How To Fly A Drone - Quad Basics 

STOP CALLING THEM DRONES!

Hey all, Few years ago my wife had a very major heart attack While I was home helping her rehab, I got into Flite test to keep me busy while I was home with her. I built a Y6 copter which I bought from Y'all. I have yet to manage to get it off the ground and flyable....Appreciate this video and hoping it will help me get through this. Love you guys . God bless

The one thing I had to get over when learning, coming from fixed wing, was exactly STOPPING the throttle chop reaction, which was built in as a defensive measure I got in fixed wing. It is OK to chop over grass or soft landing areas, but I was learning in a garage because it was too often windy outside. Chopping throttle meant smacking hard into the concrete. I quickly learned to hover because of that. I really had to overcome my reaction to always cut throttle when I got pressured. The other thing I did BEFORE even rising off ground was set up a couple of mini-cones on the concrete and learn to skid the quad around the cones in a figure 8, never getting fully airborne. This really sped up my learning rate. I got the feel of the quad much quicker this way, just providing enough throttle to move the drone around. The sensation of skidding was new to me as a fixed wing pilot til then. After skidding around on the ground, I did get to hovering, etc. and doing figure 8's about 5 feet off the ground around 2 lolly columns in my garage. I think all this sped me into a place where I started enjoying flying, sooner. Just my 2c, maybe a few others will find this helpful.

There is only a few people who cannot thank FliteTest for everything in this hobby. They have given us so much!

I just bought a quad on clearance. And this by far is the most professional and informative video I've come across. As a beginner, small gold nuggets like painting the front of your quad to know where the nose is during flight, walking the dog and figure eights is great to know. Thank you guys for putting this together. I am even more encouraged to become a better pilot.

I just built & configured one of your Gremlins this weekend. I can already fly it line of sight at this point as I used to fly a single rotor helicopter (back when I had more time to repair it, EVERY time I was the slightest disorientated). This little gremlin feels connected to my fingers, the same way the single rotor did. The difference being that now you can even have auto-level on a momentary switch ready to help out. Love the video and look forward to hearing your tips as I learn to fly through the goggles.

Very nice learning experience for beginners. Can say enough for you guys and what you are constantly doing for our hobby.

Love that you guys update this, the original video was extremely instrumental in building my confidence when I started. Not sure if I said it then but thank you guys for all the fun and informative videos.

My friend is new to this hobby and bought his quad. I recommended this video to him and in less than a month he can fly like a pro. Thank you guys. Its s big help.

great video guys and just what i needed. I started with the Mavic Pro and you are correct, it is so easy it borders on boring. This video let me know it is normal for me to have a hard time hovering my little FrSky brushed quad! Cant wait to practice hovering and then moving on to walk the dog. Thanks and keep the instructional videos coming!

Excellent. I look forward to the upcoming video series. Great job & keep up the great material!

The best thing I like about these guys is their confidence, and of course, their knowledge and ability to fly all model aircraft. You guys are truly REAL pilots.

Hi there! I'm 44 years old now and and I want to thank you so very much for such a spot on video that is helping me as a total beginner in this new hobby. Greetings from Portugal.

Good solid easy to follow tips that take you from the basic hover,to flying patterns that help you build a skill set that inspires confidence ....Thanks guys !

Thanks for taking us over all the basics again.. I applaud and love the effort :)

Best drones flying training video I have watched so far. Thank you 🙏

You guys at Flite Test are awesome. I really enjoy watching your videos. Quads or airplanes. Great work!!

Outstanding primer for the introduction to quad flying! Well produced and information packed. Beginners start here!

taught myself to fly after building one of David Windestål mini tricopters using your first learn-to-fly series. Recommended that series to so many people since then. This is a good update. Thanks guys :)

The best beginning video I have watched. Great job you guys! 👍🏻 I’m nervous to take my quad out today for the first time but I have much better expectations now of how much time I need to commit to becoming a good pilot and master one skill at a time. Thank you so much!!

