Your new drone is finally here!! Now what?

2 May 2017 - I checked the mail and found that the package from DJI had arrived a couple of days early. A Phantom 3 Standard I purchased on impulse after seeing a P4P in action at a teacher workshop. I was as excited as I was overwhelmed. It was two days before I took off for the first time, and even then I had little idea what I was getting into. Since that awkward start, I’ve done the new drone in the mail game a couple more times, and I think I’ve got it ironed out fairly well. So here’s my step by step guide to getting that bird in the air.

Step 1: Charging the batteries.

Assuming you got the fly-more package (You did, right?), you will have a charging hub that can handle up to 4 batteries. It won’t charge them all at once though. Just plug them all in and wait. It takes more than an hour for each battery to charge from its shipped state, usually around 15%. This is probably a good place to make sure you know a couple things about LiPo batteries. First, they should never be fully discharged. Second, they shouldn’t be stored long term fully charged. Most new drone batteries will automatically begin to discharge after being left full for a few days. If you get impatient with charging batteries, there are third party systems for charging multiple batteries at the same time. Also, make sure your remote gets plugged in too. It’ll need to be charged for Step 3.

Step 2: Register Your Drone.

Whether you’re flying recreationally, or for commercial purposes, any drone weighing 250g or more needs to be registered with the FAA. Unless you just got the Mavic Mini (249g) that means you. NOTE: I am assuming that it won’t take the FAA long to close this little loophole. You need to be 13 or older. If you are under 13, your parent/guardian will need to register for you. The cost is $5 for a 3 year registration whether you chose recreational or commercial. If you ever plan to make money flying your drone, go ahead and select commercial. Once you’ve provided the required information, you will get a registration number. This number needs to be displayed on the outside of your drone. I used a label maker, but some permanent marker would work fine too. Be sure to keep a copy of this number on you as well. In the event that you lose your drone during an incident, the FAA will want the number.

Step 3: Update your firmware

Look, by this point you are itching to fly. You’ve watched the green flashing lights of your batteries for over an hour, and plugged one in to find that you need to update your firmware. I suppose I should back up here and make sure you’ve downloaded the appropriate app to your phone and connected the phone to your remote. To power on your remote and drone (assuming DJI) you will need to do a short press, followed by a long press. Hold the long press until you hear the start up tones. When you start up the drone make sure the gimbal guard has been removed. You don’t actually need to have the props installed to do this, but if you were able to not install them while waiting on battery charging, you’re a better person than I am. Make sure your phone is fully charged as well and just follow the onscreen prompts to update your firmware. Full disclosure, DJI releases new firmware every couple of months, so this will not be the last time you impatiently watch your drone flash its pretty lights while you’d rather be flying. Depending on the update this can take anywhere from 15min to an hour. Make sure your phone is connected to WIFI if at all possible.

Step 4: Find a legal and safe place to fly.

While I’m sure at this point you’re wondering if you’ll ever have the chance to fly, this is probably the most important step for a new pilot. I’ve heard a lot of first flight horror stories and they all could have been avoided with a little bit of planning. This step can also be done long before your drone even arrives. So first, a legal location can be determined using a couple of resources. My first go to is DJI’s Fly Safe Map. Click on the area you want to fly and check for any warnings. Warnings are shown as colored blocks which delineate restricted zones, authorization zones, and limited zones. If at all possible avoid all three. Though the last two will eventually be fine to fly in, it’s not the best place to start. Once you’ve found a legal area to fly, it’s time to check it out to find a safe place to fly. If you’ve got a large yard that’s free of obstacles that’s the ideal situation. Large open fields without powerlines or trees are great too. Though make sure to check with the landowner first. Parks often work well, but are more and more likely to be labeled as no-drone zones. Parks also tend to have people, and people love asking questions. I mean, I get it, drones are mind-blowingly awesome, and being a good steward for the hobby is important, but you need to focus for the first few flights.

Step 5: Let’s do this.

Okay, so you’ve found yourself an open area that’s legal to fly, now it’s time to spread this bird’s wings. Find a nice flat spot that’s at least twice as large as your drone and set it down in the middle. Power your drone and remote and enter the app on your phone. There is probably an auto-takeoff feature, but like most of the auto-features, it’s best to get used to fully controlling your drone. If you push both of your sticks towards the middle (inward) and down towards you and hold them, your props will power up. Release the sticks and then push the left stick forward. Your drone will start to rise. Keep doing that until your drone is up to at least 150 feet. You should know this already, but your left joystick controls your elevation and yaw (direction you are pointing). The right joystick makes you go front to back and side to side. Now remember that move that started your drone? DON’T EVER DO IT AGAIN! That same move will shut off your props and end your career as an aerial photographer. Other than that, the sky is yours. Make sure to keep your drone in visual line of sight, but I tend to use a combination of VLOS and watching the screen to pilot. You’ve got around 20 minutes of flight time so have a ball, but don’t go too far. Watch the bar on the top of the screen, when the little dot telling you how much time you have left makes it to the yellow section, it’s time to turn around.

Step 6: Landing is important too.

Once your back to where you took off from, it’s usually helpful to make your drone face away and stand behind your landing area. Slowly bring down the drone until it’s hovering about eye level above your landing pad. Press back (down) on your left stick slowly, the drone will recognize the ground and proceed to land itself. To be honest, I almost never do this. Once I get the drone to eye level, I quickly reach up and grab the bottom of the body at the same time that I pull back on the left stick and power the drone down. Performing a ‘hand-catch’ can be risky, so might be a good idea to check out a YouTube clip before giving it a go.

Once your heart rate has returned to normal, rinse and repeat!

You can shoot me a question in the comments if you’ve still got one.