For Remote Control Rookies: Propellor-Bending Mistakes to Avoid at All Costs

Oh no! You just made a rookie mistake that could have been avoided if you were more aware. Use the misfortunes of others to your benefit. Read about the following common yet avoidable mistakes that rookies make when flying drones and operating remote controlled crafts.

Return to Home Altitude

Before you allow your drone to take flight, you need to survey the surroundings to calculate the appropriate settings. The return to home altitude needs to be higher than any nearby hazard or obstacle. For example, you may otherwise assume your drone is coming to the rendezvous point, yet there’s a tree in its way, a tree the drone will fly right into if you don’t have the settings appropriately adjusted! Eek!

Critical Battery Levels

Those who are old enough to drive remember times when they tested fate and kept driving rather than pull over and get gas in the tank. Yes, you have some time but not a lot before you risk running out of gas. Ignoring the critical battery alert is similar; if you continue to fly despite the battery warnings, don’t be surprised if you lose contact with your drone and it crashes, lands in a tree, falls into water, etc. However, all horrible occurrences can be avoided.

Visual Line of Sight

Flying drones takes on several definitions when it comes to line-of-sight. Some are so skilled at manning the aircraft that they can do it via a monitor rather than maintain a visual line of sight. However, such skilled and experienced flying is not suggested for those who are just learning. It’s suggested you start out by playing virtual games that simulate flying a drone out of sight. That way, you don’t risk damaging or losing your drone. Are you in need of a replacement? Find the best drones for sale online.

Wind Resistance and Influence

The wind is a major factor regarding drone flying. Rookies often don’t compensate for the wind effect and find it difficult to navigate well in moderate to high winds. The best solution is to fly during calm and clear conditions. Since every area can’t have southern California type of weather, you need to use your best judgment. Otherwise, you risk damaging your drone due to wind speeds.

Proximity to Surfaces

Those who fly indoors escape the weather yet still need to pay attention to the drone’s distance from walls, ceilings, and floors. Otherwise, you could bend or break a propeller. Worse, you could irreversibly damage your drone. Getting too close to surfaces creates a wind-like effect that makes it difficult for a drone to maintain stability.

Impractical Excitement

Lastly, rookies and veterans get excited about flying. The difference between the two groups is that veterans don’t let their excitement blind their sense of practicality. For example, a veteran ensures batteries are charged, propellers are tightened, and any coordinates and settings are accurate before taking to the sky. A rookie’s excitement makes it easy to bypass integral safety and basic maintenance steps.

Johnny Miller is a drone enthusiast who loves that he gets to ‘play’ with remote controls again as an adult since he loved playing with his remote controlled cars so much as a kid!