Prepping for first flight. Question about takeoff.

[AH-1G]

Speed Controler ESC Status and Testing;
Bottom of page 60
You have to do step 1 before running up motor
ALSO NOTE "for a set time" if you go beyond the set time you can burn up the motors.

 

[PatR]

Never throttle up without propellers! It will automatically shut off and you could ruin your drone.

In and of itself running motors without props won’t hurt the motors. The fact it kicks into 5 motor mode might change that outcome though.

The usual cause of burning out a motor or ESC is a current load that exceeds design maximums. A motor without a propeller does not often generate a high current demand.

The page 60 “for a set time” text is a Chinglish translation done terribly wrong. It should read “once the all motor test with the props removed is activated using the GUI, all the motors will spin for a brief period of time then automatically shut down.” Using “for X seconds” would be even more accurate.

 

[Eslader]

Did that fix the problem? Most folks fly in Mode 2.

I'm sure it will - after seeing the posts about turning the motors on without props, I'm waiting until the sim-stick gets here today to mess with it. I'm not willing to have the motors running with the props on until I'm confident in my ability to control it should it lift off.

As KANE underlies Class B airspace the primary controlling authority might end up Minneapolis approach/departure.

That would be annoying because the class-B floor near KANE is ten times higher than I can fly the thing anyway.

On your first flight, don't use a camera, hover about 10' for several minutes, if it goes well, then have fun flying.

Definitely. The camera stays off for all flights until I feel proficient enough to put it on. I consider this period the training time, and I'm not worried about taking pictures during it.

The “problem” has been the expected questions from the new H owners, asking if theirs has a failure when it goes into “5 motor mode” as soon as they throttle up.

And mine has done that, but the manual said that was the expected behavior so I didn't think much of it.

 

[Ty Pilot]

Wait a second, guys!

Since when did this “never spin up motors without props” come into our preaching?

For one, the graphical user interface for the H480 has a feature providing a means to test each motor. Spinning up, without props, is the mandate for testing.

Starting motors without props, until now, hadn’t been a problem. The “problem” has been the expected questions from the new H owners, asking if theirs has a failure when it goes into “5 motor mode” as soon as they throttle up.

With all due respect, saying “never start the motors without propellers installed” or similar statements, without qualifications, tends to be misleading.

Just sayin’!

Jeff

P.S. for those finding the above comment while searching in “5 motor mode” relating to “props off”...

if you haven’t found the answer: the reason the warning appears is due to little to no load on the motors and the inherent imbalance of sensed loads on the motors, due to the lack of resistance/no prop condition.

Also, it is not recommended, by the experts in this forum, to run the motors for longer than necessary to evaluate motor condition, or at high speeds, with props off.

Point taken. I should have explained further as you did and I also forgot that there was such a test for the 480 in the GUI. I guess I was looking at it from a logical standpoint: Seeing the motors all spin without props won't necessarily 'test' the motors through their entire load range and so therefore its a moot point as a test I suppose. With the props on and when ready to fly; start the motors - if one or more is inoperable, you'll know it. ? If not go fly. Test complete.?

 

[AH-1G]

So much for using the manual for correct "Chinglish" info!?

 

[Mrbrucedw]

Hi all. Getting ready for the first flight of the H. I've been doing ground testing with props off in my basement just to make sure everything that should spin does. That led to a question. The motors will switch on, but if I try to throttle up with the left stick in mode 1, which should tell it to take off, they do nothing. (I know about the auto-5-motor-fail with props off).

I suspect this is either because the controller is too close to the drone or because my house is within 5 miles of an airport (I do get 11-sat GPS signal in the basement, and the motors fail to throttle up even if I turn GPS off, which makes me think it might be the proximity issue).

The park I'll be doing the first flight in is also within 5 miles of that airport (I already have b4ufly and will be obtaining permission, and have checked local airspace restrictions and will be observing the 200ft ceiling where the park is).

I've been reading threads about getting the NFZ waiver from Yuneec, but they're mostly old threads. My H and the ST16 both have the latest firmware. I read somewhere that Yuneec was planning on removing the NFZ restrictions from the default firmware but I have no idea if that's true or not. Are NFZs still a thing with current firmware, or do I still need to do the waiver and update process?

Thanks in advance.

I believe you need to be in mode 2 for the left stick to be the throttle.

 

[PatR]

IRRC, there’s a picture diagram in the controller.