Beginner recommendation, don’t attach sticks to controller

[Artemis]

Came across a video referencing an instructor suggest newbies leave sticks off til they develop some skill, although you have access to functions that affect this and often people get longer sticks for increased sensitivity and accuracy, apparently flying with no sticks increases smoothness substantially for the newbie and reduces the chance of over reaction. This made sense to me but thought shorter sticks might Be a good substitute, these look to be sold out or discontinued but bh still had some in stock so I ordered a set to try….. I’ve been teaching myself the fundamentals using iOS app called drone simulator lite, it’s free and seems pretty good, taught myself how to orbit on it last night Ulanzi Rockers for DJI Mavic Air 2 Remote Controllers (Pair)

 

[msinger]

apparently flying with no sticks increases smoothness substantially for the newbie and reduces the chance of over reaction

I've never heard of attempting to fly with no sticks. That seems kind of dangerous.

Flying with longer sticks (and/or lots of practice) is the best way for a newbie to achieve smoother movements IMHO.

 

[Desert Drone Works]

A YouTuber I follow suggested the same. Said he has big hands so it feels more natural. I tried it…once. Never again. I just don’t think it’s wise. I use a telescoping set from Amazon. They were like $12.

 

[Artemis]

They were not suggesting this as a permanent solution, just to learn on til you developed some muscle memory, they said it made control better once you added the sticks later…. Anyway I think the shorter sticks will work better for thumb driving anyway…. I know that may change later, the push back from Others is probably because they already have experience and expectations….. ie this is just for beginners learning the basics…. Obviously I’m learning with no sticks now just flying the simulator on my ipad

 

[MA2 317]

often people get longer sticks for increased sensitivity and accuracy, apparently flying with no sticks increases smoothness substantially for the newbie and reduces the chance of over reaction.

Another key factor is if you are a "pincher" or "thumber" when flying the sticks.

You can get more control while pinching, once your used to it, but a lot of people grew up playing video games with hand controllers and thumbing seems natural when flying a drone.

A neck lanyard helps when flying using the pinch method because it's tough holding the remote while doing so.

.

 

[msinger]

You can get more control while pinching

This one is probably a personal preference.

I feel like I have more control when using my thumbs. But, I grew up playing video games, so maybe that's why it works better for me.

 

[Artemis]

I've never heard of attempting to fly with no sticks. That seems kind of dangerous.

Flying with longer sticks (and/or lots of practice) is the best way for a newbie to achieve smoother movements IMHO.

Actually just the opposite…. I have read threads like this though, it seems to be a hard concept to grasp of why it’s better by people who have been flying for a while, anyway guess I’ll be putting this to the test since I have zero experience, I can try all three

 

[Deleted member 103366]

I have used the likes of a Mavic Mini controller with out sticks, I found it awkward, especially the CSC position, which is how I start the motors, and possibly the throttle fully closed position which is what I use to land and stop the motors. I found there is a tendancy for the pivot ball to slip under the thumb.
I would also have some concern about the forces being appied to the ball mechanism, I suspect there would be a tendancy to push the ball into the controller.

 

[Artemis]

I have used the likes of a Mavic Mini controller with out sticks, I found it awkward, especially the CSC position, which is how I start the motors, and possibly the throttle fully closed position which is what I use to land and stop the motors. I found there is a tendancy for the pivot ball to slip under the thumb.
I would also have some concern about the forces being appied to the ball mechanism, I suspect there would be a tendancy to push the ball into the controller.

I was actually concerned about that, when running the simulator on my iPad it surprised me how much force I was applying to the touch screen, not sure why I do that but I do, anyway that and The potential for slippage is one reason I went ahead and ordered the shorter sticks, we will see how it goes, I’m sure I’ll have a good idea what feels best fairly quickly… right now I’m just trying to get to the point on the sim where I don’t have to think about which way to move them for desired result…. Basically just a ton of move and hover… the sim has a field where you just fly around knocking sticks down, I think it’s been pretty helpful getting me ready for first flight

 

[Artemis]

