How to fly and turn smoothly

[steve13]

As an old pilot with lots of hours, I am frustrated that I cannot seem to make smooth, sweeping turns that look good on video with my 2S

I have tried various combinations of yaw and roll to be smooth but also to achieve the turn rate I want.

Yaw is too quick and jerky, roll alone does not turn as I want, while also moving forward at the same time of course.

Any help tips and exercises to learn the required technique.

Thanks!!

 

[maggior]

There are adjustments you can make to the yaw rate that can help. You can also adjust the motion of the gimbal so it can come to a smooth stop. I also find that the Smart Controller makes it much easier to make small movement.

I always fly in "normal" mode. You could try that or "cinematic" mode. Sport mode is configured for fast reactions rather than smoothness.

Something else to try is changing the gimbal mode from "follow" to "fpv". When in FPV mode, when you apply yaw and roll at the same time, it will allow the gimbal to tilt some giving an impression of a banked turn and hints to what it would like like in a plan.

 

[steve13]

thanks, i have switched to cine mode, no real help, I will try the other 2 methods you suggest

 

[vindibona1]

thanks, i have switched to cine mode, no real help, I will try the other 2 methods you suggest

Go on YouTube and find some vids on different settings. This should help SOMEWHAT. However, while not widely expressed or noted, one of the issues with the controller shared by the Mini 2, Air 2, Air2s had dead spots near neutral. The sticks do not provide a smooth progression no matter what settings you put them on. Some find stick extenders to help. I am one who does not. I actually like shorter "rocker" type sticks which allow my hands to have more unrestricted movement that does not occur when my thumbs are elevated too much over the controller. The problem with the Cine mode of the Air2/Air2s/Mini 2 is that the max speeds run between 11mph and 13mph, far faster than the 2.5mph of the Mavic 2 tripod mode. IMO with the Mini 2 there is so little difference between the Cine mode and Normal mode, the only benefit

I think the trick is to figuring out the idiosyncrasies of the sensitivity and dead spots is to put some sticks on that are most comfortable for you (I like the Ulanzi's in the link below). Also get some good prop guards and practice flying in tight spaces indoors.

Ulanzi rocker sticks

 

[RadioFlyerMan]

I’ve changed my stick S-curves down to 20 to 15 percent to reduce the gain during the initial travel.

 

[eEridani]

Try this video - long - but worth watching -

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

It takes some practice and time to get used to moving those sticks very tenderly.

For a start though, with lower stick sensitivity with some settings changes, it is easy to achieve very smooth, slower turns and directional movement.

Even just slowing the gimbal speed to its lowest give you one less thing to be 'as careful' of when doing complex shots with sticks and gimbal.

I'm sure you will strike a happy medium for normal flight (P) and if you want to get somewhere fast, or just have some fun in the air, sports mode is the same as usual.

 

[maggior]

Go on YouTube and find some vids on different settings. This should help SOMEWHAT. However, while not widely expressed or noted, one of the issues with the controller shared by the Mini 2, Air 2, Air2s had dead spots near neutral. The sticks do not provide a smooth progression no matter what settings you put them on.

Those issues don't seem to be on the smart controller. When my smart controller was out for warranty repair, I bought a standard controller to use. I was surprised when I wasn't getting quite the same smooth motions I had been getting. I didn't realize how much the feel of the sticks played into it until I got my smart controller back. It was a pretty significant difference.

 

[Yaros]

In the settings you can change the Yaw Speed and Smoothness for every mode. Google this to know how to change it, you can also find some tutorials on YouTube!

 

[Jafo28]

I recently watched a video that suggested using what they called the pinch method of holding the sticks. As someone who is brand new, I always just used my thumbs. This guy pinches the sticks with his thumb and forefinger, and says you'll get better control. I haven't tried it yet myself, but thought I'd add it here.

 

[Dbez1]

Not wanting to insult you in case you already know this, but what others have been talking about… with your drone connected and turned on, touch the three dots on the upper right hand corner of your screen, then touch control, then touch advanced settings and you’ll see sliders that control yaw speed, etc. You could try sliding them to the left some but remember where they were initially in case you don’t like the changes. Maybe you already know this but it may help others. ? Best wishes.

