Troubleshooting

Getting a multicopter to fly can be tricky, especially for those who are new to the world of RC and micro controllers. There are hundreds of variables that could stop your machine from flying. Successful troubleshooting depends on a systematic approach, eliminating each potential source of trouble until the problem is resolved.

The information here has been compiled from over two hundred different "my multicopter won't fly" situations, and is presented with the most common causes at the top.

General Troubleshooting - Applies to all multicopters

Motors

Are your motors spinning in the correct direction? If a motor is spinning in the wrong direction, all you need to do is reverse any two of the 3 ESC > Motor wires. This will reverse its direction.

Props

Do you have a clockwise prop on each clockwise motor, and a counter clockwise prop on each counter clockwise motor? Multicopters use two different types of props, clockwise (also known as Right hand, or Right, or R), and counter clockwise (also known as Left hand, or Left, or L).

A motor rotating clockwise needs a clockwise prop, and one rotating counter clockwise needs a counter clockwise prop.

Additionally, the props must be installed the correct way up. That means the printed/embossed numbers need to be facing up, not down.

ESCs

There are a number of common ESC related problems. ESC calibration is the most common. In order for a multicopter to achieve stable flight, the ESC throttle ranges need to be calibrated so that they are all the same. The procedure for calibrating ESCs is usually included in the ESC manual, but it is essentially the same for all common ESCs, and can be found here: ESC Calibration.

Some ESCs are programmable. For those ESCs, it is important to set the timing to Medium. The default setting (often Low) does not achieve good results with most motors.