Today I’m going to offer you 10 drone tips to ensure an successful flight.
Blogging isn’t new to me. I’ve written quite a few on my photography website, sofotographic.com and on a previous website called The Language of Light that my host at the time lost. But we won’t get into that.
Today I’m going to share with you 10 tips to an awesome and successful drone flight. I’m by no means an expert, but I’ve flown a lot and made just as many mistakes. If I can keep you all from making the same mistakes, then I will have achieved my goal. And, by all means, if you have some tips that you’ve discovered over time, please share them in the comments below.
These are in no particular order of importance…
Now let’s get it…
1. Fly in straight patterns
I like to edit my flights and upload them to my YouTube channel. Through my experience, a flight video looks better when you fly in a straight line, following whatever plan you’ve laid out or imagined. You should try to avoid turning during your flight, as it’s not nearly as smooth as stopping the recording, turning and then starting another pattern. You can add transitions in post, or not. That part is up to you.
But I prefer transitions, as they make the end result more pleasing to the eye.
2. Don’t tilt the camera during flight
I’m not going to mince words here. This looks bad in my view. I tried it once while flying over Railway Alley in Toronto and I hated it. That video is still posted, but I don’t like it.
For mostly the same reason as stated above, this won’t get you a cinematic video. And that’s what we’re after for the most part, isn’t it?
If want to shoot another angle on the pattern you’re flying, take another pass at it with the camera on the desired tilt. Those who enjoy drone videos like I don’t mind multiple angles of the same flight path if the camera angle is different. It will make your video a little longer, but the longer, the better if you ask me.
3. Be careful flying between buildings
If you live in a city like Toronto, as I do, your downtown core has a lot of tall buildings and you’re going to be tempted to fly between them.
While it might seem like a great idea, it’s a risky one. Three things are probably going to happen…
- Your drone will get caught in a wind tunnel
- Your GPS signal will get lost
- You’ll get interference to your signal
These are all things that have happened to me…on more than one occasion. You’re fine to fly in a straight line and at the same distance from the ground for the pattern, but if you stray too far from that, you’ll have difficulty navigating your way back to your home point without GPS or a signal for that matter. So, be careful!
4. Don’t fly without GPS
This might sound like a no-brainer, but I’ve seen enough posts in Facebook groups where a pilot’s flight went to hell because there was no GPS signal. You see this as soon as your drone connects to controller.
It usually goes away, but if it doesn’t, don’t take off. Pay attention to that warning. Bad things are on the horizon if you ignore it. Your drone needs that GPS signal to navigate. It’s essential. So wait a minute or 2 until you pick up at least 10 satellites. The more the merrier, I say and you’ll have a much better flight because of it.
5. Watch the battery level
This is a pretty important one…
I’m a bit of a hypocrite with this one. I don’t do it much, but I’m trying to.
The battery level is right there on the screen for your benefit. You can even turn on the voice assistance to let you know when the level is low. Mine is never on, but it should be. I had a close call on Lake Muskoka when I wasn’t paying attention to the level. Believe you me, you don’t want to be trying to land when your battery is critical. Especially when there’s a bottomless lake nearby.
Just watch your battery level, okay?!
6. Respect Privacy
This one is also pretty important. Maybe the most important. I’ve seen my share of videos on YouTube of people buzzing apartment buildings. It’s not cool, and these instances are making their way into the media.
If certain people keep this up, they’ll change the privacy laws and there goes flying in the city and around buildings. I’m not sure why they do it. Just fly higher. If you’re flying over balconies and over sundecks, you’re invading privacy. Don’t do it!
7. Check your SD card
This one also probably seems like a no-brainer, but it’s happened to me…twice.
I keep a spare inserted in the controller, but it’s not fast enough and not good for 4K video. It will store stills, and you could record 1080p on it, but who wants that. Personally, I’m a 4K snob. I only record lower than 4K for my POV Photo walks.
I take my card out after a flight because it’s how I transfer the files to my laptop for editing. Sometimes I forget to put it back, that’s on me.
So check to make sure it’s inserted in your drone before you go out…and make sure your spare is suitable for 4k recording.
8. Update your home point
If you want your drone to return home, make sure this has updated before you take off. It only takes a second. Leave your drone hovering where you stand until you see the little green dot and the notification that says ‘home point updated’. This one is also pretty important if you use that feature frequently like I do. That Mavic Mini 3/Pro is pretty tiny. Once it’s up in the sky, it’s not hard to lose sight of it. And you’ll need to take your eyes off of it to check the battery level, height, distance etc.
Whenever I’m not confident that I can get the drone back, I use the ‘Return to home’ feature.
Some say don’t rely on it, but I don’t agree. Probably because it’s never failed me. The only time it’s an issue is when the winds are too strong. But the controller will tell you as much. In that case, it’s best to turn it off and bring it home manually.
9. Adjust the horizontal speed (gain & expo)
This was one of the best features DJI added in the early days of the Mavic Mini 3 Pro.
Change the horizontal speed to around 12km/h and you’ll get dreamy, cinematic footage. And if you follow Tip #1 you’ll have some of the best footage out there.
I wouldn’t advise setting it too slow though. It will seem like the drone isn’t moving and the footage might appear boring to some. I have a couple of videos like that. One of them is called ‘Crawl’ for that reason. And while the slow speed appeals to me, it likely won’t appeal to most. 12km/h is a good compromise. I only make an adjustment to the cine-like setting, because it’s really the only one I use. I always aim for a video of around 3 minutes after editing and 12km/h will achieve that for me.
10. Avoid trees and wires at all costs
This is what causes most drone crashes out there. And let’s be honest, there’s really no need to be flying near trees and wires. If you’re too lazy to leave your backyard, even though you want to fly…well I don’t know what to tell you. Go to an open field, for the love of God.
While the Mavic Mini 4 has omni-directional sensors, it’s really going to struggle with tiny tree branches and wires. So yeah, stay away from the trees and branches and get out of your backyard.
Bonus Tip
I struggled with this too, as most new drone pilots do…it’s the fear of being seen while flying.
It’s silly really. You’ll discover that most people can’t be bothered with some guy standing on a sidewalk looking up. Most times they will ignore you because they don’t know and can’t see what you’re looking at. No one has time, really.
I’ve only had one instance where people stopped to talked to me while flying. One guy even asked me to buy him a bubble tea at a store nearby…while in flight. REALLY?!
It will take some time, but the more you just say f*ck it and put your drone up where you need to, the more fun you’ll have.
So there you have it, 10 tips to make sure you’re not having a bad time with your drone.
You can thank me later.
Until next time..
