Questions about handling...

[Litz]

Hello, I have been flying RC Helis for about a year and plan to transition over to a quad. I'm sure I must have read 1,000+ posts on the various forums, and I am thinking that the Phantom would be a good ship that meets my goals, but at the same time won't be too much for me to handle. A couple of questions for you on the handling... Is is possible to roll the Phantom? I am guessing that the flight control in Atti or GPS mode would prevent it from rolling, but if in manual mode would this be possible (for someone with the skill set to do so)?

Also, when filming with the GoPro, would it be possible to fly towards a fixed point, and then rotate and continue filming it while flying away? Sort of a "fly-by" with the camera fixed on a certain point.

Last question, I have seen some of the flight controllers that say they have programmable waypoints. Could this be an upgrade to the Phantom's Naza+GPS, or would a new FC be needed altogether?

Thanks very much in advance for the information. I appreciate it.

Litz
Madison, WI

 

[Adam]

Hello, I have been flying RC Helis for about a year and plan to transition over to a quad. I'm sure I must have read 1,000+ posts on the various forums, and I am thinking that the Phantom would be a good ship that meets my goals, but at the same time won't be too much for me to handle. A couple of questions for you on the handling... Is is possible to roll the Phantom? I am guessing that the flight control in Atti or GPS mode would prevent it from rolling, but if in manual mode would this be possible (for someone with the skill set to do so)?

I haven't seen anyone roll it, I'm not sure the Naza would allow that, even in manual mode

Also, when filming with the GoPro, would it be possible to fly towards a fixed point, and then rotate and continue filming it while flying away? Sort of a "fly-by" with the camera fixed on a certain point.

You would have to manually turn the craft and "coast" by the object. Tough, but doable, and the results wouldn't be as smooth a you were thinking without lots of practice.

Last question, I have seen some of the flight controllers that say they have programmable waypoints. Could this be an upgrade to the Phantom's Naza+GPS, or would a new FC be needed altogether?

Currently the DJI Wookong-M supports this feature, it is a $1100+ FC plus you have to pay extra to "unlock" waypoints, and buy a Datalink system to transmit waypoints from your computer/ipad to the FC. Could DJI upgrade the Phantom Naza to do this? I'm sure they could, but seems doubtful. I can't wait for the day when I can click points on a map on my ipad and let the FC fly it for me, and hopefully we'll see capabilities like that in the future at a lower price point such as the Naza.

Thanks very much in advance for the information. I appreciate it.

Litz
Madison, WI

 

[Gizmo3000]

I can't imagine anyone being able to roll a quad due to the fact that it takes special circuitry to fly in the first place
Perhaps someone will one day figure a way to tweak/hack things for extreme flying.

As per doing the flyby, as Adam mentioned, it's doable, but man that would be tricky to pull off in even a semi smooth fashion.
As you can see in all the video's users have been sharing,. getting smooth, fluid video is a challenge even on days when there's no wind.

 

[Litz]

Thank you both for the information, it is what I was expecting. I have no need to roll, and really there probably is no real need for the "flyby" effect. I'm sure like the most of the people who are new to AP, I will spend many, many hours just trying to get anything decent out of it.

Here is my shopping list as of now:

DJI PHANTOM
GOPRO HERO3 Black Edition
BLURFIX3 FILTER ATTACHMENT
MARUMI ND4X FILTER
3M CF VINYL
MOONGEL DAMPERS
GRAUPNER PROPS 8x5 (2 CW, 2 CCW)
TRAVEL CASE
SPARE BATTERIES (x2)
PROP BALANCER

At this point it looking like a $1,400 +/- to get me up and running in a way that I'd like. I'll fly it stock without a camera for a while to get comfortable with the basic characteristics of the ship, but then I do like to 'tinker' to personalize things a bit more.

Thanks again and have a good day.

 

[2wheel Flyer]

You can use the Naza Assistant software to enable manual flying mode which will enable the Phantom to perform extreme flying.

You could do the flyby using HL mode where it is possible to yaw it around while still flying in a straight line.

If you're looking for waypoints, it's much more cost effective to look at a RTF arducopter. You can find those through Udrones or Jdrones.

 

[Litz]

You can use the Naza Assistant software to enable manual flying mode which will enable the Phantom to perform extreme flying.

You could do the flyby using HL mode where it is possible to yaw it around while still flying in a straight line.

If you're looking for waypoints, it's much more cost effective to look at a RTF arducopter. You can find those through Udrones or Jdrones.

Thanks for the info. Waypoint planning isn't important to me at this time. I have read a bunch about the Arducopter. A week ago I thought that I wanted one of those instead of the Phantom, but the more I read, the more it seems like I would really have to "geek-out" with learning all there is know about the open-source code that makes the thing fly. I think that would be fun in the future, but I keep coming back to the Phantom for something that is very user-friendly for a new guy. There are a million +1 multi rotors out there and I would someday like to build one from the ground up, but not wanting to take that on for my first one. There is so dang much information available that it's hard to know where to start... so I figure I should go the path of least resistance, yet still meeting my goals of having a nice GPS enabled machine for hobby videos.

