Learning to actually FLY a drone for us pampered DJI drone owners.

[Alex Baxter]

We're all really pampered by automation, GPS, auto take-off and landing, stable hovering, (even in windy conditions) RTH, etc etc..

I'd strongly suggest if anyone would like to experience the raw, seat-of-the-pants type droning, get yourselves an Eachine H8 or similar. Consider yourself competent when you can fly in a room for the full battery duration (it's only a few minutes) without hitting anything, and then land on something the size of a sheet A4 (letter) paper, or a shelf. It's hilarious fun and requires smooth control and constant attention. They cost next to nothing and give great bang for the buck.. Proof that size does not matter..

 

[baristabob]

Yes. I bought one of those, learned it required constant attention but still caught the bug. Went with a DJI and was amazed.

 

[PinpointUAVS]

I purchased and learned on a Tinyhawk 2 before I purchased my DJI FPV. It was definitely a different experience and I hit a lot of obstacles in my house on the first few flights. After ~10 battery charges I was comfortable enough to fly between chair legs at the dining table. Fun little unit that my son will now learn to fly. The nice part is that when you crash it, you only have to put the props back on and go again lol

 

[MikeyST1957]

That’s how I learned.
those tiny things are like mosquito fast
Got a bunch of extra batteries.
spent 20 minutes every day in the living room doing turns and 8’s

after that going outside with my DJI stuff was like slow motion easy
I’d recommend it to anyone starting out, to get their skills together

 

[360 Guy]

Have a pic of what is being referred too?

 

[MikeyST1957]

This is what I used. It’s only maybe 3-1/2 “ square

 

[JackL]

I have a cheap 6" drone that is pretty difficult to hover in place for the entire 8 minute flight duration in the living room!! I turn on the ceiling fan for extra points.

A tight space and squirrely drone really helps prepare you for the pure VLOS flying you will end up doing as you get more and more confident with the DJI!

My TV only has one scrape in the screen from the time it got away from me.

 

[maggior]

I really enjoy flying non GPS drones around my yard. I have small ones and larger ones. I keep them 4 or 5 ft off the ground and zip around the trees in my yard strictly LOS. If it's a breezy day, it adds to the fun and excitement. I don't even bother load up the apps. It's a much different flying experience from my MA2. I think it's valuable experience and can only help with flying something as stable as a DJI drone.

 

[VenomXts]

Just buy a cheap controller and purchase liftoff or velicadrone.

 

[flatline42]

We're all really pampered by automation, GPS, auto take-off and landing, stable hovering, (even in windy conditions) RTH, etc etc..

I'd strongly suggest if anyone would like to experience the raw, seat-of-the-pants type droning, get yourselves an Eachine H8 or similar. Consider yourself competent when you can fly in a room for the full battery duration (it's only a few minutes) without hitting anything, and then land on something the size of a sheet A4 (letter) paper, or a shelf. It's hilarious fun and requires smooth control and constant attention. They cost next to nothing and give great bang for the buck.. Proof that size does not matter..

I forgot what drone I got a few years back that didn't even have a spring-loaded control stick for up & down. You had to manually center the SOB if you wanted to hover and had to manually tweak the controls if there was any wind to keep it from careening off. That plus manual trim adjustments made the thing infuriating to fly.

I did buy a tiny Holy Stone 210 and love that stupid little thing for just putting around a room. Manual trim but once you get that done it does manage to hover by itself more or less. That's the drone I learned to fly on.

 

[Flycaster]

Yeah, learning to fly these litte toy buggers will get you ready for that moment when your DJI unit drops into ATTI mode!!

 

[Grandpa]

I have a cheap 6" drone that is pretty difficult to hover in place for the entire 8 minute flight duration in the living room!! I turn on the ceiling fan for extra points.

A tight space and squirrely drone really helps prepare you for the pure VLOS flying you will end up doing as you get more and more confident with the DJI!

My TV only has one scrape in the screen from the time it got away from me.

Good practice. I fly a SYMA X5C with an oscillating fan.

 

[Tim40]

Me too - but I also fly the 3" and 5" buggers - now that gets interesting. And an M2Z. And airplanes. I'm afraid to say, that my M2Z is mainly there for finding lost aircraft. My flying field is bordered by vast grasslands. And my house borders marshy grasslands. The M2Z always finds em. Sometimes I make a vid with the M2Z - it has such a beautiful camera. And zoom.
But - all winter long, indoors, I fly my tinywhoops through the house - keeping my skills up - plus - it's a hoot.

 

[Alex 007]

I agree 100%. I started off with a cheap Syma X5 about 8 years ago.

DJI technology is great for doing exactly what it is supposed to do. Holding the drone stable so that you can concentrate on getting the photo's and video that you want.

However a drone without any flying aids is much more fun to fly. I like challenging myself and learning new skills.

Also, more importantly, when the technology fails, which it is very likely to do at some time or another, you have the skills to bring the drone back in one piece. Just read all the thousands of threads about pilots crashing their drones.

 

[dave canada]

We're all really pampered by automation, GPS, auto take-off and landing, stable hovering, (even in windy conditions) RTH, etc etc..

I'd strongly suggest if anyone would like to experience the raw, seat-of-the-pants type droning, get yourselves an Eachine H8 or similar. Consider yourself competent when you can fly in a room for the full battery duration (it's only a few minutes) without hitting anything, and then land on something the size of a sheet A4 (letter) paper, or a shelf. It's hilarious fun and requires smooth control and constant attention. They cost next to nothing and give great bang for the buck.. Proof that size does not matter..

i purchased some inexpensive drones to practice with before i got my first spark i don,t even have to tell you how dumb i felt when the spark lifted off

 

[ABQKen]

I just got the tiny hawk 2 freestyle. Flew it for the first time this morning. Definitely a different experience from flying the Mavic Air 2 . That little tiny hawk could be out of sight straight up in about 2.5 seconds... lol. I thought the Air 2 was easy to fly from the first try, and being able to let go of the controls and enter a hover is nice. The tiny hawk requires constant attention and fingers on the controls. It's a great learning experience.