1. Do your research extensively before buying your first drone, and you should follow the fundamental of the drone purchase guide, Consult with someone you know that flies drones already and get their advice. If there is a local store located in your area that sells drones, go there, and chat them up on the important features you might require. Are you flying for fun or looking to start a business?
2. For your first drone, don’t buy one that’s too cheap. It will be a waste of money. Commit yourself to spending at least several hundred dollars at least. That way you can skip the trials and tribulations of buying and crashing cheap drones. I have been there and done that. Starting with a better drone will give you more confidence in your flying ability right from the start.
3. When you get the drone make sure to review the owner’s manual, it’s fundamental to the drone purchase guide. It won’t make much sense at first but read it through. You might have to read through the manual a few times till it sinks in. These new drones have tons of features.
4. Find a large flat open space devoid of nearby trees or power lines and away from people for your first time flying. Flying in urban areas
5. Learn to lift off and then fly experimental routes not too far off the ground and learn to return to base and do a controlled landing. Do not fly too far off to a point where you can’t see the drone and learn its change of direction from your joystick controls.
6. When you are flying, and you are unsure of your direction or position, always take your hands off the joysticks and let the drone pause and hover, and then slowly start moving it again so you know its orientation or position. Practice engaging the return to the home button, to see how the drone returns home.
8. Do not fly over water, over crowds of people, or too close to trees or other fixed objects. It’s very easy to end up misjudging distances and end up crashing the drone. Fly at night
9. The drone receives its commands through a wi-fi channel link to your controller. If you make the mistake of flying in an area where there is a lot of RF interference in the area, like dense urban areas or in an area of hilly topography, you may lose your line-of-sight communication. In that event, your drone may suddenly cease to respond to your joystick commands and just continue to fly onward, eventually getting totally lost or crashing in some inaccessible area or worse, doing some damage to something or somebody.
10. Be careful and cautious and practice a lot and learn before you let your enthusiasm overwhelm you in your desire to get great aerial images and video. Practice Practice Practice.
11. And one last thing: Do not fly close to wildlife. Drones can disturb them and may, in fact, be illegal. Good luck! Fly Safe.
12. Recommended brands.
DJI- https://m.dji.com/
Parrot- https://www.parrot.com/us
Autel Drones- https://auteldrones.com/
Skydio- https://skydio.com/
It makes sense that you should look at the owner’s manual. My brother told me a couple of weeks ago about how he wants to look into getting a drone for his photography website, and he wants to make sure that he knows how to use one properly. I’ll have to let him know these tips once he gets a drone!
My boyfriend wants to purchase a drone for his dad as a gift for Christmas this year. I appreciate your suggestion to consult other drone owners you know for their advice. I think my boyfriend should read the reviews about potential drones online as well as ask his friends for advice.