What is the simplest way to fly a circle?

[FlyoverDRN]

I see my drones like my cars, using the stick as much as possible, you control every thing. The automatic system is nice, but not when you need full control. Learn it and master it, that is also a large part of the fun of flying, or driving.
After all, it takes only very little practice to master a perfect circle. Learn to enjoy your practice time.

 

[Dale D]

Those are basic stick skills that any pilot should master, as shown in that EXTREMELY LONG video. However, you will never be able to do it as smoothly and accurately as an automatic mode controlled by software. Also as @BigAl07 pointed out, it's a good way to crash your drone. You should be looking at your drone for most of the time when flying. When I teach this maneuver to pilots, it is done in a big open field while looking at the drone the entire time...not the video feed. Admittedly though this method (always looking at the drone) works fine only when you are at the center of the circle and not offset or outside of the circle.

The only crash I ever had was doing the circle in the intelligent flight mode with Mavic Air 1. I was in Madagascar and I wanted to circle one of th famous baobab trees. I was outside off the circle and I estimated the height of the tree but I was off and the Air went right into the d.... tree.

After an hour of searching my guide and driver found it (it was red). I was still able the fly it for the remainder of the trip with one of the front sensors broken. Had it repaired by DJI Texas and then sold the new, refurbished Air when I got it back and got a Mavic 2 Pro.

 

[Deleted member 114292]

Consider this course:

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It's on sale and well worth the price. It comes with a PDF you can print out.

 

[JohnnyD913]

Well I’m very proficient myself with manual circle and looking at drone..
However I just haven’t had an instance where auto orbit wasn’t better than manually flying...
I guess cause I would rather have more control of the xamera

 

[Ol' Sparky]

It is a skill....practice practice practice. It took a while but I think I'm getting pretty good at it. Still takes a few tries to get the results exactly right. Personally...using the app to select a target and hit go is a lot smoother, stays perfectly centered, looks more professional, faster and easier than starting over again because I gave it too much or not enough of one stick or the other.

 

[EricJT]

The OP is wanting to fly in a circle either nose IN or nose OUT. This is referenced via the very first post on this thread:



Using the elevator input (right stick forward or back) will not slide the aircraft sideways to be able to perform the needed action. Applying elevator movement will move the aircraft forward or backward with no side to side movement. Much like drive an R/C car/truck. Up = forward movement and Down = backwards movement. Adding Rudder (Yaw) input only changes the forward/backward track.

With all due respect, I have over 4 decades of sUAS experience and still fly and teach my

I find many people use different terms for the controls....having come from RC planes I think I in the following terms:

Right Stick:
- forwards/backwards is the elevator (pitch)
- right/left are the ailerons (roll)

Left Stick:
- forwards/backwards is the throttle (engine speed)
- right/left is the rudder (yaw)

 

[PhantomFandom]

I find many people use different terms for the controls....having come from RC planes I think I in the following terms:

Right Stick:
- forwards/backwards is the elevator (pitch)
- right/left are the ailerons (roll)

Left Stick:
- forwards/backwards is the throttle (engine speed)
- right/left is the rudder (yaw)

Personally I always felt it was stupid to assign fixed wing aircraft control names to a UAV quadcopter. It makes just about as much sense as trying to assign aircraft controls to a helicopter or vice versa. Do we try to talk about cyclic or collective controls on a fixed wing airplane?

In fact applying helicopter control terms to a UAV would likely make more sense.

For instance, right stick forward/back is doing the same exact thing as left/right except to the opposite motors. There is no elevator, no rudder, and no ailerons on a UAV. Those are all terms which make total sense on a fixed-wing aircraft because they are physical control surfaces that are manipulated by the pilot.

I could totally go with the term yaw because that is a motion that applies in both cases. Pitch however does not since basically any lateral movement of a quad is done by pitch. Even thrust means nothing on a quad because differential motor thrust (controlled by the ESC) is used to control all quad movements.

So if it were me, I would find better terms.

 

[EricJT]

Personally I always felt it was stupid to assign fixed wing aircraft control names to a UAV quadcopter. It makes just about as much sense as trying to assign aircraft controls to a helicopter or vice versa. Do we try to talk about cyclic or collective controls on a fixed wing airplane?

In fact applying helicopter control terms to a UAV would likely make more sense.

For instance, right stick forward/back is doing the same exact thing as left/right except to the opposite motors. There is no elevator, no rudder, and no ailerons on a UAV. Those are all terms which make total sense on a fixed-wing aircraft because they are physical control surfaces that are manipulated by the pilot.

I could totally go with the term yaw because that is a motion that applies in both cases. Pitch however does not since basically any lateral movement of a quad is done by pitch. Even thrust means nothing on a quad because differential motor thrust (controlled by the ESC) is used to control all quad movements.

So if it were me, I would find better terms.

Thx for your response. What would you suggest are better terms?

As I said, coming from a fixed wing AC background, the terms I used are fixed in my old, burned in memory cells.

 

[Deleted member 114292]

Personally I always felt it was stupid to assign fixed wing aircraft control names to a UAV quadcopter. It makes just about as much sense as trying to assign aircraft controls to a helicopter or vice versa. Do we try to talk about cyclic or collective controls on a fixed wing airplane?

In fact applying helicopter control terms to a UAV would likely make more sense.

For instance, right stick forward/back is doing the same exact thing as left/right except to the opposite motors. There is no elevator, no rudder, and no ailerons on a UAV. Those are all terms which make total sense on a fixed-wing aircraft because they are physical control surfaces that are manipulated by the pilot.

