dji Flamewheel F450 User manual

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User Manual for DJI F450 Quadcopter
By:
Joshua M. Smith & Alexander J. Baldwin
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Version 1 June 2016

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Table of Contents
Introduction to Quadcopter Flying……………………………………………….……....3
Basic Controls ……………………… …………………………… ………………..…....3
Getting Started with Realflight 7.5……………………………………….……….……...6
Setting Up Hardware for Flight……………………………………………………...……9
Flying your Quadcopter………………………………………….…………....………....10
Using the Dragon Touch Software……………………...……….…………....………....14
Appendix A: Equipment and Setup………………………………….…...……………...16
Appendix B: Multirotor Flight Checklists……………………………………………….23
Appendix C: Flight Records using a Flight Log…………………………………………24
Acknowledgments
The production of this manual was supported by the IEEE Aerospace and Electronic
Systems Society.

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Introduction to Quadcopter Flying
Flying a quadcopter for the first time looks simple, but unless you have had some
experience with other RC aircrafts, the first flight can be harder than expected. This user
manual is intended to help accelerate the beginner through the first stages of piloting in
order to get to the fun as quickly as possible, as well as navigate them through some
common issues they might face.
The quadcopter used for this manual is a Model F450 by DJI. Preparation for
flying is shown using Realflight 7.5, a Radio Controlled (RC) Flight simulator.
How to Use This Manual
This manual is designed to be used as a step-by-step guide to flying. Topics are
addressed in the order the beginner will need them. The basic controls and Realflight
sections can be read while working through them, however, one should read through all
of the manual (though possibly excluding the appendices) before physically flying.
While learning to fly, it is often easier to learn by simply working with it. To
promote clarity and ease of use of this document, some things are noted as such and no
further description is given.
Basic Controls
The controller for this manual is a Turnigy 9x controller (see Figure 1). It can be
programmed to fly RC airplanes, helicopters, and gliders. The amount of buttons and
switches might be a little intimidating at first, but most of them are not needed for
quadcopter flight. The controls a new user will need to be familiar with are the on/off
switch, menu interface controls, and the control levers.
On/Off
The on/off switch is the main switch right at the nose of the controller. One thing
you can miss, however, is making sure all of the switches are in the ‘up’ position. If they
are not so, then an error will occur when the controller is turned on.

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Fig. 1: Turnigy 9x controller
Menu Controls
The menu controls are the buttons around the screen at the bottom. On the right
are the menu and exit buttons. On the left are the menu navigation buttons. By holding
down the menu button for a second or two, the screen will display the menu options.
From here on out, the menu button is essentially a select button. Use the UP/DN buttons
to navigate through the options and the menu button to select which option you would
like to access. The exit button is used to go back to the previous screen or to exit the
menu entirely. Finally, the +/- buttons are used to change specific settings for which a
scale of values are available.

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Control Levers
The control levers have four functions: throttle, rotation, front/back movement,
and side to side movement. Listed below are the controls under normal configuration.
The throttle is adjusted by moving the left control stick up and down. Since the
throttle needs to be stable, when you adjust this lever up and down, it does not spring
back to its original position like the other levers.
The rotation is controlled by adjusting the left control stick left/right. When
moving the control stick left/right, it will spring back to its original position, giving a
normal state of no rotation, as opposed to the throttle which stays wherever you put it.
The right control lever adjusts front/back and side/side movement, exactly as is
intuitive. Moving the stick up/down tilts the quadcopter so that it travels
forward/backward. Moving the stick left/right tilts the quadcopter so that it travels
left/right.

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Getting Started With REALFLIGHT 7.5
Before a new flyer gets out and flies an expensive quadcopter, it is a good idea to
do some practice in a simulation. That is where Realflight 7.5 comes in. Realflight is a
highly detailed RC UAV simulator that can be used for planes, gliders, and helicopters.
To install the program on a new computer, the disk and activation code with it are
needed. For use at S&T, IT is needed to perform the installation.
When the software is running, one can immediately get started flying. Just choose
a quadcopter to fly and choose an environment and get started. If the software is running
on an old and slow computer, reduce the graphics settings to minimum. Select
Simulation→Graphics→Low from the menu at the top right of the flight screen (Figure
2). Also, be sure that the simulation is running on realistic physics by selecting
Simulation→Physics→Realistic
Fig. 2: REALFLIGHT flying screen

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To fly, you will need to connect the InterLink Elite controller that comes with the
RealFlight setup. The control levers should work the same as stated above for the
Turnigy 9x. You will find that when the throttle lever is about halfway engaged, the
quadcopter will hover; more and it will raise, less and it will drop. One of the first things
a beginner needs to learn is how to keep the quadcopter stable, so getting a feel for this is
an important first step. Play around with the controls for a little while at this point.
It can get a bit frustrating at first, when you have very little control. However, it
does not take long to become able to fly stably. After you have played around and gotten
used to the controls, there is a good option to test your skills and make improving more
fun: Challenge Mode.
You might be tempted to try out some of the training modes offered in game,
however, none of them are specific to quadcopters. There are some training modules for
helicopters, however flying a helicopter is different than a quadcopter. If you select the
Challenge option from the menu and select heli, there is a set of 10 challenges called the
“Quadcopter Trials”. In these levels, you will be given tasks to fly the Quadcopter X
through, ranging from simply flying through a goal, to making multiple goals and
landings within a time limit. While passing all of these challenges is not necessary to
getting started with a real quadcopter, it is fun. Also, if you can manage to get 700/1000
points, you will unlock the Deadcat Quadcopter (Figure 3). Meeeeeeowwwww!
Fig. 3: Deadcat quadcopter

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The default setting is to have no wind, however, you will find out that this aspect
of the simulation is a bit more friendly than flying outside in Missouri weather. To get an
idea of how to control your quadcopter in the wind, select Environment →Wind and
alter the wind direction, speed, and turbulence to your liking.
Finally, if you would like a different angle of observation, this can be changed
using the F1-F4 keys to get camera angles from the ground, chasing the quadcopter, and
for flying from the perspective of a camera mounted on the quadcopter.
Learn these skills in REALFLIGHT before physical flying
1. Takeoff
2. Hovering
3. Steady flying
4. Keeping track of camera direction during flight
5. Smooth landing
6. All of the above in windy conditions
If you plan to fly using the camera for surveillance, be sure to practice flying from a
camera view in REALFLIGHT as well.

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Setting Up for Hardware Flight
To get started flying, you will need to attach one of the Zippy 3000 batteries to
the bottom of the quadcopter using the velcro straps. When ready to power on, simply
connect the yellow plug to its counterpart on the UAV (Figure 4).
Fig. 4: Plugging in the motor battery
If the camera is being used, it should be mounted between the two red arms of the
quadcopter with the arrow facing out. This position is naturally defined as the front of the
quadcopter. Be sure to plug it in! (See Appendix A for images of camera, transmitter, and
related setup.)
If you are planning to transmit camera feed to the Black Pearl display, connect the
5.8GHz transmitter