First flight in the books

Agent K · Oct 10, 2016

Took the bird up for the first flight, its going to be a steep learning curve getting to know the ST16. I have a recap and some questions.

Preflight -

1. Had a compass calibration error, before starting the props, that flashed for under 1-2 seconds. I waited about two minutes and it never came back so I took off, no issues.

2. Wind was gusty at the location I was at. Steady 20mph gusts around 30mph so she managed to stay very steady all things considered.

Questions -

1. What is the trick to "turning" the drone? It behaves nothing like my Walkera F210 (Ferrari).

2. I switched to home since I was struggling getting the drone back to me against the wind. When I switched the home button the drone instantly rotated facing me and shot up from 10ft hover to over 30 feet at a 15ft per second climb.

That scared me a bit so I switched off home at 30ish feet and it stopped and I set it down manually. Is this normal for RTH?

3. When I reviewed my footage there is a file YUN00001.mp4 and YUN00002.mp4 the second isn't readable. Is that normal? Or am I doing something wrong?

4. Should an SD card be in the ST16 during flight? Reason I ask is how is the telemetry data stored?

Other than that considering the wind and inability to turn the drone is rock solid. Next mission I need to work on turning and camera controls. I'll add my footage shortly.

Brian Mackey · Oct 10, 2016

Agent K said:
Took the bird up for the first flight, its going to be a steep learning curve getting to know the ST16. I have a recap and some questions.

Preflight -

1. Had a compass calibration error, before starting the props, that flashed for under 1-2 seconds. I waited about two minutes and it never came back so I took off, no issues.

Did you do the calibration?

2. Wind was gusty at the location I was at. Steady 20mph gusts around 30mph so she managed to stay very steady all things considered.

a bit windy to fly

Questions -

1. What is the trick to "turning" the drone? It behaves nothing like my Walkera F210 (Ferrari).

turn it how?

2. I switched to home since I was struggling getting the drone back to me against the wind. When I switched the home button the drone instantly rotated facing me and shot up from 10ft hover to over 30 feet at a 15ft per second climb.

RTH with the new software/firmware will climb to a default 60-66 feet turn around and zip back to you overhead then turn round about again and drop gear and come down and land within ten feet of the st16 In a perfect world!

That scared me a bit so I switched off home at 30ish feet and it stopped and I set it down manually. Is this normal for RTH?

3. When I reviewed my footage there is a file YUN00001.mp4 and YUN00002.mp4 the second isn't readable. Is that normal? Or am I doing something wrong?

sounds like you turned off the H before stopping the video on the st16

4. Should an SD card be in the ST16 during flight? Reason I ask is how is the telemetry data stored?

No its stored on the ST16 -- the card is for transferring data or you can do it by usb

you did great, I would not have flown today in that weather congrates

Other than that considering the wind and inability to turn the drone is rock solid. Next mission I need to work on turning and camera controls. I'll add my footage shortly.

see embedded answers

Rayray · Oct 10, 2016

1. Left stick...left to rotate it left (CCW), right to rotate right (CW).
2. Normal, and you did the right thing, switch to Angle and land it in Angle.
3.You forgot to stop the last video. Simply leave the card in the cam, and restart everything. After the camera connects it will automatically finish the last video without you doing anything.
4. No, it is stored on internal hard drive.
Hey, great job.

Agent K · Oct 10, 2016

Brian Mackey said:
you did great, I would not have flown today in that weather congrates

Preflight -

1. I didn't because it flashed on the screen and then disappeared. There were no malfunction lights on the drone. It just flashed quick on the ST16 shortly after I started the H.

Questions -
1. Turn it so if your flying with the front facing away from you turn to the left or right. Not the camera panning, but the drone itself. All I get is lateral left right, no turning.

2,3,4 - Ahh ok makes sense.

BillyTexas · Oct 10, 2016

1. Left stick turns the drone by moving the stick left and right which rotates the aircraft.

2. Return to home has a preset altitude. If the h is below that alitude it wil climb before it comes home. If above that ir will stay at that altitude and come home. I you have current FW you can change that preset.

3. Make sure you stop recording before turning off the H. If you forget it will corrupt the file. Also it only records in 5 min increments.

