The pre-commercial flying stage...

[Rhino]

Hiya guys,

I';ve bit the bullet and taken the step up from the Syma X5C and ordered the DJI Phantom 3 Advanced (and the DJI Rucksack...at half price it would be rude not to!).

I want to learn as much as I can with regards to flying, photography, safety and everything else that comes with it, and most of all gain some experience before looking further into the commercial side of things.

That being said, and despite not being in any rush, I would at some stage like to do the training and gain the skills to get to the PFAW stage.

What are the best practices to get into from the start that will make me a better operator for when the time comes to advance further?

Thanks :)

[Beaver2206]

I suppose the best advice at this stage is to start using checklists (for your platform) and starting to think more about risks and how you';d go about mitigating them. Assess your flying site from a safety and risk perspective.  How can you fly there safety and legally?  Also start compiling logs (flight and battery to start with).

Start reading through the CAA documents (main ones being the ANO CAP 393 and CAP722).

In terms of flight, practice, practice, practice and make most of it in Atti as 95% of the test will be in non GPS flight modes.  It always amazes me how many pilots turn up who just cannot fly in atti!

Good luck!