QuadcoptersandDronesABeginner'sGuidetoSuccessfullyFlyingandChoosingtheRightDrone

ByMarkSmith

Copyright2015andBeyondAllRightsReserved

Nopartofthisbookmaybereproduced,copied,ortransmittedinanyform

withoutthewrittenconsentoftheauthor.

TableofContentsKindleFireUsersIntroductionWhyDoYouWanttoFly?MyFirstTimeFlyingBuyingYourFirstDroneToBuildorBuyRTF,ThatIstheQuestionShouldYouBuyARTFDrone?LearningtheLingoACloserLookattheKitDroneACloserLookattheRTFDroneACloserLookAttheKitDroneRemoteControlACloserLookAttheRTFDroneRemoteControlBrandNames3DRFlyingMachinesBladeFlyingMachinesDJIFlyingMachinesGoProFlyingMachinesHubsanFlyingMachinesParrotFlyingMachinesSymaFlyingMachinesYuneecFlyingMachinesWhereShouldYouBuyYourDrone?BeCarefulofNewModelsAccessories&SparePartsBatteries–TheRealPowerBehindYourFlyingMachineToolsWhatToDoWhenYouCrashPracticeMakesPerfectCommonFlightModesandWhatTheyMeanRulesorLawsNoFlyZonesPreflightSafetyRoutinesUnderstandingtheBasicControlsAdvancedCombinationFlightStickControlsTheBestandWorstTimesToFlyTimeExtendingFlightTimesVortexRingStateorSettlingWithPower

CapturingGreatVideoandTackSharpImagesJointheCommunityThanks!MoreBooksBytheAuthor

KindleFireUsersIfyouarereadingthisbookusingaKindleFire,doubletaptheimagestozoominandgetabetterview!Youcanpinchtheimagetozoominandout.Ah,thewondersofmoderntechnology!

Introduction

Haveyoueverwantedtogetabird'seyeviewof theworldaroundyou?Haveyoueverwonderedwhatourfascinatingplanetmustlooklikethroughtheeyesofaneagleasitsoarseffortlesslythroughthebigblueskies?Yeah,metooandguesswhat?MeandyouoryouandI(GrandmaalwayssaidproperEnglishwasimportant)arenottheonlyonesitchingtoflyeither.Just about everypersonhaswonderedor evendreamedaboutwhat itmustbeliketofly.IcanrememberspecificdreamswhereallIhadtodowasjumpthreetimes to fly. The first jump was your average normal jump. Not being theathletic type, thismeant thefirst jumpwouldlaunchmeafewinchesfromtheground.Thesecondjumpwouldgetmealittlefurtherfromtheground,butnothingtrulybreathtaking.Thethirdjumpthough,thatwaswhenthingsgotcrazy.Thatthirdjumpwouldbreak the forceofgravity and sendme screaming through the airlikeajet.Ofcourse,whenthedreamendedIawokewithahugesmileonmyfacebutwasinevitablygroundedjustlikeeveryotherpersonontheplanet.TheeuphoricrushofflyingwasshortlivedandIalwayswantedjustafewsecondsmore.Therealityissimple.Wearenotbuilttofly.Ihaveyettomeetapersonwhohasthe natural ability to fly.Doyou know anyonewithwings? I sure don't. Thatleavesushumanswithveryfewflyingoptions.Airplanes, helicopters, gliders, ultralights, jet packs and the good old lawnmower enginewelded to an industrial sized fanblade that straps toyourbackusingnothingmorethanVelcro.Idon'tknowaboutyou,butIamnotstrappingalawnmowerenginewithalargeindustrialsizedfanbladetomyback.Nope,notgoingtohappen.That leaves airplanes, helicopters, gliders, ultralights and jet packs andunfortunatelyveryfewofushaveourownprivatejet,helicopterorglidersittingonsomesecretlaunchpadhighatoptheSwissAlps.Whocanaffordthosetypesoftoysanyways?IknowIcan't,andneithercananyoneIknow.MaybeIamjustsocializingwiththewrongpeople.

Justfiveshortyearsago,ifIwastotellyoutherewasaneasier,moreaffordablewaytogetyourflyingfixwhilekeepingyourfeetfirmlyplantedontheground;youandeveryoneelsewouldlaughandsayIwascrazy.Heck,therearepeoplewho still do that today but that's what happens when I go outside wearing aclownsuit.Alljokingaside,technologyhasnowmadeitpossibleforyouandItofinallygetour flying fix without owning a jet, helicopter, glider or a jet pack. And justcompletelyforgetaboutthewholelawnmowerengineindustrialfanbladething.For the cost of your averagemeal at a nice restaurant, you could be flying adrone,andletmetellyoualittlesecret.Flyingoneoftheseaerialmachinesistotally awesome.From the small nano-drones, to themutli-enginehexacoptersthatallowyoutostrapahighdefinition4kcameratoacompletelystable3-axisgimbalinordertoseeeverythinginrealtime,andcapturethefootageinglorioushighdefinitionasyouflyyoureyeintheskyisnothingshortofatechnologicalmiracle. Not to mention, it is an adrenaline rush filled experience like noneother.Yes,therearedronesthatmagicallybeamalivecamerafeedrightbacktoyouon thegroundwithnext tono lagor latency in thevideofeed.Thatbird'seyeviewisfinallyyours.Thinkaboutthatforsecond.Talkaboutgettingadifferentperspectiveonthings,thisisitmyfriend!Youhavetheabilitytofly!

WhyDoYouWanttoFly?Weallwanttoflyforthesamebasicreason.Becauseitisfun,butknowingthehonest answer to this question could save you a lot of time, frustration andmoney.Here'swhy.Thereareseveralverydifferentdronesonthemarkettoday.Thesedronesrangeinprice,size,technologicaladvancesanddesignedusage.WhenIsay“designedusage,”Isimplymeansomedronesaredesignedwithaspecific purpose inmind.They all fly and that is a hugepart of the attractionhere, but some of these flying machines can race across the sky at speedsexceeding80milesperhouror128kilometersperhour.Wouldthisbetherightdroneforanewbiewhoislookingtogetofftheground?Ofcoursenot.Infact,choosingaracingdroneasyourveryfirstflyingmachinewouldbeadisastrousmistakethatcouldverywellendupwithsomeonegettingseriouslyhurt.Thinkyourfirstdronepurchasethrough.Thisisonehobbywherefoolsandtheirmoneyaresoonpartedorevenhurt.Knowingwhatyouwanttogetfromyourflyingexperiencewillhelpyouchoosethe right flying machine the first time. There are drones designed for aerialphotography,FPVflying(firstpersonview),racing,longdistanceflightsandthegeneralhobbyist.Don'tworry,Iwillcovereachtypeofdroneinmoredetailalittlelaterinthisbook.Theinitialideahereistogooutsideandhavefun.Don'tovercomplicatethingsbygettingaflyingmachinewithtoomanybuttons,optionsorfeatures.Someofthese flyingmachinesare extremelyhigh techand ifyouarenot the type thateasilyfitsintomoderntechnology,thenowningafancydronewithallthebellsandwhistlesmightnotbeforyou.Remember,thesethingsgointheairandwhenyoumakeamistakebeitatree,apower lineoraherdofcattle,yourdronewillcomecrashing to theground inmultiplepieces.Gravityisunforgivingandsoisanimpactwiththegroundfromaslittleas10feetor3metersintheair.You will crash your drone. It is not a matter of if, but a matter of when ithappens.Idon'tsaythistodiscourageyou.IamtellingyouthetruthbecauseIwouldhate foranyone tospenda lotofmoneyonadroneonly tohave it fallfromtheskylikealeadballoon.

BOOM!Yourinvestment isnowinpiecesandyoumayormaynothavetearsstreaming fromyour eyesasyouclutchwhat is leftofyourhighdollar flyingmachineinyourtremblinghands.Yourfirstdroneshouldbesimple,easytouseandcomewitharelativelysmallprice tag unless of course you don'tmind throwing yourmoney away, and ifthat'sthecaseIhavesomegreatbeachfrontpropertyforsaleinNevada.Emailmeformoreinfo!

MyFirstTimeFlyingItdidn'ttakemuchconvincingformetowanttoflyadrone.BeforeIevenhadacontrollerinmyhand,IknewitwassomethingIwouldreallyenjoy.Themainattractionformewastheabilitytorecordhighdefinitionvideoandtakephotographsfromadifferentperspective.Iwouldfinallybeabletoseetheworldjustlikeabird,butIwasn'tgoingtojumpheadfirstintoflyinguntilIhadabetterunderstandingofeverythinginvolved.Ididn'twanttospendathousandbucksonadroneonlytoseeitmagicallyflyawayorcomecrashingtotheground.IneededtofeelsecurebeforeIcouldshelloutthatkindofmoney.Youmightfeelthesameway.That'swhatthisbookisfor.Itisheretohelpyouchoosetherightdroneandmostimportantly,howtosafelyflythethingwithoutcrashing!IdecidedtostartoutsmallandIwouldhighlysuggestyoudothesame.IpurchasedtwosmallnanodronesfromAmazonforabout$20.00each.IcouldgiveonedronetomykidsandIcouldpilottheother.Ifiguredwecouldlearnhowtoflytogetherandmaybewecouldevenstartsometypeofdronewarsaroundthehouse.I'msuremywifewouldlovetohaveoneofthesetinylittleflyingmachinescomecrashingdownonherhead.Iwonderhowbadlyitwouldgettangledinherhair.Let'snotfindout.ThedronesarrivedintwodaysthankstoAmazonPrime.

AssoonastheyarrivedIrealizedmyfirstmistake.Ionlyorderedtwodrones.Ihavetwochildren.Theideaofthemsharingonedronewasnotgoingtoworkout.Ishouldhaveorderedthreeofthem,butohwell.Iquicklyreadovertheincludedinstructionsandrealizedtherewasn'tmuchtothecontrols.Twostickscontrolledthebasicmovementsofthistinyflyingmachine.Thenanodronesdidn'thaveanyfancyGPSflightcontrollersbuiltin.Thiswasjustabasicflyaroundforafewminutestypeofdrone.Again,thiswasanexperimenttoseeifIcouldgraspthebasics.Oncethedroneswerechargedweheadedoutside.Ididn'twantthekidstocrashthedronesinthehouseandIdidn'twantmydogstotryandeatthethingseithernottomentionthewholecrashingintomywife'shairscenario.Outsideitwas!Itwastimeforourmaidenvoyage.Itwastimetoputtechnologytoworkandflylikeaneagleorinthiscaseflylikeasmalldragonfly.Ipushedtheleftstickupandthedronetookflight.Iletgoofthestickanditjusthoveredtherelikeahummingbird.It'stinylittleLEDlightswinkedatme.IwasamazedandIhad

hummingbird.It'stinylittleLEDlightswinkedatme.IwasamazedandIhadnotflownthisnanodronemorethanafewfeetorameterfromtheground.Ilaughedoutloudandsaidtomykids,“Hey,lookatthisthingfly!”IwassoentrancedbythistinyflyingmachinethatIdidn'tnoticemykidswereflyingtheirlittledronearoundtheyardlikeitwasabatoutofhell.Meanwhile,minejustfloatedandhoveredthere.“Heydadlookatthis.Itcandoflips!”yellsmysonasthedronehewaspilotingdidsomersaultsthroughtheair.Kidsseemtotaketotechnologysoquickly.Ittookmykidsalloffivesecondstolearntheycouldthrowthedronehighintotheairandflyitimmediatelyafteritstartedtofallbacktotheground.LikeIsaid,kidsarequickwiththesegadgetsbuttheyarealsomorecareless.Mysondecidedtoseehowhighhecouldflythislittledrone.Heflewbeyondtherangeofthecontrollerandthedronequicklycamecrashingdowntotheground.Diditsurvivethecrash?Whatdoyouthink?Thereitwasinpieces.Meanwhile,mydronewasstillgentlyhoveringlikeahummingbirdjustafewfeetfromtheground.Iwasamazed.Islowlymaneuveredthelittledronearoundtheyardforalittlewhileuntilfinallylandingitperfectlyonthesidewalk.Yes,IwashookedandyesIwasreadyforthenextlevel.Ispentthenexttwoweeksflyingmynanodronearoundthefrontyard.Iknewthislittleflyingmachineprettywell.Itwastimetobuyarealdrone.

BuyingYourFirstDroneThis is most likely going to be the most difficult part about the entire dronehobby.Thereareseveraldroneson themarketout thereand theycomewithawidevarietyofoptionsandpricetags.Ispentabout twoweeksbouncingbackandforthtryingtodecidewhichdronewouldberightforme.Every single time Iwould settleona specificmodel, Iwould learn somethingaboutitthatwouldpreventmefrombuying.Somemodelshadbadreviewsandsomeuserswerereportingrandomflyawayswithspecificmodels.Othermodelshad specific elevation limits and I was planning on flying my drone fromelevationsofaround8000to10000feet.That's2438or3048meters.Iwaslearningthat itwasverydifficult tofindtheperfectdronethatwoulddoeverythingIwanted.Youmightbeinthesameexactsituationrightnow.Afterbouncingbackandforthforweeks,Ifinallynarroweddownmydecisiontotwoverydifferentdrones.Onedronecameinakitthatwouldrequiremetoputeverylittlepiecetogether.TheotherdronewouldarriveRTForreadytoflyrightoutofthebox.Bothdronescostaboutthesameamountofmoneytoo.Iwasatacrossroads.IwantedtoflybutIalsowantedabetterunderstandingofhowmydroneworked. Iultimatelydecided togofor thedrone thatcameinakit.ThismightnotbetherightchoiceforyouandIwillcovertheprosandconsIpersonallyexperiencedinthenextchapter.Iwillalsogooverthemajorbrandsand types of drones in an upcoming chapter aswell. This information shouldhelpyounarrowdownyourchoicestooneorjustacoupleofdronecandidates.ThebestadviceIcangiveyouisthis.Donotgooutandbuyanexpensivedronefirst. Buy a smaller one and spend plenty of time practicing your flight skillsbefore you take the plunge.Go out far away from people and pilot your newflyingmachineinplentyofwideopenspaces.Thisfirstdroneisnothingmorethanyourtrainingwheels.YouwillbegettingafeelforhowwellorhowdifficultitistoflythislittlemonsterandIcantellyoufrompersonalexperience,thesmallernanodronesaremuchmoredifficulttofly.Onceyoubecomecomfortableflying,getridofthetrainingwheelsandsetyour

sightsonsomethingbetter!Themainpointstoconsiderbeforebuyingyourdroneare:

Price

EaseofUse

Controls

FlightTime

CameraAbility

FlightModesDurabilityandavailabilityofspareparts.

ToBuildorBuyRTF,ThatIstheQuestionDetermining the answer to this question will really depend on what type ofperson you are. If you are the type of personwhowants instant gratification,thenaKITdronemostdefinitelyisnottherightchoiceforyou.Me personally, I like to tinker with things. I like to know what makes themwork. This is just one reasonwhy I decided to gowith a drone that requiredassembly.Thereareafewotherexcellentreasonstobuildyourowndrone.

LearnHowYourDroneWorksBybuildingadronefromakit,youwillhaveabetterunderstandingofhowthisthingworks.Youwillknowwhateachlittlepartandpiecedoes.Thiscanreallycomeinhandywhensomethinggoeswrong.Ifforsomereasonyourdronewon'tfly,youshouldbeabletodetermineexactlywhyitisnotflyingbecauseyouputtheentirethingtogether.

EasyRepairsandReplacementPartsThereisanothergreatbenefittobuildingyourowndrone.Whenyoucrashyourdrone and it breaks (Notice how I saidwhen, not if?) youwill know exactlywhich pieces need to be replaced.Youwill also find replacement partsmucheasiertofindwhencomparedtoaRTFdrone.Replacementpartsarealsomuchcheapertoo!RTFdronesarenotnecessarilymeant tobe repairedwhen theybreak, at leastnotbyyou.WhenyoucrashaRTFdroneanditbreaks,youwillhavetosendtheentiredroneinforrepairs.Inmost cases youwill need to box up the entire drone and send it off to themanufacturer.Ifyouhappentoliveinaforeigncountryoracountrywherethereisnolocalmanufacturer,thenyouwillbeshellingoutalotofmoneyinshippingcoststohaveyourRTFdronerepaired.You will also be expected to pay for the repairs if the crash was your fault.Theserepairswillcostmuchmorethanafewsimplereplacementparts.Thatisaprettybigadvantageifyouaskme,butlikeIsaid,buildingadronefromakitisnotforeverybody.