Great vid guys! Couldn't agree more with your tips. I suggest making a video on how to set up the quads with a transmitter? Like i would love to buy a gremlin but the main thing stopping me is i have no idea how to set the quad up with any of my transmitters or if they will even work with mine.

This is getting saved to favourites. It'll stay there while I gather the tools and start assembling the parts, but this video will definitely be helpful when I begin. Thanks guys.

Can you d a video on tuning and cleanflight basics?

Thanks guys for making the process easy to understand.Learning how to hover,Then working the basics like following it around,& keeping facing away may seem elementary,but it makes that eye to hand coordination much easier,& less intimidating than trying to manage it all at the same time...Appreciate all the tips,& your sense of humor helps keep the "learning curve" less painful...

I still love flying my ft tricopter! So floaty - I love it! That is what got me started in the hobby! Love the wooden booms!

I actually really like this video. Everyone else says to immediately start in Acro mode AND in FPV mode, but that doesn't really teach you flying as well. It teaches you how to always respond to a camera feed. I like your baby steps, and I understand the muscle memory progression involved in your 3 steps. I'm still on step 1, and honestly, with the Walkera Rodeo 110, it's SO hard. The throttle is super touchy and those micro adjustments are hard to program into my left thumb, but I'm getting there. Thanks for the video!

Very well presented and very informative...Best i`ve seen for a student pilot...and it`s spot on. Thank you.

That throwaway comment 'prop up the table' is a bit of a eureka moment for me, makes it really obvious which way to push the sticks when nose in.....thanks guys.

You guys ALWAYS do it better! Thank you for this video. I have been 'tiny whoopin' for about 7 months now and got discouraged after crashing my wizard 3 or 4 times. I will try these tips and hopefully get it down this time using airmode

Just ran across this video, even though I have been flying quads for a while I enjoyed watching your teaching methods. I will be sure to share this link with some of the guys just starting out flying Quadcopter's. 👍

Good job on the video, as a semi experienced pilot I found some of the tips useful!! Looking at it as a new pilot I really believe this and the following videos I'm sure is a great way to get familiar with flying quads or any rotor driven r/c!! Always love watching flight test videos, keep up the great work please!!😁👍

Just purchased my 1st drone about 3wks ago & got a Orbit Pocket Drone. I've searched all over for a tutorial of how to use the stick control & haven't found one on mine. Your illustration of how the controls work were phenomenal, especially when you showed which way the drone went,with your body, when the right & left one was used to control the Drone. That really clicked for me & now will stick w/me & give me the confidence to control it better. Also by 1st starting out hovering & then walking the dog. If you could do a video on my pocket drone i would appreciate it & from what I've seen from other videos it's the easiest to start out with for beginners like me & the control can be a challenge for someone who's never flown anything before. Thanks again!! :)

Thanks for this video guys, I'm 60 years old and going through the "teach and old dog new tricks" issues and this is a big help. Thanks again!

Great vid, exactly what I needed as a new Droner ! Waiting for new drone delivery today! Hope to Hover before sundown. Thanks

Very good video for beginners, I learned a lot! Thanks to both of you guys for taking the time to help us beginners.

one of ur best educational video!!! nice one always keep on my favs!!! thanks guys

Great video guys, appreciate the tips, can't wait for spring to start my training!

Fabulous... This is the best starter lesson I have found on the net. Invaluable. Thanks.

Very glad to see this and always enjoy your videos. I have a Tiny Trainer, and Bushwacker sitting here yet to be built. +100 vote on continuing the series. I've been flying fixed wing (a lot of aerobatics)for over 40 years, and now have a Babyhawk, Lizard 95 and Nighthawk 280, and am DEFINITELY struggling a lot, just LOS, so will try your techniques. I could have missed it, but a very critical detail I didn't hear mentioned is not just "chop the throttle", but DISARM so the silly thing doesn't self destruct - a trait of quads I still can't get used to! It's hard enough to get used to flying electric foam planes bought at a store rather than built from kit or plans. Even including learning to fly, I've never even seriously damaged an aircraft, so the idea of constantly breaking things is also totally foreign, and requires a much different mindset, as I'm always trying to fly so I don't even put a scratch on it, much less thump it into the ground.

