FLIGHT CARD 2 PROCEDURE

Procedure

Goals / Objectives

Knockoff criteria

0. Initial ARM/DISARM

Ensure proper telem link to GCS and ability to arm/disarm the drone.

Save current parameter list to a backup file in case pilot wishes to restore these PID gains.

Unable to arm/disarm the drone.

1. Hover in Stabilize

Test initial PID tune of drone outside in Stabilize mode.

Drone too unstable (unable to takeoff or too high oscillation).

2. Hover in AltHold

Test initial PID tune of drone in AltHold to ensure it is able to hold an altitude.

Drone too unstable (unable to takeoff or too high oscillation).

3. Fly in Loiter

Test initial PID tune of drone outside in Loiter mode.

Drone too unstable (unable to takeoff or too high oscillation).

4. Run Autotune

Takeoff in Stabilize to ~2 meters high.

Engage AltHold mode.

When confident in drone stability, engage Autotune mode.

Use the roll and pitch stick at any time to reposition the copter if it drifts away.

Once tune complete, land, ensuring THIS IS DONE IN AUTOTUNE MODE (or your PID tune will be lost).

Disarm the drone.

Drone too unstable and cannot manually reposition in a manner that is deemed safe by the pilot.

Excessive oscillations from the controlled twitches is observed during Autotune (as per pilot discretion).

5. Evaluate the Tune

Pilot will takeoff in Stabilize and evaluate the tune of the aircraft.

If satisfied, end there. If not, try increasing the ATC_INPUT_TC parameter to 0.25. This smooths out the pilot’s input. Alternatively try reducing the AUTOTUNE_AGGR parameter (it should always be in the range 0.05 to 0.10) and try again by going back to step 4.

If drone is highly unstable and unable to takeoff, simply reset PID gains from the backup parameter file and retry the tune.