UpgradesAreEasierDependingonwhichdronekit youbuy, youwill quickly learn that upgradingyourkitdroneismucheasiertoo.Hereisanexampleforyou.MykitdroneisaDJIFlamewheel450.Itisabasicquadcopter.Ithasfourprops,fourmotors,andfourESCswhichareallmountedonfourindependentarms.NowifIwantedtoupgrademyquadcoptertoahexacopter,Iwouldonlyneedtobuyafewpieces.IfIhadpurchasedaRTFquadcopterandwantedtoupgradeittoahexacopter,guesswhat?Iwouldhavetobuyanentirelynewdrone!Wearetalkingquiteahugedifferenceincosthere.MostRTFdronescan'tbeupgradedatall.Theyaremeanttobeflownasis.Ifyouwantmore, then themanufacturerwants you to buy an entire new flyingmachine. The manufacturers are not being greedy. They are just operating asmartbusiness.I could also very easily add a myriad of accessories to my kit drone. I canchangecameras, transmitters,batteries,motors,props,addlandinggearor turnthe thing intoan insanelyfast racingquadcopter.DoingthiswithaRTFdronewillrequiresomeseriousmodificationsandmostlikelyvoidyourwarranty.

BatteryChoicesWithakitdroneyouhaveahugeamountofchoicesforhowyouwanttopoweryournewlybuilt flyingmachine.There aredifferentmanufacturers andpoweroptionswhichIwillgooverinalaterchapter.Theupsideistheabilitytochooseyourbatteriesandchargers.Thereisanotherupsideaswell.Batteriesforkitdronesareusuallymuch,muchcheaper.Youmaybeable topurchase threekitdronebatteriesfor thepriceofoneRTFdronebatteryandthesebatteriesareprettymuchmadefromthesamematerials. The higher priced RTF drone batteries and just one way the RTFdronemanufacturersareabletokeeptheirRTFdronecostsdown.

SoftwareSomekitdroneswillrequireyoutoinstallsomesoftwareonyourcomputer.Youwillthenbeabletoplugyourdroneintothecomputerandmakechangestotheway some of the electronic components work. You can also apply firmwareupdatesthroughthissoftwareaswell.WasItEasytoAssemble?Here comes the biggest cons to building your own drone. Putting the thingtogetherwasnoteasy,notevenslightlyeasy.Therewerealotofdifferentpartsfromdifferentmanufacturersandnoreal instructionsonmakingthemallworknicelytogether.Puttingthebasicquadcoptertogetherwasn'ttoodifficult.Afewtinyhexscrewshere,somedoublesidedtapethere.Solderingthiswirehereandthatwirethere.Burningmyfingersandtheoccasionalsplashofmoltensolderonmylegswasjustpartoftheprocess.Youknowwhattheysay,“Nopain,nogain!”A fewshorthours laterandbamIhad theshellofaquadcopter sittingonmydiningroomtable.Istoodbackandmarveledatmycreation.Itwasn'taliveyet,butsoon,realsoon!Addingthegimbal,theFPVcamera,thetransmitterandremotecontrol,wasnotsoeasy.Itwastoughtosaytheleastandthebuildingprocessdidbringoutafewchoicefourletterwordsonmorethanoneoccasion.Istruggledthroughitwithanicecoldbeeratmyside.Thebeerhelpedbury thosefancyfour letterswordsthatkeptmanagingtocrossmylips.Finally! Itwascompletedand Ihada freshlychargedbattery.Themomentoftriumphwasathand.Ieagerlywentoutfrontandwalkedtoanearbyfield.Iwasready. Ipoweredevery thingupand let all the fancygadgetsgo through theirindividualwarmroutines.IhadaHomePointlockedandagreatGPSsignal.Iwasreadytofly!Ipushedupontheleftstickandallfourenginesspunfasterandfasterandfaster.Manthisthingisloud,Isaidtomyselfoverthehummingengines.Ipushedtheleft stickupevenmoreand thedronegoteven louderbut itwasn't takingoff.Somethingwasn'tright.Itappearedtobepushingitselftowardsthegroundnotupintothesky.Itwas then that I realized Ihad installed theprops incorrectly.Twoprops are

supposed to spin clockwise and the other two are supposed to spin counterclockwise. I knew this, but somehowduringoneofmymany four letterwordoutbursts,Ihadmanagedtomixuptheprops.Insteadofgettinglift,mydronewas doing the exact opposite. Itwas pushing itself down towards the ground.Stupidmistakeonmypartbutaneasyfix.With the props properly installed,my drone took off like a rocket. I couldn'tbelievehoweasyitwastofly.Ohyeah,Iwashooked!AnotherDownsidetoBuildingYourOwnDroneThereisyetanotherdownsidetobuildingyourowndrone.Youandonlyyouare100%responsibleforhowitworks.Ifyoumesssomethingupandyournewlybuiltdronecomescrashingtothegroundoritdoesn'tevengetinthesky,thenitisuptoyoutofindoutwhy.Therewillnotbeanyonetheretoholdyourhandandwalkyouthroughyournewproblem.Yes,youcanresearchyourproblemontheInternet.Youmightfindananswerandyoumightnot.Italldependsonhowgoodyouareatresearchingthingsonthe Internet. If youpurchase adronekit that isnotverypopular, I canalmostguaranteethingswillbetoughforyou.LikeIsaid,buildingadronefromakitisnotforeveryone.

ShouldYouBuyARTFDrone?MostpeoplewillchooseaRTFdroneoverakitdroneanydayoftheweekandthereisgoodreasonforthis.WhenyouchooseaRTFdrone,everythingcomesassembledandreadytofly.That'swhattheRTFstandsfor,remember?Youwillbeabletoenjoyalmostinstantgratification.Isayalmostbecauseyouwillstillneedtochargeupsomebatteriesbeforeyoucanfly.Instructions!WhatAConcept!When you order a RTF drone, you will most likely get access to some veryextensive instructions. Don't toss these aside and immediately try to fly yourdrone.ThemorecommondronesbyDJI,3DRandothermanufacturersarehightech pieces of equipment. I highly suggest you read every singleword in theinstructionmanualandthenreaditagain.Poundtheinformationintoyourbrainbeforeyouevenattempttofly.

EasytoLocateFirmwareUpdatesYou should know by now that consumer hobby drones are loadedwith somepretty crazy technology.The companieswhomake these consumer drones arealwaysfinetuningandtweakingtheirproducts.Youcaneasilygetyourhandsonthesetweaksandupdatestoo.Nottosaythatkitdronesdon'tofferupdatesbecausetheydo,butyourkitdronemightconsistof3-4differentpartsfrom3-4differentmanufacturerslikeminedid.Huntingforupdates from all the differentmanufacturers can be a pain in the butt.With aRTFdronealloftheseupdatesareeasytofindandapplytoyourRTFmachine.

FineTunedMachinesThemassmarketconsumerRTFdronesarealsoextremelyfinetunedtomakeiteasierforyoutoflyfromdayone.Withthekitdrone,youwillberequiredtodoallthefinetuning.Ifthisisyourfirstdrone,finetuninghowitfliesmaynotbeyourideaofagoodtime.

LargerCommunityThereisalsoamuchlargercommunitythatyoucaninteractwithwhenyoubuyaRTFdrone.Thereareonlineforumswhereyoucanfindplentyofadvicefromotherpeoplewhohavethesameexactdroneasyou.Thiscanbeahugebenefitwhenyouhaveaproblem.Youwilloftenfindasolutiontoyourproblemmuchfasterthanifyouweretotryandcontactthemanufacturer.Therearecommunitiesforkitdronestoo,buttheyarenowherenearaslargeastheRTFdronecommunities.

MoreWarrantyOptionsYouwillhavewarrantyoptionsforbothtypesofdrones,butsomeRTFdroneshavebetterwarrantyoptions.Forinstance,the3DRSolodroneisthefirstdroneof its kind to offer a really powerfulwarrantywhich states, “If the flight logsshowSolowas lost or damaged due to a system error, 3DRwill immediatelyrepairorreplacenotonlythedrone,butyourgimbalandGoProaswell.”Youwon'tfindthistypeofwarrantyinakitdrone.

BetterSoftwareBothtypesofdronesoffersoftwarethathelpsyoupilotyourdronebetter,takebetterpicturesandvideo,flyspecificGPSassistedroutesandmore,buttheRTFdroneshaveamore robust finely tunedsoftware suite that isusually freewiththepurchaseofthedrone.Don't getmewrongbecauseyoucan still findplentyofgreat software forkitdrones,butonceagainitwillbeuptoyoutodoallthefinetuningandtweaking.EverythingYouNeedInOnePackageWithaRTFdroneyougeteverythingyouneedtoflyinonenicepackage.Youwillget thedrone, theremotecontrol,abattery,achargerandsomeadditionalaccessories.Thisisahugeplus.ShouldYouBuyRTForAKitDrone?Bynowyoushouldhaveaprettygoodideaofwhichtypeofdroneisrightforyou.Ifyouarenotthetypethatlikestobuildthings,thenanRTFdroneisrightforyou. Ifyouare the type that loves toput things together and loves agoodchallenge,thenakitdroneisforyou.YoucouldalsogowithaARTForalmostreadytoflydrone.Thistypeofdronewillarrivepartiallyassembled.Itwillbeuptoyoutofinishtheassembly.Youcouldalwaysgetoneofeachandenjoythebestofbothworlds.That'swhatIendedupdoing.OnceIgotreallycomfortableflyingmykitdronearoundtheskies,Iwantedtoseewhattheotherhalfofthedroneworldwaslike.IorderedaRTFdrone,specificallythePhantom3.I love flying both ofmydrones and now I have a backup for that fateful daywhenoneofthemcomescrashingdowntothegroundandbreaksintoamillionpiecesonimpact.

LearningtheLingoIwillbeusingquiteafewtermsthroughoutthisbookthatyoumayormaynotbe familiar with. This is one of those hobbies where knowing as muchinformationaspossiblewillensurehoursofconstantfunandzerofrustration.IhighlysuggestthatyouDONOTskipthissection.Itwilljustmakethingseasierforyouonceyouareintheair.Byallmeans,ifyouconsideryourselfanaeronauticsexpertthenfeelfreetoskipthis important information, but if you think the term LIPO refers to a verypopular cosmetic surgery process where fat is sucked out of a person's buttcheeks,thenyoumightwanttokeepreading.Accelerometer–Amarvelofmoderntechnologythatsimplymeasureshowfastsomething is moving in a given direction. Most modern smart phones haveaccelerometersandsodomostofthedronesonthemarkettoday.Altitude–Nottobeconfusedwithelevationbecausetheyaretwoverydifferentthings. Altitude refers to the height of an aircraft in regards to its takeofflocation.Forinstance, ifyoulaunchyourdroneinthestateofFloridaandyouflyitataround50feetor15metersintheair,thenthedronealtitudeis50feetor15meters.IfyoulaunchthesamedroneinthestateofColoradofromamountainelevationof8000feetor2438metersandflyitataround50feetor15metersintheair,thenyouarestillflyingatanaltitudeof50feetor15meters.Theelevationoftheareawhereyouinitiallytakeoffhasnothingtodowiththealtitudeyouarecurrentlyflying.Atthetimeofthiswriting,itwasillegalintheUnitedStatestoflyadroneatanaltitude of over 400 feet or 121meters.You don'twant to be the person thatcrashestheirdroneintoapassengerjetwhichultimatelyresultsinafierycrashwhere people die. Respect the rules and the laws. Keep your drone at a safeoperatingaltitude.ARTF–ATRFisanacronymwhichstandsforAlmostReadytoFly.Itreferstoadroneormodelaircraftthatisonlypartiallyassembled.Itisuptoyoutofinishtheassembly.Thisisagreatchoiceforpeoplewholiketotinkerandbuild.

Autonomous–Inthedroneworldthetermautonomousreferstoadronebeingabletoflyonitsownwithoutanyinteractionfromahumanbeing.Welcometothefuture!Elevation –Elevation refers to the height of an area above sea level. Higherelevationscanreallyslowapersondown.Theairisthinner.Thethinairhasthesame effect on drones. They have to work harder to fly at higher elevations.Somedroneswon'tevenoperateaboveelevationsof8000feet.Ifyouaregoingtopurchaseoneof themoreexpensivedrones, thenyoumightwant todoublecheckelevationlimitswiththemanufacturerbeforeyoumakeapurchase.At higher elevations, flight times are reduced. Remember this if you plan onflyingathigherelevations.ESC–ESC isyetanotheracronym that stands forelectronic speedcontroller.TheESCdetermines theamountofpower thatgoes toanelectricengine.ThetotalamountofESCsinadronewilldependonthetotalamountofmotors.FlightController-Youcouldthinkoftheflightcontrollerasthemainbrainoftoday's drones. Flight controllers arewhatmakes someof themore expensivedroneseasiertofly.Some of the better flight controllers are responsible for keeping drones level,givingyoumultipleflightmodes,GPSfunctionsandotherautonomousfeaturesthatmakeflyingadroneassimpleaspushingabutton.Thedownsidetoflightcontrollersisthis.Whentheymalfunctionsodoesyourdrone.FlyAway–Thisissomethingnodronepilotwants.Aflyawayiswhenadronesuddenlyandfornoapparentreasonfliesawaynever tobeseenagain.This isusually the resultofan improperhomeposition lock,buthighelectromagneticinterferencehasalsobeenknowntocausethispainfulphenomenon.ManypilotsaffixasmallGPSlocatingdevicetotheirdronesincasesomethinglikethishappensorincaseofafarawaycrash.FPV- Ifyouhaven'talreadynoticed, theworldofdrones is fullofacronyms.FPVstandsforfirstpersonviewandwhenspeakingofdrones,FPVgivesyoutheabilitytoseeexactlywhatthedroneseesinrealtime.Therearegogglesonthemarketwithhighdefinitiondisplaysthatconnectyour

pointofviewtothesamepointofviewthecameraonthedronesees.YoucanalsouseacomputerortabletfortheFPVexperience,butthegogglesworkbest.Talkaboutareallycoolexperience,FPVdroneflyingisit.FOV–Yep,anotherhandyacronym.FOVstandsforfieldofviewanditismoreofacameraenthusiasttermbecauseitreferstotheactualfieldofviewaspecificcamerahas.Somecamerashaveaverywidefieldofview.Awidefieldofviewmeansthereismorelandscapeinthepicture.AnextremelywideFOVcreatesafisheyeeffect.ThisisthecommoneffectseenonGoProcameras.A narrow FOV means there is less landscape in the picture and lacks thatinterestingfisheyeeffect.Gimbal–Agimbalisaratheramazingpieceoftechnologythatallowsanobjecttoremainindependentoftherotationoftheitemsupportingit.Forexample,ifyouwereonalargeoceanshipandtheshipwasmovingfromsidetosideduetotheoceanwaves,youandeverythingelseintheshipwouldalsobemovingwiththewaves.Thisiswhatcausesseasickness.If you could stuff your body into a gimbal, then your body would not beimpactedbythecrashingwaves.Thegimbalwouldkeepyourbodystable.Inthedroneworld,agimbalisusedtokeepacamerasteadyandsmoothwhileyoufly.Themovementofthedronedoesnotaffectthemovementofthecamera.Ground Control Station – Ground control stations have been used by themilitaryforyears.Itputsthecontrolsofanunmannedvehicleonthegroundandinthehandsofahumanbeing.Agroundcontrolstationforconsumerdronesmakesiteasytodrawaflightpathon a computer screen and launch a drone along this flight path using GPSsensorsand satellites.Allof the important flight informationcanbe seenonacomputerscreen.Altitude,currentlocation,flightpaths,speed,batterystatusandmuchmore.GPS–GPShasbecomerathercommon.SmartphonesuseGPSandsodomanyof today'smodern vehicles. Some of today's drones also useGPS to not onlyhelpthemflysmoothandstable,buttoalsorelaytheirlocationbacktothepilot.Gyroscope –Another little technological marvel. Gyroscopes in drones help

themmaintainorientationandsteadyflight.Hexacopter – This is a multi-rotor helicopter. The “HEX” part of the wordreferstoacopterwithsixspinningblades.HomePosition–AlsocommonlyreferredtoasHomePoint.Homepositioniscalculated by the internal GPS system. Home position would be the GPScoordinatesofwherethedroneinitiallytakesoff.Somedronessetthispositionautomaticallybeforetakeoff.IMU–Canyoubelieve there isyetanotheracronym? IMUstands for inertialmeasurement unit. In drones, the IMU usually contains accelerometers andgyroscopes.Lipo–Lipoisshortforlithium-ionpolymer.Thisiswhatmostdronebatteriesare made from. It is a very volatile, very dangerous material if not handledcorrectly.Iwillcoverthismoreinalaterchapter.LOS–LOS is an acronym for line of sight. In the droneworld, line of sightmeansbeingabletophysicallyseeyourdroneatalltimes.Ifyoucan'tseeyourdrone,itisnolongerinLOSorlineofsight.Atthetimeofthiswriting,itwasillegaltooperateadroneintheUnitedStatespastyourLineofSight.OSD–NottobeconfusedwithOCD.OSDstandsforonscreendisplay.Ifyouare using an FPV system, a ground control station or some sort of visualmonitoringdevice,theOSDwouldbereferringtoyouronscreendisplay.Pitch –Pitch refers to themovement of the nose or back end of your drone.Adjusting thepitchmakes thenoseorbackendofyourdrone tiltdownorup.Thisimagemakesiteasiertounderstand.

