You came to the right place if you want to learn how to fly a quadcopter

If you want to learn how to fly a quadcopter we will need to start at the beginning.

Do you own a quadcopter?

If you do, great, skip to the next question.

If you don’t yet own a drone read our guide to determine the best drone to buy.

Made a decision? Now, check out our drones for sale and order the right one for you to get started.

Have you read our hobbyist drone guidelines?

If not, read our hobbyist drone guidelines.

Have you taken any formal training?

Check out our list of UAS training programs around the globe. Please let us know if you are aware of any we are missing, we will add them.

Have you bought a simulator?

There are many good simulators on the market for helicopters and quadcopters. Both will give you important experience before you launch your quad into the neighbors yard.

Ready to fly?

If you want to know how to fly a quadcopter you need to understand the common controls you will encounter.

Throttle/Altitude. Use these controls to gain/lose altitude. Remember that you need to understand the laws of your country/state/city so as to avoid flying higher than is legal.

Yaw. Use this control to rotate your quad left or right. Be careful as it is easy to lose control, when you are first learning.

Pitch/Roll. These controls will tilt the quad left/right (roll) or forward/backward (pitch), enabling you to fly your quad in the direction desired.

Pitch/Roll and Throttle/Altitude will be your best friends as you start out and are important to understand if you want to really understand how to fly a quadcopter.

If you bought the Cheerson CX-10, one of our recommended beginner drones, you all find that the controls look like this:

Here is a great video tutorial from The Great Thor (on Youtube)

We will continue to add pictures, videos, tutorials, and guides as we flesh out this topic further.

Other tips from our community?

The drone educator, Dean Honeycutt, added that you should ensure you always have a fully charged battery before taking off.

Bcuzboost on Reddit also suggested that you always fly in an open area to ensure that you reduce the risk of damage and/or loss.

whitenoise106 on Reddit notes that you should practice without the GPS enabled.

Happy flying!