AirDroids Pocket Droid User manual

OPERATIONS
MANUAL
Version 1.0

2
Your Drone............................................................................................................................3
Flight Safety.........................................................................................................................4
What’s in the Box...............................................................................................................5
Charger ..................................................................................................................................6
Battery Safety .....................................................................................................................7
Preight Instructions ........................................................................................................8
Flight...................................................................................................................................... 11
Post Flight........................................................................................................................... 12
Learn to Fly ........................................................................................................................ 13
Flight Modes ...................................................................................................................... 18
Replacing Propellers....................................................................................................... 19
Rear Arm Placement...................................................................................................... 20
Camera Attachment....................................................................................................... 20
Learn More.......................................................................................................................... 21
Support ................................................................................................................................ 21
Disclaimer, Limited Warranty
and Limitation of Liability............................................................................................. 21
CONTENTS

3
Thank you for purchasing the Pocket Drone from AirDroids
The Pocket Drone is your vehicle to all new landscapes of adventure.
Whether you’re a rst time yer or a seasoned pilot, the Pocket Drone
will bring your ying experience to new heights. The Pocket Drone is the
world’s rst multicopter that is powerful enough to carry a high-quality
action camera and folds up smaller than a 7-inch tablet. Your personal
ying robot will enable you to capture breathtaking aerial video and photos
everywhere you go. Please read all instructions carefully before turning on
your drone for the rst time and happy ying.

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The Pocket Drone is a powerful aircraft and can cause severe damage
to person and property if used improperly. By following a few simple
guidelines, we can ensure that ying drones remains a safe and fun activity
for everyone.
• Don’t y higher than 400 feet above ground level. If you go above that
height, you run the risk of colliding with manned helicopters and planes.
We want to keep our drones as far away from manned aircraft as possible.
• If you are ying within 5 miles of an airport, call the airport operator or
ight control facility to let them know that you are operating in the area.
Never y so close to an airport that you would be near to the ight path
of a plane that is taking off or landing.
• Never place your hands or extremities near propellers while the drone is
armed. This can cause severe damage to yourself as well as to the drone.
• Always turn on the controller before turning on the drone. This will help
you avoid the drone making any uncontrolled movements.
• Do not turn off the transmitter until you have disconnected the battery.
• When the battery is connected, always assume the vehicle is live and the
motors are armed.
• Be aware of your surroundings before take off. Avoid ying close to
people.
• When ying in automated modes such as navigation by waypoint, make
sure that you always have a way to rapidly regain manual control of the
craft. Generally this means having the radio controller within arms reach
to make a quick adjustment.
• Be aware of and y within all local laws and regulations.
• Don’t collect imagery of people who don’t want to be photographed or
of property where the owner objects or would object if they knew what
you were doing.
FLIGHT SAFETY

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A. Pocket Drone
B. RC Transmitter (Flysky T6), which allows direct manual control of the
Pocket Drone
C. Battery pack and Charger
D. Carrying case
E. USB telemetry module USB OTG cable
WHAT’S IN THE BOX
A. B. C.
E.D.

6
CHARGER
The Pocket Drone is powered by a rechargeable 4000 mAh 3 cell lithium
polymer (LiPo) battery. LiPo batteries are shipped with only a 50% charge
for safety. For all ights you must fully charge battery pack prior to use. A
full charge will provide a maximum 20 - 25 minute ight time.
1. Connect the power cable to the charger and wall outlet. Connect the
white connector plug on battery pack to the corresponding port on
charger.
2. Charge batteries in an open, well ventilated area. Place batteries on a
non- ammable surface while charging.
3. Charge until all 3 LED indicator lights are green. One indicator LED will
light for each battery cell in the pack.
Red indicates
charging
Green indicates
charge complete
• Always charge just before use.
• Never charge batteries unattended.
• Allow the battery pack to cool down to ambient temperature before
charging.