PMU – PMU stands for power management unit. It manages the powerthroughoutyourdrone.Octocopter -OCT means eight. In this case it refers to a drone with eightspinningblades.Quadcopter –Quad means four. In this case it refers to a drone with fourspinningblades.Thisisthemostcommonconfigurationbeingusedinconsumerorhobbyistdrones.Receiver orRX –Drones are controlled by a transmitter, (the controller youholdinyourhand)andthereceiver.Ifyouoptforareadytoflydrone,thenyouwill most likely never see the receiver because it is located inside the droneitself. Its job is to receive the data from the controller and turn it into usefulinformationthatpilotsthedrone.RTF–RTFstands for ready to fly.Thisadrone thatarrives ina ready to flycondition. All you need to do is take it out of the box, read the instructions,chargethebatteriesandfly!RTH–RTHstandsforreturntohome.Insomeofthemoreconsumerfriendly

drones,RTHisafailsafemodethatbringsthedronebacktowhereittookofffrom if it loses signalwith the transmitter or if the pilot becomes disorientedwiththedirectionthedroneiscurrentlyflying.Iliketocallthismy“OhShit!”button.RTHcanbe activatedwith the touchof a button as long as a homepoint hasbeen set by theGPS system located inside the drone.Most consumers droneswilldothisautomaticallyaspartofapre-flightwarmuproutine.Makesureyourcurrenthomepointissettoyourcurrenttakeofflocation.ManypilotsforgetthisandwhentheyactivatetheRTHfeature,thedronewillreturntothe last home pointwhichwas set. This could bemiles away if the pilot haschangedtakeofflocations.Thisisthemostcommonreasonforflyaways.Roll–Asmallpieceofbreadbestservedwarmwithapatofbutter.Inthedroneworld,rollreferstothemovementofyoudroneonahorizontalaxis.Adjustingthe rollwillmake thesideofyourdrone tiltdownorup.This imagemakes iteasiertounderstand.

Spotter–Aspotterisasecondpersonwhosejobismaintaininglineofsightatall timeswhile thepilot focuseson theirFPV.This is agood idea in case theFPV signal gets lost. The spotter will then be able to help the pilot visuallylocatethedroneandflyitbackhomeincasetheRTHfeaturedidnotfunction.Telemetry–Alloftheinformationbeingsentbetweenthedroneandthepilot'sgroundstation.TransmitterorTX–Thisistheremotecontrolthatyouholdinyourhandandusetocontrolyourdrone.UAV–UAVisanacronymforUnmannedAerialVehicle,adrone.Waypoint–AlocationsetbyGPSwithinaflightpath.Usingagroundstationgivesyoutheabilitytosetseveralwaypointsduringyourdrone'sflightpath.YAW –Yaw refers to the movement of your drone as it rotates in a circle.

Adjusting theyawwithno forwardmovementwillmakeyourdrone spin in acircle.Thisimagemakesiteasiertounderstand.

Congratulations!You are now educated on themany terms being used in theconsumer drone market. You are one step closer to flying and a whole lotsmarterthananyonewhochosetonotreadthissection!Let'stakeacloserlookatadroneandwhatmakesitfunction.

ACloserLookattheKitDroneYour basic kit drone will include hundreds of pieces but once everything iscorrectly assembled, youwill have twomain pieces.Youwill have the droneitselfandtheremotecontrol.Let'stakeacloserlookatthedrone.

Thereisalotgoingoninthatpictureupthere.Let'stakeacloserlookatallthepiecesthatmakethiskitdronefly.1. Thesearethepropsorpropeller.Thisisaquadcoptersoithasatotalof

fourpropellers.2. Undereachpropellerisamotor.Thereisatotaloffourmotors.3. AttachedtothearmistheESCorelectronicspeedcontrol.Ialready

discussedwhatthesedointhelearningthelingochapter.ThisisaquadcoptersotherearefourESCs.Oneforeachmotor.

4. 3-axiscameragimbal.Noticethereisnocamerathere?Youmustsupplyyourowncamerawiththismodel.ThepreferredcameraisaGoPro.

5. GPS/CompassSensor.6. Parts6,7and8arealllocatedinthesamearea.Part#6isthereceiver.This

iswhatreceivesthesignalfromtheremotecontrol.7. Part#7isthePMU.Thisroutespowertoallthepiecesthatrequireit.8. Part#8isthegimbalcontrolunit.Thiscontrolsthemovementortiltofthe

gimbal.9. Underneaththetopboardistheflightcontroller.Inthisinstance,theflight

controllermustbeintheverycenteroftheaircraft.10. Thisisthelandinggear.11. Thisisthebatteryconnector.ThisspecificmodelusesaDeansconnector.12. Velcrobatterystrap.ThisiswhatkeepstheLipobatteryinplace.13. ThisistheremoteorstatusLED.Byflashingaseriesofdifferentcolored

lights,thislittledevicelet'syouknowwhenyourkitdronehasacquiredahomelock,agoodGPSsignalandanaccuratenoseposition.

Withakitdrone,youwillberequiredtoputallofthesethingstogetherandensuretheyareallfunctioningtogetherastheyshould.Allofthesepartsareeasytosee,gettoandchangeifneedbe.YouwillnoticesomethingentirelydifferentontheRTFdrone.

ACloserLookattheRTFDrone

ThisistheverypopularDJIPhantom3RTFquadcopter.Thefirstdifferenceyoumaynoticeisfewerparts.IthasthesameamountofpartsbutmostofthemarehiddenunderneaththetopshellontheRTFdrone.Youdon'thaveeasyaccesstoanythingunder theshell.Yesyoucanget in there,butnoteasilyandyoumayverywellvoidyourwarrantydoingso.Let'stakeacloserlookatthepiecesthatmakeitfly.1. Thesearethepropsorpropeller.Thisisaquadcoptersoithasatotalof

fourpropellers.2. Undereachpropellerisamotor.Thereisatotaloffourmotors.3. Cameragimbal.Thiskeepstheimagesteadyandassmoothasglass.

4. Included4Kcamera.Withthekitdroneyouwillhavetosupplyyourowncamera.ThisRTFdronecomeswitha4Kcamera.ThecameraonthisRTFmodelisfinetunedtothisspecificmodel.Youhavecompletecontroloverjustabouteverythingyoucouldeverwantorneed.Youcanpanthecamerafromtheremotecontrol.Youcanseealivevideofeedofexactlywhatthecamerasees.Youcantakeavarietyofdifferentpictures.Youcanrecordglorious4khighdefinitionvideoandyoucanchangethingslikeshutterspeed,ISOandframerate.Theseareallveryimportantintheworldofphotography.

5. Batterypackinstalled.Thismodelfeaturesanintelligentbatterythatsnapsintothebodyofthequadcopter.

6. Thisisthelandinggear.ThestatusLEDlightsarebuiltintothelandinggearonthismodel.

7. ThesearethestatusLEDindicators.Twoofthemarebrightred.Thisletsyouknowwhatpartofthedroneisthefront.Thiscanbereallyhelpfulwhenyouareflying.Keepingthingsproperlyorientedisthebestwaytoavoidacrash.

WhereAreAlltheOtherParts?AlltheotherimportantpartsliketheGPS,IMU,PMUandflightcontrolleraretuckedawaynicelyunderthetopshell.Nowthatyoucanclearlyseethehugedifferencesinthetwotypesofdrones,let'stakeacloserlookatthetwodifferentremotecontrollers.

ACloserLookAttheKitDroneRemoteControl

WhenIfirstlaideyesonthisremotecontrol,theveryfirstthingthatpoppedintomy head was, “Wow! There are a lot of buttons on this thing. It looks verycomplicated.”Mostofthebuttonsandswitchesonthisremoteareuserassignedtovariousfunctionsonthedrone.Ionlyuseafewofthemmyself.

1. This is the left control stick. Iwill covermoreofwhat it actuallydoes alittlelaterinthebook.

2. Therightcontrolstick.3. This is thedisplayscreen.Someremotecontrolswilldisplaya livevideo

feed from the drone right here. This one just gives me other importantinformation.

4. Thisisthepowerswitch.5. Thisistheantenna.6. These are the four trim switches. They allow you to fine tune the two

differentmovementsofeachcontrolstick.7. The30-40otherbuttonsthatthepilotcanassigntospecificfunctions.For

instance, I have assigned one rotating switch to tilt the gimbal. I haveassigned another switch as my return to home switch. One flick of thatswitch and the dronewill take over and hopefully fly back to the lockedhomeposition.

Onthebackoftheremoteisthebatterycompartment.Thisspecificremoteusesasmallrechargeablebatterypack.Youjustplugthecontrollerintothewallanditchargesthebatterypack.Anotherinterestingthingtonoteaboutgoingwiththekitdroneisthis.Youwillberequiredtochoosetheremotecontrol.Someretailerswillofferabundlethatincludesacontroller,otherswillnot.Youwillalsoberesponsibleforbindingorassigningallofthestickandbuttonfunctionstothedrone.Throughsoftwareyouseteachcontrolstickorbutton toaspecific functionofthe drone. This gives you complete and total freedom on how and what theremotecontrollermakesthedronedo.Thiscanbegoodandbad.Thegoodpartishavingcompleteandtotalcontrol.Thebadpartistryingtofigureouthowtobindeverything!

ACloserLookAttheRTFDroneRemoteControl

ThisistheremotecontrolthatcamewiththeDJIPhantom3quadcopter.Itlooksalittledifferentthanthekitdroneremotecontroldoesn'tit?Itprettymuchdoes

thesamething.Itjustlacksallthecustomizableabilities.1. Thisistheleftflightstick.2. Thisistherightflightstick.3. Thisisthepowerbutton.4. ThisistheRTHbutton.5. Thesearestatusindicatorlightsthattellyouthecurrentstatusoftheremote

controlandbatteries.6. This is a soft clamp that holds a tablet computer in place on top of the

controller.Youmightbewonderingwhatthatisallabout.Withthismodel,you can plug in an Android or Apple tablet and get all sorts of greatinformationaboutyourcurrent flight.Youcanseea livevideo feed fromthe camera.You can see prettymuch all the status information you needlikeGPS signal, location on amap, altitude, speed, percentage of batteryleftandallofyourcamerafunctions.Onceyoutryflyinglikethis,youwillnevergoback!

7. Thisisoneoftwoantennas.8. USBcableforattachingyourtabletandgettingallofthatgreatinformation.

There are a few other buttons or switches located on the shoulders of thiscontrollerthatoperatecamerafunctionsandflighttypes.Anotherthingtonoteisthe fact that the battery is part of the controller. It can't be taken out of thecontroller. If the battery fails for any reason, the entire controller must bereplaced.Whileeachcontroller is indeedverydifferentfromeachother, theybothservethesamebasicfunctions.Thekitdronecontrollergivesyoumorefreedomandflexibilitybutismoredifficulttoprogram.TheRTFcontrollergivesyoufeweroptionsbutiseasiertogetstarted.It's time to look at the different drone brand names that are currently on themarket.

BrandNamesIfyouhaven'talreadystarted lookingover thevariousdronemanufacturersonthemarket,thenyouwillquicklylearnthattherearequiteafewofthemactivelycompeting for your business. Thesemanufacturerswant yourmoney and theyarecreatingnewideas, innovationsandbetter features thatmakeflyingdronessomuchfun.Allof thiscompetition isgreat foryouandme. Itmeanswegetmoreoptions,morechoicesandmorewaystoflyourdrones.Youmighthavealsonoticedthatdronescanrangeinpricefromaslittleas$20(£13.00)toasmuchas$10,000(£6531.00)andeverywhereinbetween.Thecostof the drone should play amajor factor inwhether or not you decide to buy.Look over all of the features and extras youmight need before making yourdecision.IsOneBrandofDroneBetterThanAnother?Somepeoplewouldsay,“Yes!Thisbrandismuchbetterthanthatbrand!”That'sfine,butthebestdroneisthedronethatdeliversexactlywhatyouwantittoatapriceyoucanafford.Youmightnotneedadronethathasahighdefinition4kcamera attached to a 3-axis gimbal. You might prefer something with lessfeatures.Youmight even notice that some people get a little upset if you don't like aparticulardronebrandand that's just fine toobecauseat theendof thedayallthat matters is what you think. Does your drone give you everything youexpecteditto?Ifitdoes,thengoodforyou.Ifitdoesnot,thenyoumightwanttostartinvestigatingalternatives.HereareafewofthemorepopularconsumerRTFandkitdronemanufacturersonthemarketasofthiswriting.Thetechnologyassociatedwiththesedronesischanging every single day so there may be some new manufacturers on themarketthatIhaven'thadachancetolistinthisbook.

3DRFlyingMachines

3DRor3DRoboticshas a large lineof drones availableon themarket.Theirrather impressive lineupconsistsof severalverydifferent flyingmachines thatcover a wide range of prices and options. From the hobbyist to commercialapplications,3DRoffersadroneforeveryone.Toseetheirfulllineofproducts,visittheirwebsite:http://3drobotics.com/Their latest offering in the hobbyistmarket is causing quite a stir. It is calledSolo.SoloisaRTFquadcopterthatofferssomeveryimpressivefeaturesgearedtowardsaerialphotography.Ifyoudon'thaveaninterestinaerialphotography,thenthismightnotbethedroneforyou.SolohastheabilitytogetsomeseriousHollywoodstylemovieproductionshotswith just the touch of a button. You can take selfies, use the Solo like acablecam,havetheSoloflyaroundyouincirclesusingOrbitmodeandyoucantelltheSolotofollowyouwhereeveryougo.Thesearegreatfeaturesthateveryphotographerandaerialvideoenthusiastislookingfor,buttheSolooffersevenmoreontopofthesegreatfeatureswhichinclude:

LEDlightsfordirectionalawarenessPowerfulonboardcomputersystemPowerfulmotorsAccessorybayIntelligentcontrollerAnoptional3-axisgimbal

The3DRSolodoesnotcomewithitsowncamera.Youwillhavetobringyourowncamerainordertoharnessthefullpotentialofthisflyingmachine.Infact,all of these great featureswere created specifically for theGoPro line ofHDcameras.Thiscanbegoodorbad.Youcanexpect around20minutesof flight timeonone fully chargedbatterywiththeSolo.

IfyoualreadyhappentoownaGoProcamera, thenyouareonestepahead.Ifyoudon'talreadyownone,thenyouarelookingatspendingmoremoneytogetstarted.3DRissomewhatofanewcomertotheconsumerhobbydronemarket,buttheyofferupanunbeatablewarrantythatstates:“IftheflightlogsshowSolowaslostordamageddue toa systemerror,3DRwill immediately repairor replacenotonlythedrone,butyourgimbalandGoPro®aswell.”

