Photography & Cinematography Tips, Tricks & Inspiration Drone

36 Comments
Posted on November 6, 2016
How to Fly a
Drone – The
Ultimate
Guide
by Dirk Dallas

Hey there! My name is

Dirk Dallas ( @dirka ).
I'm a FAA Part 107
drone pilot, designer,
photographer &
professor of digital
media with over
300,000 followers on
social media. I created

Do you want to this website because I

love drones & aerial
learn how to fly photography & I want
to help people like you!
a drone? Read more here.

Do you know the difference between

yaw, throttle, pitch and roll? Do you
want to improve your drone �ying
skills?

Then check out either the video above

or the read the post below to learn
everything you need to know about how
to �y a drone.

In both the video above and post below I

walk you through the most basic and
essential steps for �ying a drone and I
include some of my favorite exercises for
mastering the art of �ying.

Flying using
control sticks
The �rst thing you need to do before
�ying is understand how the drone
controls work for yaw, throttle, pitch and
roll. These aviation terms come from the
old �xed-wing aircraft days.

It’s important to note, that I am using

Mode 2 for my controller which is the
most common setup outside of Asia. So Search …
if your controller is set to Mode 1, Mode 3
or Mode 4 the control sticks will work
differently.
Left stick
The left control stick allows the drone to
climb and descend and also rotates the
drone on its axis both left and right. The
o�cial aviation terms for these controls
are “Yaw” and “Throttle”.

▪ Yaw rotates the drone around its

center either clockwise or
counterclockwise.

▪ Throttle controls how much lift

your drone is creating which allows it
to ascend and descend.

Right control stick

The right control stick moves the drone
forward and backwards and also moves
the drone left and right. The o�cial
aviation terms for these controls is “Roll”
and “Pitch”.

▪ Roll controls the right and left

movement of your drone.

▪ Pitch controls the forward and

backward movement of your drone.

Trainer drone
and stimulators

If you are looking to practice without

spending lots of money on a drone or if What are you most

you are a nervous about crashing your interested in to help

expensive drone, you might want to with your drone

consider practicing with either my imagery?

favorite trainer drone like the SYMA X1 or

Adobe Lightroom
check out a �ight simulator like Heli-X
Presets
(you’ll need a special controller that plugs
Adobe Photoshop
into your computer for a �ight simulator
Actions
to work).
Adobe Premiere or
Final Cut Pro X LUTs
If you happen to already own a DJI drone,
then you should practice controlling the
sticks while using the remote controller
Vote
and the built-in �ight simulator that
comes with the DJI GO app.
View Results

Polls Archive

Before you fly

You should always walk yourself through

a drone �ight checklist before you take-
off just to make sure you’re good to �y.
You’re welcome to download this free
drone �ight checklist here that I’ve put
together for subscribers to my
newsletter.

It’s also a good idea to review the drone

rules before starting.
Starting up +
calibrating
First, I like to power on the remote
controller (R/C transmitter) and my �ying
app.

If you’re new to flying

and you’re using a DJI
drone then check out
this tutorial I created:
DJI GO App: A Step-by-
Step Guide Through
Every Menu & Button

Once the controller are powered then I

turn my drone.

Before you �y you should consider

calibrating your drone. It’s important to
do this if you’ve never �own before or if
you have change locations since the last
time you took your drone up.
Most of the higher drones have an
internal GPS and compass that allow the
drone to hover in place and they also tell
the drone it’s heading which is which way
it’s facing. So you want to make sure that
these are accurately set, so the drone
knows exactly where on earth it is.

Let me walk you through the calibration

process. For this demo I am using a DJI
Phantom but most manufacturers follow
a similar process like the one I’m about
to explain.

With the Phantom, click on the top menu

and then click on the calibrate button,
once you select that, follow the prompts
on the screen. The �rst thing you do is
Major
bring the drone level and then spin all the
Announcement…My
way around, some of us call this the
New Drone Book!
calibration dance (so you may look a little
silly but you don’t want to forget this 7 Habits of a Great
important step). Drone Photographer

MOMENT Air: New

 Anamorphic Lens,
Filters, & Cases for
Drones

More Airspace for U.S.

Recreational Drone
After that �rst spin, follow the prompts Pilots Allowed Using
on the screen and point the drone so it’s ‘LAANC’
facing down. Then you’re going to spin
2 Days Left for DJI’s
around again. Once you do that, the
Summer Sale
menu should disappear and you can then
see that the drone is ready to �y.

Drone Business

Drone Buyer's Guide

Inspiration

Interview

News

Photography

Reviews
Your first flight Tips & Tutorials

Now on to your �rst �ight. Make sure Uncategorized

your drone is on a �at surface and the Video
front of the drone is facing away from
you so that you don’t get confused with
the orientation.
Follow on Instagram
Turning on the motors
To get your drone up in the air, turn on
the motors by pressing both the right and
left sticks down and towards the middle.
The motors will then start to spin and
then wait for your next input.