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BATTERY SAFETY
Lithium Polymer batteries are volatile. Failure to read and follow safety
precautions may result in re, personal injury, and damage to property if
charged or used improperly.
Never leave charging batteries unattended. If at any time you witness a
battery starting to balloon or swell up, discontinue the charging process
immediately. Disconnect the battery and observe in a safe place for at
least 20 minutes. Continuing to charge a battery that has begun to swell
will result in re. Only charge the battery with a designated LiPo balance
charger such as is included with the Pocket Drone. Do not charge batteries
in series. Always charge a battery pack individually.
Store batteries in a cool, dry place at room temperature between 40 and
80 degrees F for best results. Never store batteries in a vehicle in extreme
temperatures. Do not expose battery packs to direct sunlight or heat.
Before charge or use of batteries always make a visual inspection of the
battery pack. Look for any damaged leads, connectors, broken areas of
shrink, swelling of cells or other irregularities. Discontinue use if you nd
any of the above issues with your battery pack. Do not dispose of batteries
in the trash. Please locate your local battery recycling center.
Flying with a low battery is a safety risk and may render the battery
unusable. Immediately cease ight operations and safely land drone when
the low battery indicator comes on or is heard.

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PREFLIGHT INSTRUCTIONS
The pocket drone is assembled and ready for use. Always follow preight
instructions and ensure battery pack is fully charged.
1. Swing out the two front
arms to a fully extended
position and lock them
into place.
2. Pull rear arm out until
fully extended.
3. Landing gear is folded
under each arm.
4. Unfold landing gear until
fully extended.
5. Insert bottom of peg
into leg.
6. Gently bring leg up until can
attach to arm.
7. Insert top of peg into arm.
NOTE: Landing gear peg
support is located on
Velcro pad between the
two camera vibration
mounting plates.

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PREFLIGHT INSTRUCTIONS
8. Landing gear complete. 9. Turn on transmitter.
CAMERA TIP: When using a small camera or no camera just unfold the
gear one step.
• Always conrm the transmitter is on before powering up the drone. The
left stick should always be fully down at the start of each ight.
The top switches should all be preset in the down position at the start of
each ight.
WARNING! The transmitter must be on before connecting the battery
pack to the drone.
Conrm the drone is armed by looking through the right rear hole in the
case to verify LED’s are on. Verify which ight mode the controller is set
to before takeoff away from you.
14. Arm the drone.
10. Slide battery box into place until it locks.
11. Point antenna downward.
12. Place the drone on level ground at your chosen launce site.
13. Connect battery pack to drone.
Armed

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COLLAPSIBLE PROPELLERS
AirDroids propellers are designed to fold for
more compact storage. Please keep in mind
that you can collapse the propellers in either
direction.
It is recommended that for each hub set, you
alternate the direction in relationship to the
hub. This will create a more uniform wear and
keep propellers as a balanced pair.
AVOID DAMAGE!
Don’t collapse past 90 degrees.
PLEASE NOTE: Folding propellers past the
centerline of the hub, when folded towards
the hub protrusion, may cause interference
and damage to the propeller.

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As the pilot, it is your responsibility to maintain control of the aircraft at all
times and to avoid any obstructions while operating the drone.
FLIGHT
Take off by raising left stick towards center.
Hover by setting left stick To the center.
Gain altitude by raising left stick.
Fly forward and backwards by moving right
stick in desired direction.
Fly left or right by moving the right stick left
or right in the desired direction.
Rotate face clockwise and counter-clockwise
by moving left stick right or left.
Slowly move left stick down to descend until
landing.
Lower left stick down fully once drone has
landed.

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POST FLIGHT
Refer to steps shown here, in preight and ight every time you y.
• Never leave a battery pack connected to the drone for an extended
period of time.
9. Close front arms. Spread tabs apart move arm back
into place.
7. Fully close landing gear. Push
and hold tab under arm, rotate
legs back into place.
8. Close rear arm. Push and
hold tab to push rear arm
back into place.
5. Remove peg before fold up leg
and arm. Place peg on Velcro pad
between the two camera vibration
mounting plates.
6. Fold up lower half
of landing gear.
3. Turn off
transmitter.
4. Remove the battery
from bottom of
drone by holding tab
up while sliding box
out.
Disarm
1. Land the drone and disarm
by; holding the left stick in a
downward, left position.
2. Disconnect battery, holding the
left stick in a downward, left
position.