BladeFlyingMachinesBlade offers quite a few RTF drones for the consumer hobbyist. From thesmaller and less expensive nanodrones to a larger quad with a built in highdefinitioncamera,Bladeoffersadroneforjustaboutanyone.Their entry level nanodrones are less than $100 (£65.00) and are the perfectchoiceforanyonewhowantstoseewhatitsliketoflyadrone.ThesmallpricetagontheBladenanocoptersmakesitaveryattractiveflyingmachine.Whenyouarereadytomoveuptosomethingwithalittlemorepoweroradronewithacamera,youwillfindquiteafewgoodchoices.TheBladeChromaistheperfectexample. It features fourdifferentdroneswithin thesameproduct line.Thisgivesyoumorechoicesandmorebangforyourbuck.Thefourmodelsinclude:CGO3: 4K -1080P 16MP camera, 3-axis gimbal, remote control with touchscreendisplay,telemetryinformationandlivevideofeed,30minuteflighttime,battery,chargerandmultipleflightmodes.CGO2:1080P16MPcamera,3-axisgimbal,remotecontrolwithtouchscreendisplay, telemetry information and live video feed, 30 minute flight time,battery,chargerandmultipleflightmodes.GPH4:Thismodel ismade specifically forGoPro cameras. It features 3-axisgimbal,remotecontrolwithtouchscreendisplay,telemetryinformationandlivevideo feed, 30minute flight time, battery, charger andmultiple flightmodes.ThisisagoodchoiceifyoualreadyownaGoPro.BNF:ThismodelismadespecificallyforGoProcamerasbutdoesnotfeaturea3-axisgimbal.Itcomeswithafixedmount.Ifyouarelookingforstunningaerialphotography,thendon'tevenbotherwiththismodel.Other features include: remote control with touch screen display, telemetryinformation and live video feed, 30 minute flight time, battery, charger andmultipleflightmodes.ThisisagoodchoiceifyoualreadyownaGoPro.

DJIFlyingMachinesDJI is undoubtedly the consumer drone king. There are more DJI flyingmachines out there in theworld today than anyothermanufacturer.There areseveralreasonsforthis.DJIoffersseveralexcellentRTFdronesandsomeofthebest industry leadingkitdrones.Bydoing this,DJIhas themarketprettywellcovered.Withallthatsaid,DJIdronesmightnotbetheperfectchoiceforyourfirstflyingmachine.While theRTFmodelsareeasyenough touse, theydocomewithasmall learning curve. However, DJI drones do make an excellent choice forwhenyouarereadytotakeoffyourtrainingwheelanddosomerealflying.

DJIKitDronesThe DJI kit drones come in a couple of models. You can choose a quad orhexcopterandputtheentirethingtogetherjustlikeIdid.Justmakesureyouputtherightpropsontherightmotors.Youwillberequiredtouseyourowncamerawiththesekitmodels.

DJIRTFDronesDJIoffersplentyofRTFmodelsaswell.AtthetimeofthiswritingtherewerethreePhantommodels.Eachvaryinginpriceaswellasfeatures.Phantom1:ThePhantom1wasthefirstmassmarketconsumerquadofferedbyDJI. Itsentry levelpricewillgetyouup in theair,butyouwillneed tobringyourownGoProcameraifyouwanttotakeanytypeofvideoorpicturesfromtheair.Phantom2:ThePhantom2comesinthreemodels.ThebasicPhantom2isanexcellentlittleflyingmachinewithnocamera.The Phantom 2Vision includes a built inHD camera and the first integratedFPVflyingexperience.The Phantom 2Vision+ includes a stabilized high definition video camera aswell.AllofthePhantom2flyingmachinesworkasadvertised.Phantom3:At the timeof thiswriting, thePhantom3was the latestofferingfromDJIanditcomesintwomodels.TheProfessionalandtheAdvanced.Theprofessional model features a 4k 12MP camera with a 3-axis gimbal. TheAdvancedfeaturesa1080Pcamerawitha3-axisgimbal.Both models feature FPV through an attached tablet or smartphone and bothmodelsaregoodchoicesforaseriousaerialphotographydrone.

DJIInspireDJI also offers a more professional level aerial photography drone called theInspire.Thisprofessionaldronehasallthebellsandwhistlesyouwouldexpectfromaprofessionallevelaerialphotographydrone.Youcanalsoexpectalargerpricetagtocomealongwithit.Flighttimevariesfrom8minutestoaslongas24minutesonsomemodels.DJI also offers a large line professional aerial photography drones calledSpreadingWings.These arebigdrones capableof carrying theheavierDSLRcameras.Thesearefortheseriousphotographerwhoisplanninginmakingsomemoneywith aerial photography and video. Price tags on thesemodels start ataround$1900(£1239)andgoashighas$4500(£2935).Overall, DJI makes an excellent drone for anyone who is ready to take theirflying skills to the next level. Be sure to visit their website for more details.Www.dji.com

GoProFlyingMachinesAt the timeof thiswriting,GoProhasnot releasedaconsumerdrone justyet.Theyhave talkedbriefly about theirplans for releasingadrone thatputs theircameras in the air. They havementioned using virtual reality technologywiththeirofferingbutnospecshavebeenrevealedyet.You can bet theGoPro dronewill beworth every penny.GoPro knowswhattheyaredoingwhenitcomestocapturinggreathighdefinitionfootage,butthecompetitiondoeshaveahugeheadstart!

HubsanFlyingMachinesIfyouarelookingforsomegoodentrylevelflyingmachines,thenHubsanmightbetherightchoiceforyou.Theyoffersomeveryaffordablenanodronesthatwillgetyoumorethanpreparedforflyingsomeofthebigboymachines.Thelowercostofthesemachinesmakesthemverypopularforpeoplewhoarethinking about getting started in the addictiveworldof flyingdrones.For lessthan$50.00(£32.00)youcangetyourhandsonasmall,easytoflynanocopterandslowlyworkyourwayupfromthere.They offermodelswith small cameras thatwill let you take photographs andrecord video and they also offer amodelwith aHD camera and gimbal. ThemodelthatfeaturestheHDcameraistheHubsanX4PROanditboastsaflyingtimeof40minutes.The Hubsan X4 Pro also has several other great features that include: GPS,Automatic Return, Compass, Automatic take off and landing, FPV andsomething not currently found on other models. The X4 Pro has a safetyparachutethatdeploysduringcollisions.Thishelpsreturnthedronesafelytothegroundinsteadofbreakingintoseveralpieces.Thisisagreatinnovationthatissuretomakeitswayintootherconsumerdronesonthemarket.FormoreinformationvisittheHubsanwebsite:http://www.hubsan.com/

ParrotFlyingMachinesParrot offers several drones for the consumer hobbyist. You will find smallnanodrones thatareperfect for learning theropes,andyouwillalsofindsomeentryleveldroneswithcamerasandFPVcapabilities.TheirflagshipmodeliscalledtheParrotBebopanditspricetagputsitrightinthemiddle of the camera dronemarket. The Parrot Bebopwas designedwithsafetyinmindanditcanbeflownusingnothingmorethanaAndroidpoweredsmart phone or anApple iPhone using the free Freeflight 3 app.The controlsappearrightonthescreen.Thismeansthereisjustonelessthingtobringwithyou.TheincludedHD14MPcamerashoots1080Pvideoat30FPS.Theflighttimeisaround22minuteswithtwobatteries.Ifyoudon'twanttospendalotofmoneyonaconsumerdronethattakesdecentphotos and video, then theBebopmight be the right choice for you.You canfindmoreinformationontheirwebsite.http://www.parrot.com/usa/products/bebop-drone/

SymaFlyingMachinesSymaisalsoanexcellentbrandtostartwithbecausetheyoffereverythingfromsmall reasonablypricedRTFnanocopters to largerRTFquadcopterswithbuiltin cameras and everything in between. The first two nanodrones I purchasedweremadebySymaandIhavenocomplaints.Ifyouarelookingforsomethingalittlelargerwithacameraattachedtoit,thenyouwillalsofindplentyundertheSymabrand.X11CAir-Cam:AnentrylevelquadcopterwithasmallHDcameraattachedtoit.Don'texpectanythingamazing in termsofpictureorvideoquality,but thismodelisagreatwaytostartseeingwhatthingslooklikefromthesky.Youcanexpectaflighttimeof6-8minutes.X5CExplorers :AslightstepupfromtheX11C, thismodel featuresasmallHDcamthatwillallowyoutoseetheworldfromthesky.Flighttimeisaround7minutesfortheparticularmodel.OveralltheSymalineofdronesisgearedtowardsthebeginnerwhojustwantstoseewhatitisliketoflythroughthesky.Don'texpectanythinggreatintermsofvideo or picture quality either. This doesn't mean that you can't enjoy flyingthemthoughbecausetheyareatonoffun.ToseethefullSymaproductlinevisittheirwebsite.http://www.symatoys.com/

YuneecFlyingMachinesYuneec drones are geared towards the photographer.Eachone of their dronesoffersupsomeimpressivefeaturesforanyonewhoisthinkingaboutgettingintoaerial photography. Let's take a closer look at their entry level photographydrone,theQ500Typhoon.Q500Typhoon:Capture1080Pvideoat60 framesper secondwith theQ500Typhoon.ThisisaRTFmodelwitheverythingyouneedtostartcapturinghighdefinition aerial footage. The 12 megapixel camera is mounted to a 3-axisgimbalforsmoothvideoeverytimeyourrecord.Youcanalsoenjoy theFPVexperiencebecause theQ500Typhoonhasa livevideofeedbuiltintotheremotecontroller.Don'tforgettheinternalcompassandGPSantennaforeasysmoothflights.Youcan expect around 25 minutes of flight time. At the time of this writing, theQ500Typhoon had an elevation limit of 8000 feet. If you plan on flying thismachinefromhighermountainareas,youmightwanttodoublechecktoseeifthislimitationisstillinplace.Q500 Typhoon 4k:As you can tell by the name, thismodel features a highresolution4kcamera.The12megapixelcameracaptures4kvideoat30framespersecondor1080Pat120framespersecond.Youalsogetcontroloverwhitebalance and light exposure as well. The included 3-axis gimbal will ensuresteadyfootageatalltimes.MultipleflightmodesmaketheQ500Typhoon4kagreatvideocapturemachineand the entire experience is sent back to a smallmonitor that is built into thecontrollerforagreatFPVexperience.The Q500 Typhoon 4k goes one step further for the video and photographyenthusiast.Youcandetachthe4kcameraandattachittoahandheldgimbalforrecordinggreat4kvideofootagewithoutthedrone.TornadoH920:Thisisaprofessionaldroneforprofessionalaerialphotography.At the time of this writing, the Tornado H920 was not available. It boasts alargermorepowerfulcamerathatisgearedforprofessionalaerialphotographers.

FormoreinformationontheYuneecproductlinevisittheirwebsite.http://www.yuneec.com/

WhereShouldYouBuyYourDrone?Unfortunatelythereisalotofcounterfeitinginthedronemarket.Therearefakesouttherethatmightonlygiveyouoneortwoflightsbeforefallingfromtheskylikearock.Thesinglebestwaytoavoidthesecounterfeitdronesistopurchasefromareputabledealeryouknowandtrust.Thiscouldbealocalhobbyshoporanonlineretailer.ShouldYouBuyDirect?Some drone manufacturers also allow direct orders through their companywebsites.Justbecautiousofwhatcountrythedroneisactuallyshippingfrom.Ifthe drone is coming from a country other than your own, then youmight beexpected to pay duty and large shipping charges. The same idea applies toshippingthedronebackif itarrivesinpieces.Paycloseattentiontowherethedrone is shipping from and where you are required to send it in if it needsrepairs.

OnlineRetailersYou can find almost every single drone manufacturer I have listed onAmazon.com.Amazonhasexcellentcustomerserviceand they takegoodcareoftheircustomers.Ifyourunintoaproblem,youcanbetAmazonwillbetheretohelp.There are a few other online retailers worth mentioning as well. Like I saidpreviously,justmakesureyouknowwhichcountrytheirproductsareshippingfrom.www.getfpv.comwww.readymaderc.comwww.hobbyking.comwww.helipal.comhttp://www.quadcopters.co.uk/You can also find some really good deals on Ebay as well. Just pay closeattentiontowhichcountrythedroneisshippingfrom!

BeCarefulofNewModelsDrones are technology based flyingmachines.A lot of these technologies arestillintheirinfancyanddetermininghowwelltheyactuallyworkinrealworldscenariosisnotsomethingyoushouldhavetotakepart in,butunfortunatelyithappens.Don'tBeABetaTester!Dronemanufacturers havebeenknown to release newmodelswith just a fewbasicflightfunctions.TherehavealsobeenRTFreleasesthatdidnotworkrightout of the box. You can expect this type of problemwith any new emergingtechnologies and manufacturers have no problems letting the public beta testtheirsupposedfinishedproducts.Thereisnothingwrongwithholdingoffonyourpurchaseuntilthemanufacturerhasmanagedtoworkoutalloratleastmostofthekinks.Thereareafewothergood reasons for not being the first personon theblock to own the latest andgreatestdrone.WaitingSavesMoney!Assoonasadronemanufacturerannouncesanewproduct,pricesontheearliermodels drop every so slightly. If you can hold off until the newer drone isreleasedtothepublic,thenyouwillseepricesdipdownevenfurther.Theysaypatienceisavirtueandifyoucanwaitlongenoughinthedroneworld,youcansavealotoftime,frustrationandmoney.Ifyouhappentogethookedonflyingandyouwant toslowlybuildyourownpersonalarmyofdrones,waitingisalsoanexcellentwaytoachievetotaldronedomination!Muwhaha!

ShortSupplyBrandnewdroneswillalsobeinshortsupply.Someordershavebeenputonthedreadedbackorderlistforfartoolong.Yetanotherexcellentreasontowaituntilsupplycanmeetthedemand.Not onlywill the drones themselves be in short supply but you can bet sparepartsandaccessorieswillbeinshortsupplytoo.Theremostlikelywon'tbeanyaccessoriesonthemarketuntilafewmonthsafterthelatestmodelislaunched.Ifyousimplyhave tohave the latestandgreatestnewestdroneon themarket,don'tsayIdidn'twarnyou!

Accessories&SparePartsDependingonwhichdroneyouchoose,youmightnotgeteverythingyouneedtoenjoyhoursofconstantenjoyableflighttime.Youmayfindoutthatyouneedsomeaccessoriesinordertofullyenjoyyournewdronearmy.Once you start digging in, youwill see that there are all kinds of accessoriesdependingonthemodelyouchose.YouwillalsonoticethattherearefarmoreaccessoriesforkitdronesasopposedtoRTFdrones.The drone is just the beginning, you will also be wanting or needing a fewaccessories.HerearesomeaccessoriesIhighlyrecommendconsidering.

PropsYourdronemighthavecomewithafewsparepropsandthereisgoodreasonforthis.Propsareeasilytheweakestpartoftheentiredroneandtheyareusuallythefirstpartof thedrone tocome into impactwith foreignobjects.Trees,bushes,and grass are often the first objects to hit a prop and the prop almost neversurvivestheimpact.Don't worry though because spare props don't usually have a large price tagunlessofcourseyouchoose tobuysomeof themoreexpensiveglassfilledorcarbonfiberpropsthatareavailableasaftermarketaccessories.

PropGuardsThemotorsontheseflyingmachinesarespinningataveryhighrateofspeed.For example, the motors on the popular DJI phantom quadcopters spin anaverageof7000rpmwhilehovering.Accelerating or take off increases these speeds.Having one of these spinningpropshitafingercouldbeveryproblematic.Idon'tknowaboutyou,butIlikeowning all of my fingers. Prop guards could help prevent a very seriousaccident.Theycouldalsopreventyourdronefromlosingapropduetoamid-aircollision.

LandingGearNotallconsumerdronescomewithwhatyoucanactuallycallLandinggear,butfor themodels thatdocomeequippedwith landinggear, it isoften thesecondmostlikelypiecethatgetsbroken.Hard landings are extremely commonwhen you are learning how to fly yournewmachine.All it takes is one hard landing to snapyour landinggear.Youmayormaynotstillbeabletoflyafteraneventlikethis.Owningasparesetoflandinggearisawisechoice.

BatteriesOwningmore thanonebattery isamust ifyouplanongettinganyamountofdecentflighttimeoutofyournewdrone,butnoteverydroneonthemarkethasaremovablebatterypack.Ifthedroneyouhavechosendoeshavearemovablebattery,thenyouwillneedatleastonesparebatterypack.Manyavidpilotswillhaveanentirestockpileofthe things. I'm talking 10-20 additional batteries. This may seem a littleoverboard,butrememberthatyouareonlygoingtogetintheneighborhoodof10-20minutesperflightdependingonthemodelanditspayload.BelievemewhenItellyou10-20minutesfliesby(nopunintended)extremelyfastwhenyouarepilotingyourdronethroughtheskies.Havingmorethanonebatterywillensureyougetyourfillofflying.Sure, you can always recharge your single battery before flying again, butdepending on the battery you might be looking at 1-2 hours charging time.Sometimesevenlonger.Buyatleastonesparebattery.Youwillthankmelater.

