Too nervous to fly

[spsphotos]

I’m more nervous about flying somewhere that I’m not supposed to. Sure I can follow the maps but is it someone’s property and will they get angry?

There are NO rules about flying over people's properties. Only over people and moving vehicles. The FAA sets airspace restrictions, but local governments cannot set any such rules. They can only restrict your ability to take off or land on public lands. Just don't fly too low and you'll be fine but use an app like B4UFLY to verify if you are allowed to and if there are any height restrictions first. Did you take the TRUST test? It's required. Free at FAA TRUST Online Portal for Recreational Drone Operators - Pilot Institute. It's pretty easy and you cannot fail as it will just let you answer till you get it.

 

[Puck Acorn]

Welcome from the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, USA. We have a Member's Map in the Upper Right of the Title Bar. Click on "Members" and then Click on "Member's Map…" Check it out and you might find some new flying friends.

Member Map

mavicpilots.com

As a New Drone Pilot, there are a couple of Legal Things you may need to do…

If you have not already done so, you will need to get your TRUST Certificate. You can get that at the Pilot Institute Web Site (FREE…) . Your Drone weighs less than 250-grams (0.55 pounds) and you are flying under The Exception for Recreational Flyers, you are not required to register your Drone.

When I first started flying I registered my Mini 2 because the TRUST Certificate and FAA Registration established me as a "certified" Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Pilot.

Link to the TRUST Certificate at the Pilot Institute Web Site (FREE…)

FAA TRUST Online Portal for Recreational Drone Operators - Pilot Institute

Get your FAA TRUST Certificate of Completion to legally fly drones for recreational reasons in the United States.

trust.pilotinstitute.com

Link to the FAADroneZone (Optional Registration for Drones under 250-Grams…)

FAADroneZone

faadronezone.faa.gov

Since you live in Texas, there are specific laws and rules for you to follow, please check the link below for all the Rules and Laws that are in effect in your neck of the woods and it also links you to some of the Best Places to Fly in your area… Also, if you travel on vacation, visit friends, and relatives in other parts of the country, check back here so you do not run afoul of the law.

Drone Laws and Best Places to Fly in Every US State - Pilot Institute

pilotinstitute.com

Even if you have flown Drones before, here is some Good Old Fashion Advice…

First off, I've included the link to the User manual for the Mini 2, Read it, then read it again. Understand what you drone will do and will not do. Go watch a bunch of YouTube Videos on the Mini 2. There are Good and Bad Videos (or Blooper videos) you can learn what not to do…

You need some "handholding…" Join the San Antonio Drone Users Facebook Group. They have over 2.500 members and I bet there are lots of get togethers where they fly. You might also connect woth someone who will take you out and show you the ropes…

Log into Facebook

Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

www.facebook.com

Next, you can also check out our Sub-Forum in "Local and Regional Discussions -- San Antoino…"

San Antonio

Welcome, San Antonio TX Mavic drone users! - Join the other Mavic pilots in your area to discuss local laws, restrictions, great places to fly, local drone shops, etc. Start a thread to introduce yourself and let us know where in SA you like to fly!

mavicpilots.com

Finally, here are a couple of videos to watch that show basic Flight Manuvers…

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You paid a lot of money for that Drone, put your phone number on it. If your drone gets lost or stuck in a tree and it finally comes down when you are not around, give the finders an opportunity to contact you so it can be returned.

Now, for the Fun Part, But do not let the excitement of the moment get the best of you. When you are going out to fly, do it slowly and deliberately. Get used to a set procedure and even practice it.

There are so many things I could write but these are the highlights that I feel need mentioning.

Plug in your phone/tablet into your controller; turn on the Controller and DJI Fly App (if it does not start on its own…). On the Drone, open the front legs, then open the back legs, then remove the Gimbal Cover.

The Gimbal is the most delicate item on the Drone and banging or bumping can damage it. I also fastened a short "Remove Before Flight" ribbon to the cover so it's more noticeable and I do not forget to remove it…

Turn on the drone and watch it come to "life." Watching the Gimbal go through its self-check is almost like watching a kitten or puppy opening its eyes for the first time…

Place the drone down (preferably on a Landing Pad) while it finishes its self-test (collecting satellites, etc…).

