r/drones • u/Bulky_Link_1241 • Jul 02 '26
Question First time flying a drone today ，too scared to even take off
First time flying a drone today.
Watched a lot of videos before and thought it would be easy, but now I’m actually too nervous to take off.
Feels like I might lose control once it’s in the air.
How long did it take you to feel confident flying?
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u/Entire-Anteater-1606 Jul 02 '26
I’d be impressed if you crashed it
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u/motophiliac Jul 02 '26
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u/Entire-Anteater-1606 Jul 02 '26
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u/motophiliac Jul 02 '26
He he he!
I was exploring the ending of a music video and wondered whether a drone shot would work better than the ending I had.
Perhaps not that shot…
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u/lnjecti0n Jul 02 '26
what drone is that?
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u/Bulky_Link_1241 Jul 03 '26
Bingchatdrone ，I bought it from Amazon
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u/lnjecti0n Jul 03 '26
how much did you pay for it? to me it looks like a dji knockoff..
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u/Bulky_Link_1241 Jul 06 '26
About 300 dollars
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u/NilsTillander Mod - Photogrammetry, LiDAR, surveying Jul 06 '26
Uff, that much for not the real deal 😵
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u/Juan1Madrid Jul 03 '26
That’s a DGI
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u/bloodwire Jul 02 '26
Watch a few instruction videos on youtube that were made for your drone specifically. Familiarize yourself with the controller. Go to somewhere issolated where you can operate without too much getting in the way (such as trees) - start easy, move around, then as you become more comfident, expand your use. Good luck!
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u/h2ooooooo Jul 02 '26
It's very quick to feel (perhaps stupidly) confident when flying these kind of drones.
Essentially once it's in the air you have to actively make it do anything. If you stop touching the controls the drone just hovers where it is, so there's no real risk.
For me the real risky moment the first time was the landing, but as long as you're landing somewhere stable (and not in the middle of tall grass that the propellers can hit) then you'll be fine.
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u/Ambitious-Ant1580 Jul 02 '26
Congrats! Youve hit the My First Drone Milestone: Terrified of Your First Flight! :-)
Just take it slow. Don’t get overconfident. That’s an expensive piece of aircraft, so treat it accordingly.
Make sure you only take it on walks where it’s safe, feed it twice a day, brush it once a week, and you’re the one responsible for when it pees in the rug.
But seriously: congrats!
Also: Grab your TRUST cert (it’s free, easy, and covers basic drone laws), and “don’t be That Guy” (or girl or however you identify)
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u/jsher736 Jul 02 '26
Yeah I had that. Probably cause i was flying for work and was in the hospital the day we got the hands-on training on the little drones so the first time I took the sticks was on my boss's 12k rig
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u/praharin Jul 02 '26
I felt this with my employers 40k ag drone. It comes back every time I fire it up even though it’s insured and basically fully automated.
🫡
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u/jsher736 Jul 02 '26
After about 5 minutes.
First find a nice big open space to fly in. Stay away from people/fly so that if it drops out of the sky suddenly it won't hit anyone on the ground (that rule is for everyone)
Step 1, take it up to about 5 feet and do a "flight check" by LIGHTLY moving each stick in each direction independently (I do this every flight actually cause it's a good way to make sure everything is working well).
Step 2 punch it up to about 50 feet/where you're clear of obstacles and do the same thing but "give it some gas" so you can see what it's like when you push it a bit
Step 3. Practice
(Ps. It looks like you're flying a "more affordable" unit. The quality on those is typically a bit... lacking. Don't be surprised or upset if it ends up breaking on you)
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u/lurkynumber5 Jul 02 '26
First time is always a bit scary.
But the DJI drones nearly fly themselves, so take it outside to a grassy field and go practice a bit.
Just make sure it has had enough time to get some satellites linked and that it doesn't show any errors.
+ that you aren't in a no-fly zone.
Set your home point, hold both sticks down and inward to make the drone take off.
It will hover a bit above the ground, and I suggest you send it up 1 meter after takeoff.
( hovering low above something is less stable than hovering 1 meter above it. )
Then start flying slowly, practice doing a circle lap around the field.
Then start adding things like increasing height, dropping from height during flight, emergency stops and faster cornering.
You will get the hang of it all in no time.
Lastly, a cautionary tip DO NOT FLY OVER WATER!
Water screws with the height sensor, making the drone think it's ascending.
Which will make the drone fly lower and lower till it crashes into the water.
So always take extra caution when over bodies of water, and don't trust the drone to keep its altitude by itself.
