ok so i bought a DJI Mini 2 SE last week because my brother in law has one and makes it look super easy. i've been watching youtube videos for like 3 days straight and honestly feel more confused than when i started. everyone seems to assume you already know stuff.

my main question i guess is like... where do you even start? i did the tutorial in the app and crashed into my fence on the second day. nothing broke thankfully but now im kind of scared to fly it again. also do i need to register it somewhere or is that only for bigger drones? i'm in the US if that matters.

sorry if this is a dumb question i just dont really know where else to ask

not a dumb question at all, everyone starts somewhere. the fence thing is pretty normal honestly, most people clip something in the first few flights. the Mini 2 SE is under 249g so you dont need to register it with the FAA as long as you're flying recreationally, but you should still look up your local rules because some cities have their own restrictions and parks can be weirdly strict about it.

for actually learning to fly i'd say just go somewhere really open with zero obstacles, like a big empty field or a park with no trees, and just hover. literally just take off and hover at like 10 feet for a while until it feels boring. people rush to fly around and do cool stuff way too fast. get comfortable with the sticks before you try anything fancy. also turn on the beginner mode in the app if you havent already, it limits the speed and range which helps a lot when youre still getting the muscle memory down.

lol i did the exact same thing with a tree my first week. twice. the second time i was sure i'd broken the gimbal but it was fine. these things are tougher than they look i think

someone told me to practice with a cheap little toy drone indoors first to get used to orientation stuff and i honestly wish i'd done that before going outside with the real one