Welcome to the forum
If you have not already done so, check the CAA rules for flying UAV's.
Flying drones | UK Civil Aviation Authority
To protect yourself in the case of an accident, insurance is a good idea. e.g. (BMFA) British Model Flying Association (UK). Click on the link to view their web site :-
British Model Flying Association
It costs £33 at the time of writing.
The next thing to do is join a flying club to learn the ropes. Its more than likely there will be members only too glad to help out with advice.
You might like to try the following apps.
The first one shows UK airspace and includes NOTAMS.
UK AirspaceAVOID for Pilots – Android Apps on Google Play
And :-
No Fly Drones
If you have any questions just ask, but try doing a search first. Its more than likely it has already been asked.
If is any help, here is my preflight check list. You can adapt it to suit you. I have it hanging on to my controller and run through it before take off.
P3A PRE FLIGHT CHECK LIST
1. Fit leg extenders
2. Remove gimbal lock
3. Clean camera lens
4. Inspect propellers
5. Install propellers and tighten.
6. Gimbal not obstructed
7. Tablet to R/C cable attached
8. Tx top left switch to P-Mode (To the right)
9. Tx ON
10. Phantom ON
11. Tablet ON
12. Open GO App
13. Tap large GPS box on Go App for aircraft status.
14. Enable ‘Multiple flight mode’.
Tap Tx – Tap quad symbol - enable ‘Multiple flight mode’
15. CHECK BATTERY STATUS (Cells)
16. Check satellite status
17. CHECK A/C GREEN LIGHTS FLASHING
Check status if not.
18. CHECK HOME POINT RECORDED
19. Takeoff & Hover 30 seconds & check stability
21. Fly to 5m away and move mode switch from P to F.
22. Tap controller symbol on tablet & select HOME LOCK
23. When stable flight enter camera menu
24. Tap WHITE BALANCE and set sunny / dull
R/C EXP & Gain (0,5 - 0,4 - 0,5)
IMU values (0, 1, 1400 -1600)
AND
Here is something I discovered yesterday.
I crashed and lost the a/c and wondered if I would ever find it again.
To make it short, I lodged in a tree going backwards and as I was looking at the screen I lost contact with eyeball Mk1, but I could see on the screen that I was at an altitude of 6 feet.
I walked to the row of trees 300 feet out still looking at my screen map on the satellite view. I could see the red pointer a/c position. As I walked I saw a blue slowly moving dot and wondered what it represented. As I walked the dot moved and it dawned on me that this was the map position of the controller that I was carrying.
I walked towards the a/c symbol so that the blue dot and the aircraft symbol merged and nearly trod on the a/c in the very tall grass. It had fallen out of the tree and suffered a broken prop with no other damage.
So, I have posted this to make other pilots aware of the relationship of the blue dot and the controller since I have never seen or heard of it before. My apologies if you know about the blue dot. I didn't.
Sheer magic.
Happy flying Captain