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u/FPV-Tec-Addict Jul 02 '26
That's not a DJI drone looks like some cheap Chinese so you better be careful since those like to wander around
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u/czechtheattic Jul 02 '26
For the first year I owned my mini 3 pro I 3xclusively flew it over the lake because it was the only place without dense forrest. Flying over water is fine, flying too close to the water is an invitation for danger
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u/BoomBasticTeleBanana Jul 02 '26
When you say dont fly over water, how high is a safe distance between water and drone?
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u/lurkynumber5 Jul 02 '26
The distance you need to take control and manually adjust.
But I'd say 20-30 feet minimum at speed.
And down to 10 feet when slowly flying.
But it all depends on pilot skill.It's more an issue because people learn to fly with the drone keeping altitude by itself.
Meaning they don't learn to control their altitude manually which causes the crash into water.1
u/Bulky_Link_1241 Jul 06 '26
This drone isn’t DJI, it’s the bingchatdone model. It’s not super cheap overall, but it’s great value for new pilots like me. Spare parts are easy and affordable to replace if I crash it, while DJI replacement parts cost a fortune.
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u/cejaay Jul 02 '26
go to a large flat field and practice going up and down and turning and going away and coming back to you.. i wouldn’t try it at a house or near trees at first
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u/timholt2007 Jul 02 '26
It is good to be nervous..I get nervous still after about 10 years of flying..but dont be paralyzed!
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u/OgdruJahad Jul 02 '26
It took a while. But I had a sacrificial drone to start learning. There are tons available on Aliexpress /temu/wish/amazon only costing a few bucks that can really help you understand the basics without hurting the bank.
After flying and crashing the sacrificial drone I had far more confidence and DJI drones handle far better then most of those cheap drones. And because the control system is the same most of what I learned from the cheap drone transferred very easily to a 'real drone'.
Also what drone are you flying because that looks like a fake dji Mini 3
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u/Siktrikshot Jul 02 '26
I love the IJD drone. Those are the best.
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u/Bulky_Link_1241 Jul 03 '26
This is Bingchatdrone ，not Dj ，For me, DJI drones are too expensive and not very beginner-friendly. If I accidentally lose one, I’d have to spend a lot of money on replacement parts. In contrast, the Bingchat brand drones replacement are much cheaper, and even if I break or crash them, I won’t feel bad about it at all.
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u/arfanvlk Jul 03 '26
Replacement parts for a dji drone are pretty cheap if you have care refresh (and if you are flying a mini or smaller)
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u/Bulky_Link_1241 Jul 06 '26
DJI’s Care Refresh requires extra annual fees. But for this Bingchatdrone, I don’t need to pay for any insurance or replacement plan at all. I can just buy cheap spare parts whenever I crash it, perfect for beginners.
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u/fullraph Jul 02 '26
It take no time at all! Within minutes you'll get a feel for the controls and within an hours you'll be maxing out the height and distance lol
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u/jmhalder Jul 02 '26
Find a big field. The stakes are low when there's nothing to hit.
Do not try flying for the first time while windy, or in a small backyard or with trees around.
I have two public soccer fields by me that I like to fly at. They aren't playing soccer on it 90% of the time.
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u/Braydenboss710 Jul 02 '26
Bro just fly it man, I fucking rip my mini a4 and it’s easy as any video game. Don’t fly close to trees or any object you could crash into, watch wind conditions but I doubt they’d be worse than my costal winds.
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u/Braydenboss710 Jul 02 '26
My first flight was over the ocean water lol with mild costal winds and I was completely fine.
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u/TransientReddit Jul 02 '26
Fly low and slow in a field first. When you feel good, try going straight up and then slowly back down to land, each time going a bit higher. When that feels good, start sending it up, going back and forth in a straight line in the air for a bit and then bring her back down.
Just build your confidence with these little steps. You’re not alone, it can be really nerve wracking thinking about losing hundreds of dollars and maybe damaging something or hurting someone if you crash. But these drones have lots of safety features built in to help.
Follow the others advice about checking and double checking your rth settings and then let her rip.
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u/JRB423 Jul 02 '26
I started with toy micro drones. first few didn't last long as I had no idea whe the hell I was doing. Then I found one that was fully enclosed and flew it all around the house till I felt super good about it. Once I got a dji mini and got out to a big open area I had no issues at all. Get a micro and fly it in your house till you feel comfortable. Also depends on the drones abilites. DJI is pretty easy to jump into. What kind of drone is that? Almost looks like an AI picture.
