I purchased my Q500 4K in October of 2016. I live about a mile from a small airport and have never flown my drone at my home. I have always driven outside the 5 mile FAA limit to fly. I always fly under 400ft AGL and always line of sight. In November, 2016 I was coming in to land from about 80ft and at 60ft a propeller flew off and the Q500 hit the ground in less than 2 seconds (3 propellers still spinning). My life flashed before my eyes. I was on a beach with no one else around so the only damage was to the drone and my ego. The CGO3 camera was ripped off and the airframe was mangled. I picked up the pieces, ordered an airframe and other parts an completely rebuilt the Q500. It took 7.5 hours. I have flown it many times since without incident. Yuneec's owner's manual states that you should not over-tighten the propellers. Don't believe them....always over-tighten the propellers.
I was at a July 4th parade this summer with about 10,000 other folks, 1 mile from the airport, and there was an Inspire and a Phantom zipping up and down the street directly over the crowd of people and small children! I located the Inspire pilot and convinced him to land. I couldn't locate the phanboy.
I studied for the part FAA part 107 and passed on September 19, 2016. When studying for the test you will realize that it is almost 100% based on safety. You will learn how to read aeronautical charts, about weather, flight safety, crew maintenance, prefight checks, proper radio procedures, airport traffic patterns and many other safety related subjects. In addition to the usual preflight check lists I have seen in these forums, you will also learn to visit
www.skyvector.com and pull up current charts, to check for, and be able to decipher notams at
Federal Aviation Administration: NOTAM Search, to read metars and be aware of MOAs and TFRs. These steps are required by federal law before every flight.
At the suggestion of my local airport I purchased an ICOM air transceiver (radio) that helps me to monitor aircraft in my flight area. I have a few apps. the B4UFLY app from the FAA is very important because it lists all airports and heliports in your flight area and lets you know if you are required to notify them of your flight plans. Most other maps and apps do not list heliports. I also check the HOVER app to obtain a KP index. There is also a military training route in my area. Military planes along this route can fly in access of 300 knots and as low to the ground as they wish. They must publish their intent to fly at least two hours prior and this information is also listed in the notams.
I received my new Typhoon H a couple of weeks ago and am loving it!
Did you ever notice that the first question people ask you about your drone is "How far out can you go?" and "How high can you go?".....I doesn't matter because, by law, you must fly in line of sight and below 400ft AGL. You not only must be able to see your drone, but you must be able to determine the attitude (orientation) also.
Please fly as safe as you possibly can and help keep our hobby and profession going.