New pilot advice

[Ron Boger]

For those of you who have been flying for a while, what do you suggest as the best way learning to visualize your drone in flight? Should I focus more on the drone itself or should I focus more on the controller and screen? I am keeping my mini within VLOS yet flew it into some tree branches in my yard while watching the drone & not the screen. I’m afraid I’ll do that once I start venturing out perhaps over water or at a higher altitude.

 

[old man mavic]

even after two and a half years of drone flying, perspective is still one of the hardest things to learn because where the drone actually is, and where your brain thinks it is are not the same
and it takes a lot of practise to fly close to things without hitting them ,that is why flying something from a fixed point on the ground can actually be harder than being in the craft

 

[slup]

The safest way is to keep an eye on it, much easier to judge what's around it than trying to see obstacles in the screen. Once low have an eye on it directly from behind in the travel direction, let go of sticks if it's unclear what's around/in front & approach to investigate. Up high, use combination 70% direct visual, 30% screen. In doubt if going over tree tops, release sticks, verify relative altitude on screen before you continue.

 

[Thomas B]

For those of you who have been flying for a while, what do you suggest as the best way learning to visualize your drone in flight? Should I focus more on the drone itself or should I focus more on the controller and screen? I am keeping my mini within VLOS yet flew it into some tree branches in my yard while watching the drone & not the screen. I’m afraid I’ll do that once I start venturing out perhaps over water or at a higher altitude.

Continue practicing, and in open areas. Recommend adding a strobe or two to help visualization. Also recommend staying away from water at altitudes within 30 feet of surface as the sensors can often cause descent of your drone since they don’t interpret water surface in the same way that terra firma and obstacles

 

[Capt KO]

I love to fly using just my screen or goggles. Along with a spotter, you feel like you’re flying in the pilot seat. Try it from takeoff to landing and it will improve your flying and get you used to watching the gauges on screen. Have fun, practice.

 

[Deleted member 94047]

My approach is rather simple - fly higher than the tallest thing around me. I am terrible at judging distances from looking at the screen feed.

 

[Rchawks]

I love to fly using just my screen or goggles. Along with a spotter, you feel like you’re flying in the pilot seat. Try it from takeoff to landing and it will improve your flying and get you used to watching the gauges on screen. Have fun, practice.

The comment is always made about using a spotter whenever using goggles, why is that. With any kind of distance between you and the aircraft it can't be seen except for the screen (especially with the MM) it disappears from site so quickly with either the trees or obstacles at least if you're using goggles you are in the pilots seat correct? Just guessing how it works since I haven't flown yet let alone used the goggles.

 

[Greekislandlover]

I assume the sensors won't stop my expensive drone crashing, so keep it well away from any objects such as trees. Fly where you can see it's clear.

 

[old man mavic]

The comment is always made about using a spotter whenever using goggles, why is that. With any kind of distance between you and the aircraft it can't be seen except for the screen (especially with the MM) it disappears from site so quickly with either the trees or obstacles at least if you're using goggles you are in the pilots seat correct? Just guessing how it works since flown yet let alone used the goggles.

to fly with goggles on you need another person ie the spotter to keep VLOS on the drone, and they must be close enough to you to communicate with you using normal speech, the biggest problem with FPV flying is the limited field of view you get from the drone ,and if something was approaching the drone outside of that view you would not be able to see it

 

[Ron Boger]

Continue practicing, and in open areas. Recommend adding a strobe or two to help visualization. Also recommend staying away from water at altitudes within 30 feet of surface as the sensors can often cause descent of your drone since they don’t interpret water surface in the same way that terra firma and obstacles

I remember hearing something about water, solid black, or brown and how the sensors can’t detect it. So flying 30 ft. our above over water should be ok?

 

[old man mavic]

I assume the sensors won't stop my expensive drone crashing, so keep it well away from any objects such as trees. Fly where you can see it's clear.

the sensors can help prevent your drone from hitting something, but they are not all activated unless you are in certain flight modes ,and they are not foolproof,

 

[Thomas B]

I remember hearing something about water, solid black, or brown and how the sensors can’t detect it. So flying 30 ft. our above over water should be ok?

Generally yes, but beware of any gradual descent as some have encountered....