BatteryVoltageTesterSomeofthenewerbatteriesonthemarkethavebuiltinLEDstatuslightstotellyouhowmuch juice is left in thecurrentcharge. Ifyouhappened tobuyakitdrone,thenyourbatteriesmightnothavethisluxury.You can find a Lipo Battery Voltage Tester Low Voltage Buzzer Alarm onAmazon.Thiswilltellyouwhatthecurrentvoltageisforyourbattery.Youcanalsohavethisasapermanentpartofyourdronesoyouknowwhenthebatterylevelislowwhileflying.

ExtraBatteryChargerIfyouarefindingitdifficulttowaitforyourbatteriestocharge,thenluckilyyoucan speed things up by purchasing an additional charger. With an additionalchargeryoucanchargebothbatteriesatonce.Thisisagreatconvenience.

CarChargerYoumay also find that your basic home charger isn't enough either.How areyou supposed to charge your additional batteries when you are miles fromhome?Youcoulduseanexpensiveinverter/generatororyoucouldjustbuyacharger that eitherplugs intoyourvehicle's lighteror attachesdirectly toyourcar'sbattery.

BackpackIf you are anything like me, then you plan on taking your cool little flyingmachinetosomefaroffplacestogetabird'seyeviewoftheworldaroundyou.Itiseasyenoughtoloadallofyourgearintoyourfavoritedrivingvehicle,butwhathappensifyouwanttolaunchfromanareathatrequiresahike?That'swhere thebackpackcomes inreallyhandy.Thereareseveralbackpacksonthemarketthatwillallowyoutosafelytransportyourflyingmachineonyourback.Youcanevenusesomeofthesetobringyourflyingmachinewithyouonan airplane as carry on luggage. A backpackmakes long hikes into the greatbeyondsomucheasier.

LensCoversIfyourdronehasacamera,theremayormaynotbeavarietyoflenscoverstonotonlyhelpprotectyourlens,buttoalsocapturebettervideoandimages.Youwillhavetodosomesearchingtoseewhatisavailable.Youcanfindanythingfromsimplelenscoverstofiltersthatwillalterthewayyournewcameraintheskyperceivestheworldaroundyou.

ToolBoxYoumightwanttograbalittleplastictoolortackleboxwhileyouareit.Youwillneedsomespecializedtoolsifyouaregoingthedronekitrouteandkeepingthesetoolswithwhileyouareoutflyingaroundwillmakethingsmucheasierifyouneedtodoanyquickrepairs.

Batteries–TheRealPowerBehindYourFlyingMachine

Theselittleflyingmachinesdependononethingfortheirpowersourceandonething only. It is not gas. The drones of today use batteries, extremely highpoweredbatteriesthatwerenotavailablejustafewshortyearsago.In fact, without these batteries you would most likely not be flying a dronetoday.UnlessofcoursetherewassomeothertypeofalienpowersourceonthemarketfromtheplanetknownasKeplar12intheUdraniansystem,butthatistopsecretinformationthathasn'tbeenreleasedtothepublicjustyet.The small electricmotors that are responsible for generating enough thrust tolaunchyourmachineintotheairdemandahugeamountofpower.Thelargerthemotor, themore power. Themoremotors, themore power. Indeed, these arepowerhungryaerialvehicles.The batteries that are responsible for creating this vast amount of power arecalledLipobatteries.Lipoisshortforlithium-ionpolymer.Thatinitselfsoundslikesomespaceagealientechnologydoesn'tit?ItissomeprettyimpressivestuffandIbegyounottoglazeovertheinformationin this section of the book. It is very important. I'm talking not burning yourhousedownimportant.Lipo batteries are very dangerous. All of the power that gets stored in thesebatteries has to be managed properly in order to prevent them from goingexothermic.Exothermicmight be a newword in your vocabulary and I didn'tincludeitinthelearningthelingosectionabove.Sorryaboutthat.Thesimplestdefinitionforthewordexothermicisthereleaseofheat.InthecaseofaLipobattery,thisreleaseofheatmeansfire.Veryhot,verypowerful,verydestructivefire.Thisisnojoke.Withoutthepropercarealipobatterywillcatchonfire.NoticehowIsaid“will”not“if.”Thesethingsarenojokingmatter,butyoucan'tflyadecentdronewithoutoneortwoofthem.Atleastnotyet.Ifyouchoosetoignorethiswarningforanyreason,youverywellmayendupseriously hurt.Youhave beenwarned.Youmight be saying to yourself, “I'vehandledplentyofNiCadorNiMHbatteriesinmyday.IknowwhatIamdoing.”

Lipo batteries are very, very different. These are not your run of the millbatteriesthatcanbeboughtatyourlocaldepartmentstore.

ProperLipoBatteryCareYouwillneedtwoveryimportantthingsinordertoproperlycareforyourLipobatteries.YouwillneedaLipochargingbag.Thisbagisdesignedtocontainafireintheunfortunatecaseyourlipobatterygoesexothermic.Youcanfindthesebagsatanyhobbystoreandyoucanalso find themonAmazon.Here iswhatminelookslike.

UsetheCorrectChargerThenextextremelyimportantthingisthecorrectcharger.Noteverybatterychargeronthemarketcansafelychargealipobattery.DonotuseaNiCadorNiMHbatterychargertochargeyourlipobatteries.Onlyuseabatterychargerthathasbeendesignedtospecificallychargelipobatteries.Withthatbeingsaid,thereareplentyofgreatchargersonthemarketthatwillchargeallthreetypesofbatteries,butyouhavetomake100%surethatyourchargerhasindeedbeendesignedtochargelipobatteries.Chargingyourlipobatteriesisthesinglemostdangerouspartofusingthem.Onceagain,youhavebeenwarned.

BalanceandCellCountWhenchargingyourlipobatteriesyouhavetopayverycloseattentiontothecellcount.Chargingattheincorrectcellcountwillcausemultipleproblemsforyouandyourbattery.Readtheinstructionmanualthatcamewithyourchargerinordertodeterminehowtosetthecellcountonthecharger.Ifyourchargerdoesnothaveabalancechargemode,thengetanewcharger.Ifeachcellofyourbatterypackisnotbalancedproperly(ifeachcellhasadifferentvoltage)thenyourbatterypackcouldverywellexplodewhileyouarechargingit.Abalancechargepreventsthisproblem.Don'tberushedintoafastchargeeither.Chargingyourlipobatteriesonaslowbalancedchargeisthebestwaytonotonlypreventpotentialproblemsfromoccurringbutitwillalsogiveyouthelongestbatterylife.WhenIsaybatterylife,Idon'tmeanflighttimeseither.WhenIsaybatterylife,Imeantheoveralllifespanofyourbattery.Yourlipobatteriesshouldlastyearswiththepropercare,charging,dischargingandstorageprocedures.KeepYourEyesOnYourBatteriesWhileChargingNeverunderanycircumstancesleaveyourlipobatteriesunattendedwhiletheyarecharging.Itdoesn'tmatterifyouhavefollowedalloftheproperchargingprocedurestotheT.Thebestwaytopreventafirefromspreadingistobetherewhenitstarts.Yes,waitingforyourlipobatteriestochargeisaboutasmuchfunaswatchingpaintdry,butyouhavegottostickaroundjustincasethereisaproblem.It'salsoareallygoodideatochargeyourlipobatteriesinanopenarea.Iftheydocatchfire,thenbeinginanopenareawillhelpkeepanynastyfumesthatgetexpelledwhenthebatterycatchesfirefromhurtinganyone.

FireSafeChargingAreaYoushouldalwayschargeyourbatteriesinafiresafearea.Thiswillhelppreventthefirefromspreadingintheunfortunateeventthatthebatterydoesgoexothermic.Whatexactlyisafiresafechargingareayouask?

Afireplace

FiresafeswithventsPyrexcontainerswithsandinthemLargeconcreteslabswithnoflammableobjectsnearbyNuclearholocaustbunkerinthebackyard

Thesearejustafewfiresafechargingareas.ThelipobagImentionedshouldbeenough,butyoucannevergotoofarwhenitcomestofiresafety.WhatShouldYouDoIfThereIsAFire?Sandisthecheapestandsafestwaytoextinguishalipobatteryfire.Ifyouhavefollowedallofthepriorsuggestions,thenyoushouldalreadybeinanicelargeopenareawherethereispracticallynochanceofthefirespreading.Dumpingabucketofsandontheburningbatterywillsuffocatethebatteryandpreventthefirefromgettingworse.

BadBatterySymptomsAbadlipobatterywilldisplayacouplecommonsymptoms.Themostobvioussymptomisabloatedbatterypack.Oneormoreofthecellsinsidethepackmightswell.Youmayfeeltheurgetopoporpuncturethebatterypack.Donotunderanycircumstancesdothis.Ifyourlipobatteryswellsorbloats,verycarefullyremoveitfromthecharger(ifitwasconnected)andsubmergeitinatubofsaltwaterfortwoweeks.Youcanmakeyourownsaltwatersolutionbymixing½cupofsaltperonegallonofwater.Afterthebatteryhashadanicesaltwaterbathfortwoweeksyoucanremoveitfromthesaltwater,wrapitinnewspaperandputitinthegarbage.Unlikealkaline,NiCadandNiMHlipobatteriescanbedisposedofinlandfills.

CrashesandBatteriesThereisagoodchanceyourbatterycouldbedamagedduringacrashandthebadpartisthebatterymayshownosymptomsatall.Ifyourdronedoescrash,verycarefullyinspectthebatterypack.Ifthereareanysignsofdamagecarefullyplacethebatterypackinalipobagorotherfiresafecontainerforatleasttwohours.Aftertwohours,thelipobatterymustbedischargedusingtherightcharger.

DischargingYourBatteriesforStorageInmostcasesyourlipobatterieswillbedischargedwhileyouarebusyflyingaroundthesky,butifyoucrashedyourdroneinmid-flightandyouneedtodischargeyourbatteries,thenuseachargerthathasaproperdischargemode.Mostlipochargershaveabuiltindischargemodethatmakesthissafeandeasy.Ifyouarenotplanningonflyingyourdroneforafewdays,thenyoushoulddischargeyourbatteriesforstorageandplacetheminafiresafecontainer.Onceagain,thisiswherethestorageordischargemodeofyourbatterychargercomesintoplay.Useitwisely.IfyouhappenedtopurchaseaRTFdrone,thenthisinformationmayormaynotpertaintoyou.JustmakesureyoureadthroughtheentiremanualthatcamewithyourRTFdronebeforeyouattemptflyingorchargingyourbatteries.

ToolsIfyouareplanningongoingthekitdroneroute,thenyouwillneedsomesomewhat specialized tools in order to assemble your flying machine. If you areplanningonbuyingaRTFdrone,thenyoumightstillwanttoconsiderowningsomeof these tools.Youneverknowwhenyoumayneed toattempta repair,andthefollowingtoolswillcomeinreallyhandy.TorxWrenchSetYouwilldefinitelyneeda reallygood torxwrench set andwhen I say“reallygood,”Imeanthatliterally.Mostofthescrewsthatyouwillbedealingwitharetorxscrewsandmostofthemwillbetiny.IwentthroughtwotorxwrenchesbeforeIfiguredthisout.Therearesomereallygoodtorxwrenchesonthemarketoutthereandthereareevenmorereallybadonesthataremadefromsoft,brittlemetal.Thetipsofmyfirsttorxwrenchstrippedoutontheseconduse.ThesecondoneIhastilypickedupatthelocalelectronicsstorewherethehelpfulsalesassociateassuredmetheslightlyexpensivetorxwrenchsetIhadinmyhandswasmadefromhardenedsteellastedthrough4-5screws.NowIamnowherenearahugemusclebounddude.Infact,IwasverycarefulworkingwiththetorxscrewsbecauseIdidnotwanttostripthemout.Ibarelytightened these things. I quickly returned the second set of torxwrenches anddecidedtolocatesomethatwouldstanduptomyneeds.IfoundagoodsetonAmazonthatisniceandstrong.Ihavebeenusingthemforaverylongtimeandneverhadanyissues.

HereisalinktothesetonAmazon.http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002QV0FGA

IfyouareinanothercountryotherthantheUSA,thelinkabovewillnotwork,butdon'tworrybecauseIhaveyoucovered.Lookforatorxsetthatfeatureshardenedsteel.TheonesIpurchasedstatedthefollowing:

Highqualitychrome-vanadium-molybdenumsteel,throughhardenedBlackfinishandthroughhardenedforextremedurability

Lookforsomethingsimilarandmakesureyoursetincludesthefollowingsizesatminimum:

T6

T7

T8

T9

T10

Those five sizes should cover torx screws your may be dealing with duringassemblyorrepairs.SolderingIronIfyouaregoing thekit route, thenadecent soldering ironwillbe requiredaswell.Irecommendyougeta60wattiron.Youmightbeabletogetawaywitha30or40wattiron,buta60wattwillworkmuchbetter.PlasticZipTiesThese little thingswillhelpyou inmoreways thanone. Iusedquitea fewofthemtokeepcablesniceand tidyand temporarilyaffixcomponentsonmykitdrone.Theyarelightweight,costeffectiveandeasyenoughtoaddorremoveat

anytime.If you plan on using plastic zip ties, you will also need a good set of wireclipperstocutofftheexcesspiecesorremoveonealltogether.VHBTapeVerystrong,verystickydoublesided tapewillalsocome inveryhandywhenyouareputtingyourdronetogetherorifyouneedtomakesomequickrepairs.This stuff is lightweight and strong. These are two traits every piece of yourdroneshouldfeature.YoucanfindvhbtapeonAmazonorjustGoogle“vhbtape.”

WhatToDoWhenYouCrashHopefully you never do actually crash, but the more flight time you get, themore likelyyouare toexperienceacrash.Crasheshappen.Unfortunately theyarepartofthedronegame.Yourflyingskillswillplayahugepartinpreventingacrash,buteventheproscrashtheirdrones.When you are dealing with several electrical components all bundled into amachinethatfliesgreatdistancesandsoarshighintothesky,youwilleventuallyexperience a crash. There aremechanical and electricalmalfunctions thatwillquicklyinterruptyourpeacefuldayofflyingandsendyourdronecrashingtotheground.Sowhatdoyoudowhenthatfatefuldaycomes?Don'tPanic!This iseasier said thandonewhenyou justwatchedyour thousanddollarbirdcomecrashingtotheground.Hopefullyyoudidn'tflythedroneawayfromyourlineofsight.Youaretechnicallysupposedtokeepvisualcontactwithyourlittleflyingmachineatalltimes.Ifyoudomaintainvisualcontactatalltimes,itwillbemucheasiertorecoverthebirdwhenitcrashes.Ifyoudidn'tdothisanddecidedtoseehowfaryoucouldflyyourdrone,thenyoumight be out of luck unless of course you affixed a small GPS trackingdevicetoyourdrone.Ifyoudid,thenitistimetogettracking.Yourfirstinstinctmightbetogorunningthroughthehillsideinsearchofyourfallendrone.While this sounds like theperfect reaction, try tokeepyourwitsabout you. This is especially true if you are out on some mountain peaksomewhere.Recoveringyourcrasheddroneisnotworthlosingyourlife.Takeafewdeepbreathesandthenheadoutlooking.Don'tPowerOffYourController!If you did crash your drone and your drone survived the crash, then you stillmight be able to get some very useful information from it. It still might bebroadcastingalivevideofeedtoyourcontroller.Youmightbeabletousethislivevideofeedtohelpyoulocatethedrone.Thisisespeciallytrueifyourdronemanagedtolandsomewherehighinatree.YoumightbeabletowalkinfrontoftheFPVcameraandseeyourselfontheFPVdisplay.SomeRTFandkitdronesalsofeaturesomeprettycomprehensiveGPSfeatures

thatallowyou to seewhereyourdrone isonadigitalmap.Yourdronemightstillbetransmittingthisdatabacktoyourcontroller.Youmightbeabletousethisinformationtoleadyourighttothecrashsite!If your crashwas reallybad andyour controller is not displaying anyGPSorFPVdata,thenyouaregoingtohavetodothingsthehardway.Youwillneedtofindyourdrone.Thiswillbeanalmostimpossibletaskifyouflewyourdronebeyondyourlineofsight.Justanotherreasonwhyyoushouldnotbedoingthis.Onceyouareatthecrashsite,itwillbetimetopickupthepiecesanddeterminetheextentofthedamage.Checkoutyourbatteriesfirst.Iftheylookokay,thenyoushouldpowereverythinguptodeterminewhatworksandwhatdoesn't.Youmightbeoneoftheluckyoneswhosedronesurvivedthecrashwithnodamage.Ifso,consideryourselfverylucky.If your drone isn't working properly, then it is obviously time to pick up thepiecesandheadbackhomeanddosomerepairs.Withall thisbeingsaid, therearepilotswhohaveflowntheirdronesforyearswithouteverexperiencingacrash.Youmightbewonderinghowtheymanagetopulloffsuchanincrediblefeat.If you invested a lot of money in your drone, then you might be really beinterestedinfindingouthowyoucouldflyitforyearswithouteverexperiencingacrash.Thenexttwochaptersareforyou!

