DroneNewbie2023 avatar
DroneNewbie2023

How do you fly a drone for the first time?

I just received my first drone -- a Holy Stone HS720E -- as a gift and I am both excited and nervous about the first flight. I do not want to crash it immediately. What should I know before I take off? Is there a first-flight checklist I should follow? What are the most common beginner mistakes to avoid?

beginner first flight how to fly drone tips pre-flight checklist

5 Answers

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143
HobbyistHank avatar HobbyistHank Best Answer

Congratulations on the HS720E -- great first drone. Here is the complete routine I give every first-time pilot:

Pre-flight checklist (do this every session)

  1. Charge fully: Fly only on a full battery. A partial charge during your first flight adds unnecessary stress.
  2. Inspect propellers: Look for cracks, chips, or bends. A damaged prop causes wobble and can lead to a crash. Replace any questionable blades before flying.
  3. Check the weather: Beginners should stay grounded in sustained wind above 15 mph. Open a weather app and check wind speed at your flying location.
  4. Check for flight restrictions: Download the FAA's B4UFLY app or use AirMap. Make sure you are not in restricted airspace. Near airports, national parks, or crowded areas requires authorization.
  5. Calibrate compass: If you are flying in a new location, calibrate the compass following the drone's manual procedure. This prevents erratic GPS behavior.
  6. Wait for GPS lock: After powering on, wait until the indicator light shows full GPS lock (typically a solid green or slow blink depending on the model). Do not take off until GPS is locked.

First flight procedure

  1. Find a large open area -- a park field or empty parking lot works well. No trees within 50 feet.
  2. Place the drone on a flat surface, power it on, connect the controller, connect the app.
  3. Wait for GPS lock confirmation in the app.
  4. Throttle up slowly until the drone lifts to about 2-3 feet. Stop and hover there.
  5. Do not move yet. Just hover and feel the controls for 2-3 minutes. Learn what a stable hover looks like.
  6. Make small forward movements, then bring it back. Small side movements. Small rotations. Keep the drone within 10 feet at all times for the first session.
  7. Land by descending slowly. The HS720E has auto-land, but practice manual landing too.

Emergency procedure

If the drone drifts unexpectedly or you lose orientation: let go of the sticks immediately. GPS drones like the HS720E will hold position on their own. Reorient yourself, locate the drone, then bring it home at low speed.

Check Holy Stone HS720E Price on Amazon

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58
SkyPilot_Dave avatar SkyPilot_Dave

The single biggest mistake beginners make is going too high and too far too fast. On your first flight, altitude and distance are your enemies -- not because of any danger exactly, but because distance and altitude make orientation recovery much harder when something goes wrong.

My suggestion for the first session: hover at waist height -- about 3-4 feet -- and practice only these four movements:

  • Forward and back (push/pull left stick on Mode 2)
  • Left and right (left/right right stick)
  • Slow rotation (yaw left and right)
  • Slow ascent and descent

Do not try to combine movements yet. Just pure single-axis inputs until they feel automatic. After 10-15 minutes of that, your muscle memory starts forming and you can start combining movements on session two.

Keep the drone no more than 15 feet from you during session one. You want to be able to physically walk to it in three seconds if something goes wrong.

27
CasualFlyer_Lisa avatar CasualFlyer_Lisa

Check whether your HS720E's app has a beginner mode -- most Holy Stone drones include one. Beginner mode caps the maximum speed and sometimes limits the maximum distance and altitude. This is genuinely useful for the first few sessions because it gives you time to learn without the drone doing something surprising at full speed.

I kept beginner mode on for my first two weeks. When I finally turned it off, I was surprised how much faster the drone felt even on medium settings. Starting slow is not a crutch -- it is just smart.

Also: read the entire quick-start guide before you do anything else. It takes 15 minutes and tells you things about your specific model that generic advice misses, like which lights mean what and how to initiate the return-to-home function.

14
AerialMike_TX avatar AerialMike_TX

Wind awareness deserves more emphasis than it usually gets in beginner guides. A 10-12 mph breeze that feels completely mild to you can push a 500g drone significantly, and smaller drones even more so. The HS720E is reasonably capable in light wind, but you will fight it every step of the way if you fly in gusty conditions early on.

My rule for new pilots: check the sustained wind speed on a weather app before every session. Under 10 mph is ideal for learning. 10-15 mph is manageable once you have some control confidence. Over 15 mph, stay on the ground until you have 10+ hours of flight time.

Early morning and evening tend to have the calmest conditions. Midday often brings the most turbulent air, especially in summer.

38
GearReviewer_Tom avatar GearReviewer_Tom

A few underrated tips that do not appear in most beginner guides:

  • Stand with your back to the sun: Glare will destroy your ability to track the drone. Sunglasses are not optional -- you will be looking up constantly.
  • Never fly over people or animals: Even a small drone falling from 30 feet can cause injury. Keep bystanders out of your flight area.
  • Land before 30% battery: Low battery warnings on budget GPS drones are sometimes delayed. The 30% rule gives you a comfortable margin to land normally instead of scrambling.
  • Test return-to-home before you need it: On your second or third session, fly 50 feet away and trigger RTH deliberately. Knowing exactly how your drone behaves makes it less scary when you use it in a real situation.

For more on the HS720E specifically, check out our thread on whether Holy Stone drones are worth it -- there is a lot of real-world experience on that model in the discussion.