As a result of a number of conditions in my life, I didn’t fly much for over a month, and didn’t fly the FPV at all. Starting Saturday, that changed.
I went through a quick version of my normal, timid first maneuvers in Normal mode, then incrementally up to non-timid maneuvers in Sport mode on the second flight. The drone was flying well, and I was flying it well, but it seemed to be a bit sluggish shifting from a descent to a climb. Zipping around the undulations on the opposite wall of my canyon, I’ll typically be going down and forward at substantial rates, and then pull up sharply as I approach the next ridge.
Think of the rescue scene with the speeders in Star Wars:Empire Strikes Back.
Obviously a sluggish pullup is Very Bad in that situation, and today, I realized what was happening—it’s bloody hot around here, currently 93º F! Not surprising that the pull-up would be a bit sluggish compared to the last time I did it, when temps were under 80º F.
Sunday I started with another Sport mode warm-up flight, and then took the plunge back into Manual mode…with a twist! I did not tighten the throttle screw on the back of the controller, because I wanted to see what that would be like.
I loved it! And, contrary to the dire predictions, I didn’t crash and burn. In fact, my first return-to-Manual flight was battery limited, with no need at all to punch out back to Normal mode. I easily covered 3 or 4 miles going up and down my canyon, in Manual mode, with no stick friction at all.
When I make the switch from Normal to Manual mode at the beginning of the flight, with no immediate control input from me, the drone drifts up slightly. That tendency was consistent throughout the flight, over a wide range of flight attitudes. I can still put the throttle wherever I want, but if I reduce whatever pressure I’m using to hold it in some position, it will generally tend to drift upwards as a result. That totally works for me!
I’m sure I’ll catch a ration for being a heretic about this, but I’m going to develop a transition training plan around learning to fly in Manual mode without having to change the stick friction. I should note, of course, that DJI does not approve this approach.
I’ll post it here when I get it done!
I went through a quick version of my normal, timid first maneuvers in Normal mode, then incrementally up to non-timid maneuvers in Sport mode on the second flight. The drone was flying well, and I was flying it well, but it seemed to be a bit sluggish shifting from a descent to a climb. Zipping around the undulations on the opposite wall of my canyon, I’ll typically be going down and forward at substantial rates, and then pull up sharply as I approach the next ridge.
Think of the rescue scene with the speeders in Star Wars:Empire Strikes Back.
Obviously a sluggish pullup is Very Bad in that situation, and today, I realized what was happening—it’s bloody hot around here, currently 93º F! Not surprising that the pull-up would be a bit sluggish compared to the last time I did it, when temps were under 80º F.
Sunday I started with another Sport mode warm-up flight, and then took the plunge back into Manual mode…with a twist! I did not tighten the throttle screw on the back of the controller, because I wanted to see what that would be like.
I loved it! And, contrary to the dire predictions, I didn’t crash and burn. In fact, my first return-to-Manual flight was battery limited, with no need at all to punch out back to Normal mode. I easily covered 3 or 4 miles going up and down my canyon, in Manual mode, with no stick friction at all.
When I make the switch from Normal to Manual mode at the beginning of the flight, with no immediate control input from me, the drone drifts up slightly. That tendency was consistent throughout the flight, over a wide range of flight attitudes. I can still put the throttle wherever I want, but if I reduce whatever pressure I’m using to hold it in some position, it will generally tend to drift upwards as a result. That totally works for me!
I’m sure I’ll catch a ration for being a heretic about this, but I’m going to develop a transition training plan around learning to fly in Manual mode without having to change the stick friction. I should note, of course, that DJI does not approve this approach.
I’ll post it here when I get it done!
