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Is A Drone Easy To Fly?

If you are interested in buying a drone or are just curious about how they work then you are in the right place. Drones have become a lot more popular in recent years so many more people own and use them than ever have before. 

So, are drones easy to fly? 

Because of the technological advances drones have become very easy to fly and can be flown by people of all ages. Anyone who is 10+ years old should be able to handle flying a drone without any problem. The smaller the drone the harder it is to control properly as the mini drones are easy to get out of hand. A normal size drone will be pretty easy for anyone to handle. 

Drones are easy to fly, but they are also very easy to crash if you don’t know how to use them and protect them appropriately. Of course once you purchase a drone you will be very excited but taking your time to learn the controls of your new drone is vital as otherwise you are likely to crash it. 

If you want to learn some drone flying basics then you can check out the video below to get some quick helpful tips. 

There is a lot more to flying a drone than simply owning one and hitting the skies. Before you actually get to flying your drone, there are a few things you need to know about the drone itself that will help you fly it better.  Let’s talk about those things now. 

The Controls 

The controls are pretty much the most important parts of the drone, and something that you certainly cannot do without when it comes to flying your drone. So, it’s important to know how exactly the controls work individually and together. 

There are four major controls on every drone model that you can buy. Those are: 

Roll

This is the control that moves your drone left or right. As the name implies, it actually rolls your drone, and you simply need to push the right stick on your transmitter to the left or the right. Pushing the right stick to the right, for example, ensures that the quadcopter diagonally angles downwards and to the right.

Pitch

You use the  pitch by pushing the right stick on your transmitter either backwards or forwards. This tilts the done and causes a backward or forward movement.

Throttle

The throttle ensures that the propellers on your drone have enough power to actually fly up into the air. As you fly, you will need to have the throttle constantly engaged. Pushing the left stick forward will allow  you to engage the throttle while pushing it backwards causes you to disengage it (on most models). When you disengage the throttle, ensure that you do not totally disengage it until you’re only a few inches away from the ground or you may destroy your drone by dropping it from a substantial height. 

The throttle can be a bit tricky if you are new to drone use so use it in a wide open area to get used to how it functions. 

Yaw

The yaw is the last control that you will find on your drone’s controller. It is how you control your drone spinning clockwise or counterclockwise. To use the yaw you will move your left stick either to the left or to the right which will cause it to spin the opposite ways.

The Remote Control/ Transmitter 

The transmitter of your drone is a hand-held controller that allows you to pilot your quadcopter and control exactly where and how that it flies. Making an adjustment with the sticks sends an indication to your copter instructing it on what to do next.

Transmitters come in a variety of sizes and shapes, and they also come with a range of unique features. However, there are some specific parts that are the same on virtually every transmitter. 

  • Right Stick: the right stick controls the pitch and the roll of the drone and what that means is that it moves the drone forward/backwards, left/ right.
  • Left Stick: this controls the throttle and the yaw and what that means is that it adjusts your flying height as well as rotates your drone clockwise or counter-clockwise.
  • Trim Buttons: most controllers have a trim button attached to it. The first time you push your throttle to get your drone off the ground, you will probably see that the drone immediately tilts and flies to one or more directions. This is the case when the controls are not balanced, and to fix that issue and balance them you would need to trim some specific controls. If this occurs, just use the connected trim button to adjust the natural intensity of the control. This will stabilize the copter when pushing the specific controls.

Safety Precautions for When Flying a Drone

Multi-rotor drones such as quadcopters can be very dangerous if you do not use them carefully. Here are some safety precautions to keep in mind when flying your multi-rotor drone:

  • If you’re at risk of crashing into something, use the throttle gently to avoid potentially destroying your drone, injuring yourself, or injuring someone. It is always best to start off slow and then begin to work your way up to using it faster.
  • When the propellers are moving, avoid touching them with your fingers.
  • When you want to do any work on the drone, take out the battery. If it accidentally comes on and the propellers begin to spin, you will  be at a high risk of hurting yourself, and you will probably have a hard time with future flights so removing the battery is a good safety precaution.
  • If you’re learning how to fly your drone indoors, surround the drone with something soft or tie it to something so you don’t lose control and crash it into a wall or ceiling.

Guidelines for beginners

If you are brand new to flying a drone it is certainly easy but it takes some practice. There are some things that you should make sure and remember when flying your drone. 

Be patient

I know the urge to fly your new drone can be quite overwhelming and you probably can’t think of anything else. You simply can’t wait to put that drone in the air, but throwing caution to the wind can be really dangerous. If you have not gotten sufficient knowledge of flying a drone and have not ensured that the conditions are just right, make sure you do not attempt to fly your drone.

Apart from the fact that you can potentially damage the drone by being in a hurry to fly, you may also put yourself and other people at risk, not to mention the properties you may also damage. The thing is, the higher you fly, the stronger the wind you’re contending with is, and this makes it quite unsafe to get in the air without knowing just how to handle tough situations like this. Ground conditions may be just good enough for you to play around with your drone but when you get in the sky, that may not be the case at all.

It is important to take the time to learn how to properly control your drone before you take it up a long way or use it far away from you. 

Avoid obstacles like trees, power lines and light posts 

This goes without saying, but it is very important that you avoid these types of obstacles. The wind is another major obstacle that most people don’t think of when they first start out flying a drone. It is important to take the wind into account so that your drone doesn’t fall out of the sky or get blown way off course without you realizing it.

If you are flying in windy conditions it is important to know if your drone has a return-to-home (RTH) feature. If your drone doesn’t have this then flying in windy conditions can be even more difficult. 

You might be thinking you’re flying at a low altitude until the RTH feature lets you know that you’re actually flying at a very high altitude or vice versa. The RTH feature is a great addition to your drone but if it isn’t functioning properly or if your drone manufacturer didn’t do a good job in setting this up properly then the RTH function could cause you even more issues. 

Another problem that RTH poses is that a lot of drones recognize that they are at point A when home is at point B and so they head straight home.  If the drone has no obstacle avoidance sensors, then it is incredibly important to make sure that there are no obstacles between your drone and the place it calls home before you use the RTH function. 

Conclusion

Drones are relatively easy to fly but they certainly take some knowledge and a lot of practice to get good at flying them. It is important to be patient and take the time to learn how to fly your drone properly before you take it up very high or fly it a long way away from you. 

Drones are tons of fun to use and even have a lot of practical uses but taking the time to learn all of the controls and what to do in an emergency situation is well worth it.