A total noob with sky high ambitions

[Rajan]

Hello everyone.

A small introduction. I am a database architect by profession and am based out of Bangalore, a city in India. I am a major DIY fan and have dabbled with automobiles, electronics, carpentry and a few other things.

My curiosity in this arena started with something totally unexpected. I had ordered some electronics stuff which was delivered to me. On opening the package, I realized that there was a mixup by the courier and I had been delivered a GPS module meant for a RC helicopter. So, I signed up on an Indian RC forum and started hunting for the rightful owner. Eventually, the courier company collected the item back. Thus began an interest in flying and I started reading up a lot on how to go about this. The areas that really interested me were aerial video and FPV. So, Quadcopters were the natural choice.

After lurking in shadows for a while and trying to understand what it takes, I finally decided to take the plunge and looked around for shopping lists. Here is the list I have put together, based on several sources. I am looking at this as an intermediate build and will definitely be building a more advanced quad in the near future. Without much ado, here is what I have ordered:

Q450 V3 Glass Fiber Quadcopter Frame 450mm - Integrated PCB Version
Turnigy D2830-11 1000kv Brushless Motor
Turnigy Plush 30amp Speed Controller
Slow Fly Electric Prop 9047
Hobbyking KK2.1.5 Multi-rotor LCD Flight Control Board With 6050MPU And Atmel 644PA
Hobby King 2.4Ghz 4Ch Tx & Rx V2 (Mode 2)

I have also ordered the necessary connectors, servo leads, USBAsp programmer, ESC flashing hardware etc.

In the meantime, since I have never flown anything apart from paper rockets as a kid, I ordered and received a UDI RC U816A yesterday. The longest I have been able to keep it airborne is 10 seconds. Once the quad is up in the air about 5 feet, it starts going away in one random direction on it's own. The chinglish manual is very hard to decipher. Can you guys please point me in the right direction? I am not expecting to become an ace pilot overnight, but being unable to control a toy grade quad is kinda embarrassing

Thanks,

Rajan

 

[cranialrectosis]

Welcome to FliteTest!

I too am a DBA by trade. Gotta love SQL!

Congratulations on learning on a toy first. It will save you tons in the long run.

Since you are mode 2 (assuming the toy is also mode 2), the left stick is throttle and yaw. The right stick is elevator and aileron.

Unless you have GPS and a barometer (not likely on the toy), the copter will drift as there is nothing to keep it in place. Autolevel just levels the copter, it won't fly it for you.

Start by keeping the back of the copter facing you. Don't play with yaw much at first, so use the left stick for throttle and try to keep the left stick going straight up and down. Use the right stick to move the copter around. If you push the right stick to the right, the copter should 'strafe' right. If you push the right stick forward, the copter should move forward.

When you get into trouble, chop throttle and recover the craft.

I learned on a Syma X1 and learning to fly on a toy is definitely the right way to go!

Good luck and welcome again to multirotors and FliteTest!

 

[x0054]

Also, I am not sure how to do that on the toy quad you have, but look up how to calibrate the accelerometer on it. Usually you place the quad on a flat surface and do throttle down yaw left while moving the pitch left and right. It might be different on your quad, try to see if the manual says anything about it. Without a good calibration the quad will move all over the place. Fly in an area with no active fans or lot of air movement at first. Also, make sure you got orientation right? I know it sounds silly, but make sure you are not looking at the quad backwards.

 

[pscherry78]

I really want to do a large custom built tricopter myself, but started small too. Seem to be repairing my equipment just as much as flying it.
Broke a shaft over the weekend on my mQX (couldn't recover a high fall), and will probably use it as spare parts for my Blade 180qx quad. Been looking at Air Hogs RC Helix X4 Stunt to have easier practice indoors.

 

[cranialrectosis]

Always start small and light.

Heavy copters break more and are more expensive when they crash. When you start building your own, look hard at the Knuckle H quad by Flitetest with small motors and small lipos. It's a tough copter and if you keep it < 800 grams (without the lipo) you will have a copter that can flip and roll and do stunts but doesn't break the bank when learning how to fly it.

 

[makattack]

Hello and welcome to the hobby and the FliteTest community! There's actually a great FT video on learning how to fly multirotors with great advice from the guys, primarily Alex:

http://flitetest.com/articles/how-to-fly-a-multirotor

I've mostly flown fixed wing planes, but after FliteFest, with a demo/passed transmitter courtesy of FlyingMonkey and his mini-quad, I bought the Electrohub in a tricopter configuration and plan to build it this Winter. In the meantime, I've been practicing with the Blade NanoQX which is small, light, and durable enough that I feel like it's a great way to learn. I can fly it well inside in stability mode, but it's a challenge in the other two more acrobatic modes. I'm still practicing on those modes to get a better feel for the sticks, but switch to stability mode to practice flying in different orientations, etc. I have a long way to go, so i won't be rushing the electrohub build.

Good luck and enjoy your journey!

 

[Chris Knotek]

KK2.1.5 arming

I also just made a quad, but I don't know how to arm it. I have a kk2.1.5 and did a reciver test and I saw that the reciver was working. Does anyone know how to arm or any have ideas of another problem?

 

[cranialrectosis]

Hello Chris and welcome to Flitetest.

You arm your copter by putting the throttle all the way down and right. Disarm is all the way down and left.

 

[Cyberdactyl]

you must do the acc calibration before it will arm

 

[Rajan]

Thanks for the tips everyone. That video was really helpful. From being an unruly child yesterday, the quad has now become a playful puppy. Small improvement, but satisfying, nonetheless

Though I also ordered and received an extra battery, charging for an hour to be able to practice for 15 mins is kinda killing me

Rajan

 

[Chris Knotek]

thanks acc calibration worked