The irrational fear of my first flight(s).

[Heindrich1988]

I just got my first ever drone (MA2) at the weekend and flew it myself for the first time yesterday and today. I would be lying if I said I was not nervous!

For most people, even the cheapest Mavic Drones represents a significant monetary investment, so I guess the fear of crashing and/or losing your precious Mavic is natural. But I was quite surprised by how involuntarily nervous I got over situations that I logically knew were safe.

What do I mean? Well, I took the advice of my DJI store assistant and took off from the roof of my very tall apartment building, so that I would avoid all the hazards at ground level. However, the fact that I started so high up made me terrified that if something did go wrong, my drone would likely end up in many tiny pieces!

From all the research I've done, I know that Mavics don't just drop out of the sky even if I lost RC contact. I know that RTH will bring my drone back even if I lose my bearings and cannot manually pilot it home. But the first time that my MA2 rose about 10 meters above me, my heart was pounding. The first time I pushed it beyond the edge of my building, my hands got sweaty. The first time I lost sight of it in the air and didn't know exactly where it was, my human brain fired all sorts of alarms even though I knew that it was okay.

I never descended to an altitude where I could have hit anything, so there was pretty much no chance of a crash, yet my body refused to believe it! Even though RTH worked perfectly fine yesterday, I had another flutter at the start of my flight today. lol

Do you guys remember your maiden flight? How long did it take before you overcame these irrational fears? How long does it take (in terms of flight hours) to become a competent pilot? I know it varies between people, but can you give me a ballpark number?

 

[kidroc]

It’s perfectly natural to be shaky and nervous I don’t know how long you’ve been into RC models try your hand on a collective pitch helicopter Then let the butt squeezein commence

 

[old man mavic]

@Heindrich1988 what you experienced is quite normal ,the secret to long time accident free flying is not to lose that feeling completely
take your time and get to know what your drone will do when you move the sticks and press certain buttons on the RC
each flight you undertake is going to have different parameters depending on weather location and surroundings
a big part of a successful flight is taking all those things into consideration before you take to the air
after many flights its very easy to become complacent and miss important things that could impact on the success of the flight
the important thing is always remember you are the PIC and a successful outcome is down to you

 

[skunky1]

The best way to start and learn, is to fly in a wide open field and not on top of an apartment building in the middle of the city.

That said even after many flights my pulse often races

 

[Tufargon]

I still get jitters after 5 years. It's kept me safe.

 

[Little bird]

I just got my first ever drone (MA2) at the weekend and flew it myself for the first time yesterday and today. I would be lying if I said I was not nervous!

For most people, even the cheapest Mavic Drones represents a significant monetary investment, so I guess the fear of crashing and/or losing your precious Mavic is natural. But I was quite surprised by how involuntarily nervous I got over situations that I logically knew were safe.

What do I mean? Well, I took the advice of my DJI store assistant and took off from the roof of my very tall apartment building, so that I would avoid all the hazards at ground level. However, the fact that I started so high up made me terrified that if something did go wrong, my drone would likely end up in many tiny pieces!

From all the research I've done, I know that Mavics don't just drop out of the sky even if I lost RC contact. I know that RTH will bring my drone back even if I lose my bearings and cannot manually pilot it home. But the first time that my MA2 rose about 10 meters above me, my heart was pounding. The first time I pushed it beyond the edge of my building, my hands got sweaty. The first time I lost sight of it in the air and didn't know exactly where it was, my human brain fired all sorts of alarms even though I knew that it was okay.

I never descended to an altitude where I could have hit anything, so there was pretty much no chance of a crash, yet my body refused to believe it! Even though RTH worked perfectly fine yesterday, I had another flutter at the start of my flight today. lol

Do you guys remember your maiden flight? How long did it take before you overcame these irrational fears? How long does it take (in terms of flight hours) to become a competent pilot? I know it varies between people, but can you give me a ballpark number?

AND WHEN I DO FLY, I DO FLY A LITTLE NERVOUSLY
FLY SAFELY MY FRIEND

 

[DanMan32]

I too had gotten jitters frequently, even though I've flown for some time. The nervousness makes me not do as fine control on the sticks.

