Let us learn. Let us begin. Let Us Drone. “I've never flown a drone before but let's see how high and far I can fly my brand new Mavic 2 Pro!” I get it, you've seen the amazing YouTube videos that show off the drone's capabilities, your friends say flying a drone is easy, and, after all, you want to see what DJI's latest quadcopter can do. Try to resist the urge to rip off those training wheels, at least until next week 😉
I've created a list of 17 drone flying tips for DJI beginners in an attempt to help minimize your chances of Googling “Is my DJI drone under warranty?” after having an unfortunate meet and greet with your front yard tree.
Table of Contents
Register your drone with the FAA
Since the influx in drone usage over the past few years, there have been periods of time where it is required to register your drone with the FAA, and other times where it wasn't a requirement.
As of December 2017, you are required to register your drone with the FAA if the aircraft weighs more than .55 pounds and less than 55 pounds.
The idea of having us drone users register our aircraft is that the government will be able to track down those who abuse the airspace and hold those individuals responsible when laws are broken and people or things get damaged.
Registering your drone can be done at FAA Drone Zone, it takes just a couple of minutes and costs $5.
In order to register, you'll need:
- Email address
- Credit or debit card
- Physical address and mailing address (if different from physical address)
- Make and model of your unmanned aircraft.
Once you complete the registration process, you will receive a certification via email, which will be valid for 3 years.
FAA requires that you label your drone with the registration number (found on the certificate) before you can legally fly your drone.
Read the manual
But it's so boring! You know what's worse than being bored for an hour or two while reading the manual your drone came with? Being bored forever because you crashed your new one and no longer have one to fly. Okay, so I guess today is dramatic Thursday, but seriously, read the darn manual.
If the thought of reading the whole thing is just that daunting, at the very least try to peruse the quick start guide in the manual, which gives you the basics of getting that bird airborne.
Sure, you can obtain quick information like flight time and the top speed of your new Mavic 2 Zoom by going to DJI's website, but what do those flashing lights mean?! What does “calibrate IMU” mean? What is an IMU?
If I'm coming across as a bit preachy, allow me to admit that I still refer to my drone manuals on a fairly frequent basis when I either forgot or just plain didn't know what something meant.
Practice with the flight simulator
My sister was a commercial airline pilot. I remember how much she talked about the flight simulators when she was going through the pilot program. The students spend many hours in simulators before being allowed to get behind the “wheel” of an aircraft, in order to decrease the chances of a mishap.
Well, a flight simulator for a drone is no different. Granted, the aircraft you will be flying won't have passengers, but learning to fly before you get some serious space between the drone and ground really couldn't hurt. Furthermore, your drone doesn't have people on-board, but the aircraft it may come close to if you aren't a law abiding citizen certainly will.
DJI has equipped their DJI GO and GO 4 apps with a flight simulator. To find it, tap in the top right corner of the screen where you will see “Academy” amongst other categories. Once in Academy, you can tap on flight sim. You will need to connect your phone to the RC and have the AC turned on for the flight sim to work.
Although the interface looks like a video game, the simulator is designed to merely teach you the controls of flying. It walks you through the process of launching
If you've flown a drone before, the flight sim will get old pretty quick, but taking a few minutes to get acquainted with the controls really couldn't hurt.
Fly in beginner mode
Getting a step past the flight simulator is DJI's beginner mode. When in beginner's mode, there will be a cylindrical-shaped geofenced cone around your home-point location that will keep you from flying higher than 100ft (30M) and no more than 100ft away from you. Your flight speed will be restricted as well.
Bypassing beginner mode is tempting because we all (most of us, anyway…if we're being real) just want to fly as fast and as far as we can right off the bat! DJI must have known this would be a strong temptation because they designed their drones to automatically be in beginners mode right out of the box.
Once you've gotten familiar with everything on the drone, turn beginner mode off by tapping on settings>main controller settings>beginner mode.
Get a pre-flight checklist
It seems that there are two types of people in this world: those who hate pre-flight checklists and those who love them. I created one a few months ago and shared it on some forums. Most of the feedback was positive, but a few comments like “you're taking this way to serious, bro, It's just a drone” squeaked in there.
