DJI Mavic, Air and Mini Drones
Friendly, Helpful & Knowledgeable Community
Join Us Now

NEWBY I AM GOING LOOSE IT

@robbymax first off welcome to the forum
unfortunately what you are experiencing at the beginning of your new drone adventure is quite normal ,it is difficult to trust the technology in the drone to do what it says ,but believe me ,it will and does
forget about the camera side for the moment and concentrate on getting the hang of flying it ,gradually increase your distance from the home point with each flight ,be very aware of trees ,the no1 enemy of drones ,take your time and just build up your confidence, at a speed you are happy with ,obviously distance is relative and will depend a lot on your surroundings, conditions,and your ability to see the drone at distance ,go on line and read the manual and most of all enjoy the experience
What he said :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: old man mavic
First time you used a spoon you missed your mouth more than you hit it - practice solved that one and flying, flying, flying, flying will solve this one!
Pretty sure the first time I stuck the spoon in my nose and ate the pureed bananas with my other fist.

Oh, and missed my mouth that way too.

Carry on... :cool:
 
I am new, and i have a pathological fear of loosing it, been in the garden yo-yoing up and down and back and forward, my garden is 10 acres and i am using 10sq ft how do i overcome this fear
Read the manual and learn the controls. Then fly some patterns, try to fly in a perfect square with the drone facing the same direction. Fly in a circle with the camera facing you. Just practice the more you fly the more you will learn just don't try to do to much to fast and you'll be fine. Above all enjoy yourself and remember if you go wrong or think you are going to crash into something let go of the stick and let the drone just hover while you work out what to do. Finally get used to the return to home feature, fly away from your home point and then hit return to home (just remember to set your homepoint and rth height first).
 
I am new, and i have a pathological fear of loosing it, been in the garden yo-yoing up and down and back and forward, my garden is 10 acres and i am using 10sq ft how do i overcome this fear
I too have 'fear' of losing it although my wife suggests I 'lost it' many years ago. I think she means something else....
I have a Mini 1 and I have to agree with a pilot's response (down the page a bit), you've got great acreage so use it, get truly familiar with the controls and what the drone will/will not do and then.....when you experience its responses to your inputs, trust it. Go a bit higher and a bit farther and as he says, RTH is a friend.
Warm cheers. ENJOY yourself!
 
On my first few flights, I had a long fishing line tied to the drone so I knew it could not take off etc. After a few times, I left the string off and slowly built up confidence not forgetting that RTH button.
 
I am new, and i have a pathological fear of loosing it, been in the garden yo-yoing up and down and back and forward, my garden is 10 acres and i am using 10sq ft how do i overcome this fear
Incrementalism is your friend!

I'd suggest that you expand your flight radius in planned, incremental steps. However far and high you go now, increase that just a little bit for your next flight, perhaps 20 ft farther away, and 10 ft higher.

Once you get comfortable with that expanded realm, then expand a bit more. Lather, rinse, repeat.

This is pretty much what I did, and I'm pretty wide-ranging at this point!

Also, Pilot Institute has a basic course in drone maneuvers. They are simple and easy to do, and practicing them will build both your competence and your confidence. Pilot Institute has a lot of great free stuff, and even just watching that will be very informative.

The one thing that I did that I suggest you don't do, is to get overconfident, and do dumb things, like flying into a garage with just a few hours of flight experience, and whacking it into a wall...

Happy flying! Just stick with it, and push a little bit at a time, and you'll love it!

:cool:

TCS
 
@robbymax first off welcome to the forum
unfortunately what you are experiencing at the beginning of your new drone adventure is quite normal ,it is difficult to trust the technology in the drone to do what it says ,but believe me ,it will and does
forget about the camera side for the moment and concentrate on getting the hang of flying it ,gradually increase your distance from the home point with each flight ,be very aware of trees ,the no1 enemy of drones ,take your time and just build up your confidence, at a speed you are happy with ,obviously distance is relative and will depend a lot on your surroundings, conditions,and your ability to see the drone at distance ,go on line and read the manual and most of all enjoy the experience
I am new, and i have a pathological fear of loosing it, been in the garden yo-yoing up and down and back and forward, my garden is 10 acres and i am using 10sq ft how do i overcome this fear
I am new, and i have a pathological fear of loosing it, been in the garden yo-yoing up and down and back and forward, my garden is 10 acres and i am using 10sq ft how do i overcome this fear
Enjoy the fear - it will eventually subside just like the apprehension before your very first kiss.
 
