New guy & training drills

[JSPUB]

Hello everybody! New MPP pilot here introducing myself from Idaho. These are amazing pieces of equipment and are certainly a big jump from my Cox airplane flying days! ? Just got it registered and have my aircraft identification numbers and license coming soon.

Could someone please recommend some drills to help me acquire the conditioned response inputs needed for yaw and rudder proficiency? I used to fly a bit and could learn from sensory input, but there’s no physical connection with drones and I need some visual examples (practice) to integrate the stick movements for banking in turns and such.

Thank you!
John

 

[Thomas B]

Welcome to the forum from the deserts of Arizona! Enjoy.
Recommend staying in beginner mode until stick inputs are second nature. Flying figure of eights is a good exercise. Stay in large open spaces until you’re very comfortable, then be cautious when exiting beginner mode as controls will respond a little differently.
And read the full online only 60+ page DJI manual for your drone. Get it here:

DJI - The World Leader in Camera Drones/Quadcopters for Aerial Photography

As the market leader in easy-to-fly drones and aerial photography systems, DJI quadcopters like the Phantom are the standard in consumer drone technology.

www.dji.com

 

[JSPUB]

Welcome to the forum from the deserts of Arizona! Enjoy.
Recommend staying in beginner mode until stick inputs are second nature. Flying figure of eights is a good exercise. Stay in large open spaces until you’re very comfortable, then be cautious when exiting beginner mode as controls will respond a little differently.
And read the full online only 60+ page DJI manual for your drone. Get it here:

DJI - The World Leader in Camera Drones/Quadcopters for Aerial Photography

As the market leader in easy-to-fly drones and aerial photography systems, DJI quadcopters like the Phantom are the standard in consumer drone technology.

www.dji.com

Thank you Thomas

I did read the entire manual and will read it again... takes me about 7 times reading something to more fully retain the information?.

I will do more figure 8’s, thank you.

 

[JSPUB]

Welcome to the forum from the deserts of Arizona! Enjoy.
Recommend staying in beginner mode until stick inputs are second nature. Flying figure of eights is a good exercise. Stay in large open spaces until you’re very comfortable, then be cautious when exiting beginner mode as controls will respond a little differently.
And read the full online only 60+ page DJI manual for your drone. Get it here:

DJI - The World Leader in Camera Drones/Quadcopters for Aerial Photography

As the market leader in easy-to-fly drones and aerial photography systems, DJI quadcopters like the Phantom are the standard in consumer drone technology.

www.dji.com

It’s interesting that DJI advertises a range of about four miles, but advocates not flying beyond "line-of-sight”; not to mention the FAA. I see a lot of videos on utube where the drones are not within line of sight - unless line of sight refers to the sight from the camera view (?). Have people obtained special clearance for longer flights? I don’t plan on doing it because I don’t trust electrical equipment enough and I’m afraid of the liability if it were to fall. I wonder what the point of having that kind of transmission distance is if it cannot be used legally. Arizona is a beautiful state, I visited there with my wife who grew up in Phoenix and then lived in Tucson. She had a house up off of Hill Road overlooking the golf course. That would be a great place to fly a drone!

 

[dirkclod]

Welcome to the forum.
I hope you will find our site helpful and look forward to any input , photo's/video's you might post .
Don't be shy and ask anything if you can't find it by searching .

 

[JSPUB]

Thank you dirk.

 

[Thomas B]

It’s interesting that DJI advertises a range of about four miles, but advocates not flying beyond "line-of-sight”; not to mention the FAA. I see a lot of videos on utube where the drones are not within line of sight - unless line of sight refers to the sight from the camera view (?). Have people obtained special clearance for longer flights? I don’t plan on doing it because I don’t trust electrical equipment enough and I’m afraid of the liability if it were to fall. I wonder what the point of having that kind of transmission distance is if it cannot be used legally. Arizona is a beautiful state, I visited there with my wife who grew up in Phoenix and then lived in Tucson. She had a house up off of Hill Road overlooking the golf course. That would be a great place to fly a drone!

It’s VLOS from your eye... with the newest Firehouse ARC strobes you could expect maybe 3 miles. Feel that the distances you note are provided by DJI as a consequence of keeping closer signal stronger...
and yea, flying in AZ is good!