PracticeMakesPerfectWhen it comes to flying your little eye in the sky, practice really doesmakeperfect.Knowing exactlywhat each button, knob and stick on your controllerdoesmakesthingsawholeloteasier.Beingabletoflyyourdroneandunderstandingthedifferentmodesofflightwillalsogoavery longwaytowardspreventingacrash. Iwillcover themodesofflightinjustalittlebit.Fornow,let'stalkaboutgettingsomeflyinghoursunderyourwingbeforeyouactuallyflyyourdrone.

FlightSimulatorsThereareflightsimulatorsonthemarketthathavebeenspecificallydesignedtohelpyoulearnhowtoflyyournewdrone,butitcanbealittletrickygettingaflightsimulator toworkwitheverydronemodelon theplanet.Not tomentionthe fact that not all remote controllers are supported by all of the flightsimulatorsonthemarket.The most popular flight simulator is called AeroSIM and it can be found atwww.aerosim.com.Makesureyoulookovertheirwebsiteandmakesureyourremotecontrollermodeliscompatiblewiththeirsoftware.Usingaprogram like thiswillhelpyougetbetter acquaintedwithyour flyingmachine, but nothing will prepare you for real world challenges like the realworlditself.Whenyoustartflyingintherealworldyouhaveawholemessofuncontrollablevariablesthatcomeintoplay.You have wind, elevations, altitudes, temperatures, weather, birds, trees andpowerlinesjusttonameafew.Noamountofflightsimulatorpracticeisgoingto help you deal with these potential problems simply because they can't besimulated!Sowheredoesthatleaveyou?Ihavealreadysaidthis,butIamgoingtosayitagain.Takeyoudroneoutintoawideopenspacefarawayfromanypossibleobstacleandstartflying.Takebabystepsanddon't flyveryfaraway.Get reallycomfortablewith thecontrolsandthen slowly but surely start flying further away but remember to always keepyourdroneinsight!FlyingWithTrainingWheelsorAssistedFlightModesI have already talked quite a bit about all of the wonderful technology thatresides inside these little flyingmachines.Mostof this technology is there forone simple reason. It is there tomake flyingyournewdrone easy.Youcouldthinkof this technology as trainingwheels, or better yet, trainingwings.Wellthatdoesn't reallyworkeitherbecausethese thingsdon'thavewings.Let's justsay the technologymakes flying easier,way easier. In fact, the only timeyoushouldevenattempttoflywithoutthetechnologyisNEVERandhere'swhy.The GPS, compass, accelerometer, gyroscopes and flight controllers are allworking really hard deep inside your drone. When they are all activated orworkingproperlyyournewdronewillhoverperfectly in theairawaitingyour

commands.All of this wonderful technology is what's making this happen. All kinds ofcrazymathematicalcomputationsandmindbogglingalgorithmsarebeingdoneinordertomakeflyingeasy,stableandintuitive.Slightstickadjustmentswillchangetheflightpath,speedoraltitude.Smallwindgustsdon't even seem tobother thedrone. Itmagicallymaintains stabilityandhoverseffortlessly.Youcould thinkof thisas theZENofflying.Simple,easyandveryentertaining.Ifyourdronehasallofthesegreatfeatures,thenyouwillbesayingtoyourself,“Flyingthisthingiseasy!”Tryingtoflyadronewithoutanyassistancefromthistechnologyorincompletemanualflightmode isamuchdifferentstory.Without it,yourdronewouldbemuchmoredifficulttofly.Itwillnothoveranditwillnotmaneuververyeasily.Even theslightestwindwillmakeyourdronedriftand loseorgainaltitude. Itwillappearasifyoureasytoflydroneisatotallydifferentmachine.Itwillnotbeeasytofly!

CommonFlightModesandWhatTheyMeanEventhoughthereareseveraldifferentdronemanufacturerspushingtheirlittleflyingmachines into the consumermarket, theyall share somecommon flightmodes.Inordertomakeoneproductsoundbetterthanthenext,manufacturersmightevenusesomedifferentterminologytodescribetheseflightmodeseventhoughtheyarethesame.Herearethethreemostcommonmodesofflightlistedfromthemostdifficulttothe easy, breezy, drinking a beerwith one hand and eating some potato chipswiththeotherwhileyouflyyourdronewithyourbigtoeeasy.ManualMode–Withmanualmodethereisnothinghelpingyouflyyourdrone.Youareit.Thisisthemostdifficultflyingmodeanditisonlyrecommendedforhighlyexperiencedpilots.Now there is nothing wrong with taking your drone to some far away placewhere there are no obstacles and giving good old manual flight mode a try.There may be a day when some of the technology inside your drone stopsworking. Guess what flight mode you will be using if this happens?Manualmode.Itdoesn'thurttoknowhowyourdronewillrespondinmanualmode,butonlytrythisinbigopenspacesfarfromanypeople,placesorthings.AttitudeMode–InAttitudemodethereisonlyonethinghelpingyoukeepyourdrone stable and it doesn't help all that much. Flying in attitude mode is fareasier than flying in full out manual mode, but you will still find the windpushingyourdronethiswayandthat.Likemanualmode,onlyattemptthisinabigopenspace.ItwillhelpyoulearnhowyourdronerespondsifitlosesGPSsignal.GPSMode–Thisisthatmagicalflightmodethatyoushouldbeusing.Thisistheonewhereallthatgreattechnologymakesflyingsupereasy.Ofcoursethismodeof flightonlyworkswhenand ifyourdronehas theability to lockontomultipleGPSsatellites.

RulesorLawsYes,therearerules,regulations,ordinancesandlawsinplacethatmayormaynotgovernwhere,howandwhyyoucanflyyourfancynewdrone.Theseruleshave been put in place in an attempt to make flying safer for all of us andbecause some people have been doing less than intelligent things with theirdrones.There has beenmore than one occasionwhere a person has crashed their funlittle flying machine on the White House lawn and people have used theircameraequippeddronestospyontheirneighbors.Becauseofthesepeoplewhoseemtolacksomethingwecall“commonsense,”itis becomingmore andmore difficult to find a legal place to actually fly yourdrone. If youwant to be a responsible pilot and prevent any additional flightrestrictiverulesforeveryotherresponsibledronepilotoutthere,thenmakesureyoufollowthecurrentrules.CurrentDroneFlyingLawsIntheUSAThe FAA or Federal Aviation Administration is the sole American agencyresponsible for policing our skies. These are the people who make the rules.They laydown the law.TheFAAdetermineswhere,when,howandwhyyoucanfly.Ifyoudon'thappentobeintheUSA,thenthereisprobablysomesortofagencyinyourhomecountrythatisresponsibleforthesametypeofthing.Itisyour responsibilityasadronepilot tomakesureyouare following thecurrentrules.Atthetimeofthiswriting,thesewerethecurrentdroneflyingrulesputinplacebytheFAA.DONOTSKIPTHISSECTION.

NationalParksAreOffLimitsYou are not allowed to fly a drone in any national park in theUnited States.Doing sowill get your drone confiscated and youwillmost likely be fined. IhatetobetheonetotellyoubutthatepicaerialfootageyouwantedoftheGrandCanyonwon'tbehappening.Youcanthankthecountlessidiotswhohaveflowntheirdronesinnationalparksanddonevery stupid thingswith them.Yes, people have crashed their dronesintoOldFaithfulatYellowstoneNationalParkandbecauseoftheirstupidity,nooneisallowedtoflyadroneinanationalpark.Youwillquicklyseethatmanyof the current drone rules are in place because of all the idiotic things peoplehavedonewiththeirdrones.

HobbyorRecreationalDroneFlyingIfyouareflyingyourdronejustforthesheerfunandthrillofflying,thentherearea few things tokeep inmindatall timeswhenyouare flying.These ruleschange from location to location. For instance, your local citymight have anordinanceinplacethatpreventsyoufromflyingyoureyeinthesky.Itisuptoyoutodetermineifthereissuchanordinanceinplace.Thegeneralrulesforflyingyourdroneareprettymuchcommonsensebut theexcitement of flying can often bury common sense somewhere deep in yoursubconsciousso try to remember these flyingbasicsany timeyou launchyourflyingmachineintothesky.Donotflyaroundlargegroupsofpeopleoroveranypeopleforthatmatter.Ifforsomereasonyourdronecomesfallingfromthesky,youdon'twanttobetheoneresponsibleforinjuringsomeone.

Donot fly at altitudes greater than400 feet (121meters) andbelieveme400feetintheskyiswayupthere.Ifyougohigherthanthat,thenyouwillnot be able to see your drone.At 200 feet (60meters) up, the drone is ameredot in the sky.Thiswill alsopreventyou fromcrashingyourdroneintoanytypeofcommercialaircraftwhicharetypicallynotallowedtoflybelow500feet(152meters.)Thatleavesanice100foot(30meter)cushionbetweenyourdroneandcommercialaircraft.Never fly your drone beyond your line of sight! Thismeans you shouldhavevisualcontactwithyourdroneatalltimes.Ifyouneedahelpertohelpyou keep your eyes on your drone at all times, then use one.Youmighthave a niceFPVvideo connection showingyouwhat the drone sees, butwhat happens if you are depending on that live video feed and it stopsworking?Youmightnotgetyourdroneback.Donotflyovervehicles,andstayatleast25feetfrompropertysusceptibletodamage.Donotflywithinafivemile(8kilometer)radiusofanairport.Donotflyinbadweather.Thisincludeshighwinds,rainorfog.Donotflyyourdroneoverareaslikeprisons(yesithasbeendone),powerstations, dams, busy roadways, water treatment plants and governmentbuildings.Flyingintheseareasisjustaskingforserioustrouble.Donot flyyourdroneafteryouhavebeendrinkingor takingany typeofdrugs.Thisincludesprescriptionmedicines!

Donotflyoverprivateproperty. It isprivateforareasonandyoushouldrespectthat.Donotuseyourdrone to spyonyourneighbors,your ex-girlfriend,yourex-boyfriend,yourex-whateveroranyoneelseforthatmatter.Thismeansyou should not be capturing video footage, images or peeking in on anypersonwithout their consent.This is a reallygoodway togetyourdronesmashedandyourbuttkicked.

UsingYourDroneCommerciallyIf you want to use your drone to make money by taking aerial photographs,shooting video, or abducting small farm animals, then you need an FAAAirworthiness certificate. What is an FAA Airworthiness certificate? It isbasically a pilot's license. So in order to use your drone commercially in theUSA,youwillneedapilot'slicense.Obtainingapilot'slicenseisnotgoingtobeeasyanditwillcostagoodchunkofchange.Thereisanexemptionprocessinplaceknownasthe“Section333Exemption.”Thisexemptionisapprovedonacasebycasebasisbutmostoftheexemptionsstillrequiresomesortofpilot'slicense.There have been plenty of businesses who have been granted a Section 333Exemptionandinthefineprintoftheexemption,itstatestheneedforapilot'slicense. It is being speculated thatmany of the people flying their drones forcommercialpurposesunder theSection333Exemptiondon'thaveany typeofpilot'slicense,butthisisjustspeculation.In themean time, theFAAisbusycreatinganewsetof rules forpeoplewhowant to fly their drones commercially. Here is a summary of their proposedrules:

Unmanned aircraft must weigh less than 55 lbs. (25 kg). OperationalLimitationsVisual line-of-sight (VLOS) only; the unmanned aircraft must remainwithin VLOS of the operator or visual observer at all times the smallunmanned aircraft must remain close enough to the operator for theoperator to be capable of seeing the aircraft with vision unaided by anydeviceotherthancorrectivelenses.Small unmanned aircraft may not operate over any persons not directlyinvolvedintheoperation.Daylight-onlyoperations(officialsunrisetoofficialsunset,localtime).Mustyieldright-of-waytootheraircraft,mannedorunmanned.Mayusevisualobserver(VO)butnotrequired.First-person view camera cannot satisfy “see-and-avoid” requirement butcanbeusedaslongasrequirementissatisfiedinotherways.Maximumairspeedof100mph(87knots).Maximumaltitudeof500feetabovegroundlevel.

Minimumweathervisibilityof3milesfromcontrolstation.NooperationsareallowedinClassA(18,000feet&above)airspace.Operations inClassB,C,DandEairspaceareallowedwith the requiredATCpermission.OperationsinClassGairspaceareallowedwithoutATCpermission.No person may act as an operator or VO for more than one unmannedaircraftoperationatonetime.Nocarelessorrecklessoperations.Requirespreflightinspectionbytheoperator.ApersonmaynotoperateasmallunmannedaircraftifheorsheknowsorhasreasontoknowofanyphysicalormentalconditionthatwouldinterferewiththesafeoperationofasmallUAS.Proposes a microUAS option that would allow operations in Class Gairspace,overpeoplenot involved in theoperation,provided theoperatorcertifiesheorshehastherequisiteaeronauticalknowledgetoperformtheoperation.

Pilotsofa smallUASwouldbeconsidered“operators”.OperatorCertificationandResponsibilitiesinclude:

Operatorswouldberequiredto:PassaninitialaeronauticalknowledgetestatanFAA-approvedknowledgetestingcenter.BevettedbytheTransportationSecurityAdministration.Obtain anunmanned aircraft operator certificatewith a smallUAS rating(likeexistingpilotairmancertificates,neverexpires).Passarecurrentaeronauticalknowledgetestevery24months.Beatleast17yearsold.MakeavailabletotheFAA,uponrequest,thesmallUASforinspectionortesting,andanyassociateddocuments/recordsrequiredtobekeptundertheproposedrule.ReportanaccidenttotheFAAwithin10daysofanyoperationthatresultsininjuryorpropertydamage.Conduct a preflight inspection, to include specific aircraft and controlstationsystemschecks,toensurethesmallUASissafeforoperation.FAA airworthiness certification not required. However, operator mustmaintain a small UAS in condition for safe operation and prior to flightmustinspecttheUAStoensurethatitisinaconditionforsafeoperation.Aircraft Registration required (same requirements that apply to all otheraircraft).

Aircraftmarkingsrequired(samerequirementsthatapplytoallotheraircraft).Ifaircraftistoosmalltodisplaymarkingsinstandardsize,thentheaircraftsimplyneedstodisplaymarkingsinthelargestpracticablemanner.ModelAircraft:ProposedrulewouldnotapplytomodelaircraftthatsatisfyallofthecriteriaspecifiedinSection336ofPublicLaw112-95.TheproposedrulewouldcodifytheFAA’senforcementauthorityinpart101byprohibitingmodelaircraftoperatorsfromendangeringthesafetyoftheNAS.At the time of thiswriting, thesewere the proposed rules. Theywere not therulesthathavebeenputintothelawbooksyet.

NoFlyZonesThere are places in theUnited stateswhere you are not supposed to fly yourdrone. If you read the previous chapter, then you should already know this.Knowingwhereyoucanandcannotlegallyflyyournewdronewillsaveyoualotoftrouble.ThankfullywehavethisgreattechnologyatourdisposalknownastheInternet.There are a few great websites complete with interactive maps showing youwhereyoucanandwhereyoucan'tflyintheUnitedStates.Itwouldbeareallygoodideatofamiliarizeyourselfwiththesewebsitesbeforeyoufly.https://www.mapbox.com/drone/no-fly/http://www.dji.com/fly-safe/category-mcIfyouareapropertyownerandyouwouldliketoaddyourpropertytothedronenoflyzone,(Justthinkofthisasthedonotcalllistfordroneflights.)thenvisitthiswebsiteandaddyourpropertyaddresstothedatabase.https://www.noflyzone.org/

PreflightSafetyRoutinesIfyouread the rulesor lawssectioncompletely,andyoushouldhavebecauseyou are a responsible pilot right? Just nod your head yes. You might havenoticedapreflightinspectionwasmentionedquiteafewtimes.Notonlyisthisagreatideaforsafetyreasons,butitcouldalsopreventyoufromlosing your fancy flying camera. Some of the items listed in this preflightchecklist might not pertain to your specific drone model. This is a genericpreflightsafetyroutineguide.Usewhatappliestoyouandyourdrone.

