Flying from The Panhandle of Florida!

[Fly Addie Fly]

Greetings to everyone! I recently passed the PART 107 exam. I am excited to start a new career flying drones. I own a MAVIC 2 Pro. I hired an experienced pilot last weekend for flight lessons. I must confess it was a bit overwhelming, since I had never flown a drone. I passed the test with bright flying colors but flying the drone is another story. I have been practicing daily. Looking for pilots who would allow me to be a visual observer on their missions for the practice. I have lots to learn before I can sell my services. Any suggestions on how I can improve my techniques and become proficient at flying? I know...practice...practice...Which I will faithfully engage in daily. When you were a new pilot, how long before you felt comfortable enough to accept missions?

 

[dirkclod]

Welcome to CDP .
Look around and find what your interest is and let it rip . Have any question's feel free to ask any staff
in a message concerning the forum and glad you have joined .
Enjoy and be safe .

 

[BigAl07]

WELCOME to the forum I think you'll find a ton of helpful information here.

In regards to getting better, practice but do so with a purpose. Learn to fly "nose in" (facing you), sideways, and in tight areas once you're comfortable so you are good in all flight aspects. Watch some really good YT videos and try to mimic them.

I've not watched this video yet but the member who shared it is a top notch guy so it probably has some good advice in it:

50 Drone Tips from Beginner to Pro (Jeven Dovey)

Jeven Dovey shares 50 tips on how to fly a drone and capture better photos and videos.

mavicpilots.com

 

[Volatus Drones]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on passing the 107!

 

[R.Perry]

Welcome to the club. My I suggest also learning mapping, and software such as Litchi. So may flight can be set up as autonomous flights letting the pilot focus on photo or video quality.
Keep practicing and you will do fine. I use to be said when no matter what is happening fly the plane. Today when everything goes south, you have RTH.
Very best of luck to you.

 

[Ajkm]

Be aware that, as a pilot, you need to aim for at least 100 hrs of flying to achieve a degree of competence and proficiency. The only way to do that is to get out there and fly at every opportunity.

 

[Gagey52]

Welcome to the forum from the outback of Australia. Hope you achieve your goals. Again as BigA107 said look around at the industry and find what interests you the most and go for it. Having completed your 107 is only the start, you still have a big learning curve in front of you. Again all the best for your future endeavours.
Regards

 

[Snowghost]

Welcome. Before I attempted to fly my first Phantom, I used toy drones to get the hang of flight. Once you can maneuver and control those, the DJI birds practically fly themselves.

 

[Fly Addie Fly]

Welcome to the club. My I suggest also learning mapping, and software such as Litchi. So may flight can be set up as autonomous flights letting the pilot focus on photo or video quality.
Keep practicing and you will do fine. I use to be said when no matter what is happening fly the plane. Today when everything goes south, you have RTH.
Very best of luck to you.

Thank you..is Litchi a software to automate flights? I’ve been struggling flying over 60’ Because it’s impossible to keep an eye on the drone. I did some training with the pilot who allowed the drone to go up 400 feet and we lost site of it many times. I guess I’m very cautious and we are instructed to keep her eyes on the drone but on a bright sunny day It’s in the panhandle Florida is impossible to see the drone. Am I being too cautious? What is the best way to learn mapping?

 

[Fly Addie Fly]

Be aware that, as a pilot, you need to aim for at least 100 hrs of flying to achieve a degree of competence and proficiency. The only way to do that is to get out there and fly at every opportunity.

I totally agree with you. I am really green and I have a lot of features associated with crashing or losing my drone… I find it almost impossible to keep visual Contact when flying over 60 feet.. It’s very sunny and bright where I live in the panhandle of Florida, any suggestions?

 

[Ajkm]

Very good sunglasses, possibly add a strobe light (or lights) to the M2P legs. There's not really much one can do, other than trying to fly where you have some contrast in or with the sky.

 

[Fly Addie Fly]

Very good sunglasses, possibly add a strobe light (or lights) to the M2P legs. There's not really much one can do, other than trying to fly where you have some contrast in or with the sky.

Brilliant..will look into lights right away..thank you!

 

[Fred Garvin]

Addie,

I've read your posts and you talk alot about learning to fly, gaining confidence and not losing sight of the aircraft. This is good, as it's really the foundation of flying and controlling the aircraft safely. The only real path is to fly. Keep practicing.

But, practice what?

You don't mention what it is you want to do, other than start a new career flying a drone. Drones can be used for many different things. Once you identify what it is you want to do, then many, much more specific suggestions, can be given to get you on the right path.

 

[Fly Addie Fly]

Addie,

I've read your posts and you talk alot about learning to fly, gaining confidence and not losing sight of the aircraft. This is good, as it's really the foundation of flying and controlling the aircraft safely. The only real path is to fly. Keep practicing.

But, practice what?

You don't mention what it is you want to do, other than start a new career flying a drone. Drones can be used for many different things. Once you identify what it is you want to do, then many, much more specific suggestions, can be given to get you on the right path.