Whether you're a believer in them or not, I think we can all agree that remembering to put the SD card back into the drone after transferring pics the night before is a good thing to do. You don't have to spend an hour meticulously checking each box on the checklist. I saved the PDF to my phones home screen in my drone folder, and I usually just glance at it before sending the bird up.
You can find the pre-flight checklist I made here. Whether you use mine or someone else's (or you make your own, you little go-getter), I strongly recommend having one to look at before each flight.
Drone folder with checklist 
My checklist. Click image for PDF version.
Be aware of your airspace
You'd think that taking your new Phantom down to the local park would be no problem, but what happens when that park is within 5 miles of an airport?
Here are the types of airspace restrictions and the fines that you may be required to pay by flying in them:
Airports- without getting into the different types of airspace around airports, it's important to remember that both the airport operator and air traffic control (ATC) need to be notified when flying within 5 miles of the airport if that airport has a tower. Without special air traffic permission, you won't be able to fly within 5 miles of large airports that have class B airspace. Airmap has a great app for IOS and Android that shows what airspace you are currently in and what restrictions apply. I use this app every time I fly.
Wildfires- Don't do it. I know it's tempting to get an aerial view of an active fire, but drones impeding with firefighters has been a big issue in the last couple of years, with the FAA warning drone operators with fines of up to $25,000.
Stadiums- It is illegal to fly your drone within 3 miles of a stadium, starting one hour before, and ending one hour after the sporting event. The types of sporting events include:
- NFL
- MLB
- NCAA division one football
- NASCAR Sprint Cup, Indy Car, and Champ Series races
Security Sensitive Airspace- Flying a UAS in security sensitive airspace is illegal from 0′ – 400′ AGL, and since this is considered national defense airspace, the U.S. can fine you up to $100,000 and the FAA can fine you up to $32,666. An example of security sensitive airspace would be a military base. To find more about this airspace, click here.
Temporary Flight Restrictions- TFR's are in effect when there is a hazardous condition like a chemical spill or a wildfire. Here is the list of active TFR's where you will be able to find your location and learn about the specific restrictions.
Restricted or Special Use- Did you know that flying a drone within a 15-mile radius of Washington D.C. is prohibited without special permission? There are certain areas that have special flight rules; these types of areas include:
- Prohibited areas
- Restricted areas
- Warning areas
- Military operation areas (MOAs)
- Alert areas
- Controlled firing areas (CFAs)
For more information about restricted or special use airspace, refer to the handbook here.
Avoid national parks
In 2014, the National Parks Service (NPS) released Policy Memorandum 14-05, which directed each superintendent to prohibit launching, landing, or operation of an unmanned aircraft at a national park.
The NPS says that they have banned the use of drones at national parks to preserve the landscapes, monuments and to protect visitors and the wildlife. You can learn more about this on the National Park Service website here. This is a real bummer to me as my wife and I are going on a road trip across the country next week where we plan to visit Yellowstone, Yosemite, and a few other national parks along the way.
State parks- Each state handles the use of drones differently, and you can find out what your state has to say about the use of drones at a state park on State Drone Law; a website dedicated to providing the latest in drone laws on a state-by-state basis.
Check the weather forecast
Before heading out to fly, a quick weather check could save you a lot of frustration, and even money if you decide to fly your Spark up in the rain.
I get it, you've had to exercise an extraordinary amount of patience while waiting for the new Mavic 2 to be released. The darn drone finally shows up and it's raining outside. “Well, it's more misting than anything. I think the drone will be fine getting a little wet. These things are like, water-resistant now, right?” Quiet that inner optimist and become a realist for a while, at least until the sky's clear up.
No, DJI drones are not water-resistant (unless we're talking about some of the industrial-line), and besides, flying when the weather is good will give you the most cinematic pictures and videos.
Even flying when it is very hot out could affect the performance of your drone, tablet/phone, and batteries.
If you want a weather app that is curtailed for drone users, I would recommend Hover, an app available for IOS and Android. Hover provides the user with valuable information like the weather, wind conditions, precipitation, visibility, airspace restrictions and has a section where you can create flight logs.