Check your battery status (Phone, Drone, and Controller), check the Signal Strength, by now the Controller should have reported it updated the Home Point.

Lift off, 4-5 feet (1-1/2 meters) or so, hover a bit, check the controls (move the drone a bit forward, back, left, right, yaw left and right). By now, your Controller will probably report again, Home point Updated.

If you go out in a rush and race thru your start up and take off before the drone has finished it prep, it may update its Home Point over that pond or that old tree you are flying over and in your excitement, you'll fly the drone long past it Low Battery point and when it engages Return to Home and lands in the pond or in a tree; it will be all on you…

Now go have fun, learn to fly the drone by sight before you try to fly it out a distance depending on the video feed, FPV.

I would also advise you to use YouTube and watch a lot of the Videos on flying and setting up the Drone. When it is too dark, too cold, or too wet, you can "fly it vicariously" through YouTube. Also watch some of the Blooper Drone Videos and learn how not to fly your "New Baby."

Below is the link to all of the downloads offered by DJI for the Mini 2, including the User Manual.

After you read the Manual, read it again, you will be surprised what you missed the first time and you will be better prepared for that first "scary moment…"

DJI Mini 2 - Download Center - DJI

Learn and download DJI Mini 2 related apps, software, and manuals at the DJI Download Center

www.dji.com

Happy Droning…

This is excellent information that should benefit everyone that reads it. Thanks for the post!

 

[Octavio]

Hi Sam, I guess you are on the right track. Your concern already states that you are a responsible person and you are looking forward to learn.
My advice is to carry on responsibly without fear. Here is a fantastic website aimed for you. It will feed you with the most important things you need including a free Recreational License. FAA TRUST Online Portal for Recreational Drone Operators - Pilot Institute
I use the DJI Fly App and Litchi. I also use the UAV Forecast App to assist me in No-fly Zones. Unfortunately, the App doesn't cover all No-fly Zones, but it's a great help.
As far as I am concerned you may fly over Housing aria as long you are not spying or just hovering looking suspicious. Fly at a reasonable altitude and speed. I like to fly over 30M above ground keeping in mind that the maximum Altitude is 122M above ground.
Avoid flying over Roads and Public concentrated areas.
Have fun and enjoy yourself.

 

[BobaFut]

There are NO rules about flying over people's properties. Only over people and moving vehicles. The FAA sets airspace restrictions, but local governments cannot set any such rules. They can only restrict your ability to take off or land on public lands. Just don't fly too low and you'll be fine

Kinda, but I don't think it's that simple in practice. You even imply that there ARE some rules when you say "don't fly too low," because there is a lot of gray area around voyeurism and nuisance laws. Sure, local cops can't (on paper) harass or bust you because of some perceived airspace violation, but they might feel justified in giving you a hard time if a neighbor complains or files a report.

I try not to make a habit over flying over quiet residential areas or more residential rural areas. Denser areas are a different story, as there's usually lots of noise and activity so that people don't notice the buzz of a drone. When I'm flying in an urban or densely populated area, I try to 1) go as early as possible to avoid people; 2) find a parking garage and fly from the top floor (this has the benefit of increasing VLOS and avoiding onlookers, and fewer people tend to park on the top floor of parking garages); and 3) fly at 400ft to the extent possible and ascend/descend to/from that altitude as quickly as possible.

Personally, I like flying in either downtown areas or remote areas. Not only because quiet suburban or residential rural areas come with some complications, but they just aren't that interesting from a photo/video perspective. I wouldn't get too hung up on flying "over people and traffic," as the intent there is really about hovering or moving back and forth over the same spot constantly. If you're flying downtown, it's easy to fly over a building to get your shot and then move to the next spot. And if there's a cool place that has a lot of people that you'd like to film, it's usually easy to find an angle where you aren't flying directly over anyone.