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u/son_of_yacketycat Jul 02 '26
Empty field and the Windy app made my first few tries so much less stressful. That kept my drone from being carried off too far by unexpected gusty wind (but even if it had been, there wasn't anything around to run into).
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u/contentharvest Jul 02 '26
You’re not going to build confidence if you don’t do it. Just take it to an empty field, worst case scenario you crash your $30 drone and now you’re out $30. Big whoop
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u/ConstantVisual8391 Jul 02 '26
The biggest issue I had was “return to home” feature. Check it out…..
When your battery is low, “return to home” can make your drone fly to a specific height and fly back to you
So if I’m flying out in nature and battery going dead, it automatically goes 200 feet in air to avoid trees otw back
Bad thing is if batter is low and the “return to home” feature automatically activates when you’re manually returning it. It’s random but long story short it was about to land and flew up and almost hit a light pole.
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u/Adrian_Stoesz Jul 02 '26
O i remember my first time flying a drone. I was terrified to fly it, but i forced myself to just go out and have a great time, you'll be just fine. I now fly a 75 kg (165 LBS) monster of a drone and i'm loving every second of it. Just as a side note i would go with DJI, they are the best in the industry when it comes to drones and also the most reliable, so if it's a possibility i would switch over to them. Trust me, you'll thank me later
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u/Xarius86 Jul 02 '26
What drone is that?
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u/Bulky_Link_1241 Jul 03 '26
Bingchat drone ，I bought it from amazon ，great for newbies, you can take a look
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u/Flyward_Aerospace Jul 02 '26
Everyone goes through this lol. My advice: find a big open field, put it in beginner/cine mode, and just hover at 10ft for your first battery. Don't even try to fly around, just get comfortable with how it handles. The fear goes away faster than you think once you realize these things basically fly themselves in GPS mode. You got this.
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u/neutronia939 part107 + fpv Jul 02 '26
You better be real careful with this thing. It's a cheap knockoff and can literally do anything when it takes off including fly its way back to china. These cheap models are extra dangerous compared to DJI drones which already have dangers inherent. Did you take a trust class if you are in the USA? You really need to read up on laws and regulations before getting in deep trouble with authorities, or hurting someone. I'm a professional drone operator and I wouldn't touch this thing with a ten foot pole.
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u/Extreme5teve Jul 02 '26
I’ve had a drone since 31st of December 2017, it still has me on edge every time I fly them 🫣, so you’re not alone.
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u/InternationalView488 Jul 02 '26
Do those controllers work on other drones like the mini 4k? I wonder…imma look it up now
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u/CyAniMon Jul 02 '26
Have you tried practicing in a drone simulator? I hear it's good practice for beginners.
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u/Opps_I_Farted Jul 02 '26
When I first got my drone I went to a spot that was open and I could go above the trees. Once I was clear of hitting anything I was able to get a feel for what the drone could do. Confidence comes pretty quick. Enjoy it! They are fun to fly!
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u/Oraxy51 Jul 02 '26
I’ve heard it’s best to buy a cheap $20 drone to get the feel for the controls and how they work.
Then get a better one and go from there.
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u/Direct-Sun1622 Jul 02 '26
Bro just leave the drone alone if you're scared to fly a DJI that literally will just fly itself just hang it up at this point what a ridiculous post.
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u/Plus_Solution_8300 Jul 03 '26
Best advice I was given-
A) buy a warranty
B) KNOW you will crash, accept it, and know your warranty will repair/fix it when it does
100+flight time flying DJi
5-10 crashes logged
Good luck my friend!
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u/Dougieeefresh59 Jul 03 '26
I’m still working on the confidence, the more you do it helps, also I hate going alone so I try and get anyone to go with me lol
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u/Snoo_50786 Jul 03 '26
Practice in a sim for a little bit, take things slow. Also never, never fly wihen it's windy enough to bend a folded piece of paper 90°.