Monitor the wind
The combination of sophisticated vision positioning systems, GPS, compasses and IMU's make for a very, very stable DJI drone while airborne. That is until one of these systems has an error or malfunctions in some
Lose GPS and your Mavic may enter ATTI mode, which takes some
Most DJI drones are able to fly in wind speeds up to 10 m/s or 22 MPH.
Hovering in one spot will not likely be the issue when flying in high winds, it's the long-distance flights that will get you. Flying into a headwind is going to drain your battery much faster than with the wind at your back.
Keep in mind that large bodies of water tend to be
While in the Coast Guard, I used anemometers (measures wind speed) on a regular basis. For less than $20 you can pick up an anemometer like this from Amazon, and throw it in your drone bag.
Check GPS signal
Before launching your drone, it's important to record your home point. DJI states that you need more than 6 satellites in order for the home point to be updated.
If you are flying in an area with high interference, you may have trouble obtaining and keeping an adequate amount of satellites. Flying in an urban area will likely result in a lot more interference than when in a rural location. Types of
- Electromagnetism
- Tall metal structures
- Radio towers
- Cell towers
It's very important for your drone to not lose GPS signal while in flight as your drone needs it if the Return-To-Home (RTH) process was initiated due to your AC disconnecting from the RC.
The FAA states that you are required to fly within visual line of sight (VLOS), and there are reasons for that.
As VLOS relates to this particular topic of GPS, if you were flying a mile out and suddenly lost GPS, you'd have to fly home using the camera view and maybe (if you're lucky) the little map in the bottom lefthand corner.
I say “if you're lucky” because compass issues frequently accompany GPS issues, in which case your drone wouldn't have a bearing, thus rendering that little map useless.
Flying home from beyond
RC signal lost instruction
If this is your first DJI drone, then you may not know that DJI has equipped their drones with a feature that allows the drone to return to the home point if the remote controller (RC) disconnects from the aircraft (AC).
This is pretty awesome, but we need to make sure that the correct settings are configured before we go and put all our faith in it.
It's important that we have preset instructions on what we would like our drone to do in the event were RC signal is lost. DJI gives us three options:
- Return-To-Home
- Landing
- Hover
The large majority of the time you are going to want to have RTH selected. If you're out flying and the RC signal is lost with the drone 1000ft away from you, having the drone just hover in place or land where it's at is going to be a big bummer; especially if you happen to be flying over water.
To configure this setting, go to settings > Main Controller Settings > Advanced Settings > Remote Controller Signal Lost > Return-To-Home.
There are special circumstances where you may not want the drone to RTH if the signal is lost. One such example would be if you were flying from a moving vehicle as a passenger (in an open, safe space, of course) and lost RC signal after flying for a couple of miles. Having your drone return to home would not be good in this case.
Set RTH altitude
Setting the proper RTH altitude could save you $1,500. Out of the box, the default RTH altitude on most DJI drones is set to 98ft. Well, if you live in Oregon, this would be a problem as many of the trees are much taller than 98ft.
To set the RTH altitude in the DJI GO 4 app, go to settings > Main Controller Settings > Return-To-Home Altitude.
Observe your surrounding area and locate the highest object nearby. Make sure that the RTH altitude is at least 50ft or so above that object.
Likewise, if you are flying in the desert and you have the RTH altitude set to 400ft, that is a bit overkill and you'll end up wasting precious battery life.
If you tend to fly in the same area on a regular basis, it is not so imperative that you change the RTH altitude each outing. This is more for those who are traveling or exploring new flying areas around them.
Make sure the home point is updated
Before launching your drone, make sure that the home point has been updated. This is very important as you want the drone coming back to you if your RC loses connection or you manually press the RTH button.
If the sound is up on your phone or tablet you will hear the DJI GO and GO 4 app say “your home point has been updated, please check it on the map”, at which time you can glance down at the map and see that the home point has indeed been set to your location.
It's important to look down at the map and ensure that the
If you ensure that the home point is accurately set before takeoff and you don't move around while flying, it's unlikely that the home point will change on
I read about a guy who lost connection with his drone and he ended up losing it in the water because he said the drone changed the home point location on its own, so instead of the drone returning to the takeoff location, it flew to the nearby body of water.
