Learning To Fly: Part Five

This entry was posted on January 17, 2019 by Editor.

Introduction

So far in this series, weʼve looked at whatʼs involved in learning to fly and
then we spent some time looking at the things you need and best ways to
go about it.

In the last article we will start the lessons needed to get into the air safely
and in a controlled way. This process will help you learn to fly safely and
have the most fun while not wrecking the model inside of two minutes
and end up with you wanting to give up on the whole idea.

So, by now you should have a feel for getting the model moves in the air
with the throttle and started to master maintaining its height using small
adjustments to the throttle control on the radio, landing if the model drifts
too far outside of the safe area you have.

Thatʼs a great start and thatʼs one control out of the few youʼll need to
master in order to fly. Now we need to actually move the model around a
little and work on the others.
Remember that every pilot takes their own time to master the moves and
skills needed for each lesson. If you feel that youʼre struggling with a
particular lesson, take solace from the knowledge that weʼve all been
there and go back to the previous lesson to get your confidence and
determination back before re-tackling the tricky lesson again.

Lesson One – Staying in the Box

TIP: make sure that your model has an auto-level feature turned on. In
Beta flight this called ANGLE mode. Itʼs great when youʼre learning to fly
and youʼll keep this on during the entire time youʼre mastering the
controls.

This time youʼre going to fly in the same 2m sided square youʼve been
using in Lesson One but this time youʼll correct for any drifts and keep
working until you can also move (and hold it) in one place easily.

Take off as you did last time and now use the right stick (in Mode 2 radios
– see previous articles) to control the movement. With the rear of the
model facing you the movement on that right stick mirrors exactly the
movement of the model. Push the stick to the right, the model moves to
the right, move it away from you, the model moves away too. This is why I
like Mode 2 radios; they make more sense for many new pilots.

One thing youʼll find in this step is that if the model is moving in a
direction then you need to input a little of the opposite direction to stop
the model moving. This can feel odd at first and I felt like it was balancing
a basketball on the back of my hand with lots of little corrections.

It takes only a small movement on the controls for you to get the model
moving so practice small movements and bringing the model to a stop
afterwards. If you feel the model is getting away from you or starts to
rotate then lower the throttle and land the model as you did in Lesson
One, replace the model in the middle of the practice square and start
again.

As you get more practice youʼll start to feel less like youʼre chasing the
model with the radio and more like itʼs moving where you want it to be
(more on that in the next lesson).
If holding the model inside the 2m box is too easy for you then you can
look at also varying the throttle to maintain the height perfectly while
doing it when the model is using some of the thrust that normally keeps it
in the air to move - it will sink slightly. So you need a fraction mode
throttle when moving and less when itʼs hovering. This takes some fine
control.

Youʼll know when you are ready for the next lesson when you can hover
for an entire battery inside the box and maintain position without too
much trouble. If you can easily do this inside 2 meters, then try it inside a
1-meter box, if thatʼs too easy then try to keep the model inside a 30
cam/12 inch square.

Iʼd move into the next lesson when you can hover easily for the entire
battery inside a 30cm square.

Lesson Two – Moving around the box

Last lesson was all about learning to move the pitch and roll controls with
the throttle to manage a controlled hover. This time itʼs all about learning
to move the model using those same controls. AT this point weʼre not
interested in the rudder or trying anything too fancy with the quadcopter
yet - in this step youʼll start to feel like youʼre flying the model for the first
time.

Hover at waist height again and try to fly a square around the outside of
the square, coming to a halt at each corner. If you feel the model is
getting away from you or starts to rotate, then lower the throttle and land
the model as you did in the previous lessons and start again.

Try the movement in a clockwise direction and then anti-clockwise.

Alternate so you are comfortable going in both directions equally. This
isnʼt a race to work on slow, smooth movements with clean stops at each
corner.

Watch that height too! Continue to use the throttle to maintain the height
through the manoeuvres.

Once you can do it without too much trouble then increase the speed a
little to make the stopping at each corner a little more work.

Youʼll know when itʼs time to progress to the next step when you can fly
to the corners of the imaginary 2m sided box youʼre flying in without
thinking too much about it.