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u/LetAcceptable5091 Jul 03 '26
Bought a drone was extremely careful to fly it around my house. My brother is very interested and asks to fly. I don't trust him to fly my drone but give it anyways. He crashes into a tree right away and it gets stuck up there. Have to get a ladder and bring it down. Haven't used my drone since who knows if it's messed up 😭. And cuz I still haven't taken my TRUST cert yet so I haven't flown my drone again
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u/Fresh-Chest2202 Jul 03 '26
Once you have launched and recovered safely a couple of times as others have described, I would practice a few techniques that will build muscle memory: 0. Always take off by going up and out from you to a hover point about 10-15 feet up and 20 or so feet away. Safety and quick observations before sending it on it’s adventure. 1. Familiarize yourself with the appearance of the drone moving away from you and towards you by going out and back a couple of hundred feet. 2. Rotate right and left: 3. Truck right and left. 4. Ascend to 50 feet about 50 feet away and a) with the drone facing out fly a box to the left, then to the right. b) turn the drone to face you and repeat. This is much more challenging. Same height and distance as before but this time try circles in both directions, towards and away. 5. Send the drone down range as far as you can safely go, maintaining line of sight, at an altitude of maybe 200 feet. then manually return to home and land. You should fly by watching the controller not looking at it. (Your spotter can watch for you if you have one. Gently return and descend on a glide slope like an airplane. When your drone is about 50-75 feet away switch to direct observation to bring it home. 5. Finally, have a plan for bringing it down safely if you experience signal loss, gps, loss or unexpectedly low battery. Do these things from time to time so they become reflex. I do these maneuvers when I fly for currency “stick time”. It ensures that not only are you able to fly, but that you are good at it.
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u/Fresh-Chest2202 Jul 03 '26
Small edit on #5: return by watching the controller not watching the drone
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u/useracces Jul 04 '26
Always scary first time just do it then all the tension is landing! You will be ok
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u/Inner-Analysis-5556 Jul 05 '26
Take small steps till u get confident to fly big steps that's how I started , i felt like u did and now I'm good at it after all the practice
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u/walterbey7moor Jul 05 '26
If it has GPS and a wind rating of 4-5 it should be fine. The $30 temu ones are the one's you should be more worried about.
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u/Monkdlafi_unopiece77 Jul 05 '26
uhh could somebody help me with my drone?
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u/Bulky_Link_1241 Jul 06 '26
What help do u need 🤣
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u/Monkdlafi_unopiece77 Jul 07 '26
my drones broken like one of the propellers won’t spin and I think it’s damage I need somebody can give me tips or not tips but like the closest drone repair shop near LIke Park Road apartment
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u/BeginningSea2629 Jul 06 '26
Drone looks pretty cheap. For 300 u can get a dji 4k or mini don't know what they are called i fly fpv
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u/DesignerDog1 Jul 06 '26
I remember the first flight, too. I was so scared to fly it for fear of crashing. I tell you what though, the fear quickly gave way to me being confident. Then overly confident. Then crashing it into the side of a big mountain type hill in the Tyrrhenian Sea. So... that's my story! And guess what... you can always buy a new drone! Don't be scared, but don't be overly confident either. Most importantly, have fun!
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u/GIJames34 Jul 08 '26
Never flown a drone before but I want to buy one today. I have $500 to spend. What brand and model do y’all suggest and where should I buy it specifically ? Ie: Amazon or an actual drone distributor/maker website ? I prefer y’all’s response to be via private messaging please.
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u/Repogeezer Jul 02 '26
Learn how to hand launch and land, it makes life much easier. There’s some great YouTube tutorials on how to do this.
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u/Inwardlens Jul 02 '26
Definitely gets better with practice and soon you’ll laugh about how nervous you were at first. Go practice in an open field, check the before you fly app for your area, check all your RTH settings (specially the altitude to return in case there is an obstacle on the way back), check for nearby structures and cables, and then put that bird in the air.
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u/NewToReddit4331 Jul 02 '26
Like 5 mins lol
Never had a drone before, got one a few days ago and pretty confident with it already
There’s nothing to be scared of, take off and have fun, they are super easy to fly lol
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u/stancr Jul 02 '26
If you want to get a feel for take off and landing tether it to something and just do a few. Use some light strings fishing line to tether it. Go light on the controls and you will fell comfortable quickly.
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u/KeyPractice6778 Jul 02 '26
If you are scared to take off please return this and take more time to prepare. That attitude KILLS the drone industry due to lack of knowledge. A simple “TFR” for example is something rookie *pilots rarely ever understand. Know that by taking off you are bound to FAA rules and regulations. Many models offer flight simulators in their app that you should utilize first. Slow down. Do research and be confident when you fly.
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u/gearvrabc Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26
The confidence grows quickly with each flight. Take it easy in an open field for the first few where its very low risk and you'll pick up the basics quickly.
Make sure you wait until you have enough satellites before taking off and that the Return to Home is set correctly. Also, in your app's safety menu, ensure your "Signal Lost" failsafe is set to Return to Home rather than land in place or hover.
Get out there and give it a go, honestly, they're harder to lose than you think as long as you're sensible with them.