Course Lock in NAZA mode

[WatsonTWD]

So last night I took off the training wheels and started flying in NAZA mode. Everything went fine and I really like some of the options that you get flying this way, but I do have a question about using Course Lock. I read everything that I could find and watched many videos so I thought that I had a handle on how this could be used. But then I had two different reactions in flight and I wonder which was correct.

I took off facing north let’s say, set the S2 switch to Course Lock, moved the stick forward and it moved forward like I expected. I then yawed the copter 90 degrees to the left, moved the stick forward, and the copter continued moving north while tracking/recording to the left, which is what I expected as well. But, when I did the same thing but this time yawing to the right, instead of flying north while the camera was pointed to the right, the copter itself started turning right. We reset and redid the experiment several times and the behavior was the same each time. Is this how it normal works, that you can pan/yaw in one direction but not the other?

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

 

[Pull_Up]

It should work like a grid - the X and Y axis being driven by the initial orientation of the aircraft when the Course Lock is set. You should be able to pirouette around and around for example whilst holding the right stick "forward" and it should maintain the initial orientation of travel over the ground even when spinning around like a top. If it's spinning off track it might be worth recalibrating the compass in a good, clear area away from all ferro-magnetic materials and seeing if it still wanders off Course after that...

 

[WatsonTWD]

Thanks for the input Pull_Up, that's good to know. Too follow up with the original question then, how far away is far enough? We were flying in a high school parking lot with metal parking signs maybe 15-20 feet away. My SUV was maybe even around the same distance. One wall of the high school was maybe 50-75 feet away but I can't believe that it would be a problem. So - rule of thumb - what's a safe distance away from material like that?

 

[Pull_Up]

If you were in a parking lot you've also got to think about rebar beneath your feet... Middle of an open grassy area is usually safest. Then do a hover test above head height and watch its behaviour. Any circling motion in a hover, even slight, is a good indication you need to recalibrate.

 

[WatsonTWD]

I meant to get out last night and re-calibrate in an open field and see how she flew but was unable to find the time. Hopefully I'll be able to do so and report back on the progress. I guess since many people on this forum don't believe in needing to re-calibrate unless you've traveled a good distance, once it's done correctly it won't need to be done again anytime soon. Pretty much all of my flights have been done within a 5-8 mile radius of "home base."

 

[BlackTracer]

I meant to get out last night and re-calibrate in an open field and see how she flew but was unable to find the time. Hopefully I'll be able to do so and report back on the progress. I guess since many people on this forum don't believe in needing to re-calibrate unless you've traveled a good distance, once it's done correctly it won't need to be done again anytime soon. Pretty much all of my flights have been done within a 5-8 mile radius of "home base."

I also fly within 10 miles of my compass cal point and I have calibrated my compass 3 times in 3 months and 60 flights. I have not had any symptoms of needing a cal in that time. The first time was when it was new out of the box. The second time was when I switched to NAZA two days later. The third was about a week ago for no apparent reason. Just for fun.