6 Common Mistakes New Drone Pilots Make + Bonus Money Saving Tip!

All of you will make at least 2 of these mistakes with your drone, unless you watch this video first!
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Chapter Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
0:44 Mistake #1: Flying Indoors
2:17 Mistake #2: Too Low Over Water
4:03 Mistake #3: Trusting Intelligent Flight Modes
5:44 Mistake #4: Disregarding Power Lines
6:45 Mistake #5: No Pre-flight Procedure
8:27 Mistake #6: Ignoring the Golden Rule
10:12 Bonus Money Saving Tip!
The Drone Trainer has a great FREE Pre-flight checklist to download here: thedronetrainer.com/free-dron...
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[@JonathanMorley]

One of the rules I made for myself when preparing to land my drone is to be certain it's facing away from me so I can land it intuitively rather than having to remember that the left and right controls are reversed. Fortunately I only had to replace one propeller before I made that rule.

[@TeamOise]

same !

[@Beecher_Dikov]

I flew rc aircraft. Another way is to turn your body the and look over your shoulder. I still do it instinctively with my drone.

[@dotslashsatan]

Nice I’ll rememeber that!

[@Mikemalone7873]

Good one Russ. I’ve found that seagulls hate drones and will attack

[@bluerose7041]

When I got my first drone, I was so excited, that's why I flew indoors.

[@DAHBADHDTHINGS]

"I always carry a screwdriver, a spare prop blades, Battery, Charger, SDcard" My pre-flight check: A. on the ground: Props (Blades and Screws) / Battery (Voltage, Capacity, Temp) / Weather App. (UAV forecast, Google Maps) / SDcard B. in flight (hovering): Establish a good RTH point and GPS lock / Drone (Vibration and Sound) -check for abnormalities / Determining the RTH altitude by climbing slowly and doing a full 360 to set a proper RTH altitude. My post-flight check: Props (blade and screws) / Batt (temp and Capacity / Remove SDcard

[@robertdahl5825]

Love your channel. Learning a lot

[@NorthernHomeGarage]

Great advice! Thank you!

[@lynsmith1096]

Great tips and video Russ.

[@FernandoGarcia-qr1ks]

Great tips! Thank you for sharing.

[@johnreese3762]

Great advice, thanks!!

[@bobnelson2499]

Always great information. Thanks.

[@R0dan]

Very helpful advice👍

[@dirkkruger8316]

Well explained....thank you....

[@ronaldwilson9525]

Great tips as always. Good job.

[@rapaent]

Great job as always Russ!! 👍

[@Aerosnapper]

Spot on with every one...

[@carlosuhlmann2491]

Excellent video, like every single one you upload! Thanks

[@coffeecountyaerials]

Thank you so much for the tips...

[@donovanw.2943]

Thanks!

[@coaerial]

Thx again, great *meanwhile making pre flight checklist* tips

[@richardpesce5325]

Extremely useful video!!! Thanks much

[@RonaldBrown59]

Great tips for new pilots, and even some experienced pilots. Thanks for sharing Russ.

[@AtlanticAerials]

Very nicely done Russ. That's excellent information for everyone not just new pilots because it's very easy to get complacent

[@vkmccable]

Thank You! Your videos have been extremely helpful to this newbie. Kudos!!!

[@FlytPath]

Good ones Russ 👍

[@globalbizlink]

Thank you for these interesting and helpful tips. I will never forget it

[@vincegp]

Thanks for this great video Russ. I have been flying for 4 years, and still make some of those mistakes, yet seeing this video made me realize it now. One other thing, besides power lines, trees are my achilles. I have only ever had one bad crash, and it was into a branch of a tree, while flying backwards. Making my pre, and post flight check list right now.

[@subrec]

Couple additional mistakes. 1. Never fly with a low battery. I just went for a quick photo on a low battery and the auto lane feature set it down in a tree. 2. Buying the right drone for your use. I like to take still shots, not video, and for me there isn’t much out there with full control of the camera unless you step up to the big drones that hold dslr’s. I know someone that bought a DJI drone but was really more into racing. Do the research and pick the correct drone for your needs.

[@claytonc2141955]

New flyer here and really appreciate this information!! Have followed you since receiving my Mini 3 Pro. Thanks much!

[@Canadian-Bacon2]

Thanks Russ! As a new drone pilot your words of wisdom are very important to me! Thank you once again for a great video!

[@georgekelly1948]

Great tips, Russ. I have been flying drones for 13 months and my cautious nature has kept me out of trouble. I am sharing this video with a friend of mine who just purchased a Mini 3 Pro. Cheers from Wisconsin where the weather is not much better than your own.

