VStabi Pioneer of Flybarless

In general a Copter does not have any inherent stability, so it only can stay in the air if there is a minimum support of the flight control. Nevertheless it is possible to make a save maiden flight by following the given steps.

Apply basic setup

Select "New Copter" from the Model Setup menu. Choose the copter configuration you intend to use. Its is very important to follow the positions and rotation directions given in the pictogram on the screen. If this is installed wrong, the copter will fly only extremely short, it probably will go out of control immediately. So double check the assignments.

Unmount all Props now, fix the copter to avoid any damage or injury

Copter	Assignment
X4 Copter	Ch1 right front, rotation left Ch2 left rear, rotation left Ch3 left front, rotation right Ch4 right rear, rotation right
+4 Copter	Ch1 front, rotation left Ch2 left, rotation right Ch3 rear, rotation left Ch4 right, rotation right
+6 Copter	Ch1 front, rotation left Ch2 left front, rotation right Ch3 left rear, rotation left Ch4 rear, rotation right Ch5 (TAIL) right rear, rotation left Ch6 (ESC) right front, rotation right
X6 Copter	Ch1 left front, rotation left Ch2 left, rotation right Ch3 left rear, rotation left Ch4 right rear, rotation right Ch5 (TAIL) right, rotation left Ch6 (ESC) right front, rotation right
+8 Copter	Ch1, Ch2, Ch3, Ch4, Ch5 (TAIL), Ch6 (ESC), Ch7 (Aux2), Ch8 (Aux3) Assignment see icon
X8 Copter	Ch1, Ch2, Ch3, Ch4, Ch5 (TAIL), Ch6 (ESC), Ch7 (Aux2), Ch8 (Aux3) Assignment see icon

The next setp defines the alignment of the NEO unit in the copter.

3D Copter

To fly inverted with a copter, the motors can be reversed, this is called 3D Mode. Select if you like to have normal mode (positive only) or 3D Mode. To arm the ESCs in this Mode, the throttle stick has to be centered. Note that the new mode is only applied at startup, so a restart is required.

Set control rate and pulse width

Depending on the used ESC, the rates and pulse width have to be adjusted. Most ESCs will automatically detect 125 µs mode but therefore a restart is required. Please consult the ESCs user manual to find out which rate and puls with it supports.

Learn ESC's throw

Some ESCs have to be learned to the throws that NEO gives at its outputs. Usually this is not needed since the standard throw is fine in most cases.

If you choose the Motor Testmode, the throttle stick will be connected to all outputs simultanesly. Additionally this setting is persistent through a power cycle. This gives the opportunity to learn all ESCs at the same time with the stick sequence from the ESCs manual.

Do not forget to deactivate the mode after use. Otherwise the setting panel will come up all the time.

Idle Speed

To set idle speed, arm the copter by fully pull back throttle. Then switch the motor switch to the center position. In this position all motors shall idle at low speed. Adjust the idle value in the output settings. This value will be the low limit of the ESC signal in flight.

Double check Motor rotation direction and channel assignment

Now its time to double check all assignments and directions. Check if the copter reacts correctly if motor is switched on, and some throttle is applied. Look that the motors really run in the right direction.

Maiden

Put the copter on soft ground, take care to have plenty of free space in all directions. Then slowly apply throttle. Check with tiny control inputs if the directions are correct. You will notice that the copter tries to stabilize itself if everything is correct. If anything is unexpected, switch off the motors with the motor switch and check.

Now you can hover the copter. If it already starts to shake, lower the main gain until it stops.

Now increase the main gain until small but intense oscillation starts. From this point go back a bit. It's very useful for this action to put the main gain on one of the pots on the VBar Control.

Apply small but quick inputs to check if they are dampened aways quickly. The inputs shall not induce oscillation.

The yaw axis on a copter is not very critical. Yust take care the the yaw inputs do not produce too much input to the motors, so that the copter tends to get instable or climb too much.

That's it, go out flying and have fun finding out more about fine tuning the parameters. The Agility can be adjusted to your liking. Even integral may be adjusted a bit if the copter tends to baloon. This improves the fast flying behaviour.