cheaper.

 

[Felix le Chat]

Can't see anything wrong with that. I'm old enough to know that if I get the heebie-jeebies about something: there's usually a good reason, so I'll listen to my gut-instincts.

I also know that if I fly when I'm jittery about something, I'm more prone to overlooking things and making mistakes.

 

[Cafguy]

To get better or have more fun with the hobby you gotta take risks. I know, especially now, that crashing your Drone would almost be a total death sentence, it not that cut and dry anymore with DJI equip. BUT I learned to fly FPV by ignoring my fears and diving right in. and I'm a better pilot for it. Baby steps I suppose if you start getting nervous do your best to forget your controlling alot of money.

 

[KAOS Imagery]

I often fly over the bay by my cottage in 10 knot winds or more. I have a little concern in the back of my head, what if a seagull or osprey attack it, what if there's a failure of some sort, I could lose the drone. But if I don't fly, I don't get any images. And as Wayne Gretsky said, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. The drone wasn't built to stay on the ground. Do you due diligence for safety and go enjoy flying. Sure it's a hassle and money if you lose it, but in my opinion, it's a calculated risk. I also fly when the winds are higher, but I am fortunate enough to have two aircraft. The Mavic 3 gets the standard flights, the Mavic 2 Pro takes the more challenging ones. I don't fly either in high risk or severe conditions.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

As someone who only fly there drone in Extreme Weather Condtions its not really you who Chickened out its that you dont have enough Confidence in your Drone .

On a good windy day take your drone out and just let it hover in front of you for 15 min as it stuggle to keep its postion , you will learn that drones can negotiate the wind better than you think.

Learning how to fly over water is just lack of confidence in your drone as well. I would start with going down to the water and just hovering over it , letting the drone get to 5 ft above water and just watching how it reacts,

After just a few flights , you will gain confidence in the drone ability in the wind an over water.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain, Land on the Water, Capture the Storm