Hello all, another new member. Really looking forward to ‘meeting’ and learning from other members.
I’m totally new to drone flying and very green around the gills so if I ask silly questions please bear with me.
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I’m new here also though I’ve been flying DJI drones for 7 years. We all were green when we started. Watch all the YouTube videos you can and read the manual.Start in a wide open area and just go slow. Enjoy and welcome to the forum 
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Welcome to the forum! 
There’s no such thing as a silly question. Everyone starts from the start 
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Thank you both. I appreciate your kind words. I like the phrase, everyone starts from the start 
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Welcome from the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, USA.
Since you live in the UK, there are specific laws and rules for you to follow, please check to ensure these are current.
https://register-drones.caa.co.uk/
Even if you have flown Drones before, here is some Good Old Fashion Advice…
You paid a lot of money for that Drone, put your phone number on it. If your drone gets lost or stuck in a tree and it finally comes down when you are not around, give the finders an opportunity to contact you so it can be returned.
Now, for the Fun Part, But do not let the excitement of the moment get the best of you. When you are going out to fly, do it slowly and deliberately. Get used to a set procedure and even practice it.
There are so many things I could write but these are the highlights that I feel need mentioning.
Plug in your phone/tablet into your controller; turn on the Controller and DJI Fly App (if it does not start on its own…). On the Drone, open the front legs, then open the back legs, and then remove the Gimbal Cover.
The Gimbal is the most delicate item on the Drone and banging or bumping can damage it. I also fastened a short “Remove Before Flight” ribbon to the cover so it’s more noticeable and I do not forget to remove it…
Turn on the drone and watch it come to “life.” Watching the Gimbal go through its self-check is almost like watching a puppy or kitten opening its eyes for the first time…
Place the drone down (preferably on a Landing Pad) while it finishes its self-test (collecting satellites, etc…).
Check your battery status (Phone, Drone, and Controller), check the Signal Strength, by now the Controller should have reported it updated the Home Point.
Lift off, 6 feet (2-meters) or so, hover a bit, check the controls (move the drone a bit forward, back, left, right, yaw left and right). By now, your Controller will probably report again, “Home point Updated.”
If you go out in a rush and race thru your start up and take off before the drone has finished it prep, it may update its Home Point over that pond or that old tree you are flying over and in your excitement, you’ll fly the drone long past it Low Battery point and when it engages Return to Home and lands in the pond or in a tree; it will be all on you…
Now go have fun, learn to fly the drone by sight before you try to fly it out a distance depending on the video feed, FPV.
I would also advise you to use YouTube and watch a lot of the Videos on flying and setting up the Drone. When it is too dark, too cold, or too wet, you can “fly it vicariously” through YouTube. Also watch some of the Blooper Drone Videos and learn how not to fly your “New Baby.”
Tell us what you are flying and we might be able to hook you up with some great links…
Fly On and Fly Safe…
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Thank you very much, some very good advice there LoudThunder.
It’s the DJI Mini 3 Pro that I hope to fly well. Some of your advice I’m taking already. The CAA code and getting the OP ID and taking it a step at a time. Very many YouTube videos have been watched and digested, some more than once. I have no doubt that I’ll be watching them for some time to come.
I expect that the fun part will start when I relax a little but I’m mindful that could be a time when I might trip myself up and get a little careless.
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LadyC,
Good to hear you are doing all the legal stuff. Also be sure to watch the Blooper YouTube Videos so you can learn from other people’s mistakes…
Below is the link to all of the downloads offered by DJI for the Mini 3 Pro, including the User Manual.
After you read the Manual, read it again, you will be surprised what you missed the first time and you will be better prepared for that first “scary moment…”
Fly Safe and have lots of fun.
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I shall be sure to take your advice. I used another of your tips today and one that I hadn’t thought of and that is putting my phone number on the side of the drone. My CAA registration number is on the top.
I bought the drone on the 12th Sept and took advantage of a special offer on the 12 month DJI care package. However, I missed the 48 hour deadline for registering because I was so absorbed in playing about with settings, watching videos etc. When it came to registering yesterday it wouldn’t accept it so, long story short, I ended up getting in touch with DJI and after I’d proved ownership with the serial number and purchase receipt they activated it for me. Kudos to DJI.
I also bought the Care Refresh when I bought my drone and about 4-months later, a tree branch “reached” out and grabbed my Mini 2, it fell to the ground, actually onto a rural dirt road. As I ran to get my drone, a truck came down the road and I could see the driver looking at me as I ran in the direction of my drone. Actually, at that moment, I did not know the drone had fallen onto the road. I spend some time trying to find the drone in the tree. The “Find my Drone” was not working, and then I saw it, it was lying on its back in the road, its beige color was almost the same color as the sand and the road also had leaves and sticks on it so I do not believe the truck driver ever saw it. It was crushed, the truck ran right over it and the battery was only about half its normal thickness.
I contacted DJI by email and within 1-hour, I had the prepaid return label to ship it back. Within one week, I had a new Mini 2 and battery. But that new drone did develop problems about a month later and they replaced it quickly under warranty and even shipped me a free battery for my trouble… When my year was about to run out, I bought the care Refresh plus for a second year of coverage…
Final advice, in a large, tree-free field, learn to use and even test the Return to Home capability and set it the way you want: Hover, Land, or Return to Home (most chose this…). Remember, the drone must be at least 20-meters from home for it to work… And then test your Find My Drone. Fly your drone out a ways, land it then activate the Find My Drone. It’s not all that loud and the lights are barely visible in the daylight…
Have Fun!
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That’s what I call good service and reassuring for those of us who have bought the package.
Reading your post I felt your pain. I’m dreading the day that something similar happens to me.
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