SurroundingsChecklistBefore you attempt flying be aware of your surroundings. This means youshould be aware of everything in your flight zone. Common things peopleoverlookthatcausehugeproblemsare:

trees

people

powerlines

buildings

bodiesofwater

airports

Takeaverygoodlookaroundandmakesuretherearenoobstacles.Beawareofeverything!

HardwareChecklistYouareone stepcloser tobeinga responsibledronepilot.Time tomakesureyouhaveeverythingyouneedtofly.

DroneDronepowersource.Inthiscaseabatteryorbatteries.

Remotecontrol

CameraSdCardifyourdroneisequippedwithacamera.

PreflightHardwareInspectionBeforeyoufly,itisareallygoodideatotakeaverycloselookateverysinglepartofyourdrone.Allof theseshouldbedonebeforepoweringupyourdrone.

Inspectallpropsforanythingunusuallikecracksorunevensurfaces.Makesure they are on good and tight too!Nothing brings a drone down fasterthan a busted prop.Well, a direct hitwith a shotgun blastmight bring itdownquicker,butlet'shopeyoudon'trunintothatsortofproblem.Inspectthedronebodyforanytypeofdamage.Lookoverthearms,landinggearandbody.Lookforcracks,loosescrewsorloosewires.Checkallconnectionsandmakesureallplugsandconnectionsarefirmlyseated.Checkallbatteriesfordamageandcorrectchargelevels.Make sure all batteries are firmly in place. I bet you can imagine whathappens if your battery becomesdisconnected inmid-flight.You can saybyebyetoyourdrone.Makesureallsticksonyourremotecontrolarecentered.MakesureyourdronehasagoodGPSsignaland is lockedontomultiplesatellitesifithastheabilitytodoso.Makesurehomepositionissetandlockedaswellbeforeliftoff!

If everything looks good, you are ready to start up the motors! Refer to theinstructions that camewith your drone for instructions on how to start up themotors.Itisusuallyacombinationflightstickmovement.HereishowIstartthemotorsonmydrones.Pullbothsticksdownatthesametimeandthenmovethemintotheleftcornersliketheimagebelow.

TheDJIPhantomusesthesameideabutadifferentstickpatterninordertostartthemotors.You pull both flight sticks down at the same time and thenmovethembothtowardsthecenterliketheimagebelow.

UnderstandingtheBasicControlsThe timehas finallyarrived.Youget topilotyour fancy little flyingmachine.You might have already taken it for a test spin or two. Either way, it is anexcitingmoment and knowing exactlywhat every little stick, knob, switch orbuttononyourremotecontroldoeswillhelpimmensely.Let'stakeacloserlookathowyouwillbecontrollingyourdrone!

FlightorControlSticksThemajorityofcontrollersusetwoflightstickstosteeryourdronethroughthesky.Theyaresimplylabeled,rightandleft.Prettysimpleandbasicstuff.

ModeIvsModeIITherearetwocommoncontrollermodesfoundintoday'sdroneremotecontrols.They are labeled, “Mode I” and “Mode II.”Themajority of the people in theUnitedStatesflyinModeII.InModeII,theleftstickcontrolsthethrust,altitudeandyawandtherightstickcontrols speed, side to side movement and forward and reverse movements.Don'tworry,Iwillgiveyousomepicturesandillustrationsinjustaminutethatmakeiteasiertounderstandwhat'sgoingtohappenwhenyoumoveeachflightstick.InModeI,theflightsticksarereversed.Therightstickcontrolsheight,sidetoside movement and forward and reverse movements. The left stick controlsforwardandbackwardsmovementandyaw.Wouldn't it be nice if there was some standard control scheme that everyoneused?Yesitwould.Well,there'snot.Sorryaboutthat.Ididn'tdesignthisstuffbutIwillmakeiteasiertounderstand,andinordertomakesthingseasierandless confusing, I am only going to coverMODE II. This is themost popularflightstickcontrolpattern.ModeII(UnitedStatesFlying)LeftStickExplainedTheleftstickhastwofunctions.Thefirstfunctionisgettingyourdroneofftheground.Slowlypressingupontheleftstickwillslowlyliftyourdroneintotheair.

Now,Thisnextsectiondependsonthedronemodelyouarecurrentlyflying.Ifyouletgooftheleftstickanditreturnstothecenterposition,yourdroneshouldhoveratitscurrentaltitude.Allofthefancyinternaltechnologyiswhatmakesithoverandstayinposition.Ifyouwantyourdronetogohigher,gentlypushtheleftstickup.Ifyouwanttobring your drone back to earth, gently press the left stick down. A word ofwarningtoyou.Neverdescendquickly.YourdronewillexperiencesomethingknownasVortexRingStateanditwillmostlikelycrash.IwillexplainVortexRingStateindetailinalaterchapterbutfornow,justremembertodescendniceandslowly.

That'sit!Younowknowhowtoflyyourdrone.Goforthandfly!Ofcourse,Iamkiddinghere.Youhaven'tevenlearnedthehalfofityet!Imentionedtheleftstickhavingtwoprimaryflightfunctions.Hereistheotherfunctionandthisonlyworkswhileyourdroneisairborne.Pressing the left stick to the left will make your drone rotate to the left orcounterclockwisebutonlyif thefrontofthedroneisfacingawayfromyou.Ifthefrontofthedroneisfacingyou,thenpushingleftontheleftstickwillrotateyourdronetotherightorclockwise.Keepinmindthisstickmovementonitsownwillonlyrotatethedronearounditsowncenterofgravity.Thisisagreatwaytogetanicepanoramicviewoftheworldaroundyou.Seeimagebelow.

Pushing the left stick to the right will make your drone rotate to the right orclockwise.Thismovementalsodependsonwhichdirectionthefrontofthedroneisfacing.Seetheimagesbelow.

ModeII(UnitedStatesFlying)RightStickExplainedTherightstickalsohastwoflightfunctionsandtheyalsoonlyworkwhileyourdroneisintheair.Ifyoupresstherightstickup,thenoseorfrontofthedronewilldipdownandtheentiredronewillmoveforward.Ifyoupresstherightstickdown,thenoseorfrontofthedronewilldipupwardsandthedronewillmovebackwards.Seetheimagesbelow.

Therightstickalsohasanotherfunction.Ifyoupresstherightsticktotheleft,thedronewillmovetotheleft.Ifyoupresstherightsticktotheright,thedronewillmovetotheright.Seetheimagesbelow.

If you press the right stick to the upper right corner, your drone will moveforwardandrightatthesametimeatanangle.Ifyourpresstherightsticktotheupperleftcorner,yourdronewillflyforwardsandtotheleftatanangle.Ifyoupresstherightstickdowntothebottomrightcorner,yourdronewillfly

backwardsandtotheright.Ifyoupresstherightstickdowntothebottomleftcorner,yourdronewillflybackwardsandtotheleft.

Notice how the left stick wasn't used for these maneuvers? The internaltechnologyshouldhavebeenkeepingyourdronelevelatitscurrentaltitude.Ifyour drone isn't equippedwith any of those fancy things, then youwould berequiredtomaintainasteadyaltitudebypushingtheleftstickupordown.Thiswouldonlybethecaseinsomeofthelessexpensivemodels.Thosearethebasicflightstickoperationswhenusedontheirown.Let'stakea

lookatsomemoreadvancedcombinationflightstickmovements.

AdvancedCombinationFlightStickControlsAreyoureadytolearnhowtoflyyourdronebetterthanaperegrineandbreakthesoundbarrier?Ifyouansweredyestothatquestion,thenyouneedtojointheAir Force because you are going to get that kind of control out of theseconsumerhobbydrones,butyoucanlearnafewgreatflyingtechniquesthatarefunandgreatforfilming!

ForwardAscentOneoftheeasiestflyingtechniquestomasteristheforwardascent.Yourlittleflyingmachinewillflyforwardandgohigheratthesameexacttime.Pulling this off is really simple.You slowly press the left stick up until yourdroneisatagoodstartingaltitude.Thiscouldbeacoupleoffeet(1meter)ormorefromtheground.Onceyouhavetheperfectstartingaltitude,slowlypushtherightstickforwardandtheleftstickforwardatthesametimeliketheimagebelow.

Ifyoudothiscorrectly,yourdroneshouldflyforwardandupatthesametime.

ForwardDescentThe forwarddescent is just as easy tomaster.Onceyour dronehas reached agoodaltitude,slowlypresstheleftstickforwardandtherightstickdownatthesametime.Lookattheimagebelow.

Yourdroneshouldslowlymoveforwardandlosealtitudeatthesametime.Youcando thesame thingandmakeyourdronefly in reverseaswell. Justslowlypullbothsticksdownatthesametime.Thisisthesafestwaytolandyourdroneandusing thismethod flightmaneuverwill eliminate theVortexRingState. Iwillexplainthisinanupcomingchapter.Just remember that your controls will be backwards if your drone is flyingtowards you. Pushing the right stick to the right willmake the drone go left.Pushingtherightsticktotheleftwillmakethedronegotowardstheright.

Ifyoupracticethesetwoverybasicflightstickcontrols,youwillgetabetterfeelforhowyourdroneflies.FlyingInCirclesAroundAnObjectThis can be one of the most difficult maneuvers to master, but with a littlepracticeitgetseasy.Thisisagreatmaneuverforfilming.Suppose you want to fly your drone in a counterclockwise pattern aroundsomethingwhilekeepingthenoseorcamerapointedattheobjectinthecenteratalltimes.Youwouldsimplyslowlypushupontheleftstickwhilepushingtotherightontherightstickliketheimagebelow.

Youwillneedtodeterminejusthowfaryouneedtopusheachstickinordertodetermine the pattern radius and speed at which the drone moves across thisradius.Itcanbetrickytomaster.Ifyouwantedtomoveyourdroneintheoppositeoraclockwisepatternwhilekeeping thenoseor camerapointedat anobject, thenyouwould slowlypressforwardon the left stickwhilepressing to the leftwith the right stick.See theimagebelow.

Thereyouhave it!Younowknowsomeof themorebasic anddifficult flight

stickpatternsthatwillpilotyourdronetonewheights.Congratulations.Youarealmost ready togo forthandfly,butyouneed toknowa littlemoreabout thebest and worst times to fly; Vortex Ring State and how to avoid this almostguaranteedwaytocrashyourdrone.

TheBestandWorstTimesToFlyNow that you know all those simple and somewhat fancyways to pilot yourdroneyoumaybewonderingifthereare“good”timestoflyand“bad”timestofly. There are. The best times to fly are in the early morning or later in theafternoon.Nowthiscouldverywellbe100%dependentonyourcurrentlocation.Ichooseto fly at these times for various reasons. The weather is almost always nearperfectearlyinthemorning.Strong winds will make it difficult to fly your drone. You should avoid anyflying during gusty or even moderate wind speed changes. The weather isusually nice and calm early in the morning. The same goes for later in theafternoonaswell.Theweatherismorecooperativeatthesetimes.Ialsochoose to flyat these timesbecause theyoffer thebestphotoandvideoopportunities.Flying in themiddleof theday is funbut thesuncan ruinyourphotosandvideos.Italkalittlemoreindetailaboutthisinalaterchapter.Those coupleofhoursdirectly after the sunhas risen and the coupleofhoursright before it sets offer the best color and light situations for capturingastoundingvideoandbreathtakingimages.WhatAbouttheWorstTimestoFly?Justlikethereare“good”timestofly,therearealso“bad”timestoflyaswell.Ithas to dowith thewhole duality, yin andyang thing.Light, dark.Good, evil.Besttimestofly.Worsttimestofly.You shouldnot flyyourdroneduringadverseweather conditions.Thismeansstormyweather.Unlessofcourseyouwanttobethefirstpersontopilotadroneintothemiddleofatornadoinhopesofcapturinginsanefootagethathelpsthescientificcommunitygetabetterunderstandingofwhattheinsideofatornadolookslike.IthinktherewasaHollywoodmoviebasedonsomethinglikethisbuttheydidn'tusedrones.Great, I have just given all the storm chasers the greatest idea in theworld. IthinkIdeserveacutoftheirproceeds.Youcanfindmyemailaddressattheendofthebook.Feelfreetoemailmeroyalties.

Youknow that you shouldn't be flyingyourdrone inbadweather.Wind, rainand lighting will quickly bring your bird down, but are there any otherconditionswhereyoushouldavoidflying?I'mgladyouasked.Yes,thereare.Ifyouhaveoneof themorefancydrones thatusesGPSandallof thoseothertechnological advances, then it would be wise to pay close attention to solarflares. The sun can render the GPS inside your drone practically useless andflyingwillbecomeverydifficulttosaytheleast.Luckilythereisawebsitethatwilltellyouwhenthesetypesofsolareventsarehappening.http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/planetary-k-indexThis type of information will help you prevent all kinds of seeminglyunpredictableflyingproblemsfromhappening.

TimeFlyingyour drone is one of the rare situationswhen time is not onyour side.Youwillhaveasomewhatsmallamountoftimetosafelyflyyourdrone.Youmayalsonoticethatyouonlygetafewminutesofactualflighttimefromyourbatteries.Itcouldbeaslittleas5minutesoraslongas40.Thetotalamountoftimeintheairwilldependonafewthingsincludingyourdronemodel,battery,weatherconditionsandelevation.KeepYourEyesOnYourFlightTime!Yetanotherthingyouneedtobeawareofwhenyouarebusyflying,yourflighttime.Flyingtoolongortoofarawayisaguaranteedwaytocrash.Someofthemore fancyRTF droneswill tell you how long you have been in the airwithsomesortofvisualreadout.Thisinformationmayappearonyourremotecontroloritcouldappearonsomeothertypeofviewingdevice.Ifyoudon'thavethisluxury,thenyouneedtomanuallykeeptrackofhowlongyouhavebeenflying ifyouwant toavoidrunningoutofbattery juice inmid-flight.Thereareafewsimplewaystodothis.Youcoulduseawatchtotimeyourflights.Iknow,Iknow,theconceptofusingawatchtotracktimeisalittleodd.Youcouldalsouseyoursmartphonetohelpyoukeeptrackoftimeaswell.Youmightevenbeoneofthoseuniquepeoplewhocanglanceatthesunandknowexactlywhattimeitis.Youcouldthentrackthesun'smovementtodeterminehowlongyouhavebeenflying.Regardlessofhowyouchoosetotrackyourflighttimes,youmustdoitinordertoavoidacrash. It is far tooeasy togetexcitedwhileflyingand lose trackoftime.Don'tdothis.Payattentiontoyourflighttimeandavoidoneofthemostcommoncrashmistakestheaveragedronepilotmakes.

ExtendingFlightTimesIf you are anything likeme, then youwill want to learn how to extend yourflight times. Those few short minutes of flying time never seem to last longenough.Youknowwhattheysay,“Timeflieswhenyouarehavingfun!”The easiest way to extend your flight times is by purchasing more batteries.Havingmorefullychargedbatteriesonhandwillgiveplentymoreflyingtime.Most drone fliers will have at least three batteries at minimum. Some peoplehaveanywherefrom10-50batteries.Yeah,Iknow.That'salotofbatteries.Abiggerbatterywithmorepowerwillgetyoumore time in theairbut itwillalsoaddagoodbitofweighttoyourdrone.Theaddedweightcouldverywellevenout the addedbatterypower.Youwill have to experimentwith this ideaandseewhatyoucancomeupwith.

LoseSomeWeightAnotherwaytoextendyourflighttimeisbyloweringtheamountofweightyouarecarryingwithyouinthesky.Thismaynotbepossibleonsomemodels,buton others youmay be able to remove the camera, the gimbal, prop guards orother smaller pieces in order to getmore time in the air. It doesn't takemucheither.Being able to remove a fewgramsofweight cangive you a few extraminutes.Alighterdronewillhavemoreflyingtime.