[@schadlarry]

#7 mistaking the collision beeping with the low battery beeping, therefore descending full throttle.

[@Passion_Video_Productions]

Just hit a power line last night. Was lucky that it just brushed it and never made it crash!

[@martypiraino8721]

I recently had the opportunity to fly over a body of water for the first time since buying my drone in November 2022, I flew in Florida at a beach and off a pier on a river. On the beach side I took off and was flying at least 15 meters up when I flew out over the water, had absolutely no issues at all. When I flew off the deck of the fishing pier at the river which was calm with very little wind as well at a height of about 4 meters off the surface the drone started acting funny and was drifting some without input on the controller and I didn't know why. After seeing this video if I had I raised the drone up to the same height as I had at the beach before flying out I may not have had those problems. I ended up just doing a very short flight off the pier and landed it manually back on the pier.

[@SavageAirCinema]

Also, don't have a few drinks and fly the drone! haha

[@RonsWorld5]

1. Yep 2. Yep 3. No 4. No 5. Yep 6. Yep Another mistake I still make is forgetting to turn on "Record" when flying. One more is forgetting to check to see if my SD card is inserted (not preflight checking) I am getting better, tho' Great video! Thank you. 🙏

[@kmoecub]

#1 is not a issue at all if the beginner buys a drone with optical flow and obstacle avoidance. Both features are quite common now, but were not common at all when you began.

[@relentlessdroning5835]

Big rule that cost me a Phantom 3 camera - monitor your battery state vs your "home" location. When your battery runs low and triggers return to home, drone rises to a preset RTL altitude, smashing into tree branches above it :) Or your RTL altitude is not high enough for the objects (trees/buildings) around you.

[@birdynumnum3473]

I am a new casual drone operator and wanted to say your video was very helpful and offered very credible tips. Thank you🙂

[@jessiepayne737]

Not only beginners but experienced pilots need to review. Thanks for a job well done.

[@mr.e.2001]

Thank you Russ, as a new pilot, do you mind if I copy your list? Great video!!!

[@julianmclean3869]

Well done Russ!; great tutorial on what to be aware of!; I would add 1 x extra; practice the orientation / reverse sticks movement when the the Drone is facing you; left is right, right is left!!!; a lot of Pilots over input on the sticks when they realise the Drone is going in the opposite direction and Bam! into the tree, building etc !!!

[@RandomPickles]

Rule 6 is not logical. If I live on a farm, flying below 400 feet on my own property, there will be no planes flying by, no wires, no other drones, no anything! and I would know the land entirely. It is a great rule in an urban area sure, or unkwon grounds,but severely and unnecessarily restrictive in other situations.

[@dotslashsatan]

It’s private property so ignore it

[@jimcrossland3575]

Why not take the flying drone test it's free and very intuitive and lasts for 5 years it's a no brainer

[@hummerzdca]

You’re My #1 source of Drone Flying Common Sense! THANK YOU! As a retired C-5 Flight Engineer who can’t fly anything anymore, this is my new revelation return! I miss the flying that much! I now have more than a few friends who are interested in flying too, and you’re my referral for everything from pre-purchase to after. What to learn FIRST which ultimately helps determine the drone they buy. THANK YOU!

[@NorthsideHawk]

Nice work and great tips Russ, with your videos and others that I watched over the last two years. I don’t break any of these rules

[@WineWorldTV]

I've always done the bonus tip. Same for recording other videos from my phones. I do have a pre-flight checklist....kinda. It's not on paper or my phone. I'll say that I've missed a couple things here and there, really just camera settings, but I see it immediately. The one that almost ended in disaster was power lines. I was flying over a lake, ok a really wide river, at an altitude of 200 feet or maybe even higher. I could see these power lines over the river. I though I had flown just before them, but when I looked at the footage, I had actually flown over them at maybe 5 feet above them. It was definitely a close call.

[@realwildman]

Wow, I've done 4 of those 6 things, and I've only been flying 8 months. Flying indoors, now most of my indoor flying has been has been FPV with a micro whoop. Forgot about the power lines, crashed and broke my drone. I was quite happy with DJI repair service. I been BVOLS before I even know what that was. I've also done the no checklist, get flying and find I forgot the SD card at home! All great tips.

[@colinwatkins2950]

the only drawback about the dji mini 3 pro is you cant keep it in line of sight its that small, i cant see my drone when it passes 80 yards.

[@kevindarkstar]

The indoors thing is not so bad with optical flow, providing you have enough light 😊

[@RichardKauffman]

Thanks for the checklist. After years of cheap drones, I finally bought a real one and your videos are great.

