19 Correcting Problems - Vertigo

In both Gamepad and VR modes, the pilot can lose his orientation while flying.

While in RC flying mode (Gamepad mode) the main issue is to understand the airplane's attitude in the air; in VR flight mode the main challenge is to know where the airplane is.

Gamepad

Head-on flight

The biggest challenge with remote-controlled flying is controlling the airplane when it is coming toward you. When trying to make a left turn, you might end up making a right turn instead.

To control an airplane when it is headed toward you, try one of these methods:

• Make the airplane level by commanding a roll to the side with the lower wing.
• Hold your smartphone in the exact direction of the airplane, and keep your phone in that position. You will have to move all the time so that your body stays in the same direction as the airplane. If the airplane is behind you, turn only your head to see the airplane. By having your body imitating the airplane’s direction in this manor can make controlling the airplane easier.

Coming or Going? 

When you fly at the maximum range, it is hard to see and understand the airplane attitude in space. Is it rolling toward me or away?

To avoid or overcome that, use these tips:

• Practice with short-range flights before challenging yourself with long range ones
• Maintain a virtual path of the flight in your head
• Use your live video to try and understand the flight direction
• Hold your last command for a short time to see the vector of change - is the airplane getting bigger or smaller?
• Use another set of eyes as a backup
• Use white paper to fly at dawn or dusk, when the background of your flight is dark

VR

Understanding where you are is the most important task in VR flight. Here are some tips for that:

• Learn the area before takeoff. Mark four main features around you; to know which direction you are heading
• Wear a bright shirt, to mark your own position in the field. Your image will be the anchor point in your surrounding and the marker for your landing spot
• Because of the wide field of view our camera has, distance and speed estimations are usually not accurate. When your flight path goes above your head, it takes time from the moment you are not seen anymore on the video, to the moment the airplane is actually above you!

Go to the next page - Correcting Problems - Communications

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