Maiden Flight ....I'm Ready

[FlyingLow]

Received my H a few days ago...since then I have performed all of the updates and calibrations that I have learned about from all of you. I have gone over and over the wealth of knowledge that you all have provided. I even had one of the group's members give me hands on flight training that was very helpful. Tomorrow, I will put in a fully charged battery and let the H run for 13 minutes on the ground prior to popping in a fresh battery for tomorrows maiden flight.
I am very grateful to all who have provided me with the knowledge to be totally prepared. Thank You!!!

 

[Steve Carr]

Received my H a few days ago...since then I have performed all of the updates and calibrations that I have learned about from all of you. I have gone over and over the wealth of knowledge that you all have provided. I even had one of the group's members give me hands on flight training that was very helpful. Tomorrow, I will put in a fully charged battery and let the H run for 13 minutes on the ground prior to popping in a fresh battery for tomorrows maiden flight.
I am very grateful to all who have provided me with the knowledge to be totally prepared. Thank You!!!

You have done your homework well so you should have a great flight. Enjoy it. If you like, put a bonnet on her and carry her over the threshold.

 

[Dazman]

Great you are all ready! I am getting my H with real sense today. I've been studying up as well. I have been flying a cheap GPS drone (X183 Follower) for about 3 months to get used to the stick controls which gave me some confidence to upgrade to a "real" drone. I would be interested to know which resources you found to be most helpful in your studies in case I have missed anything. I especially like the checklist on your controller. I can read most of it but the flash blinded the first 3 steps. Good luck on your 1st solo flight and let us know how it went.

 

[Eagle's Eye Video]

I will make one suggestion... your crib notes say "land when voltage below 14.1V...

I would suggest heading back by 14.7 and landing not below 14.4-5V... Discharging below 14.5V regularly will create a shortened battery life. I replaced 3 batteries in my first 9 months flying so I know 1st hand, what less than careful care of your batteries can cost. In my case it was delaying on buying a charger with a proper storage charge function.

1st battery warning comes at 14.3, you get a 2nd battery warning at 14.1... and when you get that warning you have about 30 seconds before it auto-lands. There have been some videos posted (from the ST-16) of this occurring over water... not a desirable way to end a flight.

 

[CraigCam]

Please remember to check all your controls for response while hovering near you. Avoid Smart mode until you are ready to try follow features. Get used to VLOS perspective vs real position. It’s very hard to judge at first until you get familiar with how far things really are. You may decide to shoot a particular feature that to your eye seems close but once you set out to film, discover its more of a flight distance then you thought. Also, understand how return to home will behave with your RTH altitude and how it turns twice in RTH. I recommend that your beginning flight happen in as open and level area as possible and you spend your first battery practicing taking off and landing and consider practicing with the camera off so you don’t get sucked into looking at video right away. The biggest problem that no one admits I believe in crashes is that they had eyes on the screen and not the 480 and get caught by surprise. It’s happened to me when I got way deep into a shot and locked onto the screen and my spotter was horrible. This is not a one person operation when you really use it to it’s full potential. Once you get past the early jitters (I still get an elevated heart rate on every flight though as you should...) and gain confidence in the multiple skill sets needed to pilot, it is a very satisfying and creative model and a pretty miraculous piece of technology.

 

[BobW55]

Everyone has given excellent advice.
I would only add:
Make you first few flights in a BIG OPEN field. Tempting as it may be, do not fly out of your back yard till you get the hang of things.
AVOID Smart mode (green tail light)
Make the first few flights in Angle mode (Purple tail light)
Take it slow and easy, Remember the H is a pretty big air craft, at high speed, it does not start/stop very quickly.

Make sure you bring along plenty of anti smile cream
Have a good first flight.

 

[FlyingLow]

Great you are all ready! I am getting my H with real sense today. I've been studying up as well. I have been flying a cheap GPS drone (X183 Follower) for about 3 months to get used to the stick controls which gave me some confidence to upgrade to a "real" drone. I would be interested to know which resources you found to be most helpful in your studies in case I have missed anything. I especially like the checklist on your controller. I can read most of it but the flash blinded the first 3 steps. Good luck on your 1st solo flight and let us know how it went.

