Learning To Fly: Part Four -

Multirotors
This entry was posted on January 11, 2019 by Editor.

Introduction

In this article of our 'Learning to Fly' series, we will explore all things
multirotors!

Multirotors are cool. They come in all shapes and sizes and, just like
getting into flying fixed wing models; there are good choices to learn with
and less good choices.

Multirotors use the thrust from a number of motors and propellers to

create enough lift and quadcopters use a neat trick of using the counter-
rotating torque from the turning props to also rotate too.

Quadcopters are the most common multirotors youʼll come across but
you can buy or build multirotors with just two to dozens of motors and
props if you want to! It is tempting when looking at all of those ‘reviewʼ
videos on YouTube and the forums to become a little overwhelmed. New
models come out all the time and many reviewers will claim that every
model they review is ‘the best one yetʼ but few think about the needs of a
new pilot. Luckily for you – thatʼs exactly what this article is all about.

Unless you have the cash to spare and own a few acres then starting out
with one of those high performance 5” ‘racingʼ quads will make the
process harder than it needs to be. A far better option is one of those
‘indoorʼ quadcopters like a Tiny Whoop style model or something like the
EMAX Tinyhawk (pictured).

Indoor models will be calmer and offer prop protection for the other
things in the house (including you and the family!) as you will crash a lot
as you run through these lessons below. A smaller lighter model means
that itʼll shrug off a ‘hard landingʼ and be easy and cheap to repair if you
need to. Many (like the Hubsan models) come with a small transmitter in
the box to making the initial steps easier if you donʼt own a compatible
radio. Donʼt get one thatʼs controlled by an app on the phone, these are
fun but will not give you what you need to fly anything but DJI style video
drones.

If youʼre looking to learn then the use of a simulator is a good idea too. If
you already own a simulator then there will be multirotors models in there
somewhere so itʼs worth looking to see what is available.
Setup of the model

Expo
Center values settling on 1500
Throttle cut/arming switch
Throttle curve around the hover point
COG

If you buy a ‘Ready to Flyʼ or Bind and Fly (BNF) model then a lot of the
hard work is already completed for you. Videos like my BNF Beta flight
setup video will help you change the settings you need but a quality
model will be set up well out of the box. With that said, there are things
that you can do to make the model easier to fly.

Adding Exponential

You can add EXPO to the aileron, elevator and rudder controls on the
radio (or in the flight controller). I add about 20-30% EXPO to those
controls for new pilots as it helps to avoid excessive over-correction
causing crashes. As you get more conformable you can reduce this
value.
Make sure all the values for the controls are dead-centre

Unlike a fixed wing model you are not really flying the model but telling
the flight controller inside it what you want it to do. It uses those
instructions, along with the settings in the software and onboard sensors
to move in the way you want. Flight controllers will see a middle channel
value of 1500 as wanting no movement so if youʼre model drifts then
check that this is the case (see the manual for how to set that up for the
model you have). If the model isnʼt running something like Betaflight
where you can check these values on the radio via an app on a computer
then you can use the trims on the radio to help counter any ‘wanderingʼ.

Creating a curve around the hover point of the model

Depending on how powerful the model is, it may hover around 50%
throttle or it may hover using far less. When learning to fly, if you have a
radio that will let you, you can add a throttle curve to help flatten the
throttle response around the hover point and that can help a lot in the
coming lessons.

Centre of Gravity and Vibration

Just like any other flying machine, multirotors needs the centre of gravity
to be in the right place. Usually, the centre of gravity is in the middle of
the model, under the flight controller so make sure that youʼre not
mounting the battery too far to one side else the model will not fly as
well. This is even more important in fixed wing models but weʼll get to
that in a few articles time.

Also, remove vibration where you can, many pilots donʼt balance props
and then complain of noisy video or poorly performing flight controllers
that are difficult to tune. Vibration can be ‘feltʼ by the flight controller and
misinterpreted as a movement so unexpected twitching or drifting could
be due to vibration.