The left control stick

Then slowly press the left stick up and
the drone will start to lift up into the air. I
usually like to get about 10 feet in the air
and then have it hover in place for just a
few moments to make sure everything is
working just right.

To keep the drone from climbing higher

in elevation, return the left stick to the
neutral position and the drone will just
hold in place, thanks to GPS.

▪ Throttle
Now with your drone hovering in the
air, press the left stick up and the
drone will rise. When you pull the left
stick down, the drone will go lower.
When you return the stick to the
neutral position the drone will just
hover in place.

▪ Yawing
When you push the left stick to the
 left the drone will begin to twist to the
left and rotate, when you push it to the
right, the drone will twist to the right.

The right control stick

Now with the right control stick, push it
up and the drone will begin to move
forward, if you want to bring it back move
the right stick down.

If you want to �y it left, move the right

stick to the left, if you want to �y it to the
right move the right stick to the right.

These are the basic movements of how

to �y your drone.

Landing
When you’re ready to fully land, slowly
bring the left control stick all the way
down for a nice smooth landing. Once
your drone is on the ground, pull the left
stick all the way down and hold it there
for about three seconds until the motors
turn off.

Make sure you fully understand how to

land your drone before taking off. My
very �rst drone crash was because I only
kinda had an idea of how to land.
Looking back I wish I was better
prepared!

Exercises to help you get

the hang of flying

You all know the saying, ‘Practice makes

perfect’, so if you want to master �ying
then you’re absolutely going to have to
practice, a lot!

Below are some of my favorite exercises

that you can practice so that you become
more comfortable with �ying your drone.
The Simple Box

One of the easiest maneuvers to �y is the

box because this helps you get more
comfortable with the right stick. The right
stick basically lets you move forward,
left, right and back without having to
worry about elevation or orientation.
Practice this by pushing the right stick up
to �y forward, then left to �y left, then
back to �y back, and then �nally right to
�y right.

Try �ying the box both clockwise and

counterclockwise. Once you are
comfortable �ying in a box you can move
on.

The 180

For this exercise you’re going to �y out,

then do a 180 and �y back. This will help
you start to understand how the drone
�ies when you change orientation, so it’s
important to note that whenever the front
of the drone is facing you, the controls
are �ipped.

To start this exercise, push the right stick

up to move the drone forward, then using
the left stick turn the drone around.
Then use the right stick by pushing it
forward to bring the drone back to you.
You should do this multiple times to
make sure you feel comfortable with this
maneuver.

The Box With Yaw

This next exercise is the box with yaw,

which is similar to the �rst exercise but
this time we will be changing the
orientation of the drone as we draw the
box. Remember yaw just means you are
rotating around the vertical axis.

To start this exercise, �y forward then

stop, then turn 90 degrees to the left and
move forward then stop, then turn 90
degrees to the left again and move
forward then stop, then for the �nal move
and to complete the box turn 90 degrees
to the left and move forward then stop.

It’s super important to get comfortable

with this exercise because you are �ying
the drone in the direction that it is facing,
no matter which way you turn.

This will likely be hard at �rst but you’ll

want to practice it enough times so that
it just becomes second nature. Get
comfortable �ying the box with yaw both
clockwise and counterclockwise before
moving on.

The Circle

This next exercise is called the circle and

it’s more of an intermediate exercise
because it requires you to use both sticks
at the same time.

To start this one, move your right stick

forward and then at the same time use
your left stick to keep the drone slowly
twisting or yawing to the left, practice
this several times.

Then try �ying the circle in the opposite

direction just to get comfortable with
using two sticks at once.

Practice �ying tighter and more accurate

circles to get better at this maneuver.

Figure Eight

After mastering the circle it’s time to

move onto the �gure eight. This one is
hard so keep practicing it until you get it
right. Once you master this move you
can �y pretty much any �ight plan
comfortably.

What you’ll do is �y the drone in a �gure

eight by �ying in one clockwise circle and
one counterclockwise circle with a
transition in the middle.
Start off by making a big �gure eight and
then try to master this move by making
smaller �gure eights as you get more
comfortable with this maneuver.

Practice varying both the speed and size

of your �gure eights to improve your
sense of 3D space.

The Orbit

The last exercise is the orbit, which is

essentially �ying in a circle while staying
focused on a subject.

What you want to do is select a subject

and then �y a circle around that subject
while keeping your drone facing the
subject the entire time.

Once you’re ready, �y your drone using

the right stick while turning the drone
slowly with the left stick (yawing). Make
your moves slow and big until you get the
hang of it.

If you’re doing the orbit right then your

drone should be moving in a nice smooth
circle around a subject.

As you get comfortable with the orbit I

suggest you try it even faster and then
maybe even add in some elevation to get
an even more interesting shot.

Conclusion

I hope this post helps you feel more

comfortable with �ying a drone! Once
you have mastered these �ying exercises
you can focus on the really fun stuff like
being creative with capturing epic photos
and videos.

With that being said if you are looking for

tips on how to take better drone photos
then check out this post here and if you
are looking for tips on how to capture
better drone video footage then check
out this post here.

