"System Settings" - "Mode Select" - "Mode 2" display error?

[jandjfrench]

I just noticed that the Mode 2 display indicates "ELE" on the right stick. I know I have Mode 2 selected and to climb I use the left stick. Is this a well known error or am I hallucinating?

 

[gwhuntoon]

In Mode 2, that would be correct. This is a drone or VTOL (Vertical Take off and Landing). The left stick controls throttle which does make a drone or heli go up with fixed pitch props but the right stick ELE - Elevator controls pitch.

In a plane, the forward and back of the left stick would increase the power from your prop while left stick, left and right controls the rudder or yaw. Right stick forward and backward controls the elevator causing the plane to pitch up or pitch down while the right stick, left and right controls the roll or aileron.

In a heli the left stick controls the throttle and collective pitch of the main rotor. The right stick elevator / aileron causes the main rotor to pitch forward or back, and left or right.

In a drone it pitches forward or backward.

It's probably confusing because the definitions are rooted in controlling a plane. A plane, heli, and drone all fly differently but share the same input terminology.

So, to recap in Mode 2 -

Throttle or Power - Left stick forward and backward.
Rudder or Yaw - Left stick left and right.

Aileron or Roll - Right stick left and right.
Elevator or Pitch - Right stick forward and backward.

 

[jandjfrench]

In Mode 2, that would be correct. This is a drone or VTOL (Vertical Take off and Landing). The left stick controls throttle which does make a drone or heli go up with fixed pitch props but the right stick ELE - Elevator controls pitch.

In a plane, the forward and back of the left stick would increase the power from your prop while left stick, left and right controls the rudder or yaw. Right stick forward and backward controls the elevator causing the plane to pitch up or pitch down while the right stick, left and right controls the roll or aileron.

In a heli the left stick controls the throttle and collective pitch of the main rotor. The right stick elevator / aileron causes the main rotor to pitch forward or back, and left or right.

In a drone it pitches forward or backward.

It's probably confusing because the definitions are rooted in controlling a plane. A plane, heli, and drone all fly differently but share the same input terminology.

So, to recap in Mode 2 -

Throttle or Power - Left stick forward and backward.
Rudder or Yaw - Left stick left and right.

Aileron or Roll - Right stick left and right.
Elevator or Pitch - Right stick forward and backward.

Sounds pretty good. I was complexly with you until "Rudder or Yaw - Left stick left and right." I think of Yaw as a left or right movement without a heading change. And then "Aileron or Roll - Right stick left and right." I think of the right stick movement here as Yaw. And then what seems too much of a stretch by having to consider helicopters "Elevator or Pitch - Right stick forward and backward.". Depending on Angle or Smart mode it seems that FWD/Back or Farther/Closer would be the case.
I do thank you as you've verified my guesses as to the rationale behind the names provided. I am satisfied.

 

[jandjfrench]

After my last post I realized that I have to think in terms of helicopters as a baseline reference. I'd been using aircraft as a reference and this was causing quite a bit of confusion.

 

[PatR]

Think the three axis of controlled flight; pitch, roll, yaw. The type of aircraft doesn’t matter on that basis. In aircraft parlance, yaw is rotation along the vertical axis. Shove a stick in the bottom middle of an airplane fuselage and rotate the stick. That’s pretty much how it works for a multirotor. An airplane uses a rudder to do the job with center of gravity acting as a pivot point.

 

[jandjfrench]

Think the three axis of controlled flight; pitch, roll, yaw. The type of aircraft doesn’t matter on that basis. In aircraft parlance, yaw is rotation along the vertical axis. Shove a stick in the bottom middle of an airplane fuselage and rotate the stick. That’s pretty much how it works for a multirotor. An airplane uses a rudder to do the job with center of gravity acting as a pivot point.

I think of Roll as rotation with regard to the longitudinal axis. I think of Yaw as lateral movement with regards to the longitudinal axis.
At least for me, I think of terms specifically descriptive of what effect they have on the drone would be less confusing.

 

[PatR]

I can see where you're coming from. A flight instructor with vastly more experience that I once explained to me how the rudder, or yaw, points the nose, while roll, or aileron, banked the plane. That works out pretty well for multirotors as they do bank into a turn in roll. He then proceeded to use his hands and feet to use the nose of the airplane to write his first name in cursive script. The B in Bill was an experience I'll never forget.