Yes...the checklist is super. When your H arrived, it will have an SD card that is loaded with valuable how to information.
I would say that the most important information is to be sure to calibrate the compass.
Have Fun...be safe!

 

[FlyingLow]

Today's maiden flight went with out a hitch. I waited until later in the afternoon as...wouldn't you know it...We had some pretty stiff winds here in Florida. I almost scrubbed today's flight...but the winds finally toned down to a tolerable 12 MPH....and the forecast for tomorrow is rain and 20 MPH wind...so it was fly today or be grounded for at least two days.
The H is an animal as it cut through the wind like it was non existent. I had enough daylight left for two batteries of flight time before the sun set.
I am hooked...can't wait for favorable flight weather to return in a few days.

 

[FlyingLow]

Great you are all ready! I am getting my H with real sense today. I've been studying up as well. I have been flying a cheap GPS drone (X183 Follower) for about 3 months to get used to the stick controls which gave me some confidence to upgrade to a "real" drone. I would be interested to know which resources you found to be most helpful in your studies in case I have missed anything. I especially like the checklist on your controller. I can read most of it but the flash blinded the first 3 steps. Good luck on your 1st solo flight and let us know how it went.

I highly recommend the stickers. Here is a link to them:
http://www.uavstickers.com/products-yuneec-typhoon-h.php

 

[rdonson]

I highly recommend the stickers. Here is a link to them:
http://www.uavstickers.com/products-yuneec-typhoon-h.php

I'm quite happy with the stickers as well.

This is my first year piloting a UAV and the stickers have not only provided some welcome reminders but they also helped with well meaning friends who wanted to know what everything on the controller was when I was flying. I don't like being distracted when flying. I have to train them to be spotters and then they're happy. Sometimes I bring my external HDMI monitor to keep them occupied.

 

[Tiburon]

I will make one suggestion... your crib notes say "land when voltage below 14.1V...

I would suggest heading back by 14.8 and landing not below 14.5-6V... Discharging below 14.5V regularly will create a shortened battery life. I replaced 3 batteries in my first 9 months flying so I know 1st hand, what less than careful care of your batteries can cost. In my case it was delaying on buying a charger with a proper storage charge function.

Also if I remember, you get a 2nd battery warning at 14.3... and when you get that warning you have about 30 seconds before it auto-lands. There have been some videos posted (from the ST-16) of this occurring over water... not a desirable way to end a flight.

That's interesting I get my first battery warning at 14.3 not the second. Is it different in Europe?

 

[Eagle's Eye Video]

That's interesting I get my first battery warning at 14.3 not the second. Is it different in Europe?

It has been a long time since I let the H run down to the 1st warning... I have now completed a test run today, to confirm the voltage level that triggers the 1st warning. I do not want to give inaccurate info on this, which might cause an issue for a pilot.

OK, so to give clarification to all... 1st "low" battery warning comes at 14.3V as measured on ST-16 during flight. 2nd "critically low" warning comes at 14.1V, at which point, you have about 30 seconds before the auto-land engages. I still recommend a target landing voltage of 14.5V for safe operation and maximizing battery life.

 

[FlushVision]

...<snip>... I still recommend a target landing voltage of 14.5V for safe operation and maximizing battery life.

I would agree with this. In the (almost) 18 months that I've owned a H480 I can only recall a 'first warning' (14.3v) actuating a couple of times, and the second warning (14.1v) just once. The main reason I aim to be on the ground before a warning is that on one of those instances I got to the first warning I noticed the aircraft become a little unstable...could have been because I was only a few feet in the air in the process of landing, though, but best to play it safe.

 

[JulesTEO]

Make sure to check hardware monitor mainly for any issues regarding the stick input. (The bars should react exactly like the physical input with no lag, no off-centers, no sluggish returns to 0 and so on. Have a nice flight!