Lastly, if you enjoyed the post could you

please do me a HUGE favor and share it
on social media for me? Just click the big
social media icons at the very top or very
bottom of this page. This blog is
simply a hobby and labor of love and
your support helps keep this website
going!

Thank you!

Have a question or comment? Feel free to

contact me directly at
dirk@fromwhereidrone.com or just drop a
comment down below.

About the author

Dirk Dallas, also
known as @dirka
online, is the
founder and
curator of From
Where I Drone, a
blog dedicated teaching drone pilots how
to capture better aerial photos and
videos.
 Category: Tips & Tutorials, Video Tags:
180, box with yaw, drone, drone controls,
drone exercises, drone �ying tips, drone �ying
tutorial, �gure eight, �ying drone 101, how to
�y a drone, how to �y for the �rst time, orbit,
the box, the circle, ultimate guide to �ying a
drone

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36 Comments on
“How to Fly a
Drone – The
Ultimate Guide”
Neil Hobbs
November 16, 2016
great article & video, the
graphics were very helpful in explaining. I
found it very useful, many thanks

Dirk Dallas
November 19, 2016

Hi Neil,

Thanks for sharing that! So glad to

hear you enjoyed it. Let me know if
you have any questions!

Neil Hobbs
November 19, 2016

Hi Dirk, loving your site,

lots of useful info for a new pilot. I
do have a question about what an
icon is in the DJI Go app, would it
be OK to send you a screen shot to
explain which one?

Dirk Dallas
November 21, 2016

Hey Neil,

Yes absolutely, shoot me an

email here:
dirk@fromwhereidrone.com
 Chat soon!

Johnny Kong
December 1, 2016

Thanks for all the info! You

got a great thing going on here!!

I am a Newbie to drones.

Dirk Dallas
December 12, 2016

Thanks Johnny for the

support! Let me know if you have any
questions! Happy �ying!

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John
January 13, 2017

Wow, I loved all the useful

and helpful tips in this article! It makes
me think I could actually master �ying a
drone myself. This was an extremely
straightforward and practical drone �ying
guide. The only additional content I
would suggest is advising new �yers to
research and understand local laws and
where �ying is permitted, and likewise
prohibited.

Dirk Dallas
February 27, 2017

Really appreciate the

feedback John, thanks for reading! I
actually have a couple excellent
resources for exactly that if people are
interested:

http://fromwhereidrone.com/drone-
rules-everything-you-need-to-know-
before-you-�y/
http://fromwhereidrone.com/new-
drone-everything-you-should-know/

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Licensed FAA Part 107 Drone Pilot -

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Malta -

Paul Keefe
April 26, 2017

Hi Dirk

This is just the best information that I

have been able to �nd anywhere on the
net. I am about to purchase a Phantom 4
Pro after being with my 3 grandchildren a
few days ago with their new drones and
saw how much they enjoyed �ying them
– I just have to have one.
Your tutorials are second to none – and I
can assure you that I have learned
invaluable guidance from them.

Please keep up the great work.

Aussie drone newbie.

Mick Smith
May 25, 2017

Hi Dirk

Thanks for a very straightforward

explanation. Having just purchased the
DJI Inspire 2 with the X4S camera (and
not having any previous experiance) I am
looking for all the information I can get
before my �rst �ight.

UK Newbie

Pingback: Drone Video of the Week:

Malta – Drone Newz

Denis Polykhatyy
July 6, 2017
Thanks Dirk. Great text and video!

Adrian c
July 11, 2017

Hi, what happens if , once

the drone starts, you push both throttles
forward simultaneously?
Thanks

nixyboyJohn nixon
October 8, 2017

Good stuff!

Dirk Dallas
October 12, 2017

Big thanks!

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Mabel Figueiredo
January 26, 2018

Hi,
Thanks a lot for the tips, I just bought
one drone and these exercises are really
helpful.

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amazing-drones.com

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Drones Crunch

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LETS DRONE UP

Jack
March 24, 2018

Great help for newbies!

Thankx ! One comment – I see a lot of
websites with speci�c ideas, stories,
blogs, information on them but usually
you cannot tell how old the info is. I
would suggest for everyone who puts
info on the internet to DATE their
instructions or info so we can determine
if the item is still relevant or is too old to
bother reading. Thankx again…

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Drone Zone

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Guide | drone-1 learn to use a drone
beautifully

Andrew Colebrook
September 5, 2018

Hi Dirk , thanks for the great

tips , so useful and simple to understand
….keep up the great work .
Andy

Choc
August 3, 2019

Great illustrations, The Fig8

won’t work like that though as the drone
will just rotate as it goes forward. The
right hand stick should be in the 10 and 2
O’clock positions and not fowards.

Pingback: How to Fly a Drone – The

Ultimate Guide – – My Blog

Michelle Catapang
July 12, 2020

Thank you for this well-

detailed content.
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終ガイド – ドローン & ガジェット 2020

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