4.Telemtry is stored on the tablet memory. If you want it on the sd card you have to transfer it there in tablet mode.

BillyTexas · Oct 10, 2016

Agent K said:
Preflight -

1. I didn't because it flashed on the screen and then disappeared. There were no malfunction lights on the drone. It just flashed quick on the ST16 shortly after I started the H.

Questions -
1. Turn it so if your flying with the front facing away from you turn to the left or right. Not the camera panning, but the drone itself. All I get is lateral left right, no turning.

2,3,4 - Ahh ok makes sense.

Correct. to pan camera need to use the black knob top left. Pan mode switch in middle position.

Brian Mackey · Oct 10, 2016

Rayray said:
1. Left stick...left to rotate it left (CCW), right to rotate right (CW).
2. Normal, and you did the right thing, switch to Angle and land it in Angle.
3.You forgot to stop the last video. Simply leave the card in the cam, and restart everything. After the camera connects it will automatically finish the last video without you doing anything.
4. No, it is stored on internal hard drive.
Hey, great job.

good call on switch to angle, I did not see he was flying in smart mode -- Guess I just assumed everyone flies in angle
LOL

DroneClone · Oct 10, 2016

If flying away from you nose forward, left input is left movement, right is right, flying back , nose towards you it is reverse, left/right, right/left

Brian Mackey · Oct 10, 2016

Agent K said:
Preflight -

1. I didn't because it flashed on the screen and then disappeared. There were no malfunction lights on the drone. It just flashed quick on the ST16 shortly after I started the H.

Questions -
1. Turn it so if your flying with the front facing away from you turn to the left or right. Not the camera panning, but the drone itself. All I get is lateral left right, no turning.

2,3,4 - Ahh ok makes sense.

yeah it never hurts to calibrate its not like your going to a fire (LOL) some say point it north everyone else I guess got your answers on turning

Brian Mackey · Oct 10, 2016

DroneClone said:
If flying away from you nose forward, left input is left movement, right is right, flying back , nose towards you it is reverse, left/right, right/left

wait, what? LOL

Tuna · Oct 11, 2016

Check how your ST-16 is set up. Normally the left stick is throttle (climb) and yaw (rotate) and right stick is move forward/backward, left/right (FBLR). You can however change which stick does what (go to Settings -> Mode Select) as some people are used to different controller configurations. Most people fly in mode 2, which is the default.

If you're in smart mode, FB/LR is relative to you - so forward always goes away from you, backwards towards you, left to your left and so on. In smart mode, if you hold left, it will orbit around you (always turning to your left).

In angle mode, FBLR is relative to the craft, so forward moves in the direction the craft is facing, left moves to it's left etc. So if you hold left in angle mode, it will head off into the distance. Once the craft is sufficiently far away from you (at least 25 ft), the green arrow shows where you are relative to it. If it points straight up, it means you're straight ahead of the craft (it's facing towards you), if it points right you're to the craft's right. That means that pushing FB/LR in the direction of the arrow in angle mode will bring the craft back to you regardless of which way its facing.

So - before you take off, always check your switches. Just about everybody has taken off in the wrong mode and been confused. In smart mode in particular, if the craft is within 25 feet of you it will not come closer, and if you walk towards it (a natural instinct) it will back away. It's all to easy to panic, rush for it and back it into a tree.

You can also check that the sticks are all behaving properly - there are a few reports of them being damaged. Go to Settings -> Hardware Monitor. Full movement in each stick in each direction should make the little bar display go to it's full extent. If it doesn't, give support a ring and they can help you. Don't try to fix things in the Channel Setup menu - if the stick isn't giving full response it needs fixing rather than fiddling in software.

Telemetry data is sent back to the controller, which tracks what the drone is doing, what controls you are using and where the controller itself is. You can read that stuff with a suitable program, and convert it to other formats (such as GPX for Google Maps). The files stay on the ST-16 and in the event of a crash you can send them to Yuneec to work out what went wrong.