 

[ajkm]

The comment is always made about using a spotter whenever using goggles, why is that. With any kind of distance between you and the aircraft it can't be seen except for the screen (especially with the MM) it disappears from site so quickly with either the trees or obstacles at least if you're using goggles you are in the pilots seat correct? Just guessing how it works since flown yet let alone used the goggles.

As Old Man Mavic has said, you are legally required to keep VLOS, i.e.you must be able to see your aircraft at all times with the unaided eye. If “any kind of distance” means that you can’t see the aircraft, you are breaking the regulations and would be considered by the relevant authorities, to be flying negligently and illegally.

If you are wearing goggles, you usually cannot see your aircraft at all and have very little situational awareness other than what is in the direct field of view of the on-board camera. Therefore a Visual Observer is a legal requirement - just as a safety pilot is required when practising IMC flight in a fixed wing aircraft. The VO must maintain VLOS with the unaided eye at all times and be able to communicate directly with you.

 

[MacCool]

I've flown RC for almost 40 years. Obviously, that was all under direct visualization since for almost all of that flying over the decades since there was no capability for FPV. I see flying a modern GPS-equipped, stabilized drone like a Mavic or Phantom as utterly boring flying...no challenge to it when all you have to do is take your hands off the sticks and it will stop and wait for you to figure out what to do next. What I enjoy, and my sole purpose for owning a Mavic 2 and Phantom 4, is use as a photographic tool. It allows acquisition of really unique images that one just can't get from the ground with a camera. In that regard...I use autonomous flight (Litchi) routinely, and as an enhancement to controlling the drone accurately for photography, I fly almost exclusively FPV with goggles. I found that to be so interesting that I've started flying freestyle quads and just started building a cinewhoop, and have a DJI Air Unit that I'm going to put in an FPV wing.

Bottom line, you'll need to fly your Mavic using both your controller and direct vision. You won't have to take it out very far to completely lose your orientation as to what way it's flying, and if that's all the farther you're flying it, you'll ultimately get bored because there is no challenge.

 

[Rchawks]

As Old Man Mavic has said, you are legally required to keep VLOS, i.e.you must be able to see your aircraft at all times with the unaided eye. If “any kind of distance” means that you can’t see the aircraft, you are breaking the regulations and would be considered by the relevant authorities, to be flying negligently and illegally.

If you are wearing goggles, you usually cannot see your aircraft at all and have very little situational awareness other than what is in the direct field of view of the on-board camera. Therefore a Visual Observer is a legal requirement - just as a safety pilot is required when practising IMC flight in a fixed wing aircraft. The VO must maintain VLOS with the unaided eye at all times and be able to communicate directly with you.

I'll let the VLOS argument go.

 

[old man mavic]

@MacCool that's fine if it's what floats your boat,and that's the beauty of this forum all opinions can be expressed,we all use our drones for different reasons

 

[Capt KO]

It's all in your perspective. Flying your screen with a spotter / Navigator and all the relevant information on screen is really exciting. You don't have to go far to have fun. Give it a try, you can always let go of the sticks.
If you get in trouble or lost, switch to your map view to reorient yourself to your drone. It's easier then flying the camera view and it maintains all of your critical information such as height above ground.

 

[Rchawks]

You know I've started flying rc sailplanes in 1982 and the first 16 yrs or so it was in very high wind and turbulent conditions. What a blast, loved it. But moving to the midwest with no cliffs or slopes and converting to AP electric sailplanes I found it was no longer about the mechanics of flying at all, no matter how high or how far away and no matter the sun position, it was easy. It was about getting in position for a shot and taking the picture. Man what I would have given to have a miracle device like a drone back then. But, that being said I also think that flying drones is also difficult, just in a different way. Think about all the things you need to cover or worry about. Your checklist , number of satellites, compass problems or issues, antenna positions, surface conditions, tree branches, magnetic surroundings, blue zones red zone, man the list goes on and on. There's a learning curve for the rc people as well. It's just such a different type of flying.

 

[MacCool]

I'll let the VLOS argument go.

Thank you

 

[MacCool]

@MacCool that's fine if it's what floats your boat,and that's the beauty of this forum all opinions can be expressed,we all use our drones for different reasons

Yes. RC flying is a hobby with many, many facets. There's something for everyone.