Here are very useful tips that will help to be a better drone pilot.
1. Start with Cheaper Drone
There is no point of buying $800 DJI drone if you are just starting out. There are many cheaper alternatives that you can start from. Chances are you will crash your first drone and it will be very painful on your wallet. Now days, some of the drones starts from under $100. These cheaper drones are not good for shooting video in the air, but they are perfect for getting your feet wet and getting used to the drone.
Here are some good starter drones you can find in Amazon.
These starter drones are great because they are very durable. The parts are very cheap and it is easy to fix after the crash. They are also very safe even if you ran into something or someone.
2. Learn the FAA Rules
Believe it or not, FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) has some rules relating to the drones. It is good to know about the rules for your safely and safely of others.
Some of the basic rules are:
- Don’t fly over 400 feet.
- Don’t fly near the airport.
- You have to register heavier type of drones.
- Keep the drone in the line of site.
When you come down to it, it is just common sense rules. You just have to be always aware of your surroundings and don’t do anything stupid.
3 Learn to Fly without Headless Mode
Almost every drone now has Headless Mode. In simple terms, Headless Mode is basically a method implemented on a drone that allows pilots to give up worrying about orientation altogether. It means the drone knows where you are no matter how the drone is positioned. For example, if you push the drone control forward, the drone moves forward, no matter where you drone is position. If you move the drone controller to the right, it will always go to right no matter where the drone is positioned. Headless Mode is design to make it easy for you to fly your drone.
When you starting out, using Headless Mode is very helpful. But when you start to feel comfortable with it, spend some time getting use your drone without Headless mode. It will be bit more difficult and maybe frustrating, but you’ll be a better pilot and you’ll be able to fly very complicated patterns in the air.
One tip: You can easily tell which end is the front of the drone and which end is tail of the drone far away in the air by the different colored lights.
4. Master the line of site
Line of site means, you are able to see the drone in the distance in the air. Many of the drone, now days, have FPV (First Person View) capabilities which means, you can see through drone’s camera in real-time. If you are taking picture or video in the air, this is very helpful. But at the same time, this is helpful when you can’t see the drone any longer or you lost where your drone is located.
Before you get to learn solely with FPV, you have to first master your skill by flying in the line of site. This means, you can’t let your drone fly too far away from you. Once you have master the skill of flying the drone in the line of site, then you can learn to fly solely with FPV.
5. Fly in open space
Some times, it is very tempting to just take your drone out to your backyard or near you neighborhood. But it is important that you learn to fly your drone in the open space first. In the open space, you can really push your drone without minimal risk. This means, you might have to travel bit to find a good open space to practice your drone. Also find a day where there is minimal wind blowing.
If you decided to fly in indoor, you can put proper propeller guards on your drone so just in case you run into a wall, it will cause minimal damage.
6. Know your battery
Not all the batteries are same. It is important to know your battery. Worst thing that can happen is run out of your battery while your drone is in the air far away from you. Charge your batteries before you get to the destination. Before you fly, always check your battery level. Always carry with you extra batteries. Get an idea how long your batter will last in the air. If you are going to take your drone out far away, plan ahead so that you don’t run out of your batteries in the air. Be aware of that as your batteries wears out, it will slowly loose it’s maximum output.
7. Practice, Practice
Just like any other skills, more time you put on it, better you will be. You are not going to master the skills in just one or two hours of flight time. Take the drone out every weekend or even everyday and continue to push the drone to see what it can do.
Once you master the basic skills, learn the advance skills. There is always new things you can learn.
If you are having trouble, or not sure what to do, there are lots of help available online.