Video is stored both on the camera (high-resolution) and on the ST-16 (low res, FPV). The video on the ST-16 is deleted automatically to stop it from filling up. Video from the camera is split into 5 minute segments (all cameras have a limit on file size, so big films are split). You must stop recording before powering off the H or you won't be able to read the file. Its worth noting that the auto white balance on the H tends more towards red, particularly in the default 'sunny' mode - use sunrise/sunset or calibrate it against something white and then lock the white balance. Annoyingly the exposure and white balance reset when the H is powered off so you have to get into the habit of setting them before you take off.

I've noticed that standing next to the H with the ST-16 can cause compass errors - I presume being too close causes the radios to interfere. With the latest firmware, I've not seen any errors once the craft is in the air.

Have fun flying!

DroneClone · Oct 11, 2016

Agent K said:
Took the bird up for the first flight, its going to be a steep learning curve getting to know the ST16. I have a recap and some questions.

Preflight -

1. Had a compass calibration error, before starting the props, that flashed for under 1-2 seconds. I waited about two minutes and it never came back so I took off, no issues.

2. Wind was gusty at the location I was at. Steady 20mph gusts around 30mph so she managed to stay very steady all things considered.

Questions -

1. What is the trick to "turning" the drone? It behaves nothing like my Walkera F210 (Ferrari).

2. I switched to home since I was struggling getting the drone back to me against the wind. When I switched the home button the drone instantly rotated facing me and shot up from 10ft hover to over 30 feet at a 15ft per second climb.

That scared me a bit so I switched off home at 30ish feet and it stopped and I set it down manually. Is this normal for RTH?

3. When I reviewed my footage there is a file YUN00001.mp4 and YUN00002.mp4 the second isn't readable. Is that normal? Or am I doing something wrong?

4. Should an SD card be in the ST16 during flight? Reason I ask is how is the telemetry data stored?

Other than that considering the wind and inability to turn the drone is rock solid. Next mission I need to work on turning and camera controls. I'll add my footage shortly.

Sounds to me like you need to get familiar with your controller and H a little more, before you worry about the camera controls on your next mission or three, just to be able to learn flight controls and functions, before worrying how to pan and tilt the camera. It will help you to feel more confident and smooth in order to then focus on your camera shots, Just a friendly advice is all !

DroneClone · Oct 11, 2016

Brian Mackey said:
wait, what? LOL

You were telling him stick movements, So I gave him Stick Movement 101, LOL !

Agent K · Oct 11, 2016

Tuna said:
Check how your ST-16 is set up. Normally the left stick is throttle (climb) and yaw (rotate) and right stick is move forward/backward, left/right (FBLR). You can however change which stick does what (go to Settings -> Mode Select) as some people are used to different controller configurations. Most people fly in mode 2, which is the default.

If you're in smart mode, FB/LR is relative to you - so forward always goes away from you, backwards towards you, left to your left and so on. In smart mode, if you hold left, it will orbit around you (always turning to your left).

In angle mode, FBLR is relative to the craft, so forward moves in the direction the craft is facing, left moves to it's left etc. So if you hold left in angle mode, it will head off into the distance. Once the craft is sufficiently far away from you (at least 25 ft), the green arrow shows where you are relative to it. If it points straight up, it means you're straight ahead of the craft (it's facing towards you), if it points right you're to the craft's right. That means that pushing FB/LR in the direction of the arrow in angle mode will bring the craft back to you regardless of which way its facing.

So - before you take off, always check your switches. Just about everybody has taken off in the wrong mode and been confused. In smart mode in particular, if the craft is within 25 feet of you it will not come closer, and if you walk towards it (a natural instinct) it will back away. It's all to easy to panic, rush for it and back it into a tree.

Looking at the controller now this explains why I thought I was fighting against the wind getting back "Smart Mode". So the H was capable flying 20mph up wind. Had I gone to angle mode I would have been able to set her down right next to me. This also explains when I was walking towards the H it backed off, so I shut down the OBS thinking that was what was causing it.

Really good info that will make the next flight even better. Thanks @Tuna

DroneClone · Oct 11, 2016

Agent K , This may help you, if you have not read beforeHere we go boys and girls ! Feel free to add to this list, and let's keep it to the point ! Hopefully It will save many questions and heartaches! To ALL !( I Harvey I hope you don't mind my editing some, i.e also take off on Obstacle Avoidance)

Please Read T his and "ALL" Manuals and Quick Start Cards Before First Flight, and Frequently !