It seems biggest challenge for me is knowing the orientation…. I guess you look at the phone Screen to help with that, but obviously which way it moves is 100% based on which way the head is pointing, I imagine it’s easy to get confused

 

[old man mavic]

@Artemis the length of the sticks ,does have some bearing on the response the drone makes to a given amount of stick movement
what it does is change the moment angle between the pivot point of the stick and the end of the the stick itself
if the stick length is extended that reduces the sensitivity of the drone movement ,in relation to how far the sticks are moved,
and of course having a shorter stick length increases that sensitivity
the only real way to master the controls ,on any RC type vehicle be it car, or plane, or in our case drone is to drive /fly repetitive manoeuvre's until they become second nature ,a simulator is fine to get to grips with the basics ,but airtime is the key to real success
any thing that is controlled from a fixed point by a radio control ,has the same issues ,of the changing direction, in response to stick movement,in relation to what direction it is moving ,and its that issue which causes more crashes than anything else
there will come a point when it all falls into place and you will be able to know exactly how the drone will respond regardless of what direction it is travelling in ,in relation to you

 

[Artemis]

Sounds like a choice of how much movement you desire for an intended reaction but also the size of your hands,the size of the controller and comfort height of the sticks ,having your thumbs rest on the controls…. If that statement is true you would think the market for different sticks would be bigger…. Very little to choose from in my limited search this morning…. It does appear the new controller would change the equation at least some

 

[Deleted member 103366]

The longer the stick the smaller the angle change produced by moving the thumb end of the stick through a given distance. As a consequence the smaller the repsonse from the drone (this is written ignoring changes made by altering the contoller's EXP settings.)
You might translate that as the longer the stick the finer the degree of control.

 

[Artemis]

The longer the stick the smaller the angle change produced by moving the thumb end of the stick through a given distance. As a consequence the smaller the repsonse from the drone (this is written ignoring changes made by altering the contoller's EXP settings.)
You might translate that as the longer the stick the finer the degree of control.

I think thats the driving factor from the instructor recommending starting without sticks, the act of making very fine adjustments with minimal movement becoming muscle memory would make you a better flyer once you move to sticks…. Whether people agree or not I think that’s the logic of it

 

[msinger]

It seems biggest challenge for me is knowing the orientation

Yep. It's like riding a bike. After you practice for a while, you'll be able to do it without much effort.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

I think thats the driving factor from the instructor recommending starting without sticks, the act of making very fine adjustments with minimal movement becoming muscle memory would make you a better flyer once you move to sticks…. Whether people agree or not I think that’s the logic of it

I agree and it is a way to necessitate minimal movement but still think it would be awkward for a beginner.

 

[msinger]

I think a beginner would also have to start from scratch after installing the sticks since everything would feel different. If one wants to learn to fly with sticks, then I think it makes sense to start with the sticks right away.

 

[Artemis]

I agree and it is a way to necessitate minimal movement but still think it would be awkward for a beginner.

Bh already shipped the short ones after ordering this morning so I’ll probably start with those instead of stick less, I do understand the logic of it and may even prefer the shorter sticks, they still fit in the controller storage area also

 

[old man mavic]

@Artemis irrespective of the length of the sticks you use that will not make any difference to the way the drone responds if it is flying with front facing away from from you ,or with the front facing you
the opposite responses to stick movement will still apply
and it is that different movement ,that is one of the most difficult things to learn when it comes to flying any sort of aircraft
but as @msinger said what ever stick length you choose then stick with them (no pun intended)
as you learn to fly

 

[Artemis]

@Artemis irrespective of the length of the sticks you use that will not make any difference to the way the drone responds if it is flying with front facing away from from you ,or with the front facing you
the opposite responses to stick movement will still apply
and it is that different movement ,that is one of the most difficult things to learn when it comes to flying any sort of aircraft
but as @msinger said what ever stick length you choose then stick with them (no pun intended)
as you learn to fly

Was just looking at the exp settings, looks like I can fine tune even with the shorter ones, should be fun by itself determining the sweet spot, I agree with you though, once I settle I should stick with it till I have lots of flight hours in, also was planning on just using cina mode for a while