New to Drones

[Bearau]

Hi all,
I’m new to drones and just picked up the Neo for my first go. Budget wise, I didn’t pick up the RC yet because it wasn’t in the budget, but might get it in the future. Any tips for flying with smartphone control starting out? Or things to keep in mind? Excited to try the world of drones.

 

[GFields]

Greetings from Birmingham Alabama USA, welcome to the forum! We look forward to hearing from you!

 

[sarahb]

Welcome!

 

[NEO 317]

Hello from the Crossroads of America Bearau.

Fly safe with the phone and save for a remote control.

The remote makes a world of difference but the phone will work fine for now.

I'm glad DJI updated the FLY app a while back because you could only fly it in portrait mode when the NEO was released.

Now you can flip the phone and get landscape.

It was a pain the other way on a small device.

My first few flights were low and slow as I flew with the phone and no higher than 50'.

I didn't want to take a chance of breaking the Wi-Fi connection and ....?

Welcome to the NEO Forum.

 

[Bearau]

Losing WiFi is one of my fears so I’m sure to be cautious for a while

 

[ryguy80]

Welcome!

I would get DJI Care Refresh if you haven’t already and still can. Good piece of insurance for first time flyers and since the Neo has no obstacle avoidance, you may eventually hit something and crash.

 

[NeoNeo]

Hi from the Northwoods. JMHO based on a + decade of quad flying. Neo is a nice first drone. Robust design to withstand a few hard "landings". Lower mass and speed reduces the force of the impacts. DJI stabilization in N and S modes allows for easy progression. For some "mastering" N and S modes is good enough for their wants and needs. For others Neo is a great manual (rate mode, not manual control) trainer and just fun to fly.

We all eventually hit something. Personally have crashed the Neo more times than I want to remember. So far, only damage needing repair has been 3 propellers. I fly manual mode without the top prop guard. Sometime my brain and thumbs go wonky or I just don't see the obstruction in time to react. Field of View(FOV) using the Goggles3 is relatively narrow compared to everything else I fly.

If going with goggles. As of now you will be limited to two DJI "controllers". They are actually just user input devices that transmit those stick or motion commands to either the Goggles 3 or Goggles N3. The goggles are your actual tx and rx. Bit different than the rest of the R/C world. The 2 "controllers" are the MC3 and FPV RC3. Personal bias for the traditional stick controller (RC3). Gives you the only option to fly rate mode (manual).

Attached is a screen shot just taken from the DJI website of compatible controllers.
The least expensive is the MC3, but you need to factor in the extra for the goggles which can add a significant cost.