 

[Thomas B]

In fact here’s the testing report on the ARC XLs:

 

[old man mavic]

welcome to the forum, the hardest part to master when you first start is the fact that when the drone is facing you the controls are reversed ,flying figure of eights helps in this regard its really just lots of practice till it becomes second nature,it is repetitive ,and it is very easy when you get your new drone to just fly off and marvel at what it can do,but believe me once you master the basics and are comfortable with the controls, you will have a much better time and an added bonus, is that your drone will last longer as well, good luck and happy flying

 

[JSPUB]

Thank you. Are those already on the platinum or is that an accessory light?

 

[JSPUB]

welcome to the forum, the hardest part to master when you first start is the fact that when the drone is facing you the controls are reversed ,flying figure of eights helps in this regard its really just lots of practice till it becomes second nature,it is repetitive ,and it is very easy when you get your new drone to just fly off and marvel at what it can do,but believe me once you master the basics and are comfortable with the controls, you will have a much better time and an added bonus, is that your drone will last longer as well, good luck and happy flying

Thank you. I want to master the basics, I think I’m looking for some examples of training techniques.

 

[old man mavic]

they are an accessory

 

[Thomas B]

Thank you. Are those already on the platinum or is that an accessory light?

It is an aftermarket light from Firehouse technology.

dji drone strobe light anti collision light

drone strobe light

www.firehousetechnology.com

Mounts are available from our own @Aerial-Pixel

 

[GregE]

I keep thinking of Eights on pylon, Chandelles and other Commercial check ride stuff. But with 2 hours so far between rain and drizzle and in between large trees I'm limited.

Large open area soon to work on coordinated turns

 

[Camino Ken]

Hello everybody! New MPP pilot here introducing myself from Idaho. These are amazing pieces of equipment and are certainly a big jump from my Cox airplane flying days! ? Just got it registered and have my aircraft identification numbers and license coming soon.

Could someone please recommend some drills to help me acquire the conditioned response inputs needed for yaw and rudder proficiency? I used to fly a bit and could learn from sensory input, but there’s no physical connection with drones and I need some visual examples (practice) to integrate the stick movements for banking in turns and such.

Thank you!
John

Hi JSPUB,

A few things I did as brand new drone flyer about a year ago was concentrate on each control separately first. Forward/back, left/right, up/down, and rotate until I could do each without thinking. I then started to put two simple controls together like flying up and forward or backward and down. Once those were second nature, I added rotate and eventually added gimbal control. It took me quite a while to get comfortable with the combination movements but once you do then you can do figure eights and graduate to 3, then 4, and eventually 5 simultaneous movements. Have patience and take it in small steps.

Good Luck, and Happy Flying.

 

[old man mavic]

Thank you. I want to master the basics, I think I’m looking for some examples of training techniques.

start with simple box or squares go up to eye level fly out 10 ft directly in front of you ,then go right 20 ft stop go forwards 20 ft stop go left 20 ft stop then come back 20 ft and you should be back at the starting point do ten of those then do the same thing only go left to start and so on do ten of those
now the fun bit rotate the drone using the yaw till it is facing you and then do the two exercises again but this time the controls will be reversed
during these exercises you will only be using the right stick to control the drone
the next step once you are comfortable is to combine forwards flight with yaw and fly eights please find a quiet spot to do these flights away from other people as the last thing you want is to be distracted happy flying

 

[AIRLOCK]

There are some somewhat realistic Drone Simulation apps out there. A couple aren't too bad.

BTW: I've flown a couple of Cox aircraft too...

 

[bheiser1]

Thank you. I want to master the basics, I think I’m looking for some examples of training techniques.

In addition to what Old Man Mavic said, an area that can be a challenge is that of “special perception”, e.g. “how close am I really to that object”. It’s surprisingly deceptive at times.

I’m just under a couple months into this myself (21 hours flight time) and when I first started I watched lots of YouTube tutorials. They helped a lot with the basics including various maneuvers to practice (e.g. figure 8, circles, squares, all of the above going forward as well as just side to side, etc). They also helped with the pre-flight checklist drill, important as there are some pretty important things to check/set before flying. Then after that there’s a whole set of things to learn about how to perform various maneuvers for getting cinematic video, if you’re into that.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Welcome to the forum John.
The MPP is a fantastic aircraft, I've had my M1P for 3 years and love it to bits still.