 

[maggior]

I was very anxious about flying when I first started out two and a half years ago. Part of it was because I started with cheap drones that weren't very stable to fly. I was afraid of losing connection or something going wrong and it going out of control. This wasn't just my overactive imagination, the drones I was flying at the time (various Holy Stone products) had numerous reports of fly-aways. I had one drop out of the sky (from 6 feet up) for no reason and another just start going in a random direction full speed.

So, when I moved up to DJI (a Mavic Air 2), it took me some time to gain confidence in it's capabilities. I got DJI Care to ease my anxiety of losing a large monetary investment in a crash.

I went out to a wide open park and took my time flying around and getting used to how this drone flew. I was shocked by how stable it was. Over a month or so I gained a good measure of confidence with it and felt comfortable flying in my neighborhood with it. Eventually I got up the courage to try taking off from more public areas, like pulling off on the side of a road to capture some of the landscapes. Slowly but surely, I got very comfortable flying.

 

[Rchawks]

Take the TRUST - The Recreational UAS Safety Test (TRUST) | Federal Aviation Administration

This is not "optional" - it is a legal requirement, BEFORE you fly a drone. You will learn a lot in the process. One of the things you will learn is how to stay legal (and safe).

BTW, though it's not explicitly called out as illegal, I don't think it's a good idea to sit (hide) in your car (or inside anything else) and fly the drone from there. You not only need to keep your drone in sight the entire time you are flying it, you also need to "maintain situational awareness" of the airspace your drone is flying through - these are legal requirements. Being inside a car will make it a lot harder to see your drone, and you won't be able to hear it, or see/hear other aircraft that might be approaching. To maintain situational awareness, you should not be in a bubble, you need to be out observing (and listening to) what your drone is doing.

Point well taken, I do it in freezing weather next to a open field, other than that 98 percent of the time I stand and watch. I did it once close to downtown, not anywhere near traffic or people.

 

[SeaPig]

Thank you for the reminder Dale. These old eyes keep losing my Bird. The strobe I am sure will help.

 

[RSD1982]

So I got my mini 2 in Oct 2022 and have barely flown it. I live in a neighborhood and flew it straight up, took some photos, and brought it right back down. I don’t know where to fly. I know not to fly over other peoples homes, or traffic, etc. and that limits my take offs from home. I live in San Antonio, TX and all outlying areas are peoples land and I don’t want to fly over without permission. Am I just being overly cautious? All the fly maps/apps that I have show all areas around me ok to fly but I also don’t want to upset anyone. Any advice for a newbie?

Remember, people can own land, but not the air above it. You can fly over land belonging to other people. This rule, AFAIK, is accepted internationally. Where the differences lie is in whether you’re permitted to video record, how close to buildings you can get, how near people etc.
I don’t claim to be an expert on laws of America, because I don’t live there so I don’t need to be, but I know about the UK laws governing drones. I follow them so I don’t do anything unlawful. What I do over and above that is common sense. I don’t do anything to others I wouldn’t like done to me, so I don’t film people so close they’re identifiable. I don’t fly nearly close enough to buildings that the camera could see in the windows. I don’t fly low over people, pets, gardens etc. anything that might annoy someone I just don’t do.
What I have found is that people are mostly either indifferent or interested and ask questions. I’ve yet to encounter someone who is annoyed by my flying, presumably because of just these simple courtesies.

 

[shawgod]

I try to always avoid neighborhoods all together. They create too many problems, and way too much attention. I try to fly in private, which these days is getting harder to do. I always tend to attract people asking me questions galore. That's when I wear my T-shirt with top ten questions answered, so I can concentrate on the flying and not on the talking. I don't have a problem with some questions and getting new people into the hobby, it's the million questions that come with it. I try to let people know I am there for my enjoyment and not to talk.

 

[chiangmaicharlies]

Consider watching this video, it might help you:

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A good, reassuring video done in a laid-back attitude.

