Brand New less than 5 hours old. Never left the ground. I read everything I could find about the proper way to launch and recover the craft. Set the radio up according to the manual. I went through three sets of blades. Broke the screws holding one of the motors in. And broke the antenna mounts on the IRIS.
So all said and done I have over $2000.00 in a "Ready to fly" unit.
Now with all this said I need some help ..... Can some one please tell me why it pitches over before lifting off.
I'm trying to not blow a gasket over this, but for gods sake its either a fly out of the box or not ..... and right now its trashed.
Not a stranger to flying copters, no expert but for sure can lift off..
Replies
Make sure and follow the manual on the where the props go not the cardboard disc that come installed on the motors when you open the box as these can be easily misplaced. Also, if you have gone through all you checks, made sure you have a solid GPS lock, etc., advance the throttle swiftly to the halfway position for a prompt liftoff. If you are taking off from grass or other soft surface, you want to make sure that your legs are not catching the soil or hanging up on anything.
And finally like Chris said, these are pre-configured out of the box so no radio, compass or other calibration is needed, for now. Follow the steps on the blue sticker that is on the top of the IRIS when you get it.
Are you sure you put the props on in the right direction? If you've checked that (the right direction is in the printed manual), please post your logs and we can have an expert look at them.
You should not have had to set up the radio or go through any configuration at all (if you did change anything, that could account for the problems). These are all test flown at the factory before shipment.
Mark,
Sorry for your crash, stock up on extra parts, the learning curve can be steep, but fun.
You might want to become familiar with the flight logs that the IRIS produces, they are invaluable for troubleshooting almost anything. http://copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/downloading-and-analyzing-data-log...
If you want to post your logs I'd be happy to look at them and see what's going on.
Also, if you are running Mission Planner don't run the wizard like it asks you to, the IRIS is supposed to be setup to fly as it is. If you so you should probably go back to the default params.
Also, here http://ardupilot.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=48 is an IRIS forum specifically for troubleshooting questions on the IRIS. You'll get pretty good attention from the Devs there. This forum is supposed to be mostly for discussions.
yep I agree on long legs its a LOT easier to get in trouble quick...
try without legs till you get comfortable then add the legs WITHOUT the expensive gimble and cam and when you are comfortable then assemble the camera and gimbel together(do NOT fly without the gimbal powered up and camera or counterbalance inserted... the entire assembly will pendulum without power and make control almost impossible...
learning cure WILL be steep if you DONT take it slow...
DO Follow the advice of other pilots and get a real "RTF" micro quad for 50-100 and have your learning experiences with quads on that(I did that even though have bee flying RC since 1968..)
stock up on props/arms(I did)
HZL
You should get a mini-quad and practice.
Once you get the knack for lifting off, minor corrections to get out of the ground turbulence, then you'll be fine.
Be soft on throttle increases as you approach liftoff. Once you do get to lift off, while correcting for ground effects, there is a moment when you commit and raise the craft up a few feet to get out of the ground effect.
It is ready to fly, but without the experience of launching other quads, it can seem challenging. It's one of the harder parts for a new operator, but once you've done it, you'll find it is easy. Its much easier than, say, learning to maintain orientation outside of simple and super simple modes, or learning to manage your throttle, or learning to fly fixed wing.
Of course, auto modes can self-launch just fine, but there are dozens of reasons to leave that for later.
Really, if you don't have experience running/practicing with a mini quad like a ladybird, you are going to spend a lot of money on props at this class (weight) of multicopter, and maybe break arms (much less probable than with others in this class) and antennas, etc.
Get a mini quad. They can be had for 50-100 including the tx. Practice with them. Watch other people lift off. Try lifting off on a smooth surface, but correct (in throttle and direction) when it goes off balance. Don't be afraid to back off the throttle if it's about to tip. Be slow in approaching the lift power, but once you have all four legs off the ground, pop that sucker up a few feet quickly and smoothly, and keep it centered over your launch point. This is a skill that can best be cultivated on a mini quad (because it assumes you already have throttle control developed)
Yes, it's rtf. But are you? The auto modes will fly it for you, once you have a good flight checklist and understand the implications of all the steps, config, experiencing managing GPS lock, power/battery management, waypoint logic, etc. So I don't recommend you go there yet.
Master throttle control on a mini.
Master launch on a mini.
Master landing and station keeping on a mini.
Then launch on flat surfaces with the iris.
Throttle control will be harder, it's heavier.
Flip to alt hold, and station keep. Be ready to flip back to stab for issues.
Flip to loiter, and be ready to flip to stabilize and recover for problems.
Use yaw, observe the effects of left and right yaw.
Reorient so you don't lose orientation.
When you can do all these, then you are ready for learning new mistakes by using auto mode.
And before you launch again, get a mini, and get a label maker, and attach your phone number to the iris, with the words "RC hobby gear; reward if found"
Mike,
Good advice! Although he does say that he's flown and can land other quads. I wouldn't be so quick to assume it's just his skill level.
Yeah, it's true that a lot of us buying the IRIS are beginners when it comes to the piloting and information skills required by the IRIS.
In a world of $50 RTF copters, RTF has a completely different meaning here and that is not apparent in the beginning.
So I hope I didn't offend, by my comments, which I believe are valuable for others, and even the OP, because it's basically the way I overcame a similar experience. The only difference here is I was able to adjust, overcome, and that is as much about confidence, perhaps, as anything else, and having a wide experience with less stable equipment.
I've been considering exploring another method, that of launching from a raised platform, like a short camera tripod, to reduce the ground effect for new (to the IRIS) quad. Has anyone given that a try?
You might want to check out this thread.
http://ardupilot.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=6655&sid=f7...
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