 

[Fly Addie Fly]

Thanks for reading my postsI am still not sure which niche will allow me to make a living. I’ve been thinking about Real Estate drone services as a start. I’m practicing working efficiently with the controller and understanding how to maneuver my drone..I am insecure because it bothers me that is difficult to see the drone at 200 feet and higher. I found another drone Pilot to assist as a VO but he seems to be overly confident..I do need to make a living very soon..sometimes It’s discouraging that I have not progressed faster.

 

[Fred Garvin]

Real Estate Drone Services

The most common use for a drone is for Aerial Photography of the property, for marketing.

1. You are a Photographer first. The drone is simply a camera that can get images from unusual angles. Learn Photography, how to make a great image and how to Post Process these images in Lightroom (or whatever) to make them stand out. You're getting paid for this so they better be fantastic.

2. You will rarely, very very rarely, (almost never) be farther away than 75-100 feet from the property. 200' and more images are useless unless the agent requests these to show the surrounding area. Nadir images (straight down) are usually useless as well. (rural, multi-acre properties are an exception)

Practice: Slow, precise maneuvers. Creative angles you don't get from the street. Show the roof. Show the yard. Show how the property blends with surrounding properties. Highlight Focus Features. Create images the agent won't get walking around with their phone. (30-40' up, 50-75' out) If you were house shopping, what images would get you to look at a property over another one?

Go to my website and download a free guide I wrote. It's for Real Estate Agents looking to hire an Aerial Photographer, but might give you a few things to consider as well:

Free Guide

 

[R.Perry]

Thank you..is Litchi a software to automate flights? I’ve been struggling flying over 60’ Because it’s impossible to keep an eye on the drone. I did some training with the pilot who allowed the drone to go up 400 feet and we lost site of it many times. I guess I’m very cautious and we are instructed to keep her eyes on the drone but on a bright sunny day It’s in the panhandle Florida is impossible to see the drone. Am I being too cautious? What is the best way to learn mapping?

Yes Litchi has autonomous flight modes, and it is inexpensive downloadable software. First of all may I suggest you learn to fly by watching your tablet. If you are constantly trying to watch the drone you aren't monitoring your battery, and controller state of charge, also you want to monitor how many satellites you are acquiring. Your tablet is going to give you all the information you need to fly your drone. In commercial applications that is why we have an observer, or at least are suppose to.
Also if you do lose site of your drone your tablet will give you the information you need to re-orientate yourself.
If you get involved in mapping many times on large projects the drone is going to look like a little dot in the sky or you may not be able to see it at all depending on the suns position and lighting.
When I got my first drone I flew it around close at first until I got the feel of the controller and how the drone responded. Then I took it up a hundred feet (above any obstacles) and began practicing with it flying by the FPV (First Person View). It won't take you long and you will be more comfortable flying by watching your tablet than trying to constantly watching the drone.
With that said, it is also important to keep an eye on the drone, but not stay focused on it.
Best of luck to you.

 

[R.Perry]

Fred is a professional photographer, most of us aren't. One thing I disagree with. If you are flying a drone, your first obligation is to fly it safely, photography although critically important is second on the list. Of course I think that way because I'm a pilot and not a professional Photographer.

If I were you I would look into construction documentation, you still want good quality pictures, but you don't need to be at the level that a professional photographer is. If you wanted to work for someone in that field I would check out Multivista in your area. Not only that if they hire you, they will send you to a school in Huntsville and they will teach you how to fly, and fly well.
Most of the Multivista branches use the Inspire 2, and the Phantom 4 RTK, and they supply the drones, they also supply a Nikon D500, and a MatterPort. They have plenty of photography training as well.
I don't work for them, but have contracted to them several times.

 

[Fly Addie Fly]

Yes Litchi has autonomous flight modes, and it is inexpensive downloadable software. First of all may I suggest you learn to fly by watching your tablet. If you are constantly trying to watch the drone you aren't monitoring your battery, and controller state of charge, also you want to monitor how many satellites you are acquiring. Your tablet is going to give you all the information you need to fly your drone. In commercial applications that is why we have an observer, or at least are suppose to.
Also if you do lose site of your drone your tablet will give you the information you need to re-orientate yourself.
If you get involved in mapping many times on large projects the drone is going to look like a little dot in the sky or you may not be able to see it at all depending on the suns position and lighting.
When I got my first drone I flew it around close at first until I got the feel of the controller and how the drone responded. Then I took it up a hundred feet (above any obstacles) and began practicing with it flying by the FPV (First Person View). It won't take you long and you will be more comfortable flying by watching your tablet than trying to constantly watching the drone.
With that said, it is also important to keep an eye on the drone, but not stay focused on it.
Best of luck to you.

Is FPV meaning you have an observer or is that a special setting?

 

[manutter51]

FPV is basically putting on goggles so it looks/feels like you're actually IN the drone zooming around. You can see some good videos of FPV flying on YouTube. There's also an "FPV mode" on my DJI Mini 2, but that just means the gimbal tilts from side to side when you make turns, as opposed to keeping the horizon level all the time. So kind of an FPV simulation, as it were.

I've never done any FPV flying, so I may be missing the mark slightly here and there, but that's the impression I've gotten from watching droners on YouTube. It looks like fun, but from what I gather it's a rather different style of flying from what you'll normally be doing for aerial photography.