Hovering in M mode - unstable?

[thetechnobear]

Im continuing to practice my 'skills' in M mode, being more precise, more flowing, less jerky...


as part of that, I've been practicing flying slowly, and also to hover.

its generally going well, but Ive noticed when I get to a hover - the drone feels almost 'unstable'.

its hard to describe, but also as if it feels like its going to stall. almost like the thrust required to hover is pretty low, but if I give a bit more throttle - then of course I start to gain height (but it does feel more stable)
even a tiny bit of forward motions ( e.g. 1 m/s) seems to stabalise it.

is this a normal?

I think it could just be me being not used to it, perhaps just because the drone is stationary, its more sensitive to tiny movements and wind etc. ( * )
also of course, the horizon is pretty high (due to angle tilt - ive set to 20 degrees)

what I probably will try, is to use a shallower tilt - perhaps 15 or 10 deg, or even 0 for just this practice.

Im really hoping a firmware update would give us abilty to customise the tilt angle switch (c2) .. be great to have 25, 15, 0 ... so we can flip quickly depending upon how fast we want to fly.
(hmm, I should try changing gimbal wheel speed.... perhaps if less sensitve it'll be usable mid flight?!)


--------------------------
( * ) ive got some really comfortable rates/exp now , so it feels pretty smooth in normal flight, and im quite happy to fly at 20 deg , reasonably slowly - its just the hover.

 

[Kilrah]

Hover in M/acro is unstable by definition and the most difficult thing to do, yes you've got to constantly fight it, same as with a helicopter, even full scale. Angle at 0 should make it easier to see what you're doing but you still need your input to be way more precise than at speed.

 

[thetechnobear]

Hover in M/acro is unstable by definition and the most difficult thing to do, yes you've got to constantly fight it, same as with a helicopter, even full scale. Angle at 0 should make it easier to see what you're doing but you still need your input to be way more precise than at speed.

thanks, I felt like this was likely

anyway, yeah, put 3 more packs into practising ... and definitely improving alot.

funny, one pack, I had a bit more wind to fight against... and that really helped me get the feel - almost like leaning against something.
after that, it all started to feel alot more natural.

now I'm trying to learn control my speed better - so, i can vary my speed a little - rather than just going at the same (natural) speed all the time.

Im really hoping that an updated firmware wil give us a postive/negative on both VSI and speed ... so I can quickly tell when close to hover, if I got a tiny bit of forward/backward , or up/down.
an attitude meter would also help immensily. though of course, now I know that to hover sometime you need forward or roll attitude to counter the wind.


loads of fun though , feels amazing to bring the drone in really slowly to approach and landing - feels like more controlled.


btw: if you put gimbal speed to slow, you can definitely adjust it in M mode in flight.
though, at the moment, Im finding its perhaps taking my attention away from actually flying to much - but I think thats all just more practice.

 

[Kilrah]

Im really hoping that an updated firmware wil give us a postive/negative on both VSI and speed ... so I can quickly tell when close to hover, if I got a tiny bit of forward/backward , or up/down.

That would mostly just distract you, better to concentrate on the picture and spend time on getting the "feel" for the view. Easier if you fly low and/or have height references along your path like trees, buildings,...

Im finding its perhaps taking my attention away from actually flying to much - but I think thats all just more practice.

Don't play with the camera angle too much, that'll also mess up your references. Set an angle, fly a lot, get used to it first. Then change it to another and get a feel for the difference. Only start changing it in flight once you got used to that.

 

[rktman]

I believe this goes against FPV canon, I'd like to see vertical stabilization in acro, with the horizon angle settable. Add a (switchable) artificial horizon instrumentation (like in real aircraft).

Re hovering: You are doing exactly what the Flight Controller in the drone is doing in N/S modes when hovering. It's really hard!!

 

[IronSky1]

I found the FPV very unstable in the slightest wind I assumed may need more power at hover . Fine when it gets moving.

 

[rktman]

@IronSky1 , it's not "unstable", it's just that no one's keeping it fixed over the ground but you, and air is always moving around.

 

[IronSky1]

Good point I am used to years of stable positioning on other DJI drones. Cure is more practice!

 

[thetechnobear]

definitely

Ive put in quite a few packs now - with lots of hovering in different conditions, slow approaches, slow turns, braking .. and I think its helped my flying alot, its allowed me to see my weaknesses, and how I can improve.

its also a lot of fun, alot of the time its basically a balancing act - slight changes to throttle/pitch/row (and rarely yaw)

when I started in M move, I found it pretty easy to fly around fast, doing loops and rolls....
but now I can see, it was all very messy/hectic.
its now improving but more importantly, I believe ive found a way to practice that will help me improve over time.