Holy Cow!

[Rick M]

Congratulations! I hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine.

I would suggest you don't give up completely on the X8. It doesn't have to be either/or, and you may find that (in high rate) you still can have fun flying it. I have a Syma X5 that I still take out in the front yard frequently and bash around the neighborhood.

 

[Jackson]

Have fun yanking and banking that new Phantom![/QUOTE
They are good for that. LOL

 

[Rick M]

Point taken, Jackson. I'm guessing if yanking and banking was the aim, he would have gone a different direction.

 

[ArmyVet]

"Yank and bank" is better than "turn and burn"
But then, I was just saying have fun in an old aeronautical term.
Have fun

 

[pdmike]

Nervous time for just a moment. I paid an extra $39 for 2-day delivery. To me, that means two days from the date I place the order and pay the money. I placed the order on Thursday. Yesterday (Saturday) came and went and no drone. To make matters worse, I went to the Web site, and now it said the particular Phantom 4 I was purchasing was sold out. When I ordered it, they said they had 20 of them. Now, I really started to worry because they had never sent me a confirming email with a tracking number and, of course, they weren't open on weekends, so I couldn't phone anyone. BTW, I am buying it through an outfit called Rakuten which appears to be an online dept. store similar to Amazon.

This morning (Sunday) I finally got an email from them. "Your order has shipped"!! Whew! It seems their idea of two-day delivery means two days from date of shipment, not two days from date of order. Oh well - at least it wasn't sold out and I can wait another two days.

 

[ArmyVet]

Anticipation! Your getting an early Christman

 

[pdmike]

Anticipation! Your getting an early Christman

Funny - that's what my wife says.

 

[Windy]

Still a shame that you didn't have an inexpensive quad that you could have learned to actually a fly.
As an old guy one reason I wanted a quad was to work on my eye hand coordination. As they say, use it or lose it. There is a certain sense of accomplishment when things finally 'click.'

I have flown helicopters in the past and spent hours learning to hover. Now I am 71 and I don't care to fly. I built a drone and went with a Pixhawk control so it can largely fly itself.

 

[pdmike]

You. You need to put it into high rate/speed to deal with wind. Look on the TX LCD just left of the battery meter. It will either show L (low) of H (high). It always starts in L, hit the left shoulder to get it to H.

In the first place, there is no LCD of any kind on my TX. There is just an on/off button with 2 joysticks, one on each side. I have a second, more powerful TX that I sent for that does have an LCD display on it, but I don't see anything in the LCD display that comes close to what you are describing, i.e., L or H speed rate. There is a "Mode" indicator in the LCD display. Could that be what you are referring to?

EDIT NOTE: Aha! I am looking at the User Manual, which is quite good as instruction manuals for drones go. There is a section called: Fast/Slow Speed Function. Basically, it says the drone's default speed function is Slow. In order to engage Fast, you must press down on the right joystick and hold it down until you hear two beeps. That's probably what we are talking about here, right? I don't think I have ever done that so, next time out with the Syma, I'll give it a shot.

Thoughts or comments?

 

[pdmike]

I have flown helicopters in the past and spent hours learning to hover. Now I am 71 and I don't care to fly. I built a drone and went with a Pixhawk control so it can largely fly itself.

You're just a kid. I turned 78 a week ago, and I'm just taking up flying. Funny how life goes, isn't it?

 

[Rick M]

Arrrgh. The X8SC has the new version controller with no LCD display and no trim switches. Try short-pressing the right stick. One beep = low rate. Two beeps = high rate.

 

[ArmyVet]

I have flown helicopters in the past and spent hours learning to hover. Now I am 71 and I don't care to fly. I built a drone and went with a Pixhawk control so it can largely fly itself.

Kudos to you on the Helicopters. If you flew them I am jealous. RC or full scale I built an RC one many years ago. Got to the point I could get it up and hover and fly for very short distance. Then said this is no fun! Too stressful. Sold

I am glad the Army turned me down for Flight School due to my eyes. Not to mention the lifespan of Huey Pilots back then...ughh.

Have fun!

 

[pdmike]

Arrrgh. The X8SC has the new version controller with no LCD display and no trim switches. Try short-pressing the right stick. One beep = low rate. Two beeps = high rate.

Check my edit note in my reply to Jackson.

 

[Rick M]

Sounds like you got it. In high rate you will have more pitch, roll, and yaw response and will be able to fly much more effectively in some wind.

 

[pdmike]

The Phantom arrives tomorrow. I am going to take my time about flying it. Intend to read the manual, watch a lot of YouTube videos and get as familiar as possible with it before taking it out for first flight. In the meantime, I will continue to fly the Syma as much as possible.

 

[Jackson]

https://phantompilots.com/forums/phantom-4-discussion.107/

 

[pdmike]

Developments. The company I ordered the P4 from was unable to deliver it. Wasted a solid week of my time. That order has been canceled and I have re-ordered it from Amazon (at some $30.00 less than the cost of it from the first outfit). Delivery by 12-13, says Amazon. We'll see . . . I have found Amazon to be quite reliable.

I'm a little apprehensive about one thing, however. The P4 I ordered from the first outfit was a "Refurbished" one at a cost of $799.00. I assumed the reduced price was because of its "refurbished" status. The one I just ordered from Amazon does not say refurbished - and the price is basically the same, in fact, a little less. Am I getting a new one or a refurbished one from Amazon. I suspect its going to be a new one, since it doesn't say it's refurbished, but the price similarity gives me pause. Any thoughts?

I'm really preparing for its arrival, BTW. Let's see - already ordered are: prop guards and extra batteries (2). I also picked up an iPad Mini onto which I have downloaded the P4Go app. Oh yes, a sun shade for the iPad Mini as well. All I need now is the drone itself. Next Wednesday ....

 

[Rick M]

Glad you found a plan B. I would expect it to be a refurb unit at that price as well, but if so it would say so. Definitely spend the next few days doing your homework on the DJI Go4 app, settings and configuration, calibrating compass & IMU's, etc.

 

[pdmike]

Glad you found a plan B. I would expect it to be a refurb unit at that price as well, but if so it would say so. Definitely spend the next few days doing your homework on the DJI Go4 app, settings and configuration, calibrating compass & IMU's, etc.

Yes, I already have viewed several Go4 app tutorials. You really have to have the drone itself in order to follow along on the tutorials, but I can still learn a lot from watching them. I'll have plenty of time - I'm off week after next. I live very close to the Rose Bowl, which is an excellent venue for flying drones. Once I feel ready, I'm taking the P4 up there. I'm also not giving up on the Syma, by the way, and will be flying it this weekend.

 

[Rick M]

Yes, I already have viewed several Go4 app tutorials. You really have to have the drone itself in order to follow along on the tutorials, but I can still learn a lot from watching them. I'll have plenty of time - I'm off week after next. I live very close to the Rose Bowl, which is an excellent venue for flying drones. Once I feel ready, I'm taking the P4 up there. I'm also not giving up on the Syma, by the way, and will be flying it this weekend.

We're almost neighbors. I live in the Inland Empire.