 

[lilewis]

I fly in city parks early in the am before people start to congregate, also school athletic fields when no one is there, also church and large business parking lots when they are closed and no one around. Once I drove into a school parking lot and there was a police officer watching traffic. I told him my intention and he had no problems with me flying there. I have never been approached by anyone and asked to stop If someone does someday approache me and has concerns, I will very politely leave - but that hasn't happened yet.

 

[SanAntonPilot]

This has all been great advice and I thank you! I’ve completed my TRUST, registered my drone (sticker on my drone), and have done some basic flying in my yard. I was just concerned about where to fly, legally speaking, but y’all answered that. I have 3 different apps (B4UFLY, AirMap, and AirControl) to look for the off limits places. I wasn’t sure where I could take off from but y’all have given some great ideas (parks, schools, churches, closed businesses, etc). I just need to get over my apprehension and get there.

I’ve seen multiple videos of city (downtown) flights. Is this ok? Not sure because of the (don’t fly over people and traffic) rules. Also, as a recreation pilot, can we fly at night? Do all of these night flight video people have part 107? Would love to get some July 4th footage this year.

 

[LawrenceF]

I'm kinda moving out of that nervous phase. I bought my drone a couple of months ago and the weather has been cold but I did get to fly it a bit and as you suggested ... there was a certain level of anxiety early on.

• Will I crash it and lose my investment?
• Will I fly somewhere I'm not supposed to be and get in trouble?
• Will the thing just fly away as if it had a mind of it's own?

After hitting a few local parks and flying a bit over a few local universities, I started to feel a lot more comfortable and I started to gain more trust that the thing will do what I tell it to do. My greatest fear was crashing and breaking and losing it early, so I took it slow at first.

It's icy and super cold here now so no flying, but I'm going to have fun with it in the spring and summer.

P.S. I found one great place to practice flying is over football fields, because the high school and college seasons are over and there's lots of empty space to practice and there's typically nobody doing anything even close to them until later in the spring, and flying around and through goalposts is good practice.

 

[kpmac]

So I got my mini 2 in Oct 2022 and have barely flown it. I live in a neighborhood and flew it straight up, took some photos, and brought it right back down. I don’t know where to fly. I know not to fly over other peoples homes, or traffic, etc. and that limits my take offs from home. I live in San Antonio, TX and all outlying areas are peoples land and I don’t want to fly over without permission. Am I just being overly cautious? All the fly maps/apps that I have show all areas around me ok to fly but I also don’t want to upset anyone. Any advice for a newbie?

Fly at local and state parks. Most are legal to do so. Call them if you have questions.

 

[SanAntonPilot]

Fly at local and state parks. Most are legal to do so. Call them if you have questions.

State parks are definitely a no go. Texas only legally allows 2 state parks. But local parks are a good idea. Thank you.

 

[tuxon64]

I was nervous on my very first flight years ago. I think I just went straight up from my back yard, maybe 50-80 feet. I got over that nervousness real fast. Can you find a football or soccer field not in use? Go early in the morning and try to avoid people.

 

[bmcelya]

So I got my mini 2 in Oct 2022 and have barely flown it. I live in a neighborhood and flew it straight up, took some photos, and brought it right back down. I don’t know where to fly. I know not to fly over other peoples homes, or traffic, etc. and that limits my take offs from home. I live in San Antonio, TX and all outlying areas are peoples land and I don’t want to fly over without permission. Am I just being overly cautious? All the fly maps/apps that I have show all areas around me ok to fly but I also don’t want to upset anyone. Any advice for a newbie?

Well, you’ve gotten a lot of good advice here. By now you’ve probably figured out that you didn’t buy a toy, you bought an aircraft. Recreational UAS flying is supposed to be fun, so might as well. For millions it IS fun, and likely will be for you too. A mini2 at altitude is hardly visible or audible, and I can’t imagine people getting upset about it. Get a big piece of cardboard and launch from your backyard and go see the sights. Consult the fly apps like B4UFLY etc. and you’ll be fine. I say go ahead and start studying for a 107 ticket even if you don’t test for it. TRUST is the minimum. There’s an online manual for the Mini2. Knowledge is valuable. Learn how to use LAANC too, in case you’re near an airport. Enjoy the friendly skys.

