How can you get into drones? Northeastern expert offers tips
Tom Lutz, lab manager at the Institute for Experiential Robotics at Northeastern University, has been flying drones for years, so he is well aware of how daunting it can be.
So you want to start flying drones but don’t know where to get started.
From understanding FAA regulations to researching the best brands, it can all be pretty overwhelming.
Tom Lutz, lab manager at the Institute for Experiential Robotics at Northeastern University, has been flying drones for years, so he is well aware of how daunting it can be.
Luckily, teaching is part of his day job; one of his roles at Northeastern is making sure both faculty and students understand how to use the institute’s drone cage located in the robotics bay in EXP on the Boston campus.
Northeastern Global News caught up with Lutz to ask him for some tips for first-time drone flyers.
Start with a simulator
Lutz’s first piece of advice for newcomers is to head to your computer and download a drone simulator. There are plenty of options to choose from. One standout is Zephyr Drone Simulator, which teaches students how to fly following FAA guidelines. Lutz also recommends Liftoff and Velocidrone, which are available on multiple online marketplaces.
“Simulators are a great way to get a feel for how a drone is going to fly and operate without actually any of the risk of damaging or losing equipment,” he says.
Decide if you want to make your own drone or buy a commercial one
Once you’ve gotten some experience using a simulator, you should start thinking about if you’d like to build your own drone or buy a commercial model from a company like DJI or Potensic. A prebuilt drone offers many advantages for beginners and people who just want something that works right out of the box. Tinkerers may be more inclined to build their own if they value customization.
Get your FAA certification before you fly
The next step is to get certified. By federal law, all recreational drone flyers must be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration. To meet this requirement, flyers must take the FAA’s Recreational UAS Safety Test, or TRUST. It can be taken online for free through a number of different FAA-approved test administrators. Lutz also notes that all drones over 250 grams must be registered with the FAA, which can be done on its website.
Download an FAA-backed drone app on your phone
Figuring out the safest places to fly can be challenging. To help flyers on that front, the FAA suggests flyers download one of several FAA-approved drone apps that take advantage of its location services and data platform B4UFLY.
These apps allow users to know which areas near them are flyable and which aren’t. They also have a number of other useful features, including interactive maps, information on controlled airspaces and weather updates.
Familiarize yourself with the controls
Before flying your drone, it’s important to familiarize yourself with its controls, Lutz explains. The last thing you want is to be figuring out what all the buttons on your controller do when your drone is up in the air.
“It can be easy to lose track of what a button does,” he says. “If you’ve got a bunch of different switches on your controller, it’s helpful to know, in the heat of the moment, which one is going to help you out.”
Typically, remote controls follow a similar configuration out of the box. The right joystick is used to control front-to-back and side-to-side movement. The left joystick is used to control the height of the drone and whether you want it to ascend or descend. The left joystick is also used to control the yaw, the direction you want the drone to rotate.
Start relatively low in an open area
Lutz suggested you start by flying the drone roughly 50 to 100 feet off the ground in a wide open area.
“Don’t fly it close to obstacles,” he says. “While you’re getting used to the controls, it’s helpful to be in a big open space so that you have time to react to any mistakes instead of sending it into a tree or something.”
Gradually, as you gain more experience, you can start taking the drone to higher altitudes and start experimenting with tricks, he says.
Call it home
Out of the box, many drones also have fail-safe features in place in case of emergencies, Lutz says. One standout is the return-to-home feature, which calls a drone back to the original coordinates it took off from.
This failsafe is automatically triggered when the drone loses connection to your remote, but it also can be turned on at will, which can be helpful for beginners, Lutz explained.
“The DJI controllers have it as a button,” Lutz says. “It’s really easy to do it.”
Another useful feature is position hold, which puts the drone in a sort of hover position.
That can be useful in times when you want to catch your breath, he says.
Be mindful of those around you when flying
As always, Lutz says it’s important to be mindful of those around you when in the air to avoid injuries and other incidents.
Flying “can be a rush and it’s a lot of fun, but always be considerate of your surroundings and the people around you,” he says.