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Out of beginner mode

Before now my longest flight time had maybe been 30 minutes (2 batteries worth) in the cold so yesterday was the first beautiful day to get out and fly and just get my comfort level up. Was using a PolarPro ND16/FP filter on there and the videos I watched this morning looked absolutely georgeous with the filter in place. I need to do some editing because I keep forgetting to stop the camera so there is a lot of ground action that I want to remove.

Never even seen any DNR around in the state park except once as we were leaving but if they did then I would have shut it down. There was nothing coming up saying No Fly Zone in the state park and the software me launch no problem so had nice clear area so away I went.
Most professional drone videographers suggest leaving the video camera on all the time and then leave the unused clippings on the editing room floor. This way you don’t miss anything. It really bugs me when I thought I had the camera on and later back at home I’m looking for that footage. I cannot write in this post the words that come out when this happens. ?

I like Drone Film Guide || FREE Drone Tips, Techniques & Tutorials. Video explained in simple terms.
 
I have never flown in beginner mode. My advice for any new pilot is - stay clear of the highest obstacle in your vicinity by about 10 feet and you will be fine. Usually new pilots are not very confident of sending the bird up high. But if you think of it, height is never the challenge. The real challenge is not hitting obstacles like trees, buildings, electric poles in your flight path. For semi-urban areas with not more than 2 or 3 storey high buildings, 20~25m is enough to stay clear of most obstacles. Sports mode however is a different ball game. It takes a while to get used to the fast response of the sticks, speed and braking distance of the drone in this mode. In any case, if you are high enough, you are safe. So contrary to general practice, I think newbies should start from a higher altitude, say, 40m for practice and then gradually bring the altitude down as they get used to the controls.
 
I added 3 videos to the Photo and Video section. I know the videos are a little jerky and have some flexing but that is because I keep hitting the right stick to try to turn instead of the left. This will get less noticeable the more time I get to fly. Hope everybody likes my videos.
 
I just this morning downloaded the pictures and videos off the card and watched them and yikes I came super close to trees several times.

Will try to upload some files this evening after I get home from work. After watching the videos I notice I keep hitting the right stick so I have several gimble hops where I hit the right stick probably trying to turn but overall great looking videos. Steadiness will come with more practice.
Videos are posted
 
I have never flown in beginner mode. My advice for any new pilot is - stay clear of the highest obstacle in your vicinity by about 10 feet and you will be fine. Usually new pilots are not very confident of sending the bird up high. But if you think of it, height is never the challenge. The real challenge is not hitting obstacles like trees, buildings, electric poles in your flight path. For semi-urban areas with not more than 2 or 3 storey high buildings, 20~25m is enough to stay clear of most obstacles. Sports mode however is a different ball game. It takes a while to get used to the fast response of the sticks, speed and braking distance of the drone in this mode. In any case, if you are high enough, you are safe. So contrary to general practice, I think newbies should start from a higher altitude, say, 40m for practice and then gradually bring the altitude down as they get used to the controls.

Not sure if advising virgin pilots to fly their new drone faster and higher is the way to go.

If you are a beginner start by flying in a wide open area free of any obstacles. Then your altitude and speed hardly matter. You can concentrate on learning joysticks controls and easily keep it within sight. Being able to see which way the drone is facing really helps -- especially when flying towards you and orientation is reversed.

You can't hit a tree or building that isn't there.
 
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Not sure if advising virgin pilots to fly their new drone faster and higher is the way to go.

If you are a beginner start by flying in a wide open area free of any obstacles. Then your altitude and speed hardly matter. You can concentrate on learning joysticks controls and easily keep it within sight. Being able to see which way the drone is facing really helps -- especially when flying towards you and orientation is reversed.

You can't hit a tree or building that isn't there.
If you have an open area nearby, that should always be the go to place. If not, make sure you are high and stay clear of all buildings, trees nearby. But I don't mean as high as 200 ft or 300 ft. Just for reference, near the place I stay in, if I go to an altitude of 20m, it is as good as a huge open field. That was the point I was trying to make.
 
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You'll probably want to leave it in "beginner mode" when taking off, landing, and definitely while filming video, to take advantage of the better automatic control, proximity sensors, and more deliberate / slower speed. Mine spends a lot of time in Sport mode though, since for me it's more of a fun thing to fly that happens to be able to take pictures and video too when I feel like it. It's nowhere near as fast as a racing quad even in Sport mode, but it's plenty fast enough for me. I'll usually take off and get some altitude, then switch to Sport and buzz around the park until it's time to swap batteries, and flip back to standard mode to land.
 
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