1. Be smart and don't use Smart mode when taking off or landing, only when using Follow Me mode, etc. If you choose to use Smart Mode at any time, remember to stay a minimum of 26' from you and the controller at all times !.
2. Check and make sure Obstacle Avoidance is turned off before take off and landing.
3. Calibrate your compass before first flight and after each firmware update to the aircraft. Also when traveling significant distance from home ( Your discretion)You may also consider doing a Accelerometer and IMU calibration, especially if the H fly's or hovers erratically!.Make Sure to do Accelerometer and IMU calibrations on a table, level ground, that is tested level! You will get proper led color configuration of Green-Smart Mode and Purple- Angle Mode before lift of if calibration was successful !
4. Low battery warning will come on between 14.3V and 14.6v but you might want to land before then but, at least, be prepared to be in a decent landing area when you get below 15v.
5. Landing gear does not auto-deploy except in RTH, look at your drone when landing and think about what you're doing.
6. If your ST16 rattles, you have a loose fan, pull off rubber grips to remove screws and fix
7. If you decide to put a SD card into your ST16, turn the ST16 upside down before doing so since you're less likely to lose your card into the controller
8. Always remember to turn ST16 "ON" first, then Typhoon H after ST16 has booted up, And reverse these steps when turning off.
9. Remember when filming in "Video Mode" to turn off video filming before turning off the H and the ST16 or you "Can" lose your video, and may have to turn H on and off again to restore.
10. Make sure gimbal cover is removed before firing up the H, Will save damaging gimbal motors and gears. Also prevent burn out on the camera sensor!.
11. Always check rear status lights for proper color combinations of flashing purple and white, or minimum of a solid purple, Always check number of satellites before take off, a safe number should be a minimum of 8.
12. If using Smart Mode and options as cable cam, POI, follow me , etc. Remember that you must have a blinking purple/white to succeed in connecting.
13. Remember that when using RTH(Return to Home) to make sure that you have a minimum of 30' clearance of unobstructed path to home, "IF" you are flying at or below 30' when switching to Home Mode. ( If you are above 30', it will return to Home at the altitude you are flying currently at.
14.If not using you H battery for more than 10 days, fly/hover them down for storage to 50-60%, DO NOT store fully charged for any extended period of time, Also if on the other hand, you have flown your batteries below 50%, charge them up to 50-60% for storage. Storage of more than 10 days at full charge or under 50% can lead to battery life loss and/or battery swelling and even fire.
15. Every 12 flights or so, check all screws, motors, gimbal/camera mounts and accessories for snugness. DO NOT over tighten, just snug them down if loosening.
16. DO NOT use RED button to land your aircraft from short distances from ground (6-12") To land successfully, Turn off Obstacle Avoidance, be in ANGLE MODE and make sure landing gear are deployed !. Lower H slowly to ground not stopping 1-2 feet above ground and hovering(Vortex will form). Just slowly lower gently to ground and hold LEFT STICK completely downward for 2-3 seconds to idle motors and then release. Now you can press red button to kill motors.
17. Allow batteries to cool to room temperature before charging.
18. Check your props for any nicks or cracks BEFORE and after each flight. DO NOT FLY WITH ANY DAMAGED PROPS.
19. .. Do a preflight check before takeoff. 1) Check that all propellers are secure and in good condition. 2) Check flight mode is the one you want (Angle, etc.), 3) Check whether you are in Turtle Mode or Rabbit Mode, 4) Check Obstruction Avoidance is set to OFF. 5) Check camera mode. (I like to have camera pointing to front and parallel to ground on take off.), 6) Check battery level is what you expect to ensure adequate flight time. 7) Check battery is inserted into H all of the way. 8) Check localweather to avoid excessive wind speed, rain, dust, etc.)
20. Make sure to install SD Card into H camera if you are planning to save your photo's and/or video's.

