How to Fly a Drone

A Beginner’s Guide to Multirotor Systems & Flight Proficiency

• Getting Started // Drone controls

When learning how to fly a drone, the controls will become second nature once you know how they operate and interact together to form a complete flying experience.

When you first start out, push the sticks very gently so the drone performs slight movements. As you get more comfortable, you can make sharper movements.

(Note: For simplicity’s sake, this article assumes that the left stick controls yaw and throttle, and the right stick controls roll and pitch. Some transmitters allow the pilot to switch these controls based on what’s most comfortable.)

There are four main drone controls:

• Roll: Done by pushing the right stick to the left or right. Literally rolls the drone, which maneuvers the drone left or right.

• Pitch: Done by pushing the right stick forwards or backward. Tilts the drone, which maneuvers the drone forwards or backward.

• Yaw: Done by pushing the left stick to the left or to the right. Rotates the drone left or right. Points the front of the copter in different directions and helps with changing directions while flying.

• Throttle: To increase, push the left stick forwards. To decrease, pull the left stick backward. This adjusts the altitude, or height, of the drone.

 

Let’s go through each of them.

Roll (Right Stick)

Roll moves your drone left or right. It’s done by pushing the right stick on your controller to the left or to the right.

It’s called “roll” because it literally rolls the drone.

For example, as you push the right stick to the left, the drone will angle diagonally downwards to the left.

 

When you push the stick to the left, the propellers will be pushing air to the right, forcing the drone to fly to the left.

If you push the stick to the right, the propellers will be pushing air to the left, forcing the drone to fly to the right.

Pitch (Right Stick)

Pitch is done by pushing the right stick on your controller forwards or backward. This will tilt the drone, resulting in forwards or backward movement.

 

When the right stick is pushed forward, the back of the drone will pitch up causing the air to push the drone forward.

If the right stick is pulled backward, the front of the drone will pitch up causing the air to push the drone backward.

Check out the video below for an example.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixYnzcZZu9g