Fear of crashing....

[Flip]

I have that, not so much a fear, but apprehensive because of the cost of it. Besides, my wife would relegate me to sleeping in the garage.....

So... What I did was buy a cheap (under 100 buck) drone (lots out there) and I'll destroy that and learn. a hundred buck smash up is a lot less consternation than a 1200 buck smash up.

Meanwhile I'll outfit the high buck Autel with all the stuff I want to add and then fly it and be comfortable with it and hopefully, not crash it.

Seems to me to be the best route for a person like me with no experience.

Exactly how I started with game hunting years ago. My first rifle was a stock Remington 700 with an inexpensive Burris scope and I shot factory ammunition. Sure it was heavy and had a clunky trigger but I took a lot of game with it but in my pursuit of a lightweight and highly accurate downrange rig, I progressed into rifles made with exotic alloys, ultra high buck scopes and started learning how to load my own ammunition built for accuracy and all that cost big bucks. Now, I only shoot handloaded ammunition in ultra high buck rifles plus I learned how to accurize a rifle and do my own trigger jobs so it's a learning experience just like the drone is.

Got the Marco Polo coming and the LifThor should be here shortly too.

I won't feel too bad crashing a hundred buck drone and that will allow me to gain the experience just like I did with hunting rifles.

Makes sense for me, maybe not for someone else.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

I started out in 2014 with a drone from Banggood. It was a quadcopter from Wltoys. There was a large number of people at the time who where flying these things. Well after the wind would blow it two blocks over and I would have to go look for it I finally stepped up to a Yuneec Q500 quad but that experience I gained from flying the Wltoys quad paid off ten times over. I still have small quads I fly in the house to this very day. One of my favs is the Helifar H803 -A $20 drone with obstacle avoidance. Great entertainment in your local bar on a Saturday afternoon LOL

Oh and guess what its orange

 

[drrags]

Same here. I practiced on a $100 drone. I crashed it a lot! I have to give props to it for being able to handle my monkey paws on the controls. Compared to that, my EVO flies itself.

I was fortunate in that I took my first real flight out at the Black Rock Playa (where they hold Burning Man). Miles of flatness in any direction. It was there that I practiced far distances and high heights. I had the apprehension at first anyway, but by the end of the weekend I learned to trust it. I went back out the next weekend and practiced even more, and at night (see my avatar), and got really confident. Now, I'll fly it anywhere.

If you make sure your controller says GPS mode, and you don't disable the sensors, I think you'll find it really difficult to crash. Your biggest apprehension is trusting that it will return to you. Just practice the Return to Home feature until you believe that it really will return to home.

Oh... One flight on the playa I was driving the Jeep while flying the drone, trying to capture my Jeep in motion. I was miles from where I started when the controller told me it wanted to return to home. I panicked for a moment because I had no idea where home was on that vast, white, endless playa. I quickly canceled and brought it down immediately. Phew!

Looking back, I think the $100 practice drone is optional.

 

[DownADrone]

Autel evo 2 pro is my first drone and the price tag that comes with purchasing it was making it hard for me to enjoy it. I watched many videos of what not to do and try an learn from others mistakes. I'm also trying to get in the habit of recording my screen so I have proof of anything that could go wrong especially if its not operator error. I still have not even thought about putting the drone into ludicrous mode, with no experience of flying drones disabling safety features jus doesn't seem right until i feel more comfortable. I decided to look into insurance to see what was out there for extra protection. I currently have state farm insurance on my vehicles so I decided to give them a call. They said I was the first person to ask about insurance on a drone through this agent. I sent them a copy of my receipt showing what I paid for the bundle package an they offered me personal articles policy to cover up to $2100. I made sure to confirm that if I was to lose the drone completely if it would be covered or even If I was to crash it. They will cover anything that happens to the drone. Only $7 a month for the extra peace of mind. Ill now be using the drone to its potential without the worry of losing it for good. A lot of the area I plan to fly it will be absolutely impossible for me to retrieve. Now I'm ready to modify my controller with the alientech pro antenna this weekend an take this thing to places I never thought possible.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

Statefarm is the go to insurance company many use. It is a average of 60-65 bucks a year for most. They do cover total loss and are pretty fast at getting you your money. You do need to be careful if you go on vacation as I have heard people having problems with coverage if it is not offered in that State. Other then that you cannot go wrong with Statefarm. After all they have seen everything LOL

 

[Flip]

I'll have to call my agent. I don't have Sate Farm but I insure everything on the farm from tractors to even the feed I store in the grain tanks. I'll check and see if I can list it as personal property but I will have to adjust the deductible in as much as the current deductible is a grand. I can eat up a grand real quick with farm equipment and it keeps the premium reasonable. I'll give him a call on Monday.

I got a charge out of the 'ludricous' mode. Won't ever go there I don't think at least. Just sounds like an accident to me. Cold be my age makes me nervous. When I was younger, I'd try about anything and never give it a thought, now, being an old fart, I'm much more cautious.