Probably the best start to the hobby is finding this place, the info here is incredible for a new or experienced pilot.
Also check out YouTube, the M1P / MPP have so many great first flight / early flights / other tutorials to surf through for many nights.
Most recommend the big open flat area, like a sports oval / park.
The golf course would be fine if suitable, and permission etc.

First thing I'd do is find a piece of bright material / ribbon, and glue it to the back of your gimbal clamp, so you don't forget this when starting up.
It's far past 2nd nature to remove the clamp now, but early on I (and no doubt many others) left it on more than a few times before realising.

Flying figure of eights is a good exercise.

This is a great suggestion, squares are also good to fly to learn how to fly 'opposite' stick movements when the drone is facing you, or at 90 degrees.
(I just saw @old man mavic hit on this too )

I see a lot of videos on utube where the drones are not within line of sight - unless line of sight refers to the sight from the camera view (?).

LOS is generally in regards to signal line of sight, nothing in between is best, but as you go further out and if staying low for example, LOS will decrease with trees or terrain etc.
VLOS is seeing the drone with your own unaided eye (glasses permitted), so strobes can help greatly to find your MPP when looking up from your viewing device.
I have a range of (FHT (Firehouse Technology) strobes, inc the Spark strobe, which has the same 600 lumens as the ARCII, but the dome throws it out widely.
They all fit great on the back panel of the M1P / MPP, or Dual or ARCIIs on the arms, underneath, on top, wherever you feel best.
Many threads on the forums about strobes, a search should bring up loads of later reading.

One thing with the Cox flying.
How do you go with mode 2 controller setting ?
If your model joystick memory is too strong for default mode 2 on the controller, it might be safer for you to go to custom mode and set up so pulling back on the stick will increase altitude.
With default modes mostly they are stick forward to increase altitude, something real aircraft pilots, model plane flyers and gamers can find difficult . . . easy to crash if close to the ground and you make an instinctive stick forward movement.

Enjoy the new hobby and MPP.

 

[JSPUB]

Welcome to the forum John.
The MPP is a fantastic aircraft, I've had my M1P for 3 years and love it to bits still.

Probably the best start to the hobby is finding this place, the info here is incredible for a new or experienced pilot.
Also check out YouTube, the M1P / MPP have so many great first flight / early flights / other tutorials to surf through for many nights.
Most recommend the big open flat area, like a sports oval / park.
The golf course would be fine if suitable, and permission etc.

First thing I'd do is find a piece of bright material / ribbon, and glue it to the back of your gimbal clamp, so you don't forget this when starting up.
It's far past 2nd nature to remove the clamp now, but early on I (and no doubt many others) left it on more than a few times before realising.

View attachment 92162



This is a great suggestion, squares are also good to fly to learn how to fly 'opposite' stick movements when the drone is facing you, or at 90 degrees.
(I just saw @old man mavic hit on this too )



LOS is generally in regards to signal line of sight, nothing in between is best, but as you go further out and if staying low for example, LOS will decrease with trees or terrain etc.
VLOS is seeing the drone with your own unaided eye (glasses permitted), so strobes can help greatly to find your MPP when looking up from your viewing device.
I have a range of (FHT (Firehouse Technology) strobes, inc the Spark strobe, which has the same 600 lumens as the ARCII, but the dome throws it out widely.
They all fit great on the back panel of the M1P / MPP, or Dual or ARCIIs on the arms, underneath, on top, wherever you feel best.
Many threads on the forums about strobes, a search should bring up loads of later reading.

One thing with the Cox flying.
How do you go with mode 2 controller setting ?
If your model joystick memory is too strong for default mode 2 on the controller, it might be safer for you to go to custom mode and set up so pulling back on the stick will increase altitude.
With default modes mostly they are stick forward to increase altitude, something real aircraft pilots, model plane flyers and gamers can find difficult . . . easy to crash if close to the ground and you make an instinctive stick forward movement.

Enjoy the new hobby and MPP.

Yes! Default mode 2 does not seem natural to me! Maybe I’ll try something custom. ?