ok so i got a mini 3 pro for my birthday last week and ive been too scared to actually fly it lol. like i took it out in the backyard once and turned it on and then just panicked and turned it off again. i dont know if i need to register it or take some kind of test or what. my friend said i need a license but another friend said thats only for commercial stuff. also is there some kind of simulator i should use before i actually fly it for real? i dont want to crash a $700 drone on my first flight. any help appreciated, complete noob here

okay first thing, breathe lol. the mini 3 pro is actually one of the better choices for a first drone because of the obstacle avoidance, so you have a little buffer. for the license thing, in the US if its under 249g you technically dont need to pass part 107 for recreational flying but you still need to register with the FAA for like $5 and put your registration number on the drone. your friend is half right, part 107 is for commercial work but recreational pilots have their own set of rules now too. as for simulators, yeah absolutely do that before your first real flight. DJI has their own flight sim in the app i think, and theres also liftoff and velocidrone if you want something more serious but honestly for a mini 3 even just doing the tutorial in the DJI fly app in a big open field on a calm day would get you going fine. the drone wants to hover in place pretty aggressively so its not like it'll fly away the second you touch a stick

just fly the thing man. find a big empty field, not windy, put it up like 10 feet and just let it hover for a minute. youll see real quick that its not as scary as you think. i crashed my first one within like 20 minutes but thats how you learn honestly. just stay low until your hands stop shaking