Starting out with Line of Sight

Last time I mentioned that the best way to learn was to start LOS. Too
often pilots ignore many of the lessons in the coming list and simply
avoid them and move into flying FPV only. That would leave you unable to
pass even the most basic competency LOS test and mean that in the
event of a problem with your FPV equipment you can safely control,
recover and land the model. Iʼve seen lots of ‘crashesʼ that could have
been avoided with a pilot with half decent LOS skills.

Remember that there are no short-cuts to learning how to fly well.

Practice and natural talent will decide how quickly you progress but itʼs
that practice that hones any natural ability you have and will improve the
skills you have.

The following lessons are something that Iʼve created based on

something I used to learn to fly helicopters – RADDs school of rotary
flight. When I started out learning to fly R/C helicopters RADDs was the
go-to way to learn how to fly and be able to control and fly the model
well. Modern multirotors are full of technology to help you to fly but each
step will help you learn another facet of the radio controls or how the
model reacts and flies.

Each lesson builds on the ones before them. If you canʼt crack one of
them, then donʼt worry. Just go back to the lessons before and get them
perfect. When you are learning you will find that it takes a lot of
concentration for the hand-eye coordination and itʼll feel like the model is
flying on its own and youʼre barely on control – this is normal. Eventually,
the movements and control needed to fly will start to come naturally and
then itʼll be automatic so you can focus on getting the model to do what
you need it to. Lesson Seven (flying nose in) kicked my butt for months
and months until It finally became automatic and now itʼs as natural as
any other orientation.

Last tip before we get into the lessons. Fly somewhere with lots of room
and nothing you donʼt want to be broken! An area with a smooth floor can
be nice too so something on the model doesnʼt get caught in the carpet
and flipped over.
Radio Mode?

One last thing – I would recommend learning in Mode 2, this is where the
movement controls are all on the right stick (like the cyclic on a
helicopter) and the throttle and rudder are on the left stick. This means
that for the majority of the lessons you can separate the different hands
for power and movement.

Ok, enough pre-amble – letʼs get to start of the lessons!

Lesson one – Learning to Manage the Throttle

Iʼve seen this a few times – someone watching a pilot who can fly the
model and asking for a ‘goʼ, being handed the controls and told to
increase the throttle carefully and then moving it way to fast and the
model smashing into the ceiling or becoming a dot in the sky before
everyone can blink!

Itʼs easy to under-estimate how vital good throttle control is to flying

multirotors. If youʼre flying something like a DJI camera drone then itʼs
slightly different but if you plan to fly almost anything else then you need
fine control to hover and move in any direction and maintain the height
you want. If you like to play video games and have good hand-eye
coordination and fast reflexes and used to holding a game controller then
this step can be easier for you.

The AIM

Here itʼs all about just getting you used to arming and disarming the
model and feeling how the model rises and falls without thinking about
anything else for the moment.

How To

Make sure you are in angle mode for this part and make sure you are in
an area that is big enough for the model to wander a little without hitting
something.

Place the model facing away from you. Arm the model so the motors turn
and raise the throttle until the model starts to lift off the ground, keep
increasing the throttle until it rises to waist height and then uses the
throttle to keep it at that height. If it starts to wonder then lower the
throttle to land. Disarm it then move the model back to the centre of the
area again.
Just focus on holding the model a few feet in the air and landing again.
Donʼt move onto the next step until you can keep it within a few inches
for a few minutes at a time.

Summary

Now youʼve started to learn then weʼll cover the rest of the lessons in the
next article. If the model wanders excessively during the hovering lesson
then check that the accelerometer is calibrated, the channel values for
elevator, rudder and aileron settle on 1500 and that youʼve not
accidentally moved the trims on the radio so the multirotors thinks you
want to fly in a particular direction.

Next time we will add some other controls to the throttle control skills
youʼve learned in lesson One so you can correct if the model starts to
move about and stay in the air longer.

Written by Painless360