I wish I had known.... F550 purchase, build and first flights..

[Bartman]

I'm just new to flying as well. I'm going at it just a bit differently than you are. I spend a bunch of time on the sim and a LOT of time with the Blade MQX. I also spend a lot of time on here reading, reading, reading !
Thanks for posting this thread and keep up the good work.
I'd REALLY love to also see a noob section on here with a full blown list of alllllllllll the lovely acronyms spelled out. Simple things like LiPo all the way up to definitions of the 'gains' and all the fancy schmancy nicknames for the different hardware and procedures out there.

we can work on that, thanks for the suggestion.

Bart

 

[Sound Advantage]

Tony, I did it the hard way. Disconnected all the motors from the Naza except the one I was balancing. ESC's beeped alot, but I tuned that out. Tied my Iphone onto the arm with a nylon zip tie, and put a couple of the small zipties together with the heads about 1/2" apart and slipped it over the outside of the motor and just moved it around until it ran smooth. Then put some aluminum tape on the spot between the heads. I was a little surprised when I put the Graupners on the balancer. I didn't initially balance them because of all the talk about how great they are, but they all needed a little something.

My gimbal is ready to go. I plug the servos directly into the naza and they work as advertised. I just got a BEC yesterday, but think maybe I got the wrong kind cause I can't figure it out. What are you using for a BEC?

I finally cleaned all the sticky stuff off the front of my BEC and took a picture of it.

 

[SjaakZwart]

@mmurfit

I see that you use 4S Lipo's 5000 mah. What kind of Lipo are they? (especially how many C? 25C? Or....) Maybe you have a link? Thanks!!

 

[mmurfitt]

@mmurfit

I see that you use 4S Lipo's 5000 mah. What kind of Lipo are they? (especially how many C? 25C? Or....) Maybe you have a link? Thanks!!

Hey,
Here's a link - http://quadcopters.co.uk/4s-lipo-batterys-148v-103-c.asp

As my signature shows I have two Zippy's and two Turnigy's, out of the two I'd get the Turnigy's again as they're very easy to solder deans connectors on, however I had a complete nightmare with the Zippy's and wouldn't get them again.

 

[Martyf1]

I finally cleaned all the sticky stuff off the front of my BEC and took a picture of it.

Tony, can you explain or take a picture of how you hooked up the bec and wiring for the gimbal? I have the aeroxcraft schematic, but not sure what the best way is to go about it.

 

[helloman1976]

Good work, looks like it's coming along for you at least. In your video it looks like you panicked before the tree and hit the ground. I've only had about 20 flights in so far, about 10 minutes each maybe and I can tell you that getting used to going OVER things is a hard thing to do as humans are used to having to go around. I also always fly sitting down and with my chin in my chest, my kids say I look dead sitting there. The reason I do this is because there's a tendency to "look" at things as you are flying around. The first time I was flying and turned my head to see an object that flew by I about fell over from the disorientation of my head turning and the objects in front of me staying in the same place. So, I fly with my chin in my chest to remind myself that I'm flying, because I certainly don't walk that way lol. When I start to lift my head up, I'm reminded that I'm flying and I put my chin back down. That's a technique that has worked well for me so far with around 20 flights and no crashes except running out of battery one time. Also, when you are learning to fly try NOT filming yourself at first. What happens is that it's almost an out-of-body experience. You can't physically move your body since you are concentrating and flying so when you see yourself it's like, "Hey, look at that guy...what's he doing?". The first time I saw myself from behind and up about 20 feet I thought, out of body experience...it was a little creepy. Right so dont film yourself because you'll focus too much on you etc etc. Also, when coming down from altitude make sure you are moving forward so that the camera is looking down. You can only see forward so DO NOT come straight down unless you are landing and know exactly what is below you. I make loops around the field while losing altitude so I can see where I'm going. One of my favorite things to do is point straight down at the ground and fall then do a drop in on the field before landing...super fun. Just my 2 cents...hope that helps someone. Also, if anyone wants to talk shop or needs help or wants to talk theoretical I'm you guy as this hobby has taken me by storm...

 

[amicu1]

My contribution to this forum: a tip

I also have a DJI F550 that I am using with a GoPro 3 and the Arris CM2000 brushless gimbal. I thought I would share with the rest of the DJI and GoPro enthusiasts a quick tip for the GoPro camera.

 

[mmurfitt]

Nice, good job!

My contribution to this forum: a tip

I also have a DJI F550 that I am using with a GoPro 3 and the Arris CM2000 brushless gimbal. I thought I would share with the rest of the DJI and GoPro enthusiasts a quick tip for the GoPro camera.

 

[reckless]

Thanks for starting this thread. I to bought a F550 with no RC Experience, But 10 years before I bought a flight simulator. I had no real ambition to fly an RC aircraft at the time, I only bought it because it seemed fun. I don't play PC games much, but this for me was a PC game with the additional bonus of if I ever did want to take up flying at a later date, then at least this experience would help.

I was only interested in flying helis, and to start with I crashed right, left and center, 3 - 5 seconds was an average flight time. But over time I improved and after a few months was comfortable hovering away from me and towards me.

I cannot emphasise enough how useful the simulator was.

I have flown my F550 10 times now and never crashed it. Use the GPS/atti modes to keep it stable and only try subtle movements to start with. I still struggle to fly it manually. But once your comfortable flying it on GPS, hover it about 15 - 20 ft above the ground and switch it to manual. But have a finger on the switch to flick it back to GPS as soon as you feel out of control. Be warned that when you switch to manual you'll have to increase the throttle to maintain the same altitude.

I also recommend buying some small indoor helis or quads and learn to fly those. Just remember with these if you lose control just throttle down and let it fall to the ground. Damage normally only occurs if you keep the throttle running while it hits something. These small things bounce and usually no damage will occur (but never throttle down with the F550, that could be expensive).

I think that's all I have to add. Everything else every body has said above is perfectly valid.

 

[COMike93yj]

Great tips here guys! Reckless I have a small Nano QX that would fit the bill for many of the new people to MR flying. I fly it a ton in the house to make certain that my skills and maneuvers are up to snuff before taking out a bigger bird.

 

[Radiomoscow]

More lift less time

Hal, take this for what it's worth as I'm also a newb, just a little further along than you. But from what I've read on the forums, I'm picking up that the 8 x 5's are better for more manuverability and hot-doggin. I'm looking for maximum lift for aerial photos, hence the 10's. If you have other info, I'd love to hear it.

8" props 12 minute flight time
10" props 7 minute flight time
6000 4s battery gimbal and gopro

10" props balanced but still introduced wobble due to torque flex on the arms

 

[Benjamin Kenobi]

I get very similar results also. I use 9" Graupners and get 10 minutes flying with 5000mah 4S.

 

[gomotomoto]

Awesome thread as I head into the same situation.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[blades]

This is a great thread.... Very helpful :nevreness: