Mastering the joysticks when the aircraft turns around

[CAG]

As DufMog said turn your back and look over your shoulder until it becomes second nature. I fly fixed wing (as you can see from the photo) and it won't take too long until you have a feel for it. When I first started I used this method on landings and it was not long before I had it down.

 

[MGee]

Simple trick: when the drone iq facing you and eg goes to the left, you have to enlarge the error movement by moving your stick also to the left... (drone will move to the right). So always correct the movement by moving the stick in the same direction of the drone.
Simple no? ;-)

 

[CAG]

Actually not so simple for a newbe. In training pilots in fixed wing, their initial reaction is to move the stick in the opposite direction than the plane is moving, when you are facing the aircraft and it is coming at you. While your idea will work, it is not intuitive. The brain wants to correct in the opposite direction from what the craft is moving. So if the aircraft is moving left while coming at you and you correct right, which is what the brain tells you to do, you go further left.

 

[tgjmtaylor]

I have the same problem. After flying RC fixed wing and using the method of 'moving the aileron stick towards the wing tip that is lowest as the plane is coming at you to keep it level' my old brain just doesn't seem to register that the drone automatically stays level. Seems I go the wrong way more than I do the right way! Like everyone says.... Practice and then practice some more. And stay low in the back yard or nice and high!

 

[old man mavic]

many years ago i used to race RC off road cars and as you went round the track the direction of the car changed in relation to where you were standing at the side of the track and at first it was very difficult to remember which way to steer relative to your position but like most things practice practice practice and it becomes second nature its called muscle memory and after a while you do it without thinking it the same with drones or in fact anything that you controll from a fixed point thats the main reason a RC helicopter is so difficult to learn to fly we are lucky with our UAVs because they have giros and sensors to keep them stable in flight it is good to fly in atti mode sometimes to keep those muscles tuned

 

[Pano-pano]

Thank you everybody - but when the Mavic is in the distance and I can't see which is front and back I don't get how I know which way to move the stick. I thought there would be something on the screen to show me which way the aircraft is facing, but can't see anything other than the compass?

Enlarge the map that's on the bottom left by clicking anywhere on it and look to see which direction the arrow is pointing. That's the easiest way I know of. I just make sure I'm high enough to not worry about it hitting anything and use that map on my phone until it's close enough to hear and see easily...then bring it home/land.

 

[Drone on]

Just got the Mavic Air for Christmas and I really can't get my head around controlling the aircraft when it turns around. All the controls are back to front or the wrong way around then. There must be some secret - or am I just being simple! Please help!

Use the simulator in the app. 10 minutes a day for a couple of weeks and you'll have it mastered.

 

[JDawg]

Just got the Mavic Air for Christmas and I really can't get my head around controlling the aircraft when it turns around. All the controls are back to front or the wrong way around then. There must be some secret - or am I just being simple! Please help!

Find a field and practice figure eights.

 

[Flynz]

Good points. Here my 10c worth.

If the drone is flying from your left to right rotate your body about 45 -60 degrees to the right so you can envisage the drone’s orientation when you yaw (turn the drone left or right) or go sideways. The opposite applies.

If it flying towards you and well is sight then you just have to pause before every control movement and think go the opposite way. Even after 20 hours flying I still check myself if doing an approach, particularly if there are objects. If I doubt stop and think. Opposite way.

Never ever fly close to anything unless you are physically just as close. Perception of where drone is vs something on the land can be very deceptive.

At a distance use the screen, as mentioned above the direction is natural fly as if you are in the drone. But also regularly look up so as to ensure nothing is happening around you.
Also use the map to check direction and to track somewhere or commonly fly directly home. So flying over a park I might look at the map to confirm the direction of flight and look at the screen to steer and look up for birds or helicopters and listen. Don’t get lost in the screen.

DLOS? Yep well I always watch the airspace. But the drone vanishes real quick. Try and keep a mental picture of where it is and keep an eye on the airspace and the screen.
If you descend low for a particular shot then a good habit is to stop still, set the camera at 45 degrees down and rotate slowly on the spot through 360 degrees to ensure you really know what is around you. Never assume. I once backed into the edge of a tree doing a dolly video shot. Just touched. That’s all it takes.

Enjoy!

 

[DanMan32]

I always change direction by yaw (left stick). To orient, I fly forward (right stick up) at the same time and observe the AC's flight.
If flying straight it is flying left, yaw left until it seems to stop moving. At that point it is flying towards you.
If when flying forward it doesn't appear to be going left or right, it is flying towards you or away from you. Yaw and see how it moves. If you yaw left and it starts moving left, then it was/is flying away from you.

There's a video out there teaching the concept of navigation using yaw by observing AC's direction as you fly "straight". It was done with respect with drones that only fly atti.

 

[Manty]

Ken K has the answer! imagine you are sitting in the bird You want it to go left then left stick like wise for right. Forget your own left and right and you will soon get the hang of it