 

[vindibona1]

Those issues don't seem to be on the smart controller. When my smart controller was out for warranty repair, I bought a standard controller to use. I was surprised when I wasn't getting quite the same smooth motions I had been getting. I didn't realize how much the feel of the sticks played into it until I got my smart controller back. It was a pretty significant difference.

That's good to know. With the Air2/Mini 2 controller there are significant dead spots which, combined with latency, play havoc on fine control. A little stick motion and there is slight movement, then dead spot and beyond that the movement accelerates rapidly and becomes jerky. I have suggested to DJI that instead of a (semi-useless) "cine" mode, they change that to a tripod mode like the Mavic 2, that has a max speed of 2.5 mph. In addition, the Mini 2 gets buffeted around by the air bouncing off the walls, floor and ceiling, particularly in door openings and could really use more precise control to help counter the air deflection. I have no idea why DJI didn't carry the tripod mode forward?

 

[steve13]

thanks to everyone

 

[hiflyer201]

are you talking as a fixed wing pilot or a hover craft pilot?. Nothing filmed with a drone looks like flight in an aircraft and in most cases that's a good thing! Spotlight is great for keeping the subject in view while orbiting and looks pretty smooth regardless of poor technique. Panning shots are pretty boring and not a good choice in my opinion.

 

[4006448]

I recently watched a video that suggested using what they called the pinch method of holding the sticks. As someone who is brand new, I always just used my thumbs. This guy pinches the sticks with his thumb and forefinger, and says you'll get better control. I haven't tried it yet myself, but thought I'd add it here.

I use this method - being new, I know nothing else. Seems to work for me. Also adjusted sensitivity as some posts mentioned.

 

[Drone_Pilot]

See if this video helps you with your question.

 

[D-Wreck BXNY]

I do not have as much experience as you. However, I learned to control my Mini in "round" and "oval" turns in large open fields with the drone about 5 meters high. Being able to visually observe the drone at low altitude and learn the remote stick movements to get the drone to turn in more accurate circles and ovals really did help me take better video when I put the drone up to higher altitudes. For me, to do the physical movements on the controller sticks and see the way the drone reacted at low altitude was so helpful as I scaled up the drones altitude. Best

 

[Drone_Pilot]

I do not have as much experience as you. However, I learned to control my Mini in "round" and "oval" turns in large open fields with the drone about 5 meters high. Being able to visually observe the drone at low altitude and learn the remote stick movements to get the drone to turn in more accurate circles and ovals really did help me take better video when I put the drone up to higher altitudes. For me, to do the physical movements on the controller sticks and see the way the drone reacted at low altitude was so helpful as I scaled up the drones altitude. Best

You are correct Sir. The best way is to manually fly your drone and muscle memory. Practice, practice, practice and practice some more

 

[macfawlty]

Yaw is obviously the most challenging. Even with my yaw settings very low, it requires the lightest touch. Flying spotlight or POI accomplishes a lot of what you're trying to do when filming with a lot less manual input. It allows you to focus on forward/back, up/down and gimbal tilts. Combination moves are key to cinematic video, but you don't have to do it all manual. Another thing to keep in mind is that you can make turns less obvious by tilting gimbal down to a somewhat closer focal distance. Directional changes, even subtle arcs with the horizon line in view are the most disturbing to the viewer. I initiate all manual turns by increasing elevation, slowing forward travel and slow gimbal tilt down about 45 degrees, maintaining axis with the point of rotation.

 

[scro]

Just noticed in your first post you stated that roll alone doesn't get the turn you wanted. I presume you understand that a drone flies in a fundamentally different way to a fixed wing aircraft. Roll on a drone merely moves the aircraft sideways with no yaw. On a drone roll and turn are two completely independent moves, whereas on a fixed wing roll and rudder both affect yaw, and you need to blend both to get a smooth turn.

I have a mini1 and find that a delicate touch on the "rudder" can get nice smooth turns in sport, normal and cine modes. However it sounds like the mini2 and air 2 etc controller may not have as good a linear response as the mini1 controller.