I really like this big arrow trick. That is very helpful.

Hi Flitetest Love your videos thank you very much for this video for helping us and giving us tips on starting on drone thanks :)

What a brilliant video. Really helped me out

Awesome video! Love your products!

Thank you! Helpful! Watched it and really improved my learning. Thanks again!

Thanks for the great tutorial video guys! How much of minimum open area do we need to be able to practice these?

I love all your quad videos! More Gremlins!!! Edit- I just ordered a gremlin!!!!!!

love love love how you organized and presented this video, top notch gentlemen (and ladies if there were any behind the camera)

I can't seem to find those arrows in Flight Test's store.... When will they be back in stock???

Question regarding LOS flying of a 250mm quad: How on earth would you fly at a distance in acro mode? I can barely keep yaw orientation in check, let alone all of my tilts as well.

Thanks flute test for everything you do, just ordered the simple cub to do bomb drops on

2 years ago made and it still helped me dip my toes into the world of Quads 👍🏻

Looks great! Thanks for sharing. Is 720PX60 what you uploaded at or is RU-vid still processing the higher resolution?

Thank you you guys are always so helpful

Thank guys for a great how to fly a drone video, wish I had seen it before I did my first flight. I bought a JJRC X12 and only flew it for about 2 min., before I got into a bit of trouble, I was only about 10ft off the ground when I started to lose control so I just cut the throttle and down it came and did not hurt the drone at all. However after watching your video I feel a lot more comfortable now and will fallow the steps that you point out in your video. Thanks for the advise, I will put it to good use.

Great video guys, I think this is very helpful for beginners who haven't had experience with quads yet. Definitely gonna try it out with my Hubsan x4. Keep it up!!

Excellent video. I learned something important today. Thank you guys.

I'm watching this after having build (and crashed) my first drone with literally 0 experience on the sticks. I wrote all the code for the TX, I'm using an XBOX controller for controls, the wrong sized motors for my frame (8" props on 1400kV motors dont fit on a 250 frame) So I 3d printed some extensions that were able to bolt on and extend the reach of the frame, finally got it in the air after working with more software issues. Bank limits. Who would have guessed? It started to drift into the street so I did slight right stick to get it back in the grass (but the way the software is written, the full motion of the xbox controller is the 0-100% pwm range of the TX) so it basically flipped 90* sideways and fell out of the air. So I'm writing in sensitivity modes I can switch between so the first mode is a 5% either side limit (for pitch and roll, yaw I'll leave alone for now) swichable up to 10%/20%/50% and 100%, because who knows when FULL RIGHT STICK will be useful. Live and learn I guess. Only casualty was one of the 3d-printed extenders.

What an awesome video!

THANK YOU! I just built my first quad (450mm) and this video was very useful!

Thanks for the wonderful information. The bass music had me going to thinking the neighbors were partying again. A good thing.

When you use the yaw to fly in a circle, do you also bank it?

awesome video, very helpful.

Love the big arrow, brilliant :)

Thanks Guys ... really excellent teaching, my quad is coming this week, and the next one is a Gremlin

could you please recommend a good quad copter for indoors as well as out doors. something that can handle some wind but small enough for home, something that can be a trainer. thanks for the awesome video

Excellent tips, thank you!

Flite test will the vortex 150 bind with a spektrum dx6e

Amazing video guys

Great video. Many thanks guys. I just bought my first drone and it really helped

11:02 also it really helps imagining to balance a stick on a finger , this is especially good on mode 2

Very well explained, thank you!

This made my day. Thank you!

