Drones used to be available only to the military. And you may still remember the first armed drone strike in 2001 that made the whole world realize the lethal potential of the technology. But luckily, in 2013, Amazon was the first to show the interest to develop the drone tech beyond the military, which is for commercial purposes. Since then, many drone patents and permits have been filed to the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration).
By know, you are probably wondering how cool and fun it is to fly a drone. And you are not wrong! It is fun and cool. But reading drone blog alone won’t make you learn anything about flying one. Here are the complete steps:
Start with a Simulator
The main reason why you should learn from a simulator is that you won’t risk damaging a real drone. Going straight to a real drone may not sound concerning to you unless you are investing in a $800 something video drone. And don’t count on the repair service because a damaged drone may have a permanent defect, even after repair.
There are many simulators on the Internet. But here are our best picks: Drone Sim Pro, Real Flight RF8, and Phoenix R/C. You need to look for physics accuracy, game scenario realism, obstacle courses, and environment realism. Also, you need to make sure that the simulator is compatible with your operating system.
Learn the Terms
A drone pilot must know the technical terms use in drone flight. Basically, there are three categories of them: control terms, maneuvering terms, and flight terms.
Control terms: roll, pitch, yaw, throttle, trim, the rudder, aileron, and the elevator.
Maneuvering terms: bank turn, hovering, and figure 8.
Flight terms: manual, auto-level, and GPS hold.
Specialize Your Skills
You should know that drones are not used only to get aerial views. There are racing drones, as well! Therefore, before you buy a drone, you should determine what functions do you expect from it.
Flying drones to get aerial photos or videos will be different from maneuvering drones in a race track with obstacles. You need to have a taste and an excellent spatial sense to get good aerial footage. On the other hand, if you want to win a drone race, your hand-eye coordination must be well-trained.
Watch YouTube Videos
This is only supplementary. You can’t skip the simulation phase because watching YouTube videos is not the same at all with practicing to fly a drone on a simulation. Here are our most recommended videos: Joshua Bardwell, Painless 360, RC Model Reviews, AndyRC, Project BlueFalcon, and Epic Drone Videos.
Don’t forget to take notes on new information that you learn. Make the watching session a real learning experience so that you are really ready to fly your drone by the time you hold the controller.