23-Jun-2016, 03:00 AM (This post was last modified: 23-Jun-2016, 08:32 AM by BigglesFPV. Edit Reason: typo )
Hi Everyone.
I read pretty much every post made in the forum and one thing I see popping up a bit are people being a bit harsh on themselves, when it comes to their flying abilities.
I would like to assure you that you are not alone and the one thing I know for sure is that every single one of us has been there, done that.
We were all crap in the beginning.
2 left Thumbs, wandering around the radio like they are possessed. Every movement you make you suddenly panic and jam the sticks in the opposite direction and then all hell breaks loose and you find yourself running for the nearest bomb shelter.
What follows is carnage, usually to the multirotor, but quite often to some poor unsuspecting minding it's own business plant.
We immediately look around to see if anyone witnessed that pathetic attempt at flying, and if you do see someone your mind races and you try some Jedi Mind trick on them saying "It never happened, you saw nothing, move along"
If no one saw you and the NTSB crash site then all is well.....It never happened.
Then comes the hard part, convincing your partner that you need just a couple more new props, you get the ok (and even if you didn't ) you order a "couple" of spare props, a few days later your "couple" of 300 props arrive, of which you quickly hide them around the garage, back garden etc.
Then you get out there and try again, and I know what you are thinking..You scan your surrounds and make a mental note of everything around you which is a potential hazard and lock them into your brain for things to avoid, You fire up the quad and promptly crash and bash into pretty much everything you know you have to avoid.
Then comes the "Hey I just learn"t a whole heap of new swear words"
Back to the tools and more repairs all the while muttering Bloody hell *&* stupid piece of S*%t, why won't you fly damn you.
Ok, I have 2 flight sessions under my belt..Damn, I am ready to take it on. Fire up and the quad starts going into a Macarena type dance as it thrashes around the garden/park and you are like WTF?. You check the motors are all spinning correctly and start thinking stuff like "omg I have killed my FC or my esc's are dead, or or or, but only to find in your haste to get flying again you put the props on the wrong motors.. DOH!
At times you think "stuff this" and put the quad away for a while vowing never to touch it again, but that usually lasts about 3 or 4 minutes as you get all pumped again as you went looking for youtube videos of how to fly a quadcopter and got sidetracked on some video of a pilot flying low and fast through and around trees and doing flips and stuff, and suddenly you are BACK. .
The thing is, we all crash a lot. We crash harder and faster when we gain experience.(Thanks Konrad for that clarification), it is part of the whole experience, sure, we would prefer not too, but as they say "Shit Happens".
Some of you will give it up, most will push through and one day it just falls into place.
Most of entered this hobby because we have a passion for flight and it is that passion that drives us to better ourselves.
Sometimes we can get despondent because we watch all the awesome videos out there and wonder if you will ever get to that stage.
Reality is, some of us will, and some of us never will, but that does not matter, what matters is how you feel when you fly.
Stick at it and you will see progress, some days more than others, just do not give in.
I can fly much better now than when I started but am far from being even close to what some may call a great pilot, I consider myself mediocre at best, but the thing is I am having a ball when I fly, and honestly, while it is nice getting good feedback it is my own desire to better myself that keeps me motivated.
So, chin up and get out there, bust some props, practice practice practice, but mostly have fun doing it. Let me tell you, when you pull off your first full flight without a crash you cannot help yourself, you look around and this time you are hoping that as many people as possible just saw your amazing feat, and inside you are saying "Did you see that? . Try getting that grin off your face.
I read pretty much every post made in the forum and one thing I see popping up a bit are people being a bit harsh on themselves, when it comes to their flying abilities.
I would like to assure you that you are not alone and the one thing I know for sure is that every single one of us has been there, done that.
We were all crap in the beginning.
2 left Thumbs, wandering around the radio like they are possessed. Every movement you make you suddenly panic and jam the sticks in the opposite direction and then all hell breaks loose and you find yourself running for the nearest bomb shelter.
What follows is carnage, usually to the multirotor, but quite often to some poor unsuspecting minding it's own business plant.
We immediately look around to see if anyone witnessed that pathetic attempt at flying, and if you do see someone your mind races and you try some Jedi Mind trick on them saying "It never happened, you saw nothing, move along"
If no one saw you and the NTSB crash site then all is well.....It never happened.
Then comes the hard part, convincing your partner that you need just a couple more new props, you get the ok (and even if you didn't ) you order a "couple" of spare props, a few days later your "couple" of 300 props arrive, of which you quickly hide them around the garage, back garden etc.
Then you get out there and try again, and I know what you are thinking..You scan your surrounds and make a mental note of everything around you which is a potential hazard and lock them into your brain for things to avoid, You fire up the quad and promptly crash and bash into pretty much everything you know you have to avoid.
Then comes the "Hey I just learn"t a whole heap of new swear words"
Back to the tools and more repairs all the while muttering Bloody hell *&* stupid piece of S*%t, why won't you fly damn you.
Ok, I have 2 flight sessions under my belt..Damn, I am ready to take it on. Fire up and the quad starts going into a Macarena type dance as it thrashes around the garden/park and you are like WTF?. You check the motors are all spinning correctly and start thinking stuff like "omg I have killed my FC or my esc's are dead, or or or, but only to find in your haste to get flying again you put the props on the wrong motors.. DOH!
At times you think "stuff this" and put the quad away for a while vowing never to touch it again, but that usually lasts about 3 or 4 minutes as you get all pumped again as you went looking for youtube videos of how to fly a quadcopter and got sidetracked on some video of a pilot flying low and fast through and around trees and doing flips and stuff, and suddenly you are BACK. .
The thing is, we all crash a lot. We crash harder and faster when we gain experience.(Thanks Konrad for that clarification), it is part of the whole experience, sure, we would prefer not too, but as they say "Shit Happens".
Some of you will give it up, most will push through and one day it just falls into place.
Most of entered this hobby because we have a passion for flight and it is that passion that drives us to better ourselves.
Sometimes we can get despondent because we watch all the awesome videos out there and wonder if you will ever get to that stage.
Reality is, some of us will, and some of us never will, but that does not matter, what matters is how you feel when you fly.
Stick at it and you will see progress, some days more than others, just do not give in.
I can fly much better now than when I started but am far from being even close to what some may call a great pilot, I consider myself mediocre at best, but the thing is I am having a ball when I fly, and honestly, while it is nice getting good feedback it is my own desire to better myself that keeps me motivated.
So, chin up and get out there, bust some props, practice practice practice, but mostly have fun doing it. Let me tell you, when you pull off your first full flight without a crash you cannot help yourself, you look around and this time you are hoping that as many people as possible just saw your amazing feat, and inside you are saying "Did you see that? . Try getting that grin off your face.