You have two options when setting the home point, you can set it to your takeoff location, or you can set it to your RC location. If you plan to be moving around after you launch, I would strongly recommend that you periodically manually set the new home point to your current location.
An example of this would be if you were on a boat that has moved. It's going to be a bad day if you watch your new Mavic Air fly off in the opposite direction after losing connection with the drone.
To manually update the home point in the DJI GO 4 app, go to settings > Main Controller Settings > Home Point Settings.
Understand P-mode, S-mode, and ATTI mode
You may notice that you have the option to toggle between P-mode, Sport mode, and ATTI mode on the RC. If you're new to flying, here's a quick rundown of each mode.
P-mode (Positioning)– The fuel-efficient sedan. This is the mode you'll likely be flying in most of the time. GPS and the vision systems are enabled, providing you with the safest and most practical flight possible.
S-mode (Sport)– The quick coupe'. The drone still has GPS, but vision systems are disabled so the aircraft will not be able to detect and avoid obstacles. Max angles of the drone are increased, unleashing that top speed you read about on DJI's website. It's worth noting that intelligent flight modes will not be available in
ATTI-mode (Attitude)– The drift car. Oh, ATTI mode, how I dislike thee so. In ATTI mode, pretty much the only thing the drone will do is maintain its altitude. GPS and the vision systems will be disabled, so you can say goodbye to that auto-braking we all love so much. The drone will be carried by the slightest breeze and flying home in ATTI is not an easy feat for a beginner. I dislike ATTI mode if I'm thrown into it without my telling the drone to do so, especially if I'm right by the water on a windy day or something.
Practice in ATTI mode
Yes, I just talked about disliking ATTI mode, but it's very important to practice in ATTI mode while in a safe environment.
Back a few years ago drones could not stabilize themselves the way they do now. This did two things: not nearly as many people flew drones because of the difficulty and impracticality, and secondly, the ones who did really knew how to fly very well.
We take for granted the IMU, compass, GPS, and VPS, but what happens when there are errors with one or more of those systems? Your drone will often be put into
Practice flying in ATTI mode when you are in an open area where you have room to maneuver so when the time comes when you lose GPS, panicking will only last for a second instead of the entire flight back.
I should note that you are only able to toggle to ATTI mode with the Phantom and Inspire controllers. The Spark and Mavic line of drones lack this function.
Fly in open spaces
If you live in an urban area, I strongly urge you to drive somewhere that is open, and large. Aside from having a lot of space out in the open where you can get familiar with the RC sticks and drone behaviors, flying in more remote areas usually means less interference.
Remember when you were learning how to drive a car and your parent brought you the giant empty parking lot? Well, that's basically what I'm encouraging you to do with your new drone.
Practice different flight patterns, experiment with the RTH settings, try out all of the intelligent flight modes. All of these activities and more are much safer when you don't have to worry about large buildings or other people around. Ok, I'll stop beating the dead horse, I think you get the point 😉
Avoid birds
Oh, the lovely birds. Living in San Diego, I fly
It is uncommon for me to have a flight by the beach where I wasn't attacked by a seagull. I wrote all about seagulls and how to avoid them in a post here. In short, if you find yourself being harassed by a bird, follow these steps to escape unscathed:
Step 1: Put the drone in
YouTube videos such as this one, or this one show that birds are a big problem for us drone operators (or are we the problem for them?), and it's best to always keep an eye out for any large birds in the area you are flying at.
Eagles have been known to be very aggressive towards drones, and I would strongly suggest not even getting airborne if you happen to see one near where you intend to fly.
Trevor's Take
I love flying drones. I've been able to acquire quite a bit of experience over the last few years and have learned some helpful tips. You may be intimidated when initially learning the basics of flying your new DJI drone, but by taking the time to read this post you're already quite a bit more informed than a lot of drone operators out there. Take it slow and you'll be flying 20ft over the water at full speed in no time! Oh, and did I mention to read the manual?
Are you learning to fly? Are you an experienced drone pilot that has other helpful tips for new pilots? I'd love to learn about them in the comment section below!
Interested in reading my other recent posts? Check them out here…
