How to fly like a pro? Not like a girl...

[Andy7]

... okay, I take back the "like a girl" bit. 

But, right now, my flying is still limited to nose-out circles and hasty landings as soon as my heading isn';t directly away from me.

Does anyone know any good quad flying tutorials or guides so that I can start to fly properly?
I';ve also got a little Hubsan X4-2 that I can throw about, but really want to get good with the big quad (see spec in sig).

Ultimately, I want to get good enough to justify buying an FPV so that I can begin to get some REAL fun from my labours.

Cheers

[Chippercheese]

Get super clear indicators for orientation - whether its LEDs, contrasting arms/props, ping pong balls on the front, or all of the above.. Then practice, practice and more practice.

To be honest, I find it a lot easier to fly FPV as orientation doesn';t become an issue - since you';re always looking out the front of the quad.

[Biffa]

There is no ';idiots guide'; to flying anything although multi rotors are the easiest of the bunch.

The best thing you can do IMO is stick with the little Hubsan and train yourself on that as they are really good fun and can take quite a bashing.

And as CC says, practice, practice, practice and throw in lots of patience. Becoming a competent flyer doesn';t happen over night

[kilby]

It';s pretty boring but my first few weeks where spend time flying the BMFA A & B helicopter achievement patterns.

It';s dull but it helps a lot especially if you start alternating with nose in/nose out.

I started in Loiter mode and then switched to Stabilized once I had some confidence.

Probably not the bast way to do things but then I never had any success with the X4 (the Blade Nano QX was a different matter though)

[FlyingMouse]

The best thing you can do IMO is stick with the little Hubsan and train yourself on that as they are really good fun and can take quite a bashing.

I'd second that, can't go wrong with the little Hubsan, great for teaching you nose in and side on without the big cost of repairs on any larger multirotor.
When the Hubsan is side on to you, twist yourself slightly or just the Tx the same way it may help, then when you are nose in remember by push/pulling the aileron/elevator  stick in the direction you want to stop the craft going will stop it going in that direction. Hope this helps you!! Good luck. 

[Hands0n]

Have a search on this forum for a thread discussing flying Nose In. I used a Hubsan X4 to teach myself that and it transferred across to my 450 sized quad no problem.

As others have said, make the orientation of your aircraft distinguishable as you can so you at least know front and rear facing.

Also practise some strategies for discovering orientation at distance. For example, do this closer by you at first, hover, then roll left and right gently. If the aircraft moves in the same direction as the stick then it is facing away from you. If it moves in the opposite direction then it is facing you. If it doesn';t move at all then it is side on to you (use Pitch to find out which side).

It is all about learning what works for you. Having a few well rehearsed strategies helps get out of trouble when it happens.

Welcome to a most fascinating and enjoyable hobby

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[nub]

practice and time, if you stick at it, it will come

i still lose orientation at times with mine though i have no markings or leds but at certain angles it can still confuse me and i worry for a a split sec until it comes back.

[DebianDave]

Practice as said. I find the Hubsan harder to control than my 250 sized quad at medium distance tbh, everything happens so quickly with them 

[xxpitt]

i can';t fly line of sight to save my life, fpv is much easier, you just need to practice LOS till you have an understanding how a quad is controlled and reacts to stick inputs. you don';t have to be great at it to start FPVing like others have said it';s mostly an orientation issue and that';s eliminated ones you get the goggles on. I';m not saying that your going to find fpv a breeze still takes practice, a lot of hovering in a stabilized mode. Just my opinion

[DebianDave]

Problem occurs when you lose the video link some distance away, which has happened to me when my Mobius sliped free of it';s zip tie shackles 

Managed to bring her in by facing away and steering back in reverse!  :embarrassed I really want to get better at LOS, I just have so little time and budget for crashes!

[xxpitt]

Yes the trick there is to not fly beyond your video link 

Stay close till you';ve got the hang of it. Losing video could happen when your beyond line of sight so being good at LOS wont save you. You need to invest in a rtl system if thats your worry. If money is the problem buy a 250 size Chinese frame much tougher than the bigger frames. If you lose video just dump it. Chances are your replacing a few props at the very most. Then the money you was going to spend on rtl you can spend on increasing the range of your video

[teslahed]

... okay, I take back the "like a girl" bit. 

Good because here';s Stef flying her mini ';Teslaquad'; quadcopter;

http://youtu.be/63WL-hwqcOQ

I would definitely agree that there';s no substitute for stick time. Smaller lighter weight quadcopters are the easiest and cheapest way to get this, even a Hubsan X4.

[DebianDave]

Yes the trick there is to not fly beyond your video link 

Physics cares not for you video link range  My point was, it';s a good idea to be at least a little proficient in manoeuvring your craft LOS before diving into FPV antics, as you may find yourself without a picture unexpectedly

[dirtyharry]

A single bright led on the front was the biggest saver for me along with horizon mode.

when I lose orientation  ( note I said when not if ) I just level off / turn it to see the light , and head home. It gave me the confidence to go faster + further without worrying about orientation all the time.

I have a 5v ubec on the quad so I just run one of the 3w leds off it with 3 diodes in line ( they drop 0.7v per diode so you get 2.9v at the LED)

http://www.hobbyking.co.uk/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=46610

[guest325]

Good because here';s Stef flying her mini ';Teslaquad';

Not quite a fair comparison,  Stef is sh1t hot - years of flying planks behind her gives her a major advantage over an RC newbie ::) ::) ::)

[Andy7]

Just tried that "it';s like balancing a pole" trick from the "who can fly nose in" thread on my Hubsan... Wow, genius way of seeing things.

I also realised that I have a crapload of IKEA led strips in all kinds of colours hanging about doing nothing. Might commandeer a few of those to strap onto my quad arms. 

[Hands0n]

It was the balancing pole that struck a chord with me also. Worked a treat :-)

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