My First Drone Flight: From Terrified to Thrilled
How I went from terrified to thrilled on my first drone flight (and why I bought one in the first place)
In July my beloved cat Paris went missing. I posted it on Facebook and much later read the comment where someone suggested hiring a professional drone company to search the prairie for her. I imagined the cost would be high, and since we have other cats too, I decided it made more sense to get my own drone. I put off ordering as the drone was expensive, but in October when another cat – Summer – went missing, I ordered the DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo (DJI RC 2). A pet tugs at your heart the way money can’t. Fortunately, Summer turned up after four days, and I was beyond ecstatic.
I was as excited over the purchase that I even taped the unboxing of the drone. My husband found an old piece of plywood and set up a simple landing board on the grass where I decided to learn everything about launching and landing.
My goal felt practical. The actual first flight felt nothing like practical.
The panic started before the propellers even spun
I stood outside with the controller in my right hand, a sheet of instructions under my arm, and my phone in my left hand. The screen said “takeoff permitted” and “home point updated.” My heart was already racing. This was brand new. What if I crashed it? What if I never got it back?
I couldn’t find the airplane symbol I expected. A search explained it was the upward arrow which I was to press and hold the C1 button.
Ummm, where was the C1 button? Another search.
When the drone lifted I screamed to my cat Vega. “It’s lifting. What do I do now?”
Vega merely walked towards the house leaving me alone to figure this out.
Letting go of the button felt dangerous. Everything looked wrong. The camera showed my feet. The gimbal wheels did their own thing. I walked around the landing board trying to line the drone up again talking out loud the whole time.
Questions and lots of shouting
Questions raced through my mind:
How do I move it left or right?
Do I leave it suspended? Will it fall?
Why is it showing my house and not the drone?
How do I land it?
I pressed things while walking in circles, talking to myself, nay shouting, totally panicking. The drone was brand new. One wrong move and it would lay broken in the gravel. To add to the chaos, I was trying to to film at the same time on my phone!
Coming Together
Finally I got the hang of the sticks – up, down, right, left – just as I use for directions on land. I sent it a little way over the gravel and into the field, then pressed the home button. It whirred as it turned, came back toward me then lowered itself precisely on to the board on the grass.
That moment changed everything. The fear evaporated and I tried again (I wanted to do a Facebook live but decided against it). The takeoff was smooth. I let it hover, moved it sideways with the sticks and brought it down.
When it landed safely the second time my joy was unparalleled. I had done it and photos and reel were saved. The drone was fine. The prairie sky, the grass and the little landing board all looked beautiful from up there.
What I learned
I bought the Mini 5 Pro because of Paris and the other cats. I didn’t expect the first flight to feel so emotional. The panic was real and the questions were constant. But having internet guidance and seeing the drone return home on its own turned the fear into pure delight.
Now I have a tool that can help look for any of our cats if they wander and most rewardingly, I now have a new gadget to capture aerial photos and videos. (How I love photography and videography.)
You can view the 55-sec short of my maiden flight on YouTube at . https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Dn4pHtmPDrc
I have a lot to still learn but the terror has been replaced by excitement.
If you’ve ever been too scared to try something new and then felt that rush of “I did it” you know exactly how this felt. Do you have an experience to share? Drop them in the comments.