A couple of other things:

1) Which drone do you have?
2) You probably already did this, but read the manual cover-to-cover.
3) If it's not too late, get DJI Care refresh. That way if you do ding it up or lose it, you're covered.
4) Just fly a lot. The more you fly, the easier it gets.

Welcome to the Monkey House!

;-)

TCS
 
A few extra tips:
  • I don't take off unless I have at least 12 GPS satellites locked
  • After I take off, I go straight up 10 or 20 feet or so and hover there for a couple minutes just to make sure everything is stable
  • Before heading out, I move each of the sticks in each of the 4 directions and observe the drone to make sure it's responding appropriately
  • Also, I check the battery levels and make sure I have at least 60% to start with (preferably 99 or 100%). If something does start acting up I want plenty of juice to get home again.
  • I keep an eye on the GPS map in the bottom left corner--if I somehow lose sight of my drone and want to be sure I'm flying it back towards me, I look at the line connecting the blue arrow (my drone) back to the controller. If I point the arrow back along that line, I know I'm heading home even without the RTH button.
  • I have practiced flying my drone out a little ways and using the RTH button (and the Cancel button) so if I ever get in a panic situation, the process will be familiar.
That helps reassure me that I'm at least starting off on the right foot, and checking for easily-avoidable problems.
Great advice!
 
  • Like
Reactions: manutter51
There's absolutely no rush. Proceed as you feel comfortable. Practice flying small box patterns and figure eights and you'll soon be comfortable expanding your range.

A flight instructor once told me that all new pilots go through a period of intense learning, diligence and attention. After they solo and build some hours they begin to get more and more comfortable and a little lax. Then something bad happens and they get the bejeebers scared out of them. If they're lucky and don't get killed, they're better pilots for having had that scare and reminder. The time to be concerned is when you begin feeling too comfortable.
…….”when you begin feeling too comfortable.” Complacency, the root of many aviation accidents and fatalities. The “Hold my beer and watch this” type event.
 
Welcome to the forum from the beautiful woods of Maine!
Practice, practice,practice and you’ll build your confidence up. I’ve been fying for over 4 years and I still get a little nervous but it will keep you on your toes!
 
  • Like
Reactions: old man mavic
After 7 years and 40 plus drones and 2500 flights I can say be carefull and enjoy. You cannot stop a technology failure only be vigilant in your pre/post flight checks. Accidents will happen. I always get shook-up everytime I take off with a new drone. The only suggestion I have that has not been mentioned is check your motor/controller operation with the props off the first time you prep for take off. Test RTH from short distances in the open. RTH normally works unless you have equipent failure that cannot be anticipated by pre flight checks. That is why I carry CarePak on my DJI drones.
 
Last edited:
I am new, and i have a pathological fear of loosing it, been in the garden yo-yoing up and down and back and forward, my garden is 10 acres and i am using 10sq ft how do i overcome this fear
Hey!
Keep at it. Take your time. Stay level headed, even as you become an expert. Flying is amazing! A true talent.
 
Are you using beginner mode? If not, go into the app and turn it on. It will limit your flying to a maximum height and horizontal distance of 30 meters. As mentioned above, tripod mode may be a better alternative. It does not "Geofence" your flight area, but slows your flight speeds to a crawl. Also, remember when using the RTH that the drone has to be a minimum distance away from home point or it will simply descend right where it is. ( IIRC, 50 ft away)
READ, READ, READ, then WATCH WATCH WATCH DJI videos, and some YouTube videos. (Not all Youtubers are always 100% correct) Then FLY FLY FLY, each time a little higher and a little further.
 
Lycus Tech Mavic Air 3 Case

DJI Drone Deals

New Threads

Forum statistics

Threads
130,585
Messages
1,554,095
Members
159,586
Latest member
DoubleBarS