I figured out part of it was the weight of the RC with a tablet. I was (is?) better if I put the tablet on a table separate from the RC with a long enough USB cable.

 

[Tufargon]

I too had gotten jitters frequently, even though I've flown for some time. The nervousness makes me not do as fine control on the sticks.

I figured out part of it was the weight of the RC with a tablet. I was (is?) better if I put the tablet on a table separate from the RC with a long enough USB cable.

I've found a lanyard helps me. I can rest the remote and tablet on my belly.

 

[Otisangb]

From all the research I've done, I know that Mavics don't just drop out of the sky even if I lost RC contact. I know that RTH will bring my drone back even if I lose my bearings and cannot manually pilot it home.

Glad you had some great first flighs. I would only reccomend that you spend some time in the crash and flyaway section on this site. Alot to be learned there. Albeit probably a very small percentage, mavics can just drop out of the sky and they always don't rth. With the vast majority of problems being pilot error (thanks to those that post in that section for everyones benefit) there are sometime some mechanical/electronic /software issues unrelated to pilot error. Its woth taking a look at. I also agree with skunky that an open field is a great place to learn and try different settings. Hope you enjoy your new drone.

 

[SmilingOgre]

I can commiserate with being nervous. After all of the flight checks, camera checks, surrounding checks, I still often forget to hit record out of nervousness. It's getting better the more I fly but as you mentioned, these things are a piece of change for sure. Unfortunately, I had to pull some stupid maneuvers to understand my and it's limitations.

 

[THE CYBORG]

A DJI store assistant actually advised someone to do a maiden flight from the top of a tall building
What could possibly go wrong ?

 

[Platinum 4 ever]

I just got my first ever drone (MA2) at the weekend and flew it myself for the first time yesterday and today. I would be lying if I said I was not nervous!

For most people, even the cheapest Mavic Drones represents a significant monetary investment, so I guess the fear of crashing and/or losing your precious Mavic is natural. But I was quite surprised by how involuntarily nervous I got over situations that I logically knew were safe.

What do I mean? Well, I took the advice of my DJI store assistant and took off from the roof of my very tall apartment building, so that I would avoid all the hazards at ground level. However, the fact that I started so high up made me terrified that if something did go wrong, my drone would likely end up in many tiny pieces!

From all the research I've done, I know that Mavics don't just drop out of the sky even if I lost RC contact. I know that RTH will bring my drone back even if I lose my bearings and cannot manually pilot it home. But the first time that my MA2 rose about 10 meters above me, my heart was pounding. The first time I pushed it beyond the edge of my building, my hands got sweaty. The first time I lost sight of it in the air and didn't know exactly where it was, my human brain fired all sorts of alarms even though I knew that it was okay.

I never descended to an altitude where I could have hit anything, so there was pretty much no chance of a crash, yet my body refused to believe it! Even though RTH worked perfectly fine yesterday, I had another flutter at the start of my flight today. lol

Do you guys remember your maiden flight? How long did it take before you overcame these irrational fears? How long does it take (in terms of flight hours) to become a competent pilot? I know it varies between people, but can you give me a ballpark number?

I have been doing this for a while. Well since the release of the spark I still get nervous. Still have my spark and platinum. But each and every flight. They ALWAYS come back. Now that I have said that. My next flight will probably end in disaster. [emoji41]

 

[Heindrich1988]

The best way to start and learn, is to fly in a wide open field and not on top of an apartment building in the middle of the city.

I am in the Greater Bay Area in China. It's not quite "middle of the city", but it's definitely not rural either. This entire area is like one insanely massive mega city, but with some less densely populated parts in between different urban centres. It's crazy to see from the air.

I get what you're saying, but where I am, it's quite hard to find actual open fields here compared to somewhere like England. I'll go to a lake nearby at the weekend to practice flying at a lower altitude.

 

[Heindrich1988]

A DJI store assistant actually advised someone to do a maiden flight from the top of a tall building
What could possibly go wrong ?

lol yeah, he said that if I fly at ground level, it's easy to hit trees and it can attract bystanders who can be distracting.

My apartment roof is taller than everything else around for miles (I am sort of on the edge of an urban area), aside from the other apartments in my neighbourhood. If I fly southwards, I have VLOS to virtually the horizon. So if I maintain an altitude of about 20m above my roof, it's impossible to hit anything.

