flying 3D and doing flips

[tovrin]

I dont remember ever seeing this topic, and i didnt see anything in search. so i wanted to start this discussion, im sure that i cant be the only one who wants to know.

the art of flipping your multirotor

I am just now getting to the point where my flying skill is aggressively controllable, my quad is tuned and flying great, and i want to start getting acrobatic.
before i do i want to make sure that i know as much as possible, because i would rather not crash it too often, its not broken for once!

i figure this discussion gets broke into 2 pieces

1. software/hardware

I assume that a good high C battery is on the top of the list. i plan on using my 4s 40c 2600Mah battery for this.
I have heard smaller props are better, but my bird runs 9x4.7
and i assume faster KV is better, but i have to use the 850kv i have.
high P is what i guess you would want, probably high RATE on roll and pitch as well.

2. technique.

ok, obvious first, altitude, get the quad high enough that it has time to make the full circle.
then, is it best for flip on the roll or the pitch? in the videos i see, it looks like pitch is used most
how do you time it right and do you keep your finger on the level mode switch just in case?

right or wrong, that is what i know, please enlighten me!

[scrat]

I also have 9x4.7 props. Weight of my bird with 3s 2200 battery 980g. No problem with loops all in ACRO mode. Set stick rate a little bit higher and PITCH and ROLL rate to about 0.50 and you'll be good to start looping. Gain some altitude and try. First try fliping with Pitch but backwards it is easy that way.

[tovrin]

thank you scrat, i was adjusting my stick rate last night in preparation for this, and .5 seemed best, i had it up to .65 and it was too twitchy for my skill level, i was using .35

[tovrin]

update: i finally grew a pair and gave it a shot, my first attempt was slightly too low and the copter flipped completely yet hit the ground pretty hard right side up, thankfully my tie strap landing gear absorbed the blow.

my second attempt was worse, though i swore i was higher in the air, lol. 2 props dead is all the damage done that i could immediately tell, more to learn when i get home tonight.

[tovrin]

nothing i do seems to stop my quad from crashing when i flip. i keep going higher in the air and it keeps making bigger circles, it always finishes the flip so it is right side up when it hits the ground but it hit so hard today that it ripped my battery strap in half and slung my battery out of the quad, which caused it flip and ripped a motor straight out of its mount, probably stripping the screw threads that held it in place.

what am i doing wrong, is this a rate issue on my pitch or am i supposed to lay off the throttle while doing this?

hate to sound like such a newb, but i only get a few flights in a week so I'm not as strong a pilot as i would like to be at this point.

[LenzGr]

You need to play with the throttle. If the copter is upside down and you don't reduce the throttle, you are accelerating it towards gravity.

What worked for me is to start the flip by giving it more throttle, so it shoots upwards. Then reduce the throttle and and as soon as it has reached the peak and is about to descent again, start the flip, by pitching or rolling hard in one direction. Wait for it to turn around 360° before reducing the pitch/roll and increasing the throttle again.

[tovrin]

thank you Lenz and Scrat, i was thinking that was what i was doing wrong, i have to wait till this weekend as i broke a boom trying again on sunday, and i will play again.

I am also curious if my motor speed is to partially blame as well, im running 850kv motors. i have a smaller quad, presently waiting for a new motor shaft with 1400kv motors, i expect it will be easier to flip in tighter circles due to larger range of RPM.

[scrat]

Smaller quad will be easier to flip.