Beginner’s Guide to How to Fly a Quadcopter

Posted by Sheila J. Shaw on January 17th, 2021

Are you looking for a hobby? Do you wish to fly? There are plenty of articles on finding the right quadcopter like Drone X Pro, DJI Mavic Air 2, DJI Mini 2. What about how to fly a quadcopter? Learning to navigate a quadcopter is not less important than finding the right one. So, let’s get started!

SAFETY MEASUREMENTS

Before you get started with a new task, the first duty is ensuring safety. You know, any flying device could turn out to be dangerous while flying. In case your quadcopter is larger than a regular dining plate, you must tie it down or keep it within a cage so that no one gets injured by the drone. When you are quite sure of a crash, be sure to put throttle all the way down to ‘zero,’ so the quad doesn’t get broken or else doesn’t damage something if it were to crash on. However, this precisely depends on the weight and measurement of the quadcopter you will use in the first place.

Always keep your fingers away from the blades. There might be a big blow lest the machine is powerful.

Never forget to unplug the quadcopter before you get to fix it anytime. All it takes is one flip of the switch for a disastrous situation.

TERMINOLOGY

It is necessary to learn some terminology regarding flight pattern. As you will fly the quad for the first time, the front end must be away from you. This would be convenient for easy control of the flight, as, in this position, the drone’s left and right sides will be your left and right. When the device is facing you, the controls are backward for you.

The rotation for moving the tail end and front end is called ‘pitch.’ So, the front end will always remain at a higher position than the tail end, or it could be the opposite depending on the quad’s movement, that is, forward or backward.

‘Roll’ is used for side to side rotation. The quad can move either to the right or left in this way.

When you are a rookie pilot, you should be considering the altitude, i.e., you may quickly master the controls, flying the quadcopter at a low height.

THE CONTROLLER

Controllers can be heavy-duty or just essential. However, thinking of a newbie pilot, I will be discussing the primary controller and its function.

The left portion on the controller (the stick) maintains the altitude and controls the yaw. The default area is set to be between the down and the middle (at ‘0’ motor speed). For side to side manipulation, it should automatically make its way towards the center. The yaw is the side to the side area of the controller.

The pitch and the roll are controlled with the rightmost stick. The role works in a side to side direction, whereas the rise in an up and down position. The little switches can manipulate the way the quadcopter wants to be flying by default. A more straightforward controller might not have these; nevertheless, changing the controls can help if the quad is not taking off.

Controls are a big part of learning how to fly a quadcopter since it will shape your way toward becoming a successful drone pilot!

BEGINNING A FLIGHT

Once again, when flying for the first time, you need to maintain a lower altitude. At first, very slowly lift the altitude node to get an idea of how quickly the quad can take off with the existing motor settings.

Don’t even think of moving it in the first place; try to maintain a lower altitude all the time and then gradually raise it higher.

Moving the Quadcopter

Now that you are entirely comfortable maintaining the quadcopter at a standard height, you should start moving it as a part of how to fly a quadcopter. First of all, try making it go in a circle.

Keep the yaw neutralized by keeping it faced away from you. Now using the roll and the pitch, try moving it in the clockwise direction. Once you are in the grip of it, try doing it anti-clockwise. The next step would be moving between these two directions, but it can only be initiated after mastering the first two.

REVERSE DIRECTION

The last phase of learning how to fly a quadcopter is the reverse direction. Using the yaw, make the quadcopter face to face with you. Make a clockwise circle right away. Notice carefully that the controls are now exactly different than what they were previously with the additional yaw.