Hi all…
I know this is a silly question… I need some advice on losing the fly time jitters. I’m happy to fly around close. I want to fly further and higher, but I also want to make sure my drone comes back. Cheers all.
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I’ve had DJI drones for four years … they’ve always come home! 
So do you fly back or RTH
Fly, usually … sometimes use RTH … mainly for laziness rather than anything.
But using RTH when I don’t need to, and seeing it work so well, adds to confidence when pushing your limits out. 
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I spent the first six months using RTH.
Now I always fly home, it’s just a bit more interesting and saves me twiddling my thumbs while waiting 
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Cheers guys… might try and push it a bit further each time with RTH
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Remember, always make sure your RTH height is adequate for where you are flying and the obstacles that it might need to fly above.
I tend to forget to check before each flight… so I have it set at a suitably high value. Chances are if there were things around me when I fly that were 50m high, I’d remember to check. 
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Being new to drones myself, once I realised everything was working as it should in Beginner Mode I pushed it that little bit further and higher. As long as you are flying in an open area with no obstacles and can retrieve it easily then go for it. Set your critical battery warning high enough for your comfort/confidence level, I have mine set at 30% which suits me.
My second flight I flew over the sea… that was a brown trouser moment
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Do they ever completely go away? It’s just use and flight time, and you’ll slowly gain confidence in your drone’s capabilities. Despite what some forums suggest, they don’t constantly fall out the sky or disappear off into the sunset.
Take some time at the start of each flight to make sure the Go4 status screen says everything is ok. Wait for GPS to lock on. Wait for the home point to be updated and, if you’re feeling a bit nervous, pick up the drone and turn it to make sure its little arrow on your screen turns as well.
@ianinlondon on here has done a good video on the most common causes of fly always, have a look.
And then it’s just confidence. It’s a good product, and it works.
Having said all that, I still get nervous flying too far away, though I’ve got used to flying over water at last. Line of sight is all well and good, but it’s easy to lose in the sun, for example, but the little map does work, and so does looking at what the camera sees.
I was dead nervous on holiday flying off a mountain top at and out over an escarpment with a bottom a thousand feet down, and I look at my photos now and wish I’d gone further away because, of course, the Mavic was fine, but it was the first time I’d done that, and we were within 700m of the Mavic’s max service ceiling - so I don’t think the jitters ever really go away, especially in a new situation
Oh, and I’ve still never dared to use RTH! And if you do, as @OzoneVibe says, make sure you have your height set, and remember things like if you took off from under a tree, RTH will be a disaster…
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I’m going through much the same curve myself here. I’ve found a really safe area very close to home - flying over a very large field off a lane that is a no through road so virtually no traffic and just a few dog walkers and cyclists.
My main issue is losing sight of the drone. Once it gets over 400m away I have issues looking down, looking up and re-locating. Learning to trust the map and camera views until I can find it in the sky again.
Thanks for all the tips guys… I guess I just need to put in the stick time … if anyone is in Devon, please let me know …!
Remember, too, if you get into a state of mental overload, or get disoriented … as long as you’re not using one of the intelligent flight modes (which I doubt that you are yet) just let go of the sticks and it will stop exactly where it is and hover … whilst you gather your thoughts.
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All fine advice here for you.
My best advice is find a large open space, away from people, and have a friend with you; they can help act as a spotter to keep an eye on it for you; you want to focus on the App Screen and that’s when it’s easy to lose sight of the drone, so a friend alongside will help, as long as they don’t distract you, or push your limits.
I have a few videos saved as a playlist that are useful things for flying; the first one is the main one; how to avoid crashing! 
Get past that and the rest will come with time.
As said; have faith in the electronics. If in doubt, let go of the sticks and re-focus yourself, or better still, simply hit that RTH and watch it come sailing home to you. You can always cancel a RTH once you know it’s nearby again.
Cheers
Ian
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My problem is when it’s a few hundred metres away trying to judge how much to spin it so it points to home again. I must have more faith in the direction of the paper plane in the monitor. But I also guess I will get better and more confident with practice.
You have the pointer on the DGI Go4 app and (depending on camera pitch) you have the FPV view to see where you are … if there are landmarks, to assist, I appreciate.
I was flying out along a road for over 1km, it was useful to see the road in FPV, line up, and fly back in Sport Mode.
Remember to have a look around you, before you take off, for easy to spot buildings/trees/roads/car parks/ etc.
Also worth taking note of where N/S/E/W all are, before you take off, and know in which direction you’ve flown. Using the Go4 pointer is then a lot easier.
I forgot the other method … (going back to my P2 - no FPV days) … and useful since you don’t need to take your eyes off the dot in the distance.
Hover. Fly to the left (or right) on the right stick … if it responds by flying to your right (or left), then it’s a headed “roughly” toward you.
Then, as you fly it back toward you, if it wanders to your right, add in some right heading (on the left stick) … and visa versa.
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That the kind of tips I’m looking for!!!
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Happy to have helped.
Don’t learn that as a mantra, tho … it’s more important to understand/feel what’s happening and how/why your Inspire is responding the way it is to your inputs.
Don’t wait until it is a dot in the distance.
Find yourself a space (football pitches are a good size), take off and hover some 15ft in the air, and about 15ft away from you.
Small inputs to the sticks with the drone pointing at different angles to you … away from you, toward you, to the left and to the right.
Did it move in the way you expected?
Yes? Play some more.
No? Let go the sticks, let it hover, think it through. Try again.
I did a lot of that with my first drone, my P2, with no FPV or RTH to rely upon as backup.
Try RTH … fly it to the other end if the football pitch … press RTH. Then be impressed.
You’re not going to be recording, probably, so you don’t need to be somewhere photogenic. This is for you to have fun and understand the controls and build a trust in its ability to do as you ask it.
Then you can venture further without fear.
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Thank you, Loads of good information here. Are there any flight patterns that I should practice.
Googling for myself as I write this, I came across this. Just what I was looking for.
https://www.firstpersonview.co.uk/blog/drone-pilots-guide/drone-flight-exercises/