Getting the Jitters

[Big Eoin]

Hi guys and girls, I've been flying RC helicopters for a while now and I have been thinking to make the move over to drones for some time now.
I started to look at the market in February and had decided to buy a P3 however, I noticed the up and coming release of the P4 so decided to wait.
I still have not made the purchase but reading about all of the horror stories posted on here is making me very jittery! I am now left feeling very confused about my up and coming purchase .


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[Meta4]

I still have not made the purchase but reading about all of the horror stories posted on here is making me very jittery! I am now left feeling very confused about my up and coming purchase

Why is it that for so many, the "horror stories" are all that they take note of?
When you are considering horror stories, you need to do it in context.
What fraction of the user base is coming up with horror stories.
How many users have no horror stories?
To what extent are stories caused by the user's misunderstanding or error?
Realise the bias in posting on forums - people with problems post about it while happy users just go flying and don't have much to say.

There's a very commonly believed myth that Phantoms are prone to flying away.
Here's an article that helps put the myth in context:
Fear of Flying 2016 - The Last Word on Drone Flyaways! - Drone Flyers
You should consider your fears in a similar light.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Start with a P3 to minimize your investment and your risk. You can almost buy 3 of them for the price of one P4! Once your jitters are gone, if the P4 offers something worth the extra money, you'll have a solid foundation to build upon. The stock control range and the battery life of the P3's are far better than the advertised P4 specs, without mods. Also, the P3 is a mature product with plenty of mature battery and controller mods to increase flight times and control range. The P4 battery mods are still in development, although a modded P3P transmitter can also be paired with a P4. YMMV.

 

[Matt122;]

Like @GadgetGuy said above I would go with the low end model of the P3 (standard). That will minimize the amount you spent so there is less risk in case anything were to happen. The standard is the one I started with and now I feel comfortable flying. Needless to say accidents can happen, that's why I say go with a cheaper model to get used to the feel/movements.

 

[msinger]

I still have not made the purchase but reading about all of the horror stories posted on here is making me very jittery! I am now left feeling very confused about my up and coming purchase.

DJI makes great products. If you take the time to learn and understand how the Phantom works, you'll mostly likely have a good experience. Many of the horror stories posted here are chock-full of user error.

 

[mmarkoe]

I crashed and damaged several cheapo (under $150.00) quadcopters. Because of this I purchase DJI Care and was scared to fly P4 when it arrived and for two weeks read and reread manual and online postings. Also had winds of 10-15 MPH every day. Finally took it out to huge field. I was amazed when I put it up about 3 meters in high wind and it just hovered there. Slowly, I became familiar with the various movements and was super confident as just letting go of the remote controller sticks the airplane just sat there and hovered. Every day for a week, I would go out and familiarize with one feature at a time.

Last weekend, after 3 weeks of practice, I taught my 5 year old nephew to turn on RC and then P4, and through verbal guidance, he was maneuvering around a small backyard with trees.

The only problem I had was when I flew the P4 up a stream and got nervous when it was out of visual sight. Instead of using left stick to turn it 180, I backed it up and clipped a branch. Minor damage, 2 broken props and small piece of plastic broke off land strut leg. Lesson learned.
Marty Markoe

 

[r0adb10ck]

Buy the P4. This is my first quad outside of some sub $100 garbage. It's incredible. Don't let anyone talk you out of it.. No point in spending $1000 on something when the newest technology can be had for $400 more. Especially true if you are going to buy more batteries and accessories.



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[Matt122;]

Buy the P4. This is my first quad outside of some sub $100 garbage. It's incredible. Don't let anyone talk you out of it.. No point in spending $1000 on something when the newest technology can be had for $400 more. Especially true if you are going to buy more batteries and accessories.
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The Phantom 4 doesn't have the newest technology. The collision avoidance tech is in its infancy. That's the only thing that's grossly different from the P3P.

 

[John Locke]

Do not buy the P3 standard, that's my advice. Wi-Fi communications in that craft limit the distance capability. The P3P advanced or pro is a good start, those have Lightbridge, which you want to maximize distance. If money isn't important buy the p4, but the quality of the photos and 1080 and 2.7K video is very close to the same as the p3a or p3p. Get two extra batteries to start.

 

[r0adb10ck]

Again, if you want to spend $1k on something that is a year and a half old, great.

Keep in mind there are thousands of these out there without any problems. People generally post here when they have issues so it's very biased.



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[Phantom-Four]

As already said, a lot of the stories you hear are down to operator error.
Not to mention that unhappy people are vocal while happy people are flying

The P3P/A and the P4 are all great devices. There can, depending on your wants and needs, reasons to go for the P3 over the P4 but horror stories shouldn't be one of them if you familiarize yourself with the P4.

 

[Big Eoin]

Thanks everyone for your good advice on this subject. I agree that for the extra £300 it is as well spending it on the P4. I will follow the advice of learning one control at a time, this is how I learnt to fly rc heli.
Thanks again everyone .


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[BriRi]

I fly my P4 faster than any stock P3 ever has or will.... 45-50mph easy

I've flown for longer time on 1 battery without mods than any P3 has or will...26-27 minutes multiple times

I've flown farther than I need to with a stock setup just to see if I could... 20791ft... If I want I can mod my RC

DJI will continue to support both the P4 and P3 but pretty sure the majority of their focus will be the P4 and its successor, not the P3

If money is the deciding factor, get the P3. Otherwise it should be the P4.

IMHO


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[Derek Mackinnon]

I love my P4. Never had a single problem yet apart from spending money on 4 extra batteries. Get one. You won't be disappointed.


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[Bob Gresham]

Take the plunge! I've never flown anything RC before. Absolutely no problems with the Phantom 4.
The different levels of control seem like autopilot to pro levels. The thing will almost fly itself.
Keep on reading all you can, buy, then just fly! Take it easy at first, don't get too cocky and I believe you'll have a grand time.

 

[Patrick]

The Phantom 4 doesn't have the newest technology. The collision avoidance tech is in its infancy. That's the only thing that's grossly different from the P3P.

if you use OA once its worth its money. considering the cost of destroying your quad. totally disagree!

I love the P4. its a better than the P3 in every way

 

[Matt122;]

if you use OA once its worth its money. considering the cost of destroying your quad. totally disagree!

I love the P4. its a better than the P3 in every way

That's where you and I differ I guess.

 

[Patrick]

I fly my P4 faster than any stock P3 ever has or will.... 45-50mph easy

I've flown for longer time on 1 battery without mods than any P3 has or will...26-27 minutes multiple times

I've flown farther than I need to with a stock setup just to see if I could... 20791ft... If I want I can mod my RC

DJI will continue to support both the P4 and P3 but pretty sure the majority of their focus will be the P4 and its successor, not the P3

If money is the deciding factor, get the P3. Otherwise it should be the P4.

IMHO


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Ditto. Although if you look at it in another way OA is like an insurance policy to pilots and could save money if a destructive crash is avoided!

 

[Patrick]

That's where you and I differ I guess.

do you have a P3 and a P4? i think you will find a large majority of those that have both birds will agree with me.

 

[Matt122;]

do you have a P3 and a P4? i think you will find a large majority of those that have both birds will agree with me.

I've had both, actually I have multiple P4s. It's my opinion, why are you arguing?