Tip for beginners (& pro's!)

I am not sure if you have seen this video (scroll down). It is a wake-up call for all drone pilots. This poor lady crashed an Inspire into the side of a boat and then into the sea. I posted this on the Phantom Filmschool Facebook Group and I got reactions from many students. some of the students are seasoned sailors and gave good advice for trying to land on a boat. 

The main moral of the story for me is not following basics. and by that I mean ALWAYS taking off and landing in forward orientation and not reverse orientation. 

It is obvious to me in this video that this pilot would have had a much better chance of a safe landing if she was flying in forward orientation. 

The reason for this is simple. When landing your drone manually your brain is managing many things. Wind, weather conditions, bystanders and the noise of the drone and its proximity to you can increase your adrenal levels. Then add a moving boat and an expensive drone into the picture and adrenal levels go right up. Then do this in reverse and your brain is just about overloaded. By landing facing forwards this would have been tricky but doable. 

As always keep it simple and practice the basics so when you panic you have rehearsed what to do

Happy flying

Laurence
​