Ardupilot Auto Takeoff (Hand Launching) - Dart 250g

[@NoFlyDrone]

Cool vid. Couple tips. Ardu is VERY finicky. Check your arming_require parameter and make sure it is set properly. Make sure it has at least sats. If you take off with a bad home fix you could be in trouble. Also, leave it on the ground, still until after you arm. What i do is leave to warm up in FBWA or manual, arm then pick up and switch to TKOFF. Try not to walk with the plane or move it in any direction once armed because AHRS/EKF will get all wonky. If you’re using crossfire, look into yaapu telemetry script. You can get a HUD with more info like sats locked so you’re not going so blind.

[@seanyfpv]

yeah there's definitely a lot to figure out, but i enjoy it! thanks for the tip about not walking in TKOFF mode, didn't know that. I've also played with Yaapu a little bit and it's really cool!! thanks for the comment

[@NoFlyDrone]

@@seanyfpv just to be clear. You dont want to move the plane much once it’s armed. It should be pointed in the direction you want to launch and have minimal forward and lateral movement. It’s ok to arm on the ground then pickup to launch thought.

[@Dedmuus]

Thanks for making this. I can't wait to try this this weekend.

[@MrKyle700]

That looked really good. I just did a first auto take off with one of my planes too. It works surprisingly well. its a little scary to toss that thing with no controls at first lol

[@ebikefe]

Thanks for sharing this video. Quick question - you mentioned after it armed (by shaking it) - how did you disarm it at 3:07 if the disarm switch didn't work?

[@seanyfpv]

I had to switch modes out of TAKEOFF and into Manual or FBWA, and it was able to disarm. Thanks for the comment!

[@jcoyle556]

thanks for the video. I'm doing a Talon pro build with first shot at take-off mode. this answered a couple questions...

[@seanyfpv]

Glad it could help! Good luck with it! The talon pro is a cool ass plane

[@termitehards]

Masha Allah an excellent video… subbed… looking forward to seeing more

[@vinayselvaraj]

Good work! I’d like to switch my Dart 250g to Ardupilot. Where did you get the Omnibus F4 Pro?

[@seanyfpv]

ebay! if you just look up "omnibus f4 pro" (at least in the US) you'll see one that's around 44 bucks, there's videos out there on how to flash ardupilot onto it, but i can also go over that

[@JeffTanner]

Good job, I have a ranger ex i'm gonna give this a try with

[@Walt1119]

Good video, would be interested in the equipment and the setup, if u could do a video on that it would be great. Trying to understand all the flight controller info is tough. Also include maybe a link to another mYT video talking about it. That auto launch w the slight motor delay is really awesome! A finger/hand saver!!!

[@seanyfpv]

Hey Walk thanks for the comment! Yeah I will try to have a video out soon about my setup. Did you have specific questions about the flight controller that I can try to address? Cheers!

[@Walt1119]

@@seanyfpv Thanks for the comeback, I don't know enough about flight controllers to even ask a specific question! I've been trying to learn but all I've found are vids about 3 or 4 different ones and 4 different software backs all cramed together and that's even more confusing! I'm looking for a vid that will show 1 FC, it's install and setup in the PLANE and tuning so that I can get an idea about how they work and setup. Any suggestions?? Thanks so much, I'll be looking forward to your next video! w

[@AerialWaviator]

Nice first video. It appeared to fly well, even with wind and cold. This video was helpful in you make it look easier than I'm imagining to setup of ardupilot on a smaller plan. Particularly the overview section at end (5:35). I recently purchased a ZOHD Dart 250G myself and looking to setup. Wondering what, if any parameters, setting you adjusted with the Dart250 being a smaller and lighter plane? BTW: found your channel by a search "dart250 ardupilot"

[@seanyfpv]

Thanks for the comment! for parameters I honestly didn't change too much for the specific plane besides servo trims, and I also increased the max bank/pitch angles to increase it's manueverability in FBWA. And also stuff for flight modes. There are some specific features i have turned on that make my life easier like auto trimming. I plan on making a detailed video going over my setup once I get moved in back to school in a few days. Cheers!

[@AerialWaviator]

@@seanyfpv Thanks for reply. Much appreciated. Good tips to setup servo trims and manoeuvrability options. Being new to Ardupilot I was concerned parameters, or PIDs might of over controlled a lighter plane. Glad to hear you had few issues with a near defaults setup.

[@jakeheizman]

I haven't used ardupilot yet but do you need a baro to get altitude readings or does having one just give you more accurate readings?

[@staymad7206]

you need a baro or you need gps for altitude

[@jakeheizman]

@@staymad7206 do you need both and/ or is it better to have both. Is it necessary to have both?

[@pavelzak9303]

Hi, do you have in mind any other projects for future? I am interested in VTOL designs but I am a bit scared of programming them alone. Let me know if you do :)

[@seanyfpv]

Yeah for sure! Funny enough I've actually been very much into VTOL recently, and have made a couple VTOL planes, I'll definitely make videos about them in the future, maybe a walkthrough of some kind, thanks for the comment!

[@pavelzak9303]

@@seanyfpv If there is any way to contact you, let me know. We can discuss ideas...

[@seanyfpv]

@@pavelzak9303 Yeah! I just made my email address, you can find it in the "about" section on my channel, happy to discuss things or take questions

[@seanyfpv]

also just an additional note, running vtol planes with ardupilot is actually not super difficult, so don't feel too intimidated :) i'll definitely have videos on that soon

[@blacktempest2763]

Do you need a gps lock for auto takeoff?

[@seanyfpv]

i''m not sure actually, i would assume yes just because it needs info like altitude and distance from launch but i'm curious if there is a way to do auto launch without a gps, might look it in the future, thanks for the comment!

[@jimyu6874]

Please wear a coat with a hoodie