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Manual Flight

Follow this step-by-step guide to fly with your drone manually. While some steps are universal across products, others may vary depending on your specific model. Use the tabs to select the guide tailored to your product.

Feeling Lost?

Head back to your Product page and start with the initial steps outlined there. They’ll point you to the correct tutorial for your specific drone.

Custom Instructions

Your drone may have custom instructions available. If so, they can be found under the 4. Custom Instructions chapter on the Product Page.

Before attempting autonomous flight with your drone, it is essential to first master manual flight operations. Proficiency in manual flight across all modes is a prerequisite for the safety pilot. This chapter is intended primarily for the safety pilot.

caution

An experienced safety pilot can make the difference between a safe recovery in a dangerous scenario and serious injury or Robofly damage.

Pre-Flight Checklist​

Perform this checklist before any initial flight. It ensures you drone is "Ready to Fly" and functioning correctly.

Ensure propellers are not mounted during the checklist.
  1. Confirm the battery is healthy and fully charged using the buzzer display. Connect the battery to the drone and power on the RC.
  2. Ensure you are in a safe area where flying is legal.
  3. Have your safety pilot ready.
  4. Launch QGroundControl. Verify that the drone is detected and check for required calibration. If calibration is necessary, refer to the Calibration Page.
  5. Set all RC switches to their default positions (away from you). Refer to the RC Page for more information.
  6. Press on the safety button to disable the safety, the led should blink twice every second approximately. The safety button is located on (or next to) the GPS module.
    Info

    Some of our platforms (such as RoboFly) do not use the safety button.

  7. Arm the drone using the assigned arming gesture. Verify that the motors spin correctly.
  8. Disarm the drone using the disarming procedure. Verify that the motors stop spinning.
tip

For additional information about arm and disarm configuration, visit the official website.

You are now ready to perform your first manual flight.

First Manual Flight (Outdoors)​

Before doing your first flight, we recommend watching this video that shows the different bindings of the RC as well the arm and disarm gestures. It might be slightly different depending on the mode you requested or if you purchased a different RC but the content is still relevant.

If this is your first time flying, follow these steps to understand its behavior. Begin with Position Mode, the easiest mode, and progress to more challenging modes. For this first flight we assume that you will use the GPS.

  1. Make sure to be in an outdoor location with calm weather where drone flight is legal, and GPS is functional.
    warning

    Check your environment for any potential perturbations. It can be a human, an animal or another flying object.

  2. If you went through the Pre-Flight checklist, your drone should be calibrated. If no, refer to the Calibration Page.
  3. Confirm GPS activation (green light on the GPS module).
  4. Mount the propellers securely and verify proper configuration and rotation direction (see picture).

  1. Press on the safety button to disable the safety (if it is not already done and if you have one), the led should blink twice every second approximately. The safety button is located on (or next to) the GPS module.
  2. Set all RC switches to their default positions (away from you).
  3. Step at least 10 meters away from the drone and arm it using the assigned gesture.
warning
  • If the drone behaves unexpectedly, land immediately and recalibrate before proceeding.
  • If someone or something comes too close to the drone, land immediately.

  1. As the drone takes off, toggle the Mode Switch to use the Position Mode. This mode relies on the GPS (GPS lock is necessary here) and the drone should strive to remain in its current position if no input is given.

    • Practice moving in one direction at a time.
    • Land and take off again.
    • Attempt more advanced movements like flying in a circle.

  2. Progress to Altitude Mode and repeat the above steps. The drone should hold the altitude using feedback from the internal barometer.

  3. Progress to Manual Mode and repeat the steps. This mode requires more precise manual control. There might be some drift but this is normal as there is no feedback control.

  4. Land in a safe area and disarm the drone.

Advanced Manual Flight​

Once familiar with the RC and basic manual flight, practice advanced maneuvers such as tight turns, quick stops, obstacle courses, or emergency landings tailored to your experiments. Always follow the first seven steps of the First Manual Flight before engaging in advanced operations. Remember, practice makes perfect!

Indoor Flight​

Manual indoor flights differ only in that GPS is disabled. This means Position Mode will function the same as Altitude Mode. Exercise caution when flying indoors.