What you said about the heading lock is exactly what I was thinking (hoping) would be the case... whether it will perform the maneuver smoothly I'm sure depends on a lot of variables. On my helis I can fly slowly towards something (forward elevator), and then yaw around it with rudder while switching to reverse elevator as to now be flying backwards. I'm guessing the Phantom will do the same, it may just take a bit of luck to make it smooth!

Cheers.

 

[Gizmo3000]

Cool tip on using HL to pull of that kind of move!
(I've yet to turn on/try out IOC, yet to fly in a wide open enough space to do so as well)
Probably would be smoothest with ATTI vs in GPS mode. (if that option is available in IOC modes?)

--

That looks like a nice list to start with Litz
don't forget a Class10 32gig or 64gig MicroSD card (and possibly an extra battery for the GoPro if you plan to use it for other sports/activities).
I would probably hold off on installing the GRAUPNER props until you've gained a fair amount of flying your phantom (into bushes, the ground..etc.) with the factory props.
*be sure to use Locktite or similar thread holders.

 

[Litz]

Cool tip on using HL to pull of that kind of move!
(I've yet to turn on/try out IOC, yet to fly in a wide open enough space to do so as well)
Probably would be smoothest with ATTI vs in GPS mode. (if that option is available in IOC modes?)

--

That looks like a nice list to start with Litz
don't forget a Class10 32gig or 64gig MicroSD card (and possibly an extra battery for the GoPro if you plan to use it for other sports/activities).
I would probably hold off on installing the GRAUPNER props until you've gained a fair amount of flying your phantom (into bushes, the ground..etc.) with the factory props.
*be sure to use Locktite or similar thread holders.

Good idea. That's like when someone gets a new boat (1:1, not R/C) and immediately puts a stainless steel prop on it, only to grind it up the same day. I will fly it until I go through (break/damage) the stock props and hopefully by then I'll feel comfortable with replacing them with the stiffer Graupners.

When did the Phantom first become available for sale? Has anyone seen any rumors of updates, or is it too new to the market?

 

[Adam]

Don't buy a travel case just yet, we have our first sponsor announcing their solution sometime late next week....it's going to be very cool at a great price....

 

[Gizmo3000]

Yah,. in the 3 weeks I've had mine, I've hit some bushes, tree branches, telephone line, and tilted into the grass a few times.
I tweaked one prop badly, replaced it,. then somehow lost it when it crashed into a neighbors yard,. and then a replacement black prop broke apart in flight - so I just ordered another 3 sets of blades (for $3 a pop).
perhaps I'll step up to the graupners,. or might look into trying those pre-balanded wooden ones that someone just posted about (along with a vibration isolation mount?).

These Phantoms have only been out since mid-December, and they def seem to be a hit, as there's a number of people (including myself), who never even remotely considered one prior until seeing how cool it is. (I was looking for an excuse to buy a GoPro as well!,. and pow, now I have both!)
one heck of a learning experience!
but very glad to have found this forum!

 

[Litz]

Don't buy a travel case just yet, we have our first sponsor announcing their solution sometime late next week....it's going to be very cool at a great price....

Excellent, I'm glad to hear that. I bet there will be a ton of accessories and third-party upgrades coming available in the near future.

 

[jaywils]

I just started flying the phantom and I'm testing out the IOC handling. My understanding of home lock is it makes the user-to-craft a direct relationship regardless of the craft's radial orientation. That works fine down field. The controls work relative to me, not to the phantom's front end, just like it was on a radial string.

But when I fly it to my backside the controls change and the "back" control no longer brings the craft back to me (home). Is this right or am I missing something?

-jw
Santa Cruz

 

[Gizmo3000]

But when I fly it to my backside the controls change and the "back" control no longer brings the craft back to me (home). Is this right or am I missing something?

I'm in the same boat as you,. I turned on IOC tonight and gave it a try. Tho I guess I should have been in a more open field.
it seemed fine at first when I flew it away and brought it back.
..but when I rotated it to the left, and then tried to fly it back towards it,. things got all wonky and it reacted in a totally different manor.

But thenI read the Advanced Manual a bit later on, and I guess when I brought it back to me it was within the 10m range,. and it switched to Course Lock mode. (page 10 of the manual). maybe that was what was happening to you as well?

I guess that's kind of the reason why it ships with IOC turned off,. things can def get confusing!!

 

[jaywils]

Gizmo, I read the advanced manual too so I made sure on the second pass (as the quad come from downfield to somewhere behind me) I made sure it stayed outside of the 10 meter diameter home circle. It didn't seem to make any difference.
Whatever is going on is non-intuitive, confusing, and so unlike the idea of home lock. So until I find out what's going on I'll just switch IOC off in the backfield.

 

[antonioteixeira]

Hi Guys

I looking for waypoints on Phantom too!
Any news about that?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... QoTyEfWuAk

Or some kind of mod for it?

regards

 

[Nwales]

Can you roll you asked ? Well after quick search found this ! So you can roll it :lol:

http://youtu.be/OggR9071SzM

 

[Justgregg]

cnet has a video of the new p4