New to the Q500 4k

Only1nexus · Jan 31, 2017

Hello fellow Pilots, I have just purchased my first Yuneec q500 4k. I will have it by Friday. I have flown other quads, multi rotors, Drones, or what ever else you wanna call it. I have my FAA Drone License ( hobby use).
I was wondering if anyone had tips or tricks before my maiden flight? I have been doing my research for a good month or more. That includes forums, Videos, and Websites to look at reviews. So any helpful hints would be appreciated. (i have Downloaded the pre/post flight checklist.) Thanks for your time and happy flying.

Steve Carr · Jan 31, 2017

Only1nexus said:
Hello fellow Pilots, I have just purchased my first Yuneec q500 4k. I will have it by Friday. I have flown other quads, multi rotors, Drones, or what ever else you wanna call it. I have my FAA Drone License ( hobby use).
I was wondering if anyone had tips or tricks before my maiden flight? I have been doing my research for a good month or more. That includes forums, Videos, and Websites to look at reviews. So any helpful hints would be appreciated. (i have Downloaded the pre/post flight checklist.) Thanks for your time and happy flying.

Hello and welcome to the forum.
When you receive your Q you should do the calibrations. When you get ready, set the Q on a level surface and don't touch it until you finish calibrating the accelerometer. Then face North outside to do the compass cal. Most people prefer to remove the props and camera to make it easier to cal the compass. On your first flight it can take up to 12.5 minutes for the GPS to get an accurate fix on your location. Just let it sit with the motors off. You should never have to redo any of these things after your first flight.

When you are ready to launch, stay back from the Q about 30'. Use max throttle to go up to about 15' and then just let it hover in place. Do a slow 360 degree yaw and the Q should spin slowly without drifting if there is no wind. If it does that, you did a good job on the calibrations. Always launch and land with authority. Altitude is your friend. Stay high enough to clear everything around you. If you fly into a stronger wind you may experience snap-yaw. That occurs when the wind pushes on the camera and it will spin the bird around. Don't panic. It's normal. It just means the wind is a bit too strong to fly upwind with the camera facing forward. Winds can be much higher even just 30 above the ground.

Learn to use the green arrow. If you need to bring the Q home, just move the right stick in the direction the arrow is pointing and it will fly back to you. If you fly out a long way and then turn the Q you may see the video freeze or go blank. That is because the video antenna is inside the camera and when you turn the antenna loses signal. You will still have control. Again, just use the green arrow.

Have fun. The Q is a delight to fly. Very solid and it does a great job taking video.

Mikef53 · Jan 31, 2017

Well said, I even learned more from your post. I have been flying planes for years but am new to quads and the Q500 4K is my first GPS quad. I always wondered what the green arrow was for, just figured it pointed toward me, never put it together to push the left stick toward the arrow tom fly home. When I loose orientation or clear sight I have always hot return home and and it came home. I usually take over as soon as I can see it well and land it myself. I experienced the high wind yesterday at higher alttitudes and it whipped it around a lot so brought it home quick but it had a strong headwind, something I did not detect on the ground, but above the tree line , wow!
Thanks for the info!

Only1nexus · Jan 31, 2017

I must say so far i am liking this forum, all seem to be kind and informative.

Steve Carr · Jan 31, 2017

Mikef53 said:
Well said, I even learned more from your post. I have been flying planes for years but am new to quads and the Q500 4K is my first GPS quad. I always wondered what the green arrow was for, just figured it pointed toward me, never put it together to push the left stick toward the arrow tom fly home. When I loose orientation or clear sight I have always hot return home and and it came home. I usually take over as soon as I can see it well and land it myself. I experienced the high wind yesterday at higher alttitudes and it whipped it around a lot so brought it home quick but it had a strong headwind, something I did not detect on the ground, but above the tree line , wow!
Thanks for the info!

Use the RIGHT stick, not the left, with the green arrow.
It took me a long time to figure out how to deal with the snap-yaw issue but it's a good practice to always fly upwind when you do a flight. If the Q snaps, then just fly it backwards into the wind and do your filming on the way home.
I also run the video launch to landing. Assuming you have a sd card under the battery in the ST10, it will record a tiny video of whatever is recorded on the camera. It is a good safety feature if you happen to crash somewhere. You can look at that little video and it may help you find the bird.

Wingshooter · Jan 31, 2017

Steve Carr said:
........When you are ready to launch, stay back from the Q about 30'. Use max throttle to go up to about 15' and then just let it hover in place. Do a slow 360 degree yaw and the Q should spin slowly without drifting if there is no wind. If it does that, you did a good job on the calibrations. Always launch and land with authority. Altitude is your friend.........

And there you have it. The secrets to successful flights. I do exactly the same thing when flying. Never had a mishap, never a crash.

Only1nexus · Feb 3, 2017

Well here is a bit of an update. Got the Q today. Did a couple flights. I am very happy with it. My flights were only about 5 minutes apiece. I am working on getting comfortable with it. I have video and will try and get it up soon. Be warned it's not impressive.

EDIT: Here is my video and my new YouTube channel

Mikef53 · Feb 4, 2017

Only1nexus said:
Well here is a bit of an update. Got the Q today. Did a couple flights. I am very happy with it. My flights were only about 5 minutes apiece. I am working on getting comfortable with it. I have video and will try and get it up soon. Be warned it's not impressive.

EDIT: Here is my video and my new YouTube channel

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Nice job on flying and control, nice looking area too. I fly mine at about 200' just to clear the trees around my home. If I knew how to upload a video I would put one up of my first flight too. Just have not figured that part out yet.

Only1nexus · Feb 4, 2017

Mikef53 said:
Nice job on flying and control, nice looking area too. I fly mine at about 200' just to clear the trees around my home. If I knew how to upload a video I would put one up of my first flight too. Just have not figured that part out yet.

Thank you for the comment. Yeah i was about 150 feet up. I am at a friends house and I like the looks of his neighborhood so i figured why not. Made sure I didn't piss off his neighbors. And it is one quiet Drone.