 

[akdrone]

Wow! What a great community we have here! Look at all the great advice given! I think that was all so good and i’m looking forward to viewing those videos. My comment is a tag along to Dale’s comment on getting out there. After you have your Trust (easy) test done and your drone is registered with the FAA and you know you are flying within the boundaries set by B4UFLY you will be confident you are flying legally and that alone goes a long way to feeling more comfortable. If I lived in a subdivision I’m sure I’d fly around for a looksee once in a while but that would probably be that. As Dale said…get in your car and drive. I would say look for some fascinating geological formations. I like to fly up and along mountains and look for wildlife. I’m not sure what interesting things there are around San Antonio but maybe following local rivers and trails? Even that empty field is a place you can begin to work on flying skill like manually being able to circle a spot. Then being able to circle a spot while you are ascending or descending. Learn to do hyperlapses. Use ND filters near the ground. There is a lot to learn and practice but if you limit yourself to never flying over people’s farm land or other private property you will really be restricting yourself. Best of luck and welcome to a very interesting hobby.

 

[smashse]

This has all been great advice and I thank you! I’ve completed my TRUST, registered my drone (sticker on my drone), and have done some basic flying in my yard. I was just concerned about where to fly, legally speaking, but y’all answered that. I have 3 different apps (B4UFLY, AirMap, and AirControl) to look for the off limits places. I wasn’t sure where I could take off from but y’all have given some great ideas (parks, schools, churches, closed businesses, etc). I just need to get over my apprehension and get there.

I’ve seen multiple videos of city (downtown) flights. Is this ok? Not sure because of the (don’t fly over people and traffic) rules. Also, as a recreation pilot, can we fly at night? Do all of these night flight video people have part 107? Would love to get some July 4th footage this year.

I am pretty sure night flights are a Part 107 thing. It's really not that hard, and you can get all of the info for free on YT. It's a $150 test. Renewals are free after that.

But assuming that all of those night flights are part 107... Well the truth is a lot of YT flights are illegal.

I can pull up video after video in the US of pilots flying FPV with no Visual Observers (VO's). As far as I know, as a Part 107 pilot, that isn't legal anywhere (Except FAA approved flying sites), especially where these guys are flying, which is compounded by not being able to keep the drone in view at all times (There's a making of video where a guy uses an Avata FPV for a hotel promo in Hawaii, no VO, he's inside, flies out over water at least 200' away and not visible from his location). Point is, lots of flights aren't legal if they are doing it for subscribers. I also do not presume to know 100% if it is legal, I just don't see anyway it could be. It is *POSSIBLE* that this guy had waviers for BVLOS, flight over people, etc, I just highly doubt it. It is a beautiful video.

The advice here so far looks pretty good. Look for Mini training videos to help show you maneuvers that will help you gain confidence. I think someone linked to a YT that does that. I didn't leave my 100'x100' backyard and no more than about 60' AGL for my first 5 flights. Now I prefer about 100' and sport mode to get places.

Safe Flying!

 

[New England Droning]

I’m more nervous about flying somewhere that I’m not supposed to. Sure I can follow the maps but is it someone’s property and will they get angry?

I don't know the rules that Tx may have, and you need to find and familiarize yourself with those. I would find a local (in-town) drone group you can join and ask questions about the local rules. Most likely others have had these questions already and they can tell you whether flying over others property is dangerous or not. We all have to consider whether local landowners will get mad at us.
I take off from my condo (nothing in my HOA says I can't) and I usually take off and climb to 200-400 feet because my mini2 will be less noticed at that height and even less likely to be spotted. (TDS= Too Dam Small)...
I was a nervous nellie for many of my first flights and in fact, for the first six months, I was always a little nervous.
But you will learn the rules and the capabilities of the drone.
None of us wants a confrontation with a local and we don't deserve to be interrogated by them because they don't like drones flying around.
Fly safe and responsibly and you shouldn't have too much to worry about...