[@JCtheMusicMan_]

As always, excellent tips! One of the most important skills I learned from pilot training is developing a logical sense of self awareness over my thought processes. If I ever think, don’t worry I’ve got this, or watch this, those are usually famous last words 😅😁❤

[@cardbored_]

This is honestly good advice to keep us all humble

[@shoop4040]

Wouldn't it be great if the Dji app or 3rd party app can mark power wires in red color to see on the display and avoid-

[@RESISTAGE]

that's awesome idea but that's a lot of mapping to do. don't think it'll ever be implemented.

[@antoniomartins2502]

1 - Flying indoor on the first day? Done it and crashed it. 2 - Flying over water? Done it and crashed twice (First time half submerged second time all submerged for around 10 minutes. Still working, thank god) 3 - Trusting intelligent flight? Done it. First time I made a auto fly up and away crashed into a tree... survived. 4 - Power lines? Haven't done this one... yet. 5 - Check list. Working on one. 6 - Flying in VLOS. I try to folow it. Watching your video just made me think that I should have seen it long ago, when I bought my c-fly faith 2. Keep up the good work. Love your videos.

[@jeremyboyce1537]

Hi Russ , for 6 years , you are very very knowledgeable my Man ! I can't believe it is only six years , i started in 2018 and it would take me 20 years more to get close to what you know , Amazing !!! Nice. ! Keep on Keeping On Brother .

[@g7rta40]

Excellent video. I’ve made plenty of mistakes with my drone as I’m sure many of us have 😂 One thing though.. when you talked about having a preflight checklist, you said that if you fly in sports mode and forget to change it back.. the next time you fly it’ll still be in sports mode. This isn’t the case for the Mini 3 Pro at least. I wish it was though, because I tend to use cine mode mostly but if I leave it on that mode, it always starts off in normal mode next time. I have to move the switch to normal & then back again, presumably this would be the same with sports mode? Cheers, Steve

[@datalorian]

For DJI drones specifically, sport mode will not be active when you restart the drone and controller, it will start in normal mode. It will only switch to sport mode if you switch back manually. That is the behavior of my Air2S and Mini 2 anyway.

[@SeanSullivan1958]

VLOS is definitely the #1 rule broken by not only new pilots but a huge number or experienced one. New pilots do it because they are not usually aware of the rules. Experienced pilots do it because they are bad pilots and think that rules don't apply to them. Yes, I have done it on occasion when I was new. What bothers me is that they flaunt it by posting "distance" videos on KZbin and brag about it. All fun and games till someone puts an eye out. :) You missed one common mistake though, one I made the first time I flew my Air2. Not looking up before you take off. Took off right under a tree thinking I would just fly forward and out....but being the inexperienced pilot I was I hit up by mistake and flew right into the branches. GOt lucky, only damage was a nick in one blade and one leg tip pop out but was easily poppled back on. Laugh now, but was freaking then. LOL.

[@Crush0819]

This happened to me in Mount Holyoke, and for some reason I was just flying in the screen went sideways as the drone sunk, I went back and tried to get it a few times but I had no luck at I’m picking at the bottom blindly. I’ve even thought about buying a submarine drone but it was the first Mavic mini, so may it rest in peace

[@rickhungerford124]

Thanks for the tips I am a pretty new drone pilot and I do the thing with the sd cards now I bring them into my computer and have a directory for drone stuff and I found out about the power lines yesterday I thought I was high enough as these are 90 feet high, but I took off my add on landing gear on my mini 3 pro and nothing else happened, I was very lucky. I now check the height with my drone way back from them and also sometimes with my hunting range finder. Ha Thanks Again.

[@flipmode00]

Great tips and the only drone I fly inside is the toy drone, to get more practice

[@daryllarsen8858]

I've been doing the bonus tip since I starting flying in 2015. That drone used a Gopro for the camera which I'd already been using for a couple of years prior to getting a drone so the habit was already well established. As you can imagine, I have a sh*t ton of archived videos on multiple hard drives going back a decade. 🙂

[@carlupthegrove262]

I violated the VLOS rule, plus I was flying on a low battery (Mini 3 Pro) and almost lost my drone forever. It finally came down on a rooftop and luckily it was close enough to the edge that, using Find My Drone, I saw it. So I'm all in on your recommendations. Great channel, I'm now a subscriber

[@jakenotfromstatefarm]

I swear my Skydio 2 is attracted to telephone wires lol

[@CharlesWatson13]

8:59 I love how a vast majority of KZbinrs say this and then go fly out of sight.

