Drone the fifth - I'm finally flying, just not with my drone
26.5.2020
I'm flying a racing drone with first-person view goggles for the first time. It's great - although my drone remains on the ground despite the help.
For the first time, I put on the FPV goggles. I see a few lines about the battery status, the flight time so far and the image of the copter on a small, blurred screen. I'm a little nervous. I press the left switch on the remote control and "ARMED" is displayed. The motors start to turn. They're about to start. I slowly move the throttle lever forwards. The drone takes off - awesome! And then plummets to the ground again - less awesome. I didn't give it enough throttle. It'll work better next time. It's just a shame that I'm not experiencing all of this with my own drone.
A big thank you to the many users who responded to my call to accompany me on my first flight. Many more responded than expected. The message from Remo particularly made me smile:
I couldn't help but laugh, because I've been through exactly the same thing! From broken soldered FCs to errors with the connection to the remote control to two half-cut fingers including an emergency recording because the copter was arming too early on the first flight. I almost gave up. Unfortunately, I didn't have a mate at the time who could teach me the ropes.
In addition, I have seen many great videos, which I don't want to withhold from you.
Propellers at supersonic speed
It's cold and windy. The last time it rained was a few hours ago. My fingers are already aching from the cold. In a huge field near Zurich, I meet Till (Instagram/YouTube) and Marvin (Instagram/YouTube). 18-year-old Till Ebnöter and Marvin Hotz, who is two years older, met during their apprenticeship and share the same hobby. Till has been flying for around seven years and is trying to qualify for the international Drone Champions League races. Marvin has two years of FPV experience.
Till brings seven drones to the field. A different one for every purpose: Racing, freestyle or long-range. Before we get to work on my drone, the two of them show me their skills. The buzzing of the drones in the sky is a little too loud for video producer Stephi. Till wants to show her what's really loud. He connects the battery to the long-range drone, starts it up and gives it full throttle. There is a bang. The drone crashes to the ground from a height of 20 metres. What has happened?
Till picks up the drone and laughs. There is nothing left of the two propellers. Till had deliberately connected a battery that was too powerful. This caused the propellers to turn so fast that they reached supersonic speed. I would never have thought such a thing possible. Till tells me that such minor material damage is the order of the day. That's why they never go out into the field with just a drone.
Tips and tricks from the pros
After the first critical looks from Marvin and Till, I am pleased with their judgement of my build. "So far, solid employees, which could be improved with one or two little tricks," says Marvin. What does he mean by that? He explains to me that it is dangerous to run the cables from the motors to the ESC openly over the carbon arms. He cuts a propeller to size and fixes it to the arms with some adhesive tape. This protects the cables from external impacts caused by falls and propellers.
In Betaflight, we go through the settings and adjust parameters where necessary. My motors are all turning in the wrong direction. We change that accordingly. The two of them also set the sensitivity of my copter to a lower level. They recommend this for beginners.
Before the two of them let me fly my drone, Till hands me one of his old, scrapped drones and a remote control. Everything unnecessary, such as the camera and FPV transmitter unit, is missing. I'm supposed to make my first attempts with it. So far, I've flown simple consumer drones from DJI and the like. A racing drone is something completely different. In acro mode (no support from a gyroscope, GPS or similar), I only have to keep the drone as straight as possible in the air with the help of the remote control. If I want to fly forwards, I have to make sure that the drone doesn't dive straight into the ground with its nose and always adjust it with both sticks of the remote control. After about ten minutes and a few, not entirely harmless, crashes, I'm ready to go one step further.
Flying while sitting or vomiting while standing
After further instructions from the two of them, I sit down on one of the camping chairs they have taken with them. Standing up, beginners in particular would quickly lose control of their bodies. This can end in nausea and vomiting.
There I sit. Ready for my first flight with my custom-built drone. The goggles are still up and I'm "arming" the copter. Only three propellers are turning. Crap! Is the drone seriously not working again? I've gone to all this trouble and arranged to meet up with Till and Marvin. We connect the drone to the computer again. I'm confident that the two experienced pilots will quickly come up with a solution. Far from it - all to no avail. Marvin and Till come to the conclusion that my ESC is broken. How could this happen again? I don't know. Will this thing ever fly? I don't know. Marvin and Till believe it will. Me too, actually. But I didn't expect the road to get there to be so rocky.
Luckily, Marvin has a small, robust drone that he lets me use. Armed with his goggles and drone, I set off on my first FPV flight after all. After two seconds, I crash for the first time. The second flight takes longer and I hit one of the gates that Till has set up for the first time.
I move my head so much that I hear laughter all around me. I notice myself moving my head, but I can't do anything about it. I fly until the drone runs out of battery and am now even more excited to get my own up in the air. The fever has gripped me and I know that it won't be my last race drone flight. I'm already fantasising about a Cinewhoop (racing drone for filming), although I know that I need to get to grips with my DIY drone first.
Lessons learnt
Till and Marvin recommend an ESC from Hobbywing. Because the ESC and flight controller together are only around 20 francs more expensive, I decide in favour of a stack for the sake of simplicity. This allows the ESC and flight controller to be connected without soldering. Certainly a good combination. The money I've paid so far for this is 413 francs.
So it goes on
Marvin and Till were a great help - even if my drone still doesn't fly. At least I've finally been able to do a few laps with a drone. They continue to offer me their support. In the next part, Till comes to my house. We'll assemble the drone, programme it and take off. I promise!
Manuel Wenk
Communications Manager
Manuel.Wenk@digitecgalaxus.chAs a Multimedia Producer, preparing multimedia content and knowing about cutting-edge technology is my business. My main focus at digitec is producing videos. I can’t wait to try out new products such as cameras, drones or smartphones as soon as they’re launched. This is where being at the source comes in rather handy. When I’m not working, I’m probably skiing, biking or hiking – the mountains are my place to be.