If you’ve just bought your very first drone, or you’re thinking about getting one soon, this video can save you a lot of frustration. I’ve been flying drones now for over 8 years, and during that time, I’ve reviewed dozens of different drones. I’ve taught hundreds of thousands of people here on YouTube how to fly them, and yes, I have made my share of mistakes.
But looking back, there are a handful of things that I wish someone had told me before my very first flight. Simple things. These aren’t advanced camera tricks or complicated flying techniques. They’re the habits that separate confident drone pilots from nervous ones. So today, I’m sharing my top 11 tips for every new drone pilot to help you get through what I like to call the flight fever period.
Hi everyone, welcome back to the channel, and if this is your first time here, my name is Russ. So nice to have you here. Let’s get right to it.
11\. Don’t fly the day you unbox your drone
I know exactly how you are feeling. Your brand new drone just arrived, and all you want to do is throw a battery into it and get it up in the air as quickly as possible. I remember that day like it was just yesterday when I got my Mavic Pro — that’s all I wanted to do.
But trust me, don’t do that. Don’t rush it. Spend a little time getting familiar with everything while you’re still on the ground. Charge every battery, update the firmware, install the app, pair the controller, and learn where all the buttons are before you ever take off. Examine the drone thoroughly, learn how to install your ND filters, how to change propellers, how to fold and unfold the prop arms, and how to install the gimbal guard.
Every minute you spend preparing on the ground will save you 10 minutes of frustration once you’re out in the field or up in the air.
10\. Test Return to Home before you actually need it
One of the most important features your drone has is one you hope you never need during an emergency: Return to Home. Most new pilots don’t try it until something goes wrong, and by then they’re already panicking. Instead, find a large open field and intentionally test it while everything is going according to plan.
Before you test it, make sure your Return to Home altitude is set appropriately. Figure out the tallest obstacle in the area you’ll be flying — a tree, a building — and set your RTH altitude higher than that. Go into your settings, tap safety, and scroll down to auto RTH altitude. It’s better to have that number too high than not high enough.
One tip a lot of pilots don’t know: Return to Home doesn’t have to be reserved for emergencies. If you lose sight of your drone and aren’t sure exactly where it is, hitting RTH will bring it close enough for you to reorient yourself, and you can cancel it once you’ve got your bearings back.
9\. Make your first flights in a wide-open, boring space
Don’t make your first flight over a lake. Don’t make it over downtown. Don’t fly over your friends or your family. Find the biggest empty field you can — no trees or power lines, no traffic, no spectators. The fewer distractions you have, the easier it is to focus on learning the controls.
You don’t need to drive out to the middle of a fallow field, either — you’re not going to be flying that far away on your first few flights (260 feet away is probably about as far as you’ll want to go at first). Green space near a golf course, a wide-open park during a quiet time of day — that’s plenty.
Your first few flights aren’t about creating amazing videos. They’re about building confidence and getting comfortable with how your drone responds to your controls.
8\. Watch your screen, not just your drone
This one surprises a lot of new pilots. I’ll never forget bringing my DJI Spark home to my parents — my stepfather was flying it and just could not understand that he was supposed to keep his eyes on the screen. He kept looking at the drone the entire time, and it’s really hard to fly like that.
Of course you should always maintain visual line of sight, but your display is showing you information your eyes can’t see — battery level, altitude, distance, camera framing, warning messages, obstacle alerts. As you gain experience, you’ll naturally learn when to glance at the drone and when to look back down at the screen.
7\. Plan for the flight home, not just the flight out
Many times when you’re standing on the ground, the wind may not feel bad at all, but a couple hundred feet in the air it can be a completely different story. One of the biggest mistakes beginners make is flying with the wind on the way out — everything feels smooth and easy — and then fighting a strong headwind on the way back. Horizontal speed drops, battery drains faster, and sometimes the drone struggles to make it home.
Before every flight, think about the return trip, not just the trip out. Some apps can show you actual wind speed at your flying altitude. If possible, position yourself downwind from where you’re going to fly.
6\. Master the basics before you chase cinematic footage
Practice flying straight forwards, straight backwards, slowly left, slowly right. Practice slow yaw rotations, then start combining those movements into smooth circles, figure eights, and other combinations. Focus on gentle starts, gentle stops, and smooth control inputs.
The smoother your flying becomes, the smoother your footage will naturally look. Great drone footage starts with great flying, and it takes a lot of practice to get right.
5\. Learn which stick does what, one movement at a time
Figuring out which stick controls which movement is one of the most confusing parts of flying for the first time. On the default settings for most drones, the right stick handles lateral movement, forwards and backwards. The left stick yaws the drone left and right, and also controls altitude — up to climb, down to descend.
Practice each movement individually before combining them. Watch the screen, and watch the drone. Don’t touch the gimbal wheel yet — that’s something to add once you’re already comfortable flying. Trying to do everything at once is exactly what gets new pilots frustrated fast.
4\. Don’t obsess over epic footage before you’re comfortable flying
One of the biggest mistakes I see is new pilots becoming obsessed with creating incredible footage before they’re comfortable flying their drone. Don’t worry about recreating dramatic sunsets or complicated reveal shots yet. Spend your time learning your drone first. Once flying becomes second nature, you’ll be able to focus on composition, lighting, and storytelling — the things you actually bought the drone for. The drone doesn’t create beautiful footage. The pilot does.
3\. Deliberately test your safety features
Go out and try your Return to Home feature. See how obstacle avoidance behaves. Pay attention to low battery warnings and understand exactly what those messages mean. Learn how your drone reacts before you’re forced to figure it out during an actual emergency.
Set obstacle avoidance to “brake,” not “bypass,” to start. Find an obstacle — a tree, a building, a vehicle — and creep toward it slowly so you can watch it warn you and stop before contact. Practice this in every direction your drone supports, since not every drone has full 360° obstacle avoidance. Confidence doesn’t come from hoping nothing ever goes wrong. It comes from understanding exactly how your equipment behaves when something does.
2\. Manage your battery like it’s not negotiable
Never plan to land with just 1 or 2% remaining. That’s not battery management, that’s gambling. Wind, distance, altitude, and temperature all affect how much battery you’ll actually use, so leave yourself a healthy safety margin every single flight.
Don’t wait for your drone to warn you that battery is critically low before heading home — that’s when the stress and panic set in. I recommend landing with at least 15% remaining, and bringing your drone home well before you ever see that warning pop up.
1\. Slow down, and always maintain situational awareness
New pilots tend to fly fast because it’s exciting. Experienced pilots fly deliberately — slow movements create smoother footage, give you more time to react, and reduce mistakes. Ironically, the slower I’ve become as a pilot, the better my footage has gotten.
If I could leave you with just one piece of advice, it would be this: always maintain situational awareness. Your drone isn’t the only thing moving. People move, cars move, dogs and birds move, the wind and the lighting change. Great drone pilots aren’t just focused on what’s happening on their screen or up in the sky — they’re paying attention to everything happening around them. The drone eventually becomes second nature. Situational awareness is the skill that takes years to build, and the sooner you start, the safer and more confident you’ll become.
That’s my top 11 tips for new drone pilots. If you’ve been flying for a while, let me know in the comments what tips you’d add that I didn’t mention here — let’s help out the new pilots together. This is a wonderful hobby, and the best part about it is that drone pilots help other drone pilots.
Have a great day, everyone, and as always, fly safe and fly smart.
