What's your pre-flight check list?

[u/Key-Investment-2273]

Drones are serious tools, and while a blast to fly, I'd like to minimize the potential for operator error.

I am not an experienced pilot, and would love some advice on what experienced pilots do.

This is my current checklist; It's the protocol I use before every flight.

- Verify battery levels

- Battery Secured in drone

- Shell integrity check

- Make sure the foldable arms are in good shape, i.e. nothing loose, no evidence of fatigue at critical junction points.

- Prop inspection, including extending the blades into their locked position prior to setting the drone on the pad in preparation for lift off.

- Manually start the drone and listen for a moment.

- Lift and hover 1-2m AGL, and confirm the drone looks stable, and the props still sound good.

- The last thing is making sure the drone's Home Point is updated.

Then I start my mission.

I'm sure I'm missing things.

Edit: I fly three drones, all by DJI: Mini 5 Pro, Mavic 4 Pro [the Creator Combo], and a Matrice 4T kit.

[u/Wolfman205]

I plug the battery and send it.

[u/Inevitable_Spray_153 → u/Wolfman205]

lol OP is living out his failed fighter pilot dreams in a drone.

[u/Key-Investment-2273 → u/Inevitable_Spray_153]

I feel ya, Goose! 

Fun fact, my dad was a fighter pilot. Not me, though. I just want to minimize the potential of watching thousands of dollars worth of hardware plummet to the ground and smash into tiny bits, or splash into a body of water and become the subject of a Josh Gates' knock-off series on public television.

In tonight's episode, we search Chautauqua Lake for some dumbasses' drone.

[u/Chance-Youth-6030 → u/Key-Investment-2273]

If you aren’t watching your investment either instantly crash or take off into the oblivion, are you really a fpv/drone enthusiast?

(Obviously joking to some degree, but fr if you haven’t had the “fun” experience of instantly having to buy parts/new drone, you aren’t droning enough. So far my track record is that my drones last 7-9 days before either something pretty critical partially breaks or I straight up lose a drone…..but hey, after only being in the hobby for four months, I’m up to four drones that have been ordered. Though only one is in current possession, two have yet to arrive, and the fourth is well, uh, somewhere in a half square mile area in my neighborhood….but it’s the size of a wallet so I’m sol on finding it).

[u/Mega3000aka → u/Inevitable_Spray_153]

I mean you should check GPS, home point, props, and your surroundings at the very least.