 

[Flip]

I started out in 2014 with a drone from Banggood. It was a quadcopter from Wltoys. There was a large number of people at the time who where flying these things. Well after the wind would blow it two blocks over and I would have to go look for it I finally stepped up to a Yuneec Q500 quad but that experience I gained from flying the Wltoys quad paid off ten times over. I still have small quads I fly in the house to this very day. One of my favs is the Helifar H803 -A $20 drone with obstacle avoidance. Great entertainment in your local bar on a Saturday afternoon LOL

Oh and guess what its orange
View attachment 7824

For me, it's the RIGHT color. Not quite' Grabber / Kubota Orange but close.

 

[Peter Goldwing]

I equipped mine with "Tile" that sends a signal to cell for up to 400 ft, just in case I lose it in the wild places I visit in FL
I flew mine in ludicrous mode over the river in 15 MPH wind. Made the wind look like nonexistent.
I sent it in many missions far away and after awhile I get too tense but the bird alway returned

 

[Ken Ramsley]

I scaled myself up to the EVO-1 the same way. I wanted a decent 4K drone, but I wasn't ready to fly one. Instead, I bought small drones to fly around inside my office (a tiny Estes, then a slightly bigger Hubsan). The goal was to make sure the basic flight controlling process became a matter of natual effort (instead of a mid-flight "oh-s*** -- which control yaws left and right again?").

The idea of drone insurance is intriguing -- not just to potentially recover the cost of replacing the drone, but also to bolster a sense of confidence while flying (much like driving my car, where I'd hardly use the thing if I were facing the possibility of a total out of pocket loss).

I learn something new every day!

 

[Flip]

My 'office' is the cab of a tractor. Hardly enough room for me and my cooler and all the electronic wizardry I need to farm with, let alone a drone...

Not sure if my wife would approve of me tooling around the house with an egg beater either but I'm sure the cats would enjoy it....

Going to get a Tello so if (and when) I crash it, it won't hurt so bad.

The EVO can stay in the case for a while. I may take it out and wax the body however.

 

[Ansia]

My 'office' is the cab of a tractor. Hardly enough room for me and my cooler and all the electronic wizardry I need to farm with, let alone a drone...

Not sure if my wife would approve of me tooling around the house with an egg beater either but I'm sure the cats would enjoy it....

Going to get a Tello so if (and when) I crash it, it won't hurt so bad.

The EVO can stay in the case for a while. I may take it out and wax the body however.

There is plenty of space in the roof of your tractor. Just add a hook and put your Evo in a bag you can hook there. Problem solved. You can farm and fly afterwards or at lunch time.

 

[Ken Ramsley]

My 'office' is the cab of a tractor. Hardly enough room for me and my cooler and all the electronic wizardry I need to farm with, let alone a drone...

Not sure if my wife would approve of me tooling around the house with an egg beater either but I'm sure the cats would enjoy it....

Going to get a Tello so if (and when) I crash it, it won't hurt so bad.

The EVO can stay in the case for a while. I may take it out and wax the body however.

I keep thinking about buying a cheaper and smaller 'walk-around' toy-like drone that I can fly without worrying too much about it -- and if someone ever makes a smaller and cheaper drone with a decent 4k 60fps camera, I may actually switch. I treat the Evo like a serious aircraft, not a toy -- but sometimes I just want a toy.

 

[Flip]

I keep thinking about buying a cheaper and smaller 'walk-around' toy-like drone that I can fly without worrying too much about it -- and if someone ever makes a smaller and cheaper drone with a decent 4k 60fps camera, I may actually switch. I treat the Evo like a serious aircraft, not a toy -- but sometimes I just want a toy.

I understand that fully. For the price of admission it's not a toy. Toys are supposed to be cheap and disposable after they break.

The EVO don't fall into that category very well unless you are extremely flush and I'm not.

I'll get a Tello and use that to bang around and (crash). I need to get my FAA commercial drone pilot's license anyway. I'll be using mine for profit (farming documentary's concerning planting and harvesting of seed corn). Actually, why I got it in the first place.

Probably should have purchased a cheap one first but then like with firearms, I tend to get the best I can buy and quality in anything today always has a price tag.

 

[Flip]

Mello Tello is due to arrive Saturday. Got it from a vendor on here, Advexure. Nice folks. Downloaded the app on my Lenovo already.

There are actually two of us in the same (no experience boat), me and the guy I cut hay for. His wife bought him a high buck Mavic for his birthday and like me is apprehensive about crashing it so we will both use the Tello to learn with.

He's an old fart as well. Actually he's our veterinarian.

...and my Lifthor shipped yesterday from Norway. I might see that in a couple weeks, maybe....

Not holding my breath. Coming DHL (Dumb and Hopelessly Lost)......

 

[Marcle]

Statefarm is the go to insurance company many use. It is a average of 60-65 bucks a year for most. They do cover total loss and are pretty fast at getting you your money. You do need to be careful if you go on vacation as I have heard people having problems with coverage if it is not offered in that State. Other then that you cannot go wrong with Statefarm. After all they have seen everything LOL

Unfortunately, State Farm won't cover you if you have a Part 107. I told them that and got crickets...You would think they would rather cover a pilot that has gone through the training and licensing. I get that there are different issues with liability but if they at least just covered the drone "hull insurance" it would be nice.

 

[Flip]

My carrier for the farm covers mine under 'personal property. No deductible either and all I do is list it with the company. No increase in premium either.