Good morning.
About the drone flying without the gimbal, it’s as simple as having the Remote Controller powered up, and the DJI GO App running and successfully connected to the craft. Of course, you'll go through the routine safety protocols of calibrating both the craft and controller, plus ensuring you've connected with enough satellites for stable/safe flying. Therefore, do ensure that the Aircraft Status Bar in the DJI GO App indicates ‘Safe to Fly (GPS)’!
I flew mine without the camera and gimbal once before:
After a crash in 2020, which totally destroyed my gimbal and ribbon, I decided to do a repair, but wanted to be self-assured that the drone was worthy of the repair. It would be very depressing to purchase the parts, do the sensitive and time-consuming repair, then to discover that the bird cannot fly because it may have sustained other damages to the main circuit board, motor/s, sockets etc. I therefore did the following tests:
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Battery Insertion – SUCCESS (INFO - Sometimes the battery or its compartment can be damaged after a crash.)
Power on – SUCCESS
Self-test with beeps – SUCCESS
Motor start – SUCCESS
Right Joystick - :
Intention: To listen for basic joystick responses Re: RPM increases with each action.
Forward Pitch – SUCCESS, Reverse Pitch – SUCCESS, Right Roll – SUCCESS, Left Roll – SUCCESS
Left Joystick - :
Intention: To listen for basic joystick responses Re: RPM increases with each action.
Upward Throttle – SUCCESS, Downward Throttle – SUCCESS, Clockwise Yaw – SUCCESS, Anti-clockwise Yaw – SUCCESS
HOVER SIMULATION TEST
Intention: To see if unit reacts to/opposes movements.
Method: With motors started, I lifted the aircraft into the air, thence moved it a few inches forward, backward, right, left, upward and downward. The motor RPM increased with EACH movement in succession.
Conclusion: Unit tried to maintain position BOTH laterally and vertically, thus the increased RPMs. – SUCCESS
TELEMETRY TRANSMISSION TEST
Intention: To see if unit has telemetry transmission abilities
Method: Powered up the drone, the Remote Controller, launched DJIGo App and it successfully connected to craft’s settings and configurations.
Conclusion: Indicative that the unit’s antennae are all functional. – SUCCESS
FLIGHT TEST
Intention: To see if unit can ACTUALLY take off, hover and fly properly (Integrity Test)
Method:
Hover: Lifted off to 4 meters and left for 5 minutes undisturbed. It maintained its horizontal and lateral position. – SUCCESS
Fly: Lifted off to 4 meters. Slow forward and backwards pitches (5 each), slow right and left rolls (5 each), slow upward and downward throttles (5 each), slow clockwise and anti-clockwise yaws (5 each). – SUCCESS
Fly: Lifted off to 4 meters. Aggressive forward and backwards pitches (5 each), aggressive right and left rolls (5 each), aggressive upward and downward throttles (5 each), aggressive clockwise and anti-clockwise yaws (5 each). – SUCCESS
About the drone flying without the gimbal, it’s as simple as having the Remote Controller powered up, and the DJI GO App running and successfully connected to the craft. Of course, you'll go through the routine safety protocols of calibrating both the craft and controller, plus ensuring you've connected with enough satellites for stable/safe flying. Therefore, do ensure that the Aircraft Status Bar in the DJI GO App indicates ‘Safe to Fly (GPS)’!
I flew mine without the camera and gimbal once before:
After a crash in 2020, which totally destroyed my gimbal and ribbon, I decided to do a repair, but wanted to be self-assured that the drone was worthy of the repair. It would be very depressing to purchase the parts, do the sensitive and time-consuming repair, then to discover that the bird cannot fly because it may have sustained other damages to the main circuit board, motor/s, sockets etc. I therefore did the following tests:
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Battery Insertion – SUCCESS (INFO - Sometimes the battery or its compartment can be damaged after a crash.)
Power on – SUCCESS
Self-test with beeps – SUCCESS
Motor start – SUCCESS
Right Joystick - :
Intention: To listen for basic joystick responses Re: RPM increases with each action.
Forward Pitch – SUCCESS, Reverse Pitch – SUCCESS, Right Roll – SUCCESS, Left Roll – SUCCESS
Left Joystick - :
Intention: To listen for basic joystick responses Re: RPM increases with each action.
Upward Throttle – SUCCESS, Downward Throttle – SUCCESS, Clockwise Yaw – SUCCESS, Anti-clockwise Yaw – SUCCESS
HOVER SIMULATION TEST
Intention: To see if unit reacts to/opposes movements.
Method: With motors started, I lifted the aircraft into the air, thence moved it a few inches forward, backward, right, left, upward and downward. The motor RPM increased with EACH movement in succession.
Conclusion: Unit tried to maintain position BOTH laterally and vertically, thus the increased RPMs. – SUCCESS
TELEMETRY TRANSMISSION TEST
Intention: To see if unit has telemetry transmission abilities
Method: Powered up the drone, the Remote Controller, launched DJIGo App and it successfully connected to craft’s settings and configurations.
Conclusion: Indicative that the unit’s antennae are all functional. – SUCCESS
FLIGHT TEST
Intention: To see if unit can ACTUALLY take off, hover and fly properly (Integrity Test)
Method:
Hover: Lifted off to 4 meters and left for 5 minutes undisturbed. It maintained its horizontal and lateral position. – SUCCESS
Fly: Lifted off to 4 meters. Slow forward and backwards pitches (5 each), slow right and left rolls (5 each), slow upward and downward throttles (5 each), slow clockwise and anti-clockwise yaws (5 each). – SUCCESS
Fly: Lifted off to 4 meters. Aggressive forward and backwards pitches (5 each), aggressive right and left rolls (5 each), aggressive upward and downward throttles (5 each), aggressive clockwise and anti-clockwise yaws (5 each). – SUCCESS
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