BetterPropsYoumightalsobeabletoextendyourflighttimesbygettingbetterprops.Thestockpropsthatcomewithmostdronescanbechanged.Largerpropscangiveyoumoreflyingtimebutnottoomuch.With the larger props youwill also lose somemaneuverability aswell. It is atradeoffandyoumightbefinewithlosingmaneuverabilityinexchangeforanadditionalminuteortwointheair.BuyAnotherDrone!Two drones is always better than one and having another one on hand willdoubleyourflyingtime.Havingaseconddroneisalsoagoodideabecauseyouwillhaveabackupdronetoflyjustincaseyoucrashyourfirstone!

VortexRingStateorSettlingWithPowerLike most new drone pilots, the idea of landing and the landing approach isalmost always the same. You slowly approach the landing zone and thendescendstraightdown.Thereisnothingwrongwithlandingyourdronethiswayaslongasyoudonotdescendtooquickly.Ifyoudo,thenyoumightencounterVortexRingState.VortexRingStatehappenswhenyourdronedescends into itsowndownwash.Downwash is a term for the air that is being forceddownbyyourprops.Thepropsonyourdronearecreatingapowerfulwallofdownwardflowingair.Thiswallofairflowiswhatliftsyourdroneintothesky.

Whenyoudescendtooquickly,yourdronegetscaughtinthispowerfulwallofdownwardflowingair.Thisforceofairwillpushyourdronetothegroundveryquickly. Itwillalmostappearas if it is freefalling. Itmayalsorandomlystartrollingorpitchingfromsidetoside.

GettingthingsundercontroloncetheVortexRingStatehasfullydevelopedcanbe next to impossible. If you can catch the Vortex Ring State before it fullydevelops,youmighthaveachanceatgainingcontrolofyourdrone.Theinitialreactionistotryandflyyourdroneup.Thiswouldbeahugemistakebecause by flying up you are essentially increasing power. Increasing poweraddsmoredownwardairforcemakingtheVortexRingStateworse.Yourdronewillfallfasterthanabrickmadefromsolidgold.To recover, youmustmove your drone forward, backwards or sideways.Youhave to get your drone out of the downwash and you have to do it quickly.Piloting your drone forward, backwards or sideways will help you get yourdroneoutofthepropdownwash.Worse case scenario? Your drone flips in mid air and falls to the ground inpiecesandhopefullydoesn'tinjureanyonebelow.

AvoidingtheVortexRingStateTheeasiestwaytoavoidtheVortexRingStateistoslowlydescendatanangleliketheimagebelow.

Thistypeoflandingmighttakealittlemorespace.Ifyouareshortonspacejustdescendatanangleasmuchasyoucan,stopandhover,turnyourdronearoundand start your angleddescent in theother direction.This is the easiestway toavoidthisproblem.Ifyouchoosetoflyyourdroneupreallyhighandthenchoosetoflyitstraightdown,youwillmostlikelycrash.Youhavebeenwarned.

CapturingGreatVideoandTackSharpImagesThe next chapter is devoted entirely to drones with cameras which is a hugepercentage of today's market. If you want to capture breathtaking videos andtotally awesome still imageswith your drone, then youwill need a couple ofthings.Of course youwill need a decent camera.The higher resolution or the highermegapixelthebetter.Thatmeansyouwillneedacameracapableofcapturinghighdefinitionvideoinavarietyofresolutionsandanadjustablefieldofview.Youronboardcamerashouldbeable tocapturevideo in720Patminimumifyouwantanythingworthlookingat.1080Pispreferredand4Kiscurrentlythebest. That doesn't leave you with many really good options. Luckily, mostdrones have a built in camera and those that don't can be equipped with thewidelypopularGoProcamera.You will also need a drone that is equipped with a gimbal. You can capturevideofootagewithadronethatdoesn'thaveagimbalbut thefootagewon'tbeworthlookingat.Itwillbetoojumpyandshakytowatch.

CameraSettingsHowyousetupyourcamerawillhaveahuge impacton thequalityof footageyoucapture.Thefirstthingthatneedstobeaddressedisthefieldofview.Someof the newerDJI Phantomdrones have this portion under control already andyouwon'tneedtomesswithanysettings.IfyouareusingaGoPro,don'tusetheSUPERWIDEorWIDE.TrytostickwiththeMEDIUMfieldofviewsetting.Thiswillpreventthatfisheyelookwhichcanbesomewhatofabotherinaerialfootage.

FlySmoothandEasyThe best footage comes from nice steady flying. Crazy and erratic aerialmovementswill capture crazy andunusable video footage.The samegoes forstillimages.IprefertostopinplaceandhoverwhenItakemystillshots.Ialsoavoid fast rotating movements for aerial video as well. It is disorienting andruinsthefootage.Let the drone's forward or backwards movement capture the video. Tryingslowly panning down with your camera while ascending but only pan yourcameraabouthalfwaydown.Thismakesforsomereallyimpressivecinematicfootage. I often sit in wonder at the footage I have captured. It looks like aNationalGeographicdocumentary.Hey, if you are a bigwig atNationalGeographic looking for some awesomeaerialfootageshootmeanemail.Imightbeabletohelpyouout.Ofcourse,notcommerciallybecausethatiscurrentlyagainstthelawintheUnitedStates.Flyingyourdroneat adownwardanglewhile slowlypanningyour cameraupwillalsomake for somereallyniceviews. Just remember to flyniceandeasyandyourfootageshouldbemindblowing.Thereisnothingquitelikeseeingtheworldaroundyoufromthevantagepointofyourdrone.Itcanbeincredibleintherightsituations.Thereisanotherimportantreasontoflyniceandeasywhileyourarecapturingvideo.Ifyoumoveyourdroneforwardtooquickly,thefrontofthedronedipsdownafewdegreesandasaresultyouwillseepropsinthetopofyourvideo.Thisisaquickwaytoruinagreatshot.If you must fly your drone quickly while capturing footage, try doing itbackwards.Thefrontofyourdronewill tiltup insteadofdownandyouwon'tgetpropsinyourvideo.Yesyourfootagewillbeflyingbackwardsbutyoucanjust reverse the footage when you are editing. Now you have perfect, fastforwardflyingfootage.It can be a little tricky trying to accurately fly your drone and capture greatfootage at the same time. It takes practice and focusing on capturing greatfootage can be a great way to crash. Don't get too involved in your footage.Remembertokeepaneyeonyourdronewhileitisinthesky.Some of the more advanced drones on the market come with two remote

controls.Thismakesiteasytoflyandfilmwithtwopilots.Onepersonpilotsthedrone,theotherhandlesallofthecamerawork.OhKnowThere'sJello!KidsseemtoloveJello.Ineverwasafanofthestuff.Somethingaboutthewayitjustsattherewigglingandundulatingonmyplatemademealwayssay,“Nothanks.”IamdefinitelynotafanofJellowhenitcomestoflyingdroneseither.Youmightbesayingtoyourself,“Whattheheckisthisguytalkingabout?”Jello is a commonproblem that appears in high definition drone footage.Thefootage appears a little rubbery in places, like it ismade from jello. The realproblemis thefact thatyoucan't reallysee theJelloeffectwhileyouarebusyflying your drone. You are flying and capturing that world class footage andwhenyougethomeandpreviewitonthebigscreen,thefootagelooksrubbery.Youmayalsonoticethatthejelloeffectonlyseemstohappenwhenthesunisatitsbrightest.Thatisyourfirstclue.Yourgimbalissupposedtomakethejelloeffectdisappear,butitdoesn'talwayswork.Theonlywaytocompletelyeliminatethisnastyvideoartifactistouseaneutraldensityfilteronthedrone'scamera.Aneutraldensityfilterislikesunglassesforthecameraonyourdrone.Ithelpsblockoutsomeofthatreallyharshsunlightthatismakingthejelloeffectappear.Usinganeutraldensity filterwill allowyou tousea slower shutter speedandcompletely eliminate the jello effect.Of course this trick isonlyhelpful if thecamerainyourdronelet'syouadjusttheshutterspeed.For instance, the camera onmy Phantom 3 drone let'sme change the shutterspeed. On a very bright sunny day, I have to choose a fast shutter speed ofaround1/1000thofasecondtokeepthecolorsinthevideofootagelookinggoodandtopreventthevideofrombeingoverexposed.Overexposedvideolookstoobrightandwashedout.Itisugly.If I slow down the shutter speed, I let more light into the camera. This willoverexposetheimage.Theneutraldensityfilterallowsmetoblocksomeofthelightwhichinturnlet'smechooseaslowershutterspeedofaround1/100thofasecond.Theendresultisexceptionalvideofootagethatisnotoverexposedandmostimportantlygetsridofthatnastylookingjelloeffect.

GettingRidofPropShadowsYoumayhavenoticedtheoccasionalhorizontaldarkshadowylookinglinesinyour video aswell. This happenswhen you fly towards the sun. Just like thejelloeffect,thisisbeingcausedbytoomuchlightenteringthecamera.Canyouguesshowyouwouldgetridofthisproblem?Ifyouguessedaneutraldensityfilter,thenyouare100%correct.Thiscompletesyourvideo/photographylessonfor theday!Nowgooutthereandfly!Whileyouareatit,capturesometrulybreathtakingvideousingthetipsIjustgaveyouandshareitwiththeworld.

JointheCommunityBelieve it or not, there are millions of other people out there who are alsointerested in flying some type of model aircraft. It could be a gas poweredairplanethatmovesatinsanelyquickspeedsoritcouldbeadroneexactlyliketheoneyoucurrentlyown.Luckilyforallofustherearequiteafewgreatplaceswhereallofuscangettogetherandtalkaboutthingslike:extendingflighttimes,preventingcrashesandotherreallyvaluabletips.Ifyouwanttomakecontactwithotherpeoplewhoalsohaveaninterestinflyingaroundtheskiesusingplanes,quadsanddrones,thenyoumightwanttojoinalocalRCmodelclub.FindingalocalclubiseasyandthebestplacetostartistheAcademyofModelAeronautics.http://www.modelaircraft.org/Theyevenprovideareallyusefulclubsearchtoollocatedhere:http://www.modelaircraft.org/clubsearch.aspxIfyoucan'tmanage to finda local clubusing theirhandy search feature, thenyoumightwanttotrysearchingonyourown.JustusetheInternettosearchforthelargestcityclosesttoyoualongwiththewords“rcflightclub.”For instance: if you live in Boulder, Colorado; search for “Boulder rc flightclub”withoutthequotes.Youmightbesurprisedbytheamountofresultsyouget.There are quite a few peoplewho have been involved in the hobby of flyingmodel aircraft for years. Joining one of these clubs is the single best way toconnect with them and learn from them as well. The more you know aboutflying,thelesslikelyyouaretoexperienceacrash.

OnlineCommunitiesYou don't have to join a local club because the Internet hasmade connectingwithpeopleallovertheworldsomucheasierandguesswhat?Therearedozensofonlinecommunitiesfullofeagerpilotswhoaremorethanhappytosharetheirknowledge.Thegreat thingabout theseonlinecommunities is the fact that theyarehighlyspecialized to specific types of flying. In this case, you can find onlinecommunitiesthatarededicatedspecificallytoflyingdronesjustlikeyours.Theseonlinecommunitiescanbeagreatsourceofinformationwhenandifyouhave a problem.The other great thing about these online communities is this.Youdon'tevenhave toparticipate ifyoudon'twant to.Youcan just readandabsorbasmuch informationaspossible.Although itwouldbenefiteveryone ifyoucontributesomeinformationaswell.http://forum.dji.com/-ThisisanexcellentresourcefortheverypopularlineofDJIdrones.Youcanfindasectiondedicatedtoeverymodeltheycurrentlymakefromthe insanelypopularPhantomseries to theKitdrones theyoffer.AgreatsourceofinformationforDJIpilots.http://www.phantompilots.com/ - Another excellent forum dedicated to DJIPhantompilots.http://droneflyers.com/talk/ - Nice little forum that covers a wide variety ofdronemodelsandpilots.http://diydrones.com/forum–ThisforumisdedicatedtothoseofuswholiketotaketheDIYapproach.Justabouteverythingiscoveredfromaerialphotographytobuildingyourowndrone.http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/forum/forum_topics.asp?FID=94 – ThisforumisrunbyoneofthelargestonlineRCstores.http://quadcopterforum.com/-Dedicatedspecificallytoquadcopters.http://www.rcgroups.com/aircraft-electric-multirotors-790/ - Tons of great infoonremotecontrolhelicopters.http://www.rcdiscuss.com/forumdisplay.php?159 – Dedicated to all things

drone.http://multirotorforums.com/forums/ardrone-forum.10/ - Dedicated to thepopularlineofARdrones.http://forum.parrot.com/ardrone/en/-DedicatedtothepopularlineofParrotArDrones.http://www.ardrone-flyers.com/forum/-AnothergreatresourcededicatedtothepopularARdrones.https://www.skypixel.com/-Thiscommunityisalittledifferentandifyouaren'thookedontheideaofAerialphotography,thenyouwillbeafteryoulookoverthis online aerial photography and cinematography community. This forum isrunbyDJI,makersoftheverypopularPhantomlineofdrones.

Thanks!Thanksalotforreadingthroughmybook.Ifyouenjoyedreading,thenfeelfreeto leave a review. I would really appreciate it. You can leave a review byfollowingthislink:

ClickHeretoLeaveAReviewLearning how to fly your new drone takes a little time. I have given youeverything you need to know on how to safely pilot your drone through theskies. If you have any questions, comments, concerns or if youwould like tosharesomeofyourgreataerialvideosandimagesbyallmeans,emailmeatthefollowingaddress:wordsaremything@gmail.comIwouldlovetohearfromyou.Havefunoutthere!

MarkSmithP.S.Iamcurrentlyintheprocessofwritingseveralmoregreatdronerelatedbooks.IfyouwanttobethefirsttofindoutaboutanynewbooksthatIpublishandhowyoucangetyourownfreecopy,thensignuptomynewbookreleaseemaillist.Ipromisenottoshareyouremailaddresswithanyone,andIwon'tsendyoutonsofjunkmail.(Iwillonlycontactyouwhenanewbookcomesout.)Followthislink.

http://eepurl.com/brgiXn

MoreBooksBytheAuthorWhenMark isn't busy researching andwriting books, he loves to spend timeoutside enjoying the world around him and participating in a wide variety ofoutdoorhobbies.He loves to sharehisknowledgewith theworldandhisbestsellingbookshavehelpedcountlesspeoplegetoutsideandenjoyourbigblueplanet.His books have been praised by young and old alike for their ability tomakethingseasiertounderstand.Thelaidback,conversationaltoneofMark'swritingstylemakeshisbookseasy toread.Hissenseofhumorkeepsreadersengagedandsmiling.Hisexcitementandpassionforoutdoorhobbiesishighlyaddictiveand many of his readers find themselves quickly wanting to join him foradventure.EnjoysomeofMark'sotherbestsellingbooks.MetalDetecting:ABeginner'sGuide:toMasteringtheGreatestHobbyIn

theWorldIncredibleMetalDetectingDiscoveries:TrueStoriesofAmazingTreasures

FoundbyEverydayPeopleMetalDetectingGold:ABeginner'sGuidetoModernGoldProspecting

CoinHuntingMadeEasy:FindingSilver,GoldandOtherRareValuable

CoinsforProfitandFun

TableofContentsKindleFireUsersIntroductionWhyDoYouWanttoFly?MyFirstTimeFlyingBuyingYourFirstDroneToBuildorBuyRTF,ThatIstheQuestionShouldYouBuyARTFDrone?LearningtheLingoACloserLookattheKitDroneACloserLookattheRTFDroneACloserLookAttheKitDroneRemoteControlACloserLookAttheRTFDroneRemoteControlBrandNames3DRFlyingMachinesBladeFlyingMachinesDJIFlyingMachinesGoProFlyingMachinesHubsanFlyingMachinesParrotFlyingMachinesSymaFlyingMachinesYuneecFlyingMachinesWhereShouldYouBuyYourDrone?BeCarefulofNewModelsAccessories&SparePartsBatteries–TheRealPowerBehindYourFlyingMachineToolsWhatToDoWhenYouCrashPracticeMakesPerfectCommonFlightModesandWhatTheyMeanRulesorLawsNoFlyZonesPreflightSafetyRoutinesUnderstandingtheBasicControlsAdvancedCombinationFlightStickControlsTheBestandWorstTimesToFly

TimeExtendingFlightTimesVortexRingStateorSettlingWithPowerCapturingGreatVideoandTackSharpImagesJointheCommunityThanks!MoreBooksBytheAuthor