The main risk is landing. My take off area is not especially large. I've seen videos where the Mavic Air 2 RTH misses the take off point by a few meters. That could potentially cause my drone to clip the edge of my roof. The first two times I landed I used RTH to get close and then landed it manually (very carefully). Yesterday I decided to trust the RTH (kept an eye on it of course) and the drone landed perfectly where it took off from. Today RTH was a meter or two off, so I cancelled it and landed manually again.

 

[John_Howard3105]

I remember my first flight very well. It was 2 years ago when i had the Mavic Pro, very nervous, took off, totally forgot about VLOS because i was lost in the amazement of what i could see from a flying camera. Then the video feed was lost and i was overcome with dread thinking that the drone is in the air somewhere and i can't see it and i don't know exactly where it is. I hoped i had set up the RTH height correctly and was waiting for it to come home. Seconds passed and nothing, then all of a sudden i heard it coming back and it landed perfectly next to home point.

Now with the MA2 when it loses connection and starts to come back i just take back control of it again, my first flight was the only time I've ever let my drone land on its own. I also now mostly take off and land from my hand.

 

[Deleted member 114292]

I just got my first ever drone (MA2) at the weekend and flew it myself for the first time yesterday and today. I would be lying if I said I was not nervous!

For most people, even the cheapest Mavic Drones represents a significant monetary investment, so I guess the fear of crashing and/or losing your precious Mavic is natural. But I was quite surprised by how involuntarily nervous I got over situations that I logically knew were safe.

What do I mean? Well, I took the advice of my DJI store assistant and took off from the roof of my very tall apartment building, so that I would avoid all the hazards at ground level. However, the fact that I started so high up made me terrified that if something did go wrong, my drone would likely end up in many tiny pieces!

From all the research I've done, I know that Mavics don't just drop out of the sky even if I lost RC contact. I know that RTH will bring my drone back even if I lose my bearings and cannot manually pilot it home. But the first time that my MA2 rose about 10 meters above me, my heart was pounding. The first time I pushed it beyond the edge of my building, my hands got sweaty. The first time I lost sight of it in the air and didn't know exactly where it was, my human brain fired all sorts of alarms even though I knew that it was okay.

I never descended to an altitude where I could have hit anything, so there was pretty much no chance of a crash, yet my body refused to believe it! Even though RTH worked perfectly fine yesterday, I had another flutter at the start of my flight today. lol

Do you guys remember your maiden flight? How long did it take before you overcame these irrational fears? How long does it take (in terms of flight hours) to become a competent pilot? I know it varies between people, but can you give me a ballpark number?

Once the Fear is totally gone then you’ll be overconfident and crash then the fear will come back.
At least that’s how it went for me.

 

[THE CYBORG]

Once the Fear is totally gone then you’ll be overconfident and crash then the fear will come back.
At least that’s how it went for me.

Nothing quite like a little overconfidence for impending disaster

 

[Bxr532001]

I practice every chance I get and I’m still a little nervous before I take off.

 

[monteolsen1]

I echo what others are saying. I was so paranoid to fly my second Phantom (the 3 Advanced) that I wouldn't. It just sat there. That's a lot of lost time. When I bought the MA2, it was confidence instilling almost from the beginning. I've been flying it pretty often and enjoying the flights and the post flight video its taken. The video is astounding in its crispness and colors.

Have fun with yours!

 

[Gindra]

I had that same reaction when I first (and second and third and ...) flew over the ocean. Safest place to fly but boy did I sweat!

I have a friend who, as a young man, walked 8" wide steel beams, bringing rivet to the workers. No safety gear back then. I get white-knuckled just thinking about it. I can't walk to the edge of a cliff. Period. When sharing this with my friend, he said he too had been like that but realized that he was not afraid of falling or losing his balance when standing anywhere else so why would he be afraid when standing on a beam?

His logic was impeccable. But it didn't help me one bit! I still get pucker-factor when I go over the ocean. And flying at the coast is my favorite place to fly. Makes no sense but there it is. So, enjoy flying, even if it takes years off your life from stress .