13
LEARN TO FLY
Control drone motion using the transmitter’s left and right sticks.
The drone will only respond after it has been armed, as described
below in the preight instructions.
The left stick controls movement in a stationary position. Move the left stick
up and down to control altitude and acceleration. Move the left stick left or
right to control which direction the drone faces.
Before takeoff, hold left stick fully
down centered.
Take off by gently raising stick
towards center.
To maintain altitude keep stick
approximately center.
To increase altitude place stick in up
position.
Move stick gently for slower accent.
Slowly lower stick to decrease
altitude.
Slowly decrease altitude until the
drone is a couple inches above
ground.
Slowly lower the drone to the ground.
Once the drone is landed place the
stick fully down.
•Be sure to gradually lower the stick into the down position.
Failure to descend at a slow rate may cause aircraft to crash.

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LEARN TO FLY
Move stick up to y forwards.
Move stick down to move backwards.
Move stick left to y left.
Move stick right to y right.
FLIGHT TIP: Pay attention to control stick sensitivity. When rst learning
to y new drone, use small movements until you have mastered control
of the aircraft.
FLIGHT TIP: Always be aware what direction your drone is facing before
operating the right stick.
In most ight modes the drone will move forward, backward, left and
right relative to the direction drone is facing, not relative to the direction
of the operator.
The right stick controls the horizontal direction you want your drone to y.
The further away from the stick is from the center position, the faster drone
will y.
Move stick left to turn counterclockwise.
Move stick right to turn clockwise.
To stop at desired orientation release
left stick.
To aim the front of the drone in a different direction, move stick left or right.
For a slow rotation, move stick slightly from center in desired direction. For
a faster rotation, move stick further away from center.

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BASIC FLIGHT MANEUVERS
Before ying any remote controlled aircraft, get to know the machine
and its capabilities. Practice these exercises to help you master the ight
controls.
FORWARD AND BACK
Pinpoint a spot on the ground 8 feet away from the launch site. Place the
drone on ground facing away from you. Lift off 4 feet from ground and
slowly y towards pinpoint and land. Then y drone back still facing same
direction and land again.
Lift off Forward
Land Backward
FLIGHT TIP: Remember the farther you place the
stick from center the faster drone will y.
Rotate
and back
Forward
Forward
Rotate
left
Pinpoint a spot on the ground 8 feet away from the
launch site. Face drone away from you. Lift off 4 feet
from ground and slowly y towards pinpoint and hover.
Rotate drone to 180 degrees to face you. Bring back to
launch site and land.

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BASIC BOX
From launch site lift drone in air 4 feet facing drone away from you and
proceed to y an 8 foot square formation going counter-clockwise. Be sure
to maintain control and if need be hover in place at each point of box.
Forward
Backwards
RightLeft
START/FINISH
FLIGHT TIP: Make sure to y the drone in box formation in front
of you, not around
BASIC FLIGHT MANEUVERS

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BASIC FLIGHT MANEUVERS
BOX WITH ROTATION
From launch site lift drone in air 4 feet facing drone away from you and
proceed to y a 8 foot square formation going counter-clockwise. At each
point, hover then face drone in new ight direction. Proceed through box
to nish. After you have mastered counter clockwise, practice clockwise.
Forward
Rotate
left
START/FINISH