I could totally go with the term yaw because that is a motion that applies in both cases. Pitch however does not since basically any lateral movement of a quad is done by pitch. Even thrust means nothing on a quad because differential motor thrust (controlled by the ESC) is used to control all quad movements.

So if it were me, I would find better terms.

Roll is the dumbest if you ask me.

 

[BigAl07]

I find many people use different terms for the controls....having come from RC planes I think I in the following terms:

Right Stick:
- forwards/backwards is the elevator (pitch)
- right/left are the ailerons (roll)

Left Stick:
- forwards/backwards is the throttle (engine speed)
- right/left is the rudder (yaw)

You're exactly right. Those are the same terms I use and have used for decades. The member who questioned My correction may be using different terms but in no way does the elevator and aileron control produce the same reaction in the Mutlirotor regardless of terms etc. The OP is wanting to ROLL the aircraft left or right keeping the camera pointed inward or outward to make a perfect circle. Elevator/Pitch control will not accomplish this task at all.

Personally I always felt it was stupid to assign fixed wing aircraft control names to a UAV quadcopter. It makes just about as much sense as trying to assign aircraft controls to a helicopter or vice versa. Do we try to talk about cyclic or collective controls on a fixed wing airplane?

But the mechanism for the action isn't in question on any aircraft. Pitch, Yaw, Roll.... these are all actions of the aircraft regardless of what mechanism(s) cause them to happen. Just because the Flight Controller is smart enough to know which motors to adjust to make the aircraft Pitch, Roll, Yaw doesn't change the fact that the aircraft is pitching, yawing, and rolling. Those terms are the same regardless of how we force the action.

Personally I always felt it was stupid to assign fixed wing aircraft control names to a UAV quadcopter. It makes just about as much sense as trying to assign aircraft controls to a helicopter or vice versa. Do we try to talk about cyclic or collective controls on a fixed wing airplane?

In fact applying helicopter control terms to a UAV would likely make more sense.

For instance, right stick forward/back is doing the same exact thing as left/right except to the opposite motors. There is no elevator, no rudder, and no ailerons on a UAV. Those are all terms which make total sense on a fixed-wing aircraft because they are physical control surfaces that are manipulated by the pilot.

I could totally go with the term yaw because that is a motion that applies in both cases. Pitch however does not since basically any lateral movement of a quad is done by pitch. Even thrust means nothing on a quad because differential motor thrust (controlled by the ESC) is used to control all quad movements.

So if it were me, I would find better terms.

You've got to understand that the industry is much larger than "just" multirotors. Also remember that R/C Planes and Heli are also UAV. UAV, sUAS, Drones are all encompassing to include multirotors, fixed wing, single rotors (heli) etc etc. If you're going to bash terms etc you've got to make sure you're also using the right ones since UAV does include all of the above.

Also remember that a large # of us fly all of the above and many using the exact same radio/transmitter. Why rewrite the world as we know it just to accommodate the new batch of pilots who want new terms?

I mean no personal disrespect but those are AVIATION terms and if we're going to AV8 together let's all be on the same page.

 

[Rmcolon]

In lawman terms, if you keep the left stick pointing to the left side and the right stick to the right side, you will mimic the orbit flight. Like the other members said, it takes practice.

 

[boblui]

I admit that doing a perfect circle is difficult but as the OP just wants the precision of walking around an object. It's definitely doable with a little practice. I have never attempted manually flying a circle before. I take still photos only so there has never been such need. These are my first attempt to do it. Constant elevator + rudder input was applied.

 

[lomposlapos]

I see my drones like my cars, using the stick as much as possible, you control every thing. The automatic system is nice, but not when you need full control. Learn it and master it, that is also a large part of the fun of flying, or driving.
After all, it takes only very little practice to master a perfect circle. Learn to enjoy your practice time.

Nice to hear you mastering it. Could you share some practical advice on how to do it.

 

[FlyoverDRN]

In lawman terms, if you keep the left stick pointing to the left side and the right stick to the right side, you will mimic the orbit flight. Like the other members said, it takes practice.

That is it. Eye hand coordination. With just a little practice, and using "C" speed, it becomes very smooth.

 

[Bsnyder]

I saw a YouTube a person he used home lock and was able to fly a perfect half Circle. I found it under course lock or home lock, he goes by Dragon 7 drone tech, if you can find it he does the demonstration on a football field. I have not tried it but hope this helps.

 

[EricJT]

I saw a YouTube a person he used home lock and was able to fly a perfect half Circle. I found it under course lock or home lock, he goes by Dragon 7 drone tech, if you can find it he does the demonstration on a football field. I have not tried it but hope this helps.

As far as I know, the M2P does not have home or course, lock,unlike my P2V which does.

 

[boblui]

As the M2 supports dual control, how about hiring someone who can fly a circle to fly the drone for you and you just operate the camera ? If you don't want to try or practice, that's the only way I am afraid.

 

[Bsnyder]

I have the mavic pro and it has both, I would think the M2P would have had these.

 

[EricJT]

I have the mavic pro and it has both, I would think the M2P would have had these.

Unfortunately it does not....but there has been a bright side to the lack of this feature....it has conditioned me to fully control the AC orientation and not rely on simply pulling back on the right stick to bring the AC home.

 

[manu.weyers]

Use active track, trace mode!
Choose an initial position (radius) and mark the object, this will be your center point. Start, and use left/right to circle around the subject, up / down to adjust height .


Trace Mode
In Trace Mode, the drone maintains a constant distance while it continues to track the subject. You can change this set distance on the app’s interface. While in Trace Mode, you can use the controller’s analog sticks to fly around the subject in a circle.