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Drone flying can be a magnificent experience. I have found this to be a great way to unwind and feel relaxed. Nothing like unwinding after a long day of working hard. Now do keep in mind that flying one of these drones can look and sound easier than it is. A few wrong steps and your drone could be damaged or destroyed and could have hurt yourself or other belongings if not careful. Follow my beginner steps to get started and learn a little about what you are doing before you dive in.
If this is your first remote control of any sort, I might recommend a cheap car of some sort so you can start to learn your 2D horizontal plane, before you toss in a 3D verticle plane also. If you are already heading to the store and are determined to get one today, then go for it! Pick up some extra parts, mainly propellers, as I know you will be back later that day for more if you do not.
Learn Your Controls First
Let us first look at the controller you have for your drone. There will be 2 main control thumb control sticks. These are your primary flight controls. There are multiple variations of similar controls out there. The variations are classified as Mode 1 and Mode 2. Mode 2 is more common in the US where your throttle will be on the left.
An easy way to quickly identify which type you have is to try and identify the throttle stick. In most cases, you will have one stick that is spring loaded to return to center, or neutral, on all directions, vs the other that the verticle movement will not be spring loaded. This will be your throttle that does not return to neutral. Your throttle will stay in the last position without going to the neutral position.
On more recent models, both sticks might return to neutral and you will have to consult your manual or do some experimentation to figure out which setup you could have.
Mode 2
Mode 2 is the most common transmitter setup. On the left side, your throttle will be up and down while your yaw, or rudder, is left and right. When you move the throttle up, as expected, you will increase your motor rpm and increase your altitude. Moving this same left stick left and right will move you the nose of your aircraft left and right also.
The right stick will control your pitch and roll. By pressing up on the right control stick, your drone will pitch forward and move forward at the same time. By moving your right control stick down, you will move your drone backwards. By moving your right control stick left and right, will cause the drone to bank left and right causing a sideways movement.
Mode 1
Mode 1, as I’m sure you have guessed by now, will swap the control sticks from each side. Your movement directions will still react the same, but only the sticks have changed positions. More advanced controllers can swap these in your settings. If you have a throttle that does not return to neutral, it could be a little more difficult to rearrange this setup, but not impossible.
Do Your “Walk Around”
Ensure everything is where and how it needs to be. Being familiar with your drone is the key to knowing when you have an issue. By knowing the specifics about your drone, you will be able to quickly identify something that might not be correct. Anything wrong on the ground only gets worse in the air.
Propellers
The first item I like to look at, even between flights, are the propellers. Blades should be straight and not damaged. Even the slightest bend can cause a huge change in flight characteristics. Sometimes even when they do not appear to be damaged, adverse flying characteristics can be encountered. If your drone is not flying to your liking, change all of your propellers out for new ones and see if that fixes your issues.
Also, pay attention to your propellers as all 4 are not the same. Your forward left motor is the #1 motor. #2 would be the right forward motor. Continuing around clockwise, #3 is the rear right. Making the #4 motor the rear left. The number 1 and 3 motors should both turn clockwise and have propellers that would cause lift when turned this direction. Motors number 2 and 4 will turn counterclockwise and also produce lift accordingly.
Battery
My next favorite item to be marked off my checklist is the batteries. Batteries today can be very temperamental. Ensure that you are safely charging your batteries and using the manufacturer included charger at all times will extend your battery life. M
Motors
Motors should be checked for wear and damage. All wires to and from the motors should be firmly connected and free from discolorations. Wires should also be tucked away and secured to where they will not come loose during flight and get tangled in the motors. If you have any exposed gears, check for wear and tear. You can easily chip a gear or have uneven wear
Everything Else
Nothing should be hanging off and needs to be fully secured. All batteries, both flight
Drone Flying in a Large Space
Give yourself plenty of room to drift around. This is especially critical as you are learning. If you are flying indoors, turn off all fans and stay away from airconditioner ducts. These drafts will cause unexpected drafts that can cause you to easily lose control. When you are first starting off, your drone is naturally attracted to and will want to crash into any nearby objects in the area. This is Murphy’s Law! Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.
Start Your Engines
Always turn on your transmitter first. We wouldn’t want your drone to latch on to a rogue signal. Secondly, ensure your throttle is at its lowest setting. No need for a flyway drone already. On a level surface, plug in your battery and turn on your drone. Allow a few seconds for your transmitter and drone to connect. Also, give a few seconds for your gyro to initialize and stabilize. Most drones will communicate through a series of beeps or lights. Consult your manual as this may vary slightly from your particular model. Some models automatically arm the motors once your throttle is in the full down, or cutoff, position.
Cleared for Takeoff!