#1 DroneClone, Jun 5, 2016
Last edited: Jun 17, 2016
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1. Be smart and don't use Smart mode when taking off or landing, only when using Follow Me mode, etc. If you choose to use Smart Mode at any time, remember to stay a minimum of 26' from you and the controller at all times !.
2. Check and make sure Obstacle Avoidance is turned off before take off and landing.
3. Calibrate your compass before first flight and after each firmware update to the aircraft. Also when traveling significant distance from home ( Your discretion)
4. Low battery warning will come on between 14.3V and 14.6v but you might want to land before then but, at least, be prepared to be in a decent landing area when you get below 15v.
5. Landing gear does not auto-deploy except in RTH, look at your drone when landing and think about what you're doing.
6. If your ST16 rattles, you have a loose fan, pull off rubber grips to remove screws and fix
7. If you decide to put a SD card into your ST16, turn the ST16 upside down before doing so since you're less likely to lose your card into the controller
8. Always remember to turn ST16 "ON" first, then Typhoon H after ST16 has booted up, And reverse these steps when turning off.
9. Remember when filming in "Video Mode" to turn off video filming before turning off the H and the ST16 or you "Can" lose you video, and may have to turn H on and off again to restore.
10. Make sure gimbal cover is removed before firing up the H, Will save damaging gimbal motors and gears.
11. Always check rear status lights for proper color combinations of flashing purple and white, or minimum of a solid purple, Always check number of satellites before take off, a safe number should be a minimum of 8.
12. If using Smart Mode and options as cable cam, POI, follow me , etc. Remember that you must have a blinking purple/white to succeed in connecting.
13. Remember that when using RTH(Return to Home) to make sure that you have a minimum of 30' clearance of unobstructed path to home, "IF" you are flying at or below 30' when switching to Home Mode. ( If you are above 30', it will return to Home at the altitude you are flying currently at.
14.If not using you H battery for more than 10 days, fly/hover them down for storage to 50-60%, DO NOT store fully charged for any extended period of time, Also if on the other hand, you have flown your batteries below 50%, charge them up to 50-60% for storage. Storage of more than 10 days at full charge or under 50% can lead to battery life loss and/or battery swelling and even fire.
15. Every 12 flights or so, check all screws, motors, gimbal/camera mounts and accessories for snugness. DO NOT over tighten, just snug them down if loosening.
16. DO NOT use RED button to land your aircraft from short distances from ground (6-12") To land successfully, Turn off Obstacle Avoidance, be in ANGLE MODE and make sure landing gear are deployed !. Lower H slowly to ground not stopping 1-2 feet above ground and hovering(Vortex will form). Just slowly lower gently to ground and hold LEFT STICK completely downward for 2-3 seconds to idle motors and them release. Now you can press red button to kill motors.
17. Check your props for any nicks or cracks BEFORE and after each flight. DO NOT FLY WITH ANY DAMAGED PROPS.

Agent K · Oct 11, 2016

DroneClone said:
Agent K , This may help you, if you have not read before!

Thank you @DroneClone appreciate the help. I'd like to think of myself as a systematic guy for the most part. Yesterday was about getting it in the air, and moving it around to make sure there weren't any issues and testing basic flight characteristics. This will help me a lot. One of the things that so far was one of the only let downs is the documentation of the bird. This is extremely helpful, Thank you!

DroneClone · Oct 11, 2016

Agent K said:
Thank you @DroneClone appreciate the help. I'd like to think of myself as a systematic guy for the most part. Yesterday was about getting it in the air, and moving it around to make sure there weren't any issues and testing basic flight characteristics. This will help me a lot. One of the things that so far was one of the only let downs is the documentation of the bird. This is extremely helpful, Thank you!

Best of Flights! Enjoy!

azpilot61 · Oct 11, 2016

#7, did that little trick the other night.. sucked... took apart the controller to get the SD Card out.. but then added the other 2.4ghz antenna to the outside since I had it apart

DroneClone · Oct 11, 2016

azpilot61 said:
#7, did that little trick the other night.. sucked... took apart the controller to get the SD Card out.. but then added the other 2.4ghz antenna to the outside since I had it apart

Bet she fly's much more better! Hope so ! Did you have a spare antenna, or buy one?