[@frankstone]

Just wanted to add my 2 cents in support of being very careful flying under reflective surfaces. In my case it wasn't over water but on a sunny day over a field of new snow. Keep your drone above 30 feet and you should be fine. I also suggest not tilting the camera downward for a 90 degree look at the snow. The sensors need to see contrasty surfaces.

[@dotslashsatan]

Thanks for the tip I’m about to take mine out in snow. Would you recommend disabling detection under snow?

[@SC515]

So so true. Ugh

[@Leonardokite]

One thing about VLOS, one would think the manufacturers would make their drones some bright easy to see color instead of gray. Gray really doesn't help with visual line of sight.

[@51Drones]

Yes!

[@Wrang15]

Paint works for me.

[@YellowRoseDrones]

That's one of the reasons why I put bright yellow skins on all of my DJI drones. Of course the main reason, is to match the color to my drone business name.

[@karlbecker8775]

With reference to the pre-flight checklist, I'll give you another reason. On my previous outdoor flight, I had the RTH altitude set at 100' to avoid the trees in the area. The next weekend, I had family over. It was raining, but they wanted to see the drone. I suspect you know where this is going. I was flying inside, distracted by all the stuff going on around me. Instead of manually piloting the drone to a safe location and landing, I selected RTH. It immediately flew straight up into the ceiling of my living room. No serious damage done, but had I gone through the settings ahead of time, I would have caught that.

[@DRONIXAR]

Nice 🔄⭕🔄 , see you next :)

[@ulven75]

So very good video, think i have been into most of them examples myselfe, (i´ve been flying drones since 2013) but learned of them too. Make yourselfe som prechecklist and follow them. there is a reasen why airline pilots have checklists.. and, fly with "better safe than sorry" in your mind. :-) happy flying...

[@seaghostkilla]

Download from memory tip is a really good one. Lost my drone in the water and lost alot of great footage!! 😢😊

[@weirdmark]

Russ, I had just bought a SD Card for my Phantom then watched this video and it was one you recommended. Well since then I got and Avata so I just got two cards from your link. I really enjoy your videos. (PS don't spend it all in one place🤦‍♂)

[@TheAshantidutch]

Hi great thanks for the tips, have purchased a cheeper older drone for over water shots and got pontoons for the drone so it can land on water if needed, still its not a water drone. thanks again. Neville

[@51Drones]

Nice!

[@rogerhargreaves2272]

Remember, a good Pilot is always learning. Regards from Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 U.K.

[@TheDIYDrivewayMechanic]

Omg I was using my Inspire 2 at the fairgrounds dirt track to do a pre-flight practice before the races. While flying using the FPV camera I didn't/couldn't see the ONE power line and all of a sudden POP! Sparks fly and my drone goes down! Thank goodness for insurance!

[@PaulTomblin]

I feel like I've made most of these mistakes (and a few more) in less than 3 months of flying. It's taken me five attempts to get a video of me cross country skiing at my favourite resort because 1) didn't check if I had enough battery, and didn't check whether the winds aloft at RTH height were too high, 2) gust of wind crashed my drone into a tree while trying to set it up, 3) forgot to start the video, 4) started the video, but then the big video button on the top of the RC controller got pressed while tucking the controller into my jersey. On the fifth try, I finally got everything except I had the drone too high and it tapped a skinny little branch and crashed.

[@51Drones]

Ha! It will get better each time you fly

[@blacksheepdino]

Great videos Russ, keep up the good work. My 2 cents worth on the SD cards-I've purchased four SanDisk cards from Amazon (same specs as you refer to) and used in two drones. DJI FPV and Mini 3 Pro. Both state "SD card too slow". I purchased 2 new ones from Samsung and they work perfect. Could I be getting counterfeit cards from Amazon?

[@JCRUZONE993]

I hit a power-line with my mavic pro a few years ago during a snowy morning …took me a while to find the drone but never found the camera of it …was able to add a new camera 🎥 though …

[@JonR35]

My a2s and a2 and mini 2 defaults to norm mode even if in sport when I start it and fly I have to go back to norm then sport. Maybe it was an update after you did it

[@MrMesospheric]

Aboslutely top-notch video, presented in a very nice way. None of the usual amateur dramatics and machismo. Most welcome. Above all, never trust the automation and always be in direct control.

[@BlairAir]

I flew my brand new Mavic Air 2 about 30 inches (less than 1 meter) over a reservoir out almost a mile. I also flew it backwards while doing this until OA Beeps made me yaw around to see a huge tree branch out over the water. Never realized how badly that could have gone until later.

[@mtmccornack]

Adhearing to VLOS will suddenly make a lot more sense after you've lost your video stream to your controller a couple of times... never happened on my first Air 2s, but it definitely can happen on my current setup.