TIP: Keep going! When youʼve mastered this step many pilots now feel
that they can fly but youʼve got a few more lessons yet. Youʼve only learnt
the very basics and there are a few more lessons to master so that when
you progress to FPV you can control the model even if something
happens to the video feed.

Lesson Three – Starting to rotate the model

By now youʼre starting to feel like youʼre flying the model and youʼve
mastered a lot of the basic pieces needed to fly. There is one control
weʼve not looked at yet and there is a reason it only comes in at Lesson
Four as itʼs the one that can cause the most trouble for many new pilots.

The rudder is on the same control as the throttle (Mode 2 radio) and you
may have moved it accidentally when youʼve been moving the throttle in
the previous lessons. One thing you may have noticed is that as soon as
the tail of the model moves away from pointing directly towards you then
the model no longer accurately moves in the same position as the right
stick making control less easy.

The model is rarely in this ‘perfectʼ alignment with the tail pointing
towards you when flying so we need to learn to control the model in all
orientations. The next few lessons are all about mastering this skill.
This can be tricky at first and for many pilots is one of the hardest parts
of the series. This is also why many pilots ‘bailoutʼ at this point as they
‘are going to fly FPV anywayʼ but if you've made it this then youʼll agree
with Napoleon Hill – “One of the most common causes of failure is the
habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat”.

Practice hovering with the tail slightly to one side then the other. Use the
rudder to move the tail from pointing directly towards you to slightly one
side. If you imagine a clock face over the model then 6 oʼclock is when
the tail is pointing towards you. Move the tail to the 7 oʼclock position and
try and hover for a minute. Then move it back into the 6 oʼclock and give
yourself a brief respite before moving the tail using the rudder into the 5
oʼclock position for a minute.

For some this feels like the backward step – you felt you were starting to
fly in the last bit and now youʼre back to hovering!

Understanding the impact on the controls caused by the orientation of

the model is fundamental and then you have it youʼll be able to fly almost
anything line of sight. If your brain is starting to overheat on this step
then drop back to the last lesson and give yourself a taste of simple flying
again before re-tackling this lesson.

If you start to feel that the 7 and 5 oʼclock positions are becoming too
easy then try moving the tail of the model further round. Try not to cheat
too much by rotating your body to match the models' orientation - I did
that sometimes for this lesson and it helps when you get into trouble but
doesnʼt help in the long run.

Lesson Four – 9 oʼclock and 3 oʼclock rotation

Last lesson we looked at using the rudder to rotate the model to the 7
and 5 oʼclock positions and a little further. After enough practice in the
last step youʼre ready for hovering ‘side onʼ. ‘Side onʼ is when the front of
the model is facing to the right or left.
Now, remember that when the model rotates you have to take the
orientation of the model into account. Initially, every one of these steps
will require lots of mental energy but, just like learning to drive a car,
youʼll find that the conscious effort falls away and you can perform the
more you want without too much effort.

TIP: Imagine that you are a little pilot sat in the ‘cockpitʼ of the model as
this can help orient the controls to match the orientation of the model.

As before, take off and hover at waist height and use the rudder control
to rotate the model so that one side of the model is facing you. For a
minute at a time, use the controls to maintain the hover position, if you
start to struggle, swing the tail of the model back towards you to regain
control and try again. Many pilots find they need to work in a larger 2-
meter square again and then reduce the size of the square as they start
to master this skill.

Alternate sides on the model and when you can hover without too much
trouble then try and gently move the model forward and backwards in a
controlled manner with the side of the model still facing you. Once you
can do this youʼre ready for the final few lessons!

Summary

All that took me about 6 months to master (I was learning with a

helicopter to spent as much time fixing the model as I did on the
lessons)!

There are only three lessons left in the series and when youʼve completed
them youʼll be able to fly and hover safely in any orientation – essential
for being in control of the model at all times.

For me, the last two lessons only clicked after I got a small indoor quad
and spent every evening in the lounge hovering it ‘side inʼ battery after
battery, night after night. There will be times when you feel that youʼre
never going to mater the lesson if you feel like that then put the model
away for a few days then come back to it. View it as a challenge and donʼt
let yourself be beaten by it!

Next time weʼll finish the lessons for multirotors, look at learning o fly FPV
and then we can look at learning to fly with the fixed wing!

Written by Painless360