I’ve always said taking off is easy. Slowly add some throttle and your drone will slowly gain altitude. Get your drone semiquickly out of ground effect. Ground effect is where your propwash is hitting the ground while coming back over your own propellers. You are essentially creating your own turbulance. This happens at about the width of your drone over the ground. Flying low is never the best of ideas. Get up and above your own turbulance into smoother flying air rather quickly. When I first started I did not understand all of this. Quickly I figured it out and was able to move on to the next lesson!
Thumb Fly or Pinch Fly?
Most say you should be using a ‘pinching’ motion with your thumb and index finger. This is supposed to give you greater control and motor. Although, this is not always possible with smaller transmitters. Leaving you with the option of thumb flying. According to “All RC Flight” either way is acceptable, just do which ever is most comfortable.
Learn Your Hovers
One does not simply take off and fly a drone. There are 4 hovers that you must learn first. These hovers will teach you the drone flying controls. Eventually, these will become muscle memory and you will no longer think before reacting. When I initially take off with my drone, I spend about a minute in each of the hovers listed below. This helps me to get reacquainted with this particular drone and allows me to see that all the controls are accurately working without issues.
Drone Flying “Nose Out” Hover
“Nose Out” refers to the nose of the drone facing out and away from you. This is the same way you would sit in a car. In this configuration, the drones directions are the same as your own. Small, deliberate corrections should keep you relatively in the same area. Every new drone flyer should start with this.
Drone Flying “Nose Left” or “Nose Right” Hover
As you can imagine, drone flying with the nose left or right will yet again change the controls from your perspective. Now in this drone flying attitude, left and right will bring your drone closer and further, while forward and backward will bring you left and right.
Drone Flying “Nose In” Hover
Drone flying “Nose In” is probably the hardest hover to learn. The drone will be facing you. Keep in mind that all control inputs are relative from the drivers seat of the drone, not from the pilot. As the drone changes its direction, the pilot must rethink the control inputs. While flying nose in, moving your roll to the left will cause the drone to fly to your right. Forward will now bring the drone closer to you and backwards will now bring it further away.
Hovering Fun!
As you are learning your hovers, I have found by placing a few objects or cones to fly back and forth to can also keep the flying fun and more interesting. Hovering in one place for too long can get boring. Fly a pattern above these or possibly fly to an object, then return to your starting point. Initially keep your orientation the same, but feel free to experirment and challenge yourself as you gain experiense and confidence.
I know right now all this is very confusing, but its easier to see as you try it. Try a few flights getting used to the controls, come back here and reread everything again. It will definately make more sense then! Check back as I’m working on a hover video that will help you understand the controls better.
Drone Flying Issues? Read My Drone Won’t Fly To Troubleshoot
Flying Height
I have always found to get the drone to almost eye level. I enforce and teach this when my kids fly. you away from ground effect and any downwash you are producing. This also gives you a great view of your drone flying. If the drone starts to drift off out of your control, slowly lower the throttle and land. With the throttle in its lowest position, pick up and place the drone back in a safe position from where you initially took off.
Occasionally Land and Take a Breather
It is not necessary while drone flying to use your entire battery in one sitting. Land occasionally and catch your breath. Let your heart rate settle. What goes up must eventually come down, so practice another take off and landing. Fly for 15 seconds and land. Gradually increase this as your skill increases. You will be flying the entire battery in no time wanting a longer flight battery!
Low Battery Warning
Some drones are equipt with a beeping noise or even some flashing lights letting you know your battery is low. This is typically 5-8 minutes into your flight, depending on your battery size. This is to let you know its time to land. Safely and slowly bring your drone back to its landing spot in a timely fashion. If you do not pay attention to these warnings, it will shorten the lifespan of your battery, and possibly cause you into a forced landing.
Landing
Easy right? What goes up must come down! Thats another one of those physics laws. Eventually your drone is going to land, with or without your help! As easy as it sounds, this is what separates a good pilot and a great pilot. Bring your drone to a hover over your prefered landing spot, possibly even from where you took off from. Slowly bring down the throtthe until it touches down completely. Once on the ground, pull the throttle all the way down to cutoff and disarm the motors.
Shut Down Checklist
This will be the inverse order of what we accomplished earlier. While your transmitter is at its lowest setting, walk over and turn off your drone. This would be a good time to unplug your battery also. Now it is safe to turn off your transmitter. Please, as before, consult your manual for your model specifics.
Post Flight
Your post flight and preflight should look about the same with a few minor differences. Batteries should be recharged for the next flight unless your drone is going into longterm storage. Ensure nothing is damaged in any way that would cause adverse flight characteristics for the next flight. Reassure everything is correctly turned off.
Something Not Flying Correctly? Read “My Drone Won’t Fly” To Troubleshoot
Conclusion
Drone flying is not a dangerous or complicated process, but with a few simple routines and thoughts you can have an incredible time learning to fly. With a little bit of practice, you may even decide to make this a career or part time job.
Make sure you read up on our How To Fly Your Drone Safely Tips Here to not only stay safe but legal.