I'm a total Noob and bought a gremlin to learn/play with. It's been fun but I don't know if it could use some fine tuning. Can you guys make a video on how to tune a gremlin?

Thanks for the easy & helpful lesson!

This is an awesome tutorial for flying quads manually.

Hey Alex, man I hope you're not too scared of all those 'giant miniquads', they are really terrifying... ;P Anyway thanks for another great vid, 'been watching Flite Test for quite some years now. Keep it up guys.

Excellent video. I finally realized why I couldn't fly my little drone, and is because I don't have training !!, now I know what to do. Thank you guys.

This video is excellent! I'm more of a ground vehicle guy myself, but I do own some quads, smaller indoor ones and a bigger outdoor one. I haven't really been into flying drones since I don't feel like I'm the best at controlling them like I can with a ground vehicle, but I'm definitely going to give them more chances by following these tips and tricks. Thank you for all of this helpful information and who knows, I might become a drone guy too. :D

As a newcomer to multi rotor flying I'm asking, is it still okay to use the words rudder, elevator and aileron on a quad copter? Yaw, pitch and roll should be enough. The physical equivalent are different speed in rotation of the propellers.

THANK YOU ALEX!... i've already crashed more than 40 times, and when i look at experienced pilots, i used to think i'm slow or i just don't have what it takes to fly a quadcopter, but it DOES take at least a year to get the hang of basics, race quads are nothing like a DJI or the "indoor, self-leveling" rtf mini quads running on brushed motors and a 1s battery with basic plastic radio toy ps: i'm not hating on mini quads or dji, if it flys, i love it

Awesome Thanks this is the video I have been able to find that shows a newbie how to fly a quad copter

Great advice guy. It reminds me when I started flying Planes.

Will this be a series? If so that's awesome

I"ve have learned a lot from you GUYS THANKS

Thanks guys!

Another Great Video Thanks.

Love this training video. I have recently got a DJI Mavic drone. Have looked all over RU-vid to find training videos similar to this one for DJI Mavic but haven't been able to find even one. Please make one. Will life of so many DJI drone owners better. Thanks in advance

thanks guys just got a mini d2 cheap but still now i have an idea of how to fly it thanks again

Josh, You touched on one subject that I feel may be confusing to new pilots. That being nose in flight. I feel that people get the idea that when they fly nose in. That something has changed electronicly, which it has not. If a new pilot does a nose in, and turns their back to the quad/heli/ plane. Looking over their shoulder at their bird. The controls are the same. If they turn to the right in a nose in flight. The bird is actually turning to it's right. The new pilot needs to orientate their mind to be seated in the bird, looking forward. Nose in, nose out, right or left, seated, facing forward. Not trying to confuse anyone. But, I have never heard anyone explain it fully.

Awesome video! Great for newbies like me!

I loved this video and I was ready to buy one of the indoor drones you recommended to get started, but the links in the description don’t work. I couldn’t figure out how to find beginner drones on your website. 😕

Love the advice guys!👍😁👍😜😜👏

11:34 "If you lean right you get light" XD

Outstanding.

I NEED HELP! the stopping position of my elevator stick at the bottom so when im not touching it at all my motor will be running at 50 percent. I have to keep the stick at the bottom for about 5 seconds to set it. how do I make it so the stopping position is in the middle?

I have one of the first versacopters v2 with the old 12a esc's. Was wondering if this would work as a good trainer to start with?

The arrow is a cool idea, please show how you attached it.

Hay guys .. this video the most easy best ever one I watched. Thanks a lot

I've own a with a micro Syma X12S and found although small it is a difficult drone for a beginner, or at least for me. I have ordered a Visuo HW, which has altitude mode, which I hope is going to prove a bit more stable to be able to learn to fly. I really enjoyed your video on how to fly drones, and like you say learning to fly is like most things in life: a marathon and not a sprint. So I wanna say thanks for such great advice. I live in the UK, and am hoping to receive my drone within the next week.

Thanks for the tips! :)