I feel compelled to share my two cents, just my two cents for whats that worth. It's been said that flying a drone is a lot like jumping up and down on one foot, rubbing your stomach and chewing gum at the same time. Maybe a little bit. I can relate to that but maintain most of all problems could be avoided by gaining time actually flying a drone and gaining the muscle memory to address any situation in attitude, speed and ground level. Controlled flight into a fixed object is still the killer of most drones not suffering from a rare programming error or more commonly a loss of contact secondary to spurious EMR signals. Confidence will 'keep you out of trouble in almost all situations where control is not lost. My advice is simple: Buy a cheap drone before trying it out on the expensive one. Yes, that requires 'stick time' to actually fly with a drone that is forgiving and tough enough to handle crashes as they occur. They are critical for learning the mechanics of flight and most importantly: CONFIDENCE. In my case I used a much slower V-I-V-I-T-A-R 'Defender' drone that actually kept flying while I learned. It was slower yes but insanely tough! The "app" that company fielded was a total non-hacker (did not work at all) but no problem because while I didn't have a camera or video...I had to fly the darn thing. I did just that for weeks and because of that investment in time feel more than confident to fly any drone safely and without hesitation after a check ride.
Bottom line: learn to fly. Really fly. Get the crashes out of the way when the only thing on the line is your pride. Know your aircraft, do preflights and answer the tough questions before you fly. Follow guidelines to the letter and expect to be challenged when questions about safety and privacy arise because they will. The times are changing and while drone policies are being implemented, we as a community must adhere to the law and guidelines so as not to incur the wrath of the Federal govt. or overzealous activists. Its the birth of an exciting new technology that carries new potential and great promise.
Finally. I have been guilty of getting carried away as many others have. We as a community seem to be 'safety-wired' in the cynical position. What are we so afraid of? Maybe we are afraid we have been "taken" by a distant vendor or misinterpreting any and all delays as a personal affront to our intelligence and everything American, good, and wholesome. (deploy adjectives). I have learned that a more detached yet resolute approach is advisable. Calling into question the technician's family tree or legacy of birth records is probably not a productive way to go The tech support I have received has been beyond reproach in both 'making me whole' and standing behind their equipment. I simply suggest actually reading the warranty, purchase supplemental insurance if there is any doubt of your coverage and be ready to supply flight logs (and answers to the obvious questions) in a timely manner. LEARN and maybe be more objective about the support we are receiving. Just saying... there are legitimate issues many of us are encountering but using vulgarity and broad sweeping negative generalizations never motivated anyone I have ever done business with and I have done the research. The only exception might be USMC boot camp and thats another post.
Be as cooperative as you can be and realize the industry is undergoing growing pains. The success of Breeze as a drone is as much in our hands as anyone. Better to be on the team than off because as Yuneec goes, so do our drone flights we hope to make.
Good Luck.
Semper Fi
JB
Bottom line: learn to fly. Really fly. Get the crashes out of the way when the only thing on the line is your pride. Know your aircraft, do preflights and answer the tough questions before you fly. Follow guidelines to the letter and expect to be challenged when questions about safety and privacy arise because they will. The times are changing and while drone policies are being implemented, we as a community must adhere to the law and guidelines so as not to incur the wrath of the Federal govt. or overzealous activists. Its the birth of an exciting new technology that carries new potential and great promise.
Finally. I have been guilty of getting carried away as many others have. We as a community seem to be 'safety-wired' in the cynical position. What are we so afraid of? Maybe we are afraid we have been "taken" by a distant vendor or misinterpreting any and all delays as a personal affront to our intelligence and everything American, good, and wholesome. (deploy adjectives). I have learned that a more detached yet resolute approach is advisable. Calling into question the technician's family tree or legacy of birth records is probably not a productive way to go The tech support I have received has been beyond reproach in both 'making me whole' and standing behind their equipment. I simply suggest actually reading the warranty, purchase supplemental insurance if there is any doubt of your coverage and be ready to supply flight logs (and answers to the obvious questions) in a timely manner. LEARN and maybe be more objective about the support we are receiving. Just saying... there are legitimate issues many of us are encountering but using vulgarity and broad sweeping negative generalizations never motivated anyone I have ever done business with and I have done the research. The only exception might be USMC boot camp and thats another post.
Be as cooperative as you can be and realize the industry is undergoing growing pains. The success of Breeze as a drone is as much in our hands as anyone. Better to be on the team than off because as Yuneec goes, so do our drone flights we hope to make.
Good Luck.
Semper Fi
JB