[@MrRaymond1021]

Russ, I can't open the file after I downloaded it? I'm talking about the check list. I don't know if it's because I'm using my cellphone? Maybe I should try it on my personal computer, but I wanted to hear from you before I go ahead and do that. Thanks again for sharing. 👍👍👍

[@beach-time]

In New Mexico when a Thunderhead cloud moves over you, there is very strong winds Very strong. I was in my backyard my drone was flying about the same height as the rain gutter on my house and the wind came up out of nowhere. What I never realized was these winds have a huge updraft quotient. Yup, my drone shot up 100 - 150 or so. No hope of pulling the throttle stick back to bring it down. Last I saw it was cruising off into the the desert plains at what looked like 30mph or better. getting higher and higher in the sky.

[@Stefan_Boerjesson]

Please go on with a follow up! The last mistake has not been done yet! Looking back to the lessons prior to the private pilots license reading aircrash reports was a recommended part.

[@SunriseWaterMedia]

Wow, Master Airscrew was very generous to you! Nice!

[@51Drones]

Great company!

[@dollyclimacospov2093]

Hi Russ, can I have a screenshot of your pre-flight checklist, if you are willing to share. Thank you.

[@jameshoward8609]

With the way the Mini Pro 3 flies not breaking #6 is sure hard to do. You can fly by FPV and it is like guiding a camera view in a 3D modeling program on the computer. If your not careful you can forget you are flying a remote drone.

[@GapRecordingsNamibia]

Hi Russ, could you make a template of your pfl's (pre and post) and also hardware checklist? I'm looking to invest in a mini 3 pro, out in my neck of the woods our FAA who is (NCAA) is not that strickt yet, but I would rather be prepaired and maybe do above and beyond what they expect to keep myself safe and out of hot water. Not only that, but, that is a VERY expencive purchase for me sub 40K in my money, I have a spark so not a total novice but have crashed and repaired to the point where I am looking to get a bit more serious about arial videography and photography. Thanks in advance.

[@BommeltjeNL]

6 years, it's been a journey Russ from the start there with you. I live in a no-fly zone in the Netherlands and sometimes I practice on a field near my home, just to keep in shape as a pilot. There are plans to close the airbase near me and then the no-fly becomes a fly zone. Can't wait to finally film my own town and surroundings (still have the trusted Mavic Pro). Might even buy me a new drone than 😛

[@51Drones]

Alright!

[@thedoctorwho73]

​@@51Drones lol. Just alright 😅

[@KTHKUHNKK]

I doubt if you'll reply to this but anyway I too have had my share of crashes. I understand line-of-sight perfectly. Tell me why it is that manufacturers manufacture drone that can go 2. 3. Even 4 what gives.?

[@mavicair2s4]

top

[@seanhenry4601]

Is there an app or document that you would recommend for preflight checklist?

[@lordmater]

Sir, can you recommend the best place to study for part 107? Thanks for any suggestions.

[@ploc439]

I was in Pigeon Forge Tennessee with my Air 2s. I was flying over a creek when my friend ask me how fast it would go. Like you I showed off hit a tree and it fell in the creek.

[@51Drones]

Oh crap!

[@oldguyonacouch7216]

Some good points Russ but at 7:35 in your video you said it would start back up in sport mode. Well maybe other DJI drones might but my Air 2S will by default always restart in N mode no matter where the switch is set at (Cini or sport) Just thought I would let you know this.

[@SunriseWaterMedia]

I noticed that as well. At first, I thought something was wrong.... I guess it's a feature.

[@imani1612]

What is a good laptop to use that can process 4k to 5k video and photo for the best quality? Also keeping in mind the ram size...for just starting out, mind you I haven't any money I just have a mini pro3 and android z fold 4 using the inshot app paid service

[@adamsroy2702]

Hi Russ if you have to many cd cards send me some lol thank you very much for you great videos agsin

[@badGamr]

Nice video. I started flying in 2014. I have never made any of these mistakes. The only person I ever showed my drone to is my wife when I taught her how to fly.

[@Legendpilot]

Good info Russ! A note about leaving the aircraft in sport mode: When powering back up, the aircraft will be in normal mode no matter the switch position in most DJI drones. You'd have to cycle the switch to get back to sport mode.

[@whereintheworld333]

Thank you!

[@Stefan_Boerjesson]

Thanks for the none GPS flight warning! Following a train through a tunnel ought to be difficult, and dangerous for the drone. Don't worry, I know it's illegal during most circumstances. Aha, water can be tricky and dangerous. It swallowed my E58 drone when the wind took over during landing.