Essential Drone Operation Safety Tips

Drone Operation Safety Tips:

1. Pre-Flight Checklist; always start with a pre-flight checklist.

• Check the memory card space of your drone.
• When flying outdoor always turn on vision sensor.
• Check your drone batteries, controller battery and phone/monitor battery.
• Check your drone GPS and Ensure you have up to 9 or more connected satellites.
• Before flying check the calibration status of your drone.
• Always know the distance from your drone to your controller, this will help you know the distance at which you can control your drone from your controller, so you don’t disconnect yourself from your drone while it’s on the air.
• Check for any defects in your drone before flying.
• Check the propellers if it well fixed.
• Check the camera settings to ensure it is not too bright or dark, and ensure there’re no dust or fog on the camera.
• If necessary update firmware to ensure everything is in working order.

2. Reconnaissance Survey; check the height of objects around you, buildings, cell site, trees etc. and observe any limitations or hindrances.) this will help you understand the height you should maintain with your drone.

3. Know the Rules;

• Familiarize yourself with local drone regulations. Each region may have specific rules you need to follow to operate your drone legally.” Avoid flying in restricted areas (No-Fly zones) (Gov house, Airport, Helipads, Military Area) .
• Before operating your drone always ensure its operated or you’re trained by a certified pilot.
• Always use the DJI app before operating the drone, this will give you an open eye to blind spot.
• You’re not expected to charge the drone immediately after use, wait for one hour before charging.
• Don’t leave the drone idle for too long, once or twice a month try turning on the drone, and once every month always charge the drone battery.
• Before turning on the drone it’s very important you remove the camera casing and unfold the drone harms.
• You’re not expected to fly your drone up to its designed flight time, which typically ranges from around 25 to 31 minutes for the DJI Mini series/Mavic. For safety always fly 15-18 min, for a safe return-to-home, this will allow you to avoid crashing your drone.
• Always have enough GPS before flying your drone so it can record the starting point (home point) for returning home.
• Ensure you turn on the drone that has safety features such as Obstacle avoidance or sensors to help prevent collisions. These features enhance the overall safety of flying the drone, especially for beginners.

4. Visibility; Always fly your drone in visual line-of-sight — this means: avoid flying through cloud, fog smoke, or behind obstacles that stop you from always seeing your drone, for example, trees, buildings or other structures. Make sure you can always see your drone with your own eyes

5. Be aware of the Weather; The weather can have a big impact on drone flight, so it’s important to be aware of it. If it’s windy, for example, your drone could be blown off course. And if it’s raining or snowing, your drone could get wet and stop working.