Chapter 5. Flying Your Multicopter

So you've built your multicopter and you're ready to get in the air and shoot some video, right? No. We have a long road ahead—calibrating your multicopter and honing your piloting skills.

Get a simulator!

It can't really be said any simpler. There are several good RC simulators on the market. However, only one stands out as a viable multicopter training device. It is RealFlight. RealFlight Version 6 and above have built-in multicopters you can play with and even fly FPV. RealFlight is available at http://www.realflight.com. The following screenshot shows RealFlight in action:

The screenshot shows a Gaui 330X quadrocopter being flown by yours truly. Getting a simulator is paramount to your flying. Even though I am an experienced pilot, I put in a few hours every week on my simulator practicing maneuvers. The multicopters in RealFlight do not have all of the stabilization of a good guidance system. However, this is a good thing.

This is similar to a baseball batter in the box swinging two bats before he gets up to the plate. When he gets to the plate, he's more than ready to swing one bat. If you can get your flying in a simulator stable and smooth … the results when you get...

Safety

Remember that a multicopter is more like a flying food processor than an RC toy. There are a lot of considerations to take into account when choosing where, when, and how you're going to fly. Consider the following checklist as a guideline for safety … the foundation you should build even more rules from for yourself. This checklist is the basic set of rules to minimize your risk and keep you out of most legal hassles.

Where to fly

Let's face it; multicopters are cool … super cool. So, you're going to draw a crowd if you fly where people gather. So, although a park may sound like a good idea … it's not. If possible, find an actual RC flying club in your area. If there isn't a club in your area, find a large open space with no people or property you could possibly damage.

Calibration flights (such as your maiden) are especially dangerous. Fly-aways, sudden flips, or component failures are far more likely to occur during these flights. Don't invite friends or family to watch. During shoots...

The preflight checklist

Before you fly and every time before you fly, you should run through your preflight checklist. Would you be comfortable on a commercial jet if they didn't inspect the aircraft before every flight? No. Similarly, you should not be comfortable flying your multicopter without checking through your list … every time you connect a battery.

The following list illustrates the steps you should go through when you're getting ready for a flight:

• Check props for tight mounting. Loose props can lose power or even fly off in midflight.

• Check all your connections to make sure nothing is loose.

• The motors should be snug on their mounts. Any screws can loosen from the vibration and stress of a flight. This is especially true on the motor mounts.

• Check all airframe parts for a snug fit. As stated in the previous step, screws can loosen from flight stress. They can also loosen due to temperature differentials. Any unexpected flex or play in the frame can cause a failure. Also check for...

Your multicopter's maiden flight

Are you ready to get this thing in the air? Let's do this. You should have your laptop and guidance system interface cable (USB cable) with you. The batteries you use should also have a full and fresh charge on them (within 24 hours of flight, they should be charged). We'll be conducting several flights as a part of the maiden. The first one will be a battery calibration flight.

Battery calibration

When your multicopter spins up and takes off, that is called putting a load on your batteries. Even though your batteries are full, immediately your voltage will drop. In order for your guidance system to know when power is getting low, it needs to know what your load differential is. This is the difference between the resting voltage of your batteries and the load voltage. For that reason, either mount your camera to the multicopter's gimbal, or something that is of equivalent weight. (For your maiden flight … I advise you to use a weight.)

Turn on your laptop, connect...

Summary

You're a pilot! Congratulations. For the most part, your multicopter is calibrated and ready to go. Once you have built up your confidence enough and have completed a few flights without crashing, you can move on to the next chapter. In the next chapter, we'll be discussing calibrating your gimbal to keep your camera level, mounting FPV gear, and talk about how to fly using FPV.