Avata 2 Manual Mode Adjusting the Sticks

[ace5112]

Is it important or absolutely necessary to loosen the stick when flying manual mode? I haven’t flown manual mode yet and trying to do my research before doing so. If I do loosen the stick then do I have to retighten the stick when flying normal or sports model every time?

 

[msinger]

I haven’t flown manual mode yet and trying to do my research before doing so

You should try flying in the simulator (probably many times) so you can understand how the controls work before attempting a real flight in manual mode.

If I do loosen the stick then do I have to retighten the stick when flying normal or sports model every time?

That's what most people do. When flying in manual mode, the aircraft will attempt to fly when the sticks are in the center. When flying in other modes, the aircraft hovers in place when the sticks are in the center.

 

[GerdS]

I learned manual flight with another copter and loose throttle stick. But as I used the same remote also for flying my SplashDrone (Avatar) which runs ArduCopter, I got tired from always changing stick settings when changing the copter. So I learned to fly manually even with centered throttle stick. It's just a thing of exercise. And now with the Avata I use the centered throttle stick, too.
But for learning to fly manually you should first use the loose throttle stick for safety.

 

[ace5112]

I learned manual flight with another copter and loose throttle stick. But as I used the same remote also for flying my SplashDrone (Avatar) which runs ArduCopter, I got tired from always changing stick settings when changing the copter. So I learned to fly manually even with centered throttle stick. It's just a thing of exercise. And now with the Avata I use the centered throttle stick, too.
But for learning to fly manually you should first use the loose throttle stick for safety.

Thank you. This was the answer I was looking for.

 

[Kilrah]

If I do loosen the stick then do I have to retighten the stick when flying normal or sports model every time?

No need, you just have to remember to center the stick yourself to keep current altitude.

IMO it's way less limiting and dangerous to have the stick unsprung for both modes than trying to fly manual with a centering stick. Precise throttle control is very important in manual so having a spring fighting you and trying to keep it at a level that is going to be inappropriate most of the time isn't great at all. And once you've flown manual having to set the throttle in other modes is essentially natural.

 

[ace5112]

No need, you just have to remember to center the stick yourself to keep current altitude.

IMO it's way less limiting and dangerous to have the stick unsprung for both modes than trying to fly manual with a centering stick. Precise throttle control is very important in manual so having a spring fighting you and trying to keep it at a level that is going to be inappropriate most of the time isn't great at all. And once you've flown manual having to set the throttle in other modes is essentially natural.

No need, you just have to remember to center the stick yourself to keep current altitude.

IMO it's way less limiting and dangerous to have the stick unsprung for both modes than trying to fly manual with a centering stick. Precise throttle control is very important in manual so having a spring fighting you and trying to keep it at a level that is going to be inappropriate most of the time isn't great at all. And once you've flown manual having to set the throttle in other modes is essentially natural.

Good advice. Makes total sense. Thank you.

 

[ace5112]

No need, you just have to remember to center the stick yourself to keep current altitude.

IMO it's way less limiting and dangerous to have the stick unsprung for both modes than trying to fly manual with a centering stick. Precise throttle control is very important in manual so having a spring fighting you and trying to keep it at a level that is going to be inappropriate most of the time isn't great at all. And once you've flown manual having to set the throttle in other modes is essentially natural.

Do you have both sides loosen or just the throttle side?

 

[Kilrah]

Only the throttle side of course.

 

[Cafguy]

I would not recommend flying manual mode without a loose throttle. Flying Manual requires a new set of reflexes and its best to start getting used to having the throttle all the way down and loose now, this way you won't be picking up any bad "habits" trying to fly with two different "setups". Manual or ACRO flying is something that needs to be developed thru reaction - flying Manual with a centered throttle will actually hinder your progress.
I never understood the centered throttle getup I was always taught to keep my throttle stick down when starting.

 

[Droning on and on...]

Please study the difference between Angle mode and Rate mode control. They are very, very different in how the aircraft responds to control input, and what exactly happens when you move the sticks.

In N/S (angle mode) the "throttle" is just an ascend/descend control, with "how fast" proportional to the amount of deflection from center. The Flight Controller in the drone handles motor speed.

I'm Manual (rate mode) the throttle control is a true throttle... The motor RPM is directly controlled by the stick like a gas pedal.

Manual flight requires a combination of constant throttle adjustment in concert with pitch/roll/yaw adjustments in an interdependent way. For a simple example, to go faster, you pitch forward a bit more with a blip on the pitch stick then back to center, while increasing the throttle.

As others have said, destroy the drone in the simulator hundreds of times first, rather than for real. All of your angle mode reflexes you've learned flying N/S are not only worthless, they're counter-productive. You must train yourself for an entirely different mapping in you head for what to do with the controls to make the aircraft do what you want.

 

[Droning on and on...]

FWIW, the stick spring issue has pretty much gone away for me since the Motion Controller became available. I do almost all N/S Avata flying with the MC2, it's just so much more fun. Angle mode using sticks with an FPV is, for me, boring to the extreme.

The stick controller is every bit as fun in Manual. For my old slowing brain, though, it's a lot of work, so I only fly manual about 25% of the time

 

[Droning on and on...]

I learned manual flight with another copter and loose throttle stick. But as I used the same remote also for flying my SplashDrone (Avatar) which runs ArduCopter, I got tired from always changing stick settings when changing the copter. So I learned to fly manually even with centered throttle stick. It's just a thing of exercise. And now with the Avata I use the centered throttle stick, too.
But for learning to fly manually you should first use the loose throttle stick for safety.

This is backwards to me, if I read it right.

I can't imagine trying to control in manual with a sprung stick, and it seems a little dangerous.

I have flown in angle mode (N/S) with an unsprung throttle, being as lazy as the rest of you slobinskis about changing it back and forth.

 

[ace5112]

Thank you everyone. I read all your suggestions and advice and appreciate the time everyone took out of their day to post response. Very helpful!