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The Pocket Drone comes programmed to have the SWA
switch of the FlySky T6 (pictured to the right) toggle
between altitude hold and loiter modes. Other transmitters
will utilize channel 5 for these modes. When the SWA
switch is up the drone will be in altitude hold mode. When
the switch is down the drone will be in loiter mode. The
SWA switch is located on the upper right hand corner of
the Flysky T6.
You can use Mission Planner software to adjust the drone’s
settings, such as rates and ight modes. Connect the drone to the computer
with a micro usb cable or using the telemetry connection. If the drone does
not hold position properly, or slowly makes larger circles around a point,
please perform a compass calibration, see http://www.airdroids.com or
http://copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/initial-setup/conguring-hardware/
to learn more.
FLIGHT TIP: The APM copter webpage provides more in depth
information about settings and other options available at
http://copter.ardupilot.com/.
Altitude Hold: Holds altitude but allows full user control of movement and
rotation. User can manually override altitude.
Loiter: Holds GPS position relative to ground. Allows manual user override.
Stabilize Mode: Full user control of drone.
Return to Launch: Moves to a specied altitude, moves back to launch
point, then lands.
Acro/Sport Mode: Controls angular velocity of the drone. Release sticks
and it will maintain its current attitude and not return to level. Useful for
aerobatics (ips) NOT RECOMMENDED FOR INEXPERIENCED FLYERS
Auto Mode: Used for ying missions uploaded by a computer or tablet.
Circle Mode: The drone will circle with the nose pointed towards a spot at
the center of the circle. Adjusting the circle radius will change how big the
circle is.
Drift Mode: Allows the user to y the drone like a plane. The roll is controlled
by the autopilot but the yaw and pitch is controlled by the user.
Simple and Super Simple: Used with stabilize, sport, drift modes.
Simple Mode: Drone will always be controlled relative to the drones heading
(forward direction) at take off. The drone will continue to go in whatever
direction you select no matter what way the drone is facing relative to its
FLIGHT MODES

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FLIGHT MODES
original orientation. This is designed to make ying simple when you keep
your ight pattern located in front of your launch site. If you change the
direction you are facing the drone will not recognize your new orientation
which may cause a loss of control when pilot does not take into account
change needed in controls.
Super Simple: Is always controlled based on the location relative to the
home position. The drone will continue to go in whatever direction you
select no matter what way the drone is facing. You can change your
orientation and the control sticks will respond the same. Both are enabled
or disabled in the ight mode setup (from a computer).
Follow Me Mode: Makes it possible for you to have your copter follow you
as you move, using a telemetry radio and a ground station.
REPLACING PROPELLERS
Your drone is equipped with two sets
of folding propellers for clockwise
and counterclockwise rotation.
The rear and right arms rotate
counterclockwise. The left arm
rotates.
• Always ensure you have the proper set
of propellers attached to the correct
corresponding arm.
Make sure the left arm prop is
arched up and towards you with
the right propeller.
Insert corresponding propellers
into left and right slots.
TIP: With drone facing you make sure the rear and right arms props are
arched up and towards you on the left propeller.
Attach propellers with
screws. Tighten until secure.

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REAR ARM PLACEMENT
To ensure a smooth and safe ight you
must maintain the correct positioning of
the rear motor. This will keep the drone
from rotating on its own while hovering.
For optimal ight rear tail motor should
be slanted to the right at approximately
10 degrees when viewing from backside
of drone.
To restore correct alignment back to factory settings rst have the drone
powered and operational by following steps 1 through 9 of the preight
section. Before use rmly hold the rear arm while using free hand to adjust
motor to correct position. There will be resistance.
WARNING: Do not handle drone while drone while it is armed.
FLIGHT TIP: Correct placement of the
camera will ensure a smoother video,
ight quality and battery life of the
Pocket Drone.
CAMERA ATTACHMENT
The Pocket Drone has a camera mounting plate located directly in front of
the battery box for your action camera. This area was designed to reduce
vibration of the camera and ensure proper balance during ight.
1. Make sure the battery box
is locked in place.
3. Ensure edge is ush with
the battery box.
2. Align the at adhesive mount
centered directly on mounting plate.
4. Attach the at adhesive mount to
the bottom of the drone.