Well, I’ve just returned from flight day 2.
Went out yesterday and literally did the basics up, down, left, right, etc…up to about 2 or 3mtrs…just getting a feeling for things. About 10/15 mins flight time. Came home with drone intact so all in all a good day - was a little windy so nerves/inexperience dictated I didn’t take any risks.
Today, found a nice open spot. Pretty much no wind. About 30 mins of 4k footage to play around with. Hit 120m height and a distance of about 200mtrs (bit overcast). Played around with a couple of preset manoeuvres. Feeling a bit more comfortable already.
Luckily. I get to travel all over the UK with work regularly and often get a good amount of free time. Hoping to build up a decent library of sites 
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That sounds great. It’s always good to get out and try out the elementary settings like having a good workout for the systems. I hope you manage to get some good footage and photographs on your travels.
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Thanks bud. Yes it’s very much a case of slowly slowly. Been over in the NW today and despite a grim forecast. It was bright and sunny so got another 40/50 mins in. In an area with open spaces and plenty of trees on the fringes. All good so far 
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I was saying that yesterday Barry, for now the controller is like playing on a new Playstation game. It’s a little fumbly and I don’t know the moves. Hoping the controller becomes like an extra limb and muscle memory comes into play so I can focus more on getting the interesting footage. You’re right though, safety comes first so I always have to have that at the forefront each time.
I’m looking into bringing it out to Cyprus this summer but there’s conflicting info regarding drone use (understandably) at the moment. We were there last year and the scenery is breathtaking so I’m going to look into it a lot closer but I understand that things are changing all the time in the region.
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Yes indeed. You’d need to be very careful in Cyprus about following any rules. The scenery would appear to be beautiful but be very careful and plan carefully where you fly.
If you look at the Cyprus section in this link it should hopefully tell you all you know?
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Pretty much what I’ve been doing with my drone.I had a little try in my garden when I first got it (as most do I think) but owing to many obstacles and not much space,I was very nervous.During the odd break in the bad weather,I went to some open space near me to practice properly and it surprised me how quickly the nervousness went away,after about half an hour,I was whizzing the thing around like I’d been at it for years.I’ve tried out all the active track features,different camera settings etc and taken it up to max height.As the weather has been so bad,I’ve spent the time absorbing as much information as I can regarding rules and regs,where you can fly and how to deal with those who think they can control the airspace (take note NT) I have also been playing with video editing software.
Now the weather is improving,I’m looking forward to getting out and about capturing footage and images.
I have to say,this forum has been an invaluable resource and I’ve learned so much from those who know their subject very well
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First off - drones are currently NOT allowed to be flown in Cyprus at the minute due to the regional issues. That’s the clear bit.
Yes I’ve had a look at various sources and i’d like to get things in order - just in case the restrictions are lifted before we arrive in July. These will cover me for 3 years in Europe I believe, so it’s a speculative approach. I’ve seen a few different points on the Cypriot aviation authority site - it could be I’m misreading it so I’m going to aggregate info from various places to see if it makes more sense.
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In terms of video editing software, I’d probably recommend “Canva” as a fairly straightforward beginners starting point. I’ve moved onto “Capcut” which gives a lot more functionality, it’s still pretty easy to use but a bit more in depth than Canva. I’ve tried “DaVinci Resolve” a few times but it’s buggy and I can’t quite make it tick over properly - it’s full featured and free as it’s open source but it’s very complicated.
Know what you mean about the wind btw…currently preparing to head to the coast as a sunny afternoon is due but the wind may yet scupper things. Gotta go see though eh 
I’ve been using Movavi software,it was free but didn’t offer much in the way of functionality so I paid a smallish subscription which opened it up a bit although some of the features require further payment.However,what I’ve got is plenty for what I want to do with it
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That’s usually the case. Canva was ok to start with then I needed to subscribe for the 4K downloads etc. Used it a lot in the beginning then progressed to Capcut…yet another subscription and it still ticks most of my boxes. They normally hook you in with basics then the one thing you want…bang! lol. They’ve got you!
It makes me kinda sad to hear of folks paying subscriptions for editing software. Resolve is a very capable bit of software, and has complexity because of that, but the general editing flow isn’t all that hard.
I don’t know if it’d be helpful but as someone who uses Resolve pretty much every day, for client projects as well as for my own stuff (my main partnered YouTube channel and now a small drone-focused one) I’d be happy to do some sort of live session or something to help folks here get started with editing their drone footage in a pretty simple Resolve workflow…
The nice thing about Resolve IMO is that even if you need the extra features in the studio version, it’s a one-time payment, not a monthly thing leeching away your money. And to be fair, most folks editing drone footage would be just fine with the free version…
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Yes, I’m not surprised there is no drone flying allowed at the moment. The area is full of ‘activity’ at the moment and I did think you’d be a bit optimistic about flying there. Hopefully by the time you go out there things will be more relaxed?
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Good shout Ross. I’ve dipped my toe a few times with Resolve but the “linked media” issues have thrown me a couple of times - understand this mainly to be a result of moving/renaming files. I even downloaded the official training pdfs and spent a few hours following things to the letter and started a training exercise. Hit a bit of a wall with some of it as it had become obsolete due to updates to Resolve in the period after the guide was made. I’ve no doubt it’s brilliant and the free version would be more than enough for any hobbyist. It’s an amazing piece of software but until it gets a bit simpler to use, I fear they’ll continue to scare amateurs like myself away. 
Yes hopefully Barry. It’d be nice to have all the boxes ticked in case things change but this season may be a write off I fear.
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That’s a shame but I do hope you do eventually get some good photographs and video footage. I’ll look forward to seeing it.
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I agree. It’s a very resourceful piece of software that appears to do an awful lot of things for a free version. But, it does seem to be overly complicated for people who just want to edit some footage and add a soundtrack.
Yeah that’s a common stumbling block for new users. I’ll run through my whole process but the key thing for linked media is to copy your footage to wherever it’s going to live before bringing it into resolve, rather than adding it from the SD.
I’ll go through that and also how to relink when things do get moved 
I’m gonna do a run through sometime in the next couple of weeks, and whenever I teach resolve the first session has a lot of me saying “ignore that bit, you won’t need it” 
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Step by step @freedoddy - you’re just starting out on a journey we all began at some point. Keep the footage from your early flights, before too long they’ll be a great benchmark for how much better you’re becoming.
You will know soon enough that there may not be a hobby in the world with the potential for so many ‘code brown’ moments. In my experience, the dividing line between exhilaration and panic is wafer thin.
Safe flying
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. I’m learning too and try to get out in my spare time to try out techniques and movements like I’ve seen on YouTube. Currently, open spaces is good.
