Hey Y'all, I 've had my Phantom 1.1.1 for just over a year now and for about the past six months, have had an ever increasing itch for doing loops and rolls in Manual Mode. So I finally made the big decision and changed the S1 switch bottom position to manual. This was only after weeks of studying everything I could find (and there's not a lot) on piloting in Manual Mode.
The tips ranged from "Don't Do It!!!" to "Altitude is your friend", and a few others which lacked enough substance to reprint here. So after making the change in NAZA Assistant, I went out for my first attempt at manual flight. I knew I had to have altitude for a safety cushion, so I launched in GPS and attained 100 meters before I even flipped the S1 switch to Manual.
The first thing I noticed on my FPV monitor screen was the altitude was decreasing steadily with both sticks at neutral, so I gave it some throttle and rose back to 100 meters. Then I gave her full throttle and full back stick (on the right stick) and did a perfect loop with great recovery. I was hooked!!! So I tried a few rolls and they were even easier to execute and easier to recover from. I got in trouble a few times and just hit the S1 back to GPS and she stopped like a rock. As I brought her in closer I decided to "one more roll" (famous last words), not noticing I was only at about 60 meters or so. As I tried to recover, I noticed it was headed down at a 45 degree angle and I hit S1 to GPS, but it was too late. Minor damage, a motor replaced, and more studying gets me to today's flight.
I was evidently sidetracked by the desire for straight and level forward flight, so my aerobatics stunk. I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to proceed slowly forward (at first) without losing altitude. BTW, I've been to flight school for my private pilot license, but due to legal hassles between the owner and another pilot, the school got closed down after a few weeks. So I'm familiar with all the controls and principles of "straight and level". What I don't understand is how to attain this with the props parallel to the ground instead of perpendicular like in a fixed wing. So here are a few questions for those familiar with Manual Mode...
1) Does the bird have to attain a very slight nose down pitch for the props to push forward?
2) If so, how would one maintain the current altitude with a nose down pitch without causing descent?
3) Once straight and level forward flight is attained (in Manual Mode) is any rudder required for a slow banked turn?
That's about all I can think of now. Thanks in advance for any helpful advice you might be able to provide.
Fly Safe/ Fly Happy
The tips ranged from "Don't Do It!!!" to "Altitude is your friend", and a few others which lacked enough substance to reprint here. So after making the change in NAZA Assistant, I went out for my first attempt at manual flight. I knew I had to have altitude for a safety cushion, so I launched in GPS and attained 100 meters before I even flipped the S1 switch to Manual.
The first thing I noticed on my FPV monitor screen was the altitude was decreasing steadily with both sticks at neutral, so I gave it some throttle and rose back to 100 meters. Then I gave her full throttle and full back stick (on the right stick) and did a perfect loop with great recovery. I was hooked!!! So I tried a few rolls and they were even easier to execute and easier to recover from. I got in trouble a few times and just hit the S1 back to GPS and she stopped like a rock. As I brought her in closer I decided to "one more roll" (famous last words), not noticing I was only at about 60 meters or so. As I tried to recover, I noticed it was headed down at a 45 degree angle and I hit S1 to GPS, but it was too late. Minor damage, a motor replaced, and more studying gets me to today's flight.
I was evidently sidetracked by the desire for straight and level forward flight, so my aerobatics stunk. I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to proceed slowly forward (at first) without losing altitude. BTW, I've been to flight school for my private pilot license, but due to legal hassles between the owner and another pilot, the school got closed down after a few weeks. So I'm familiar with all the controls and principles of "straight and level". What I don't understand is how to attain this with the props parallel to the ground instead of perpendicular like in a fixed wing. So here are a few questions for those familiar with Manual Mode...
1) Does the bird have to attain a very slight nose down pitch for the props to push forward?
2) If so, how would one maintain the current altitude with a nose down pitch without causing descent?
3) Once straight and level forward flight is attained (in Manual Mode) is any rudder required for a slow banked turn?
That's about all I can think of now. Thanks in advance for any helpful advice you might be able to provide.
Fly Safe/ Fly Happy
