Learn

With all that’s happening in the news lately I felt this was the most important topic to start the learning page with. MultiRotors are lots of fun and they’re becoming more accessible to your average Joe and Jane every day. As such, it’s important for Joe and Jane to learn some basic safety practices before they put someone’s eye out.

1. Do Not Fly Over People or Animals – The current technology available for building MultiRotors has certain limitations. The fact is — no matter how expensive, well engineered, or carefully constructed a MultiRotor flying machine is – it may fall out of the sky at any moment for a variety of reasons. When it falls, it will hit whatever is below it. As the pilot of a MultiRotor you do not have the moral right to place another human or creature at risk just because you feel like flying over said life form. In the future, there may come a time when it is safe to do so. I suspect that will involve designing machines with redundant stabilization and thrust systems, propeller guards, and emergency parachutes that deploy automatically. Although some of those items are in the works, none of them can currently be relied upon to perform flawlessly.
2. Know your Equipment and its Limitations – Every part associated with a MultiRotor has its own particular operating parameters and limitations. It is important for you as the pilot to know the specific procedures and limits necessary to safely operate your lightweight aeronautical contraption. This means getting into the manuals that came with your transmitters, receivers, electronic speed controllers, motors, flight control board, fpv camera, and any other part that may be bolted, glued, or strapped the MultiRotor. Becoming familiar with your equipment is necessary if you plan to operate it safely.
3. Always Do a Pre-Flight Inspection – Just like the pilot of a real aircraft, it is important to do a pre-flight check of your MultiRotor before every flight. The reason for this inspection is so that you can evaluate the reliability of your flying device and its essential components. It is important to check that all the screws on the frame are securely fastened and that all connectors and soldered joints are solid. The vibrations generated by motors and props can rattle things loose from time to time. You must also check that your flight and transmitter batteries are fully charged and that your LiPo alarm or telemetry is set to alert you to a low voltage condition so that you do not lose power inflight. There are a lot of things to remember, so it helps if you use a pre-flight checklist to insure nothing is missed. Here is one in .PDF as well as in image format that you can customize to fit your own needs.