Since finishing the construction we’ve had 4 opportunities to fly it. The first of these was largely wasted due to the ESC’s not being calibrated, but the next 3 have all seen the quad take to the air. Today marked the first time I’ve tried flying our older GoPro Hero2 on it.

The GoPro attachment proved to be inadequate and so more thought is needed to figure out a better way to attach it. I have a solution in mind just need to get some pieces and some time to try it.

I anticipated that the learning curve would be steep – and it has been! As with all such things every time it flies things get easier. The initial hesitations about increasing the throttle to get it airborne are reducing and I’m starting to be more gentle with the controls and overcontrol less. That said, after today’s session I have adjusted the PI values to try and improve the handling. Time will tell if these are better or not.

Liftoff occurs with around 45% throttle which I think seems a good point and means there’s plenty of power left. It’s certainly spritely when it starts moving 🙂

The frame is proving to be more resiliant to damage than I had feared and despite a few minor and one larger crash it’s still in good shape. Ordering some replacement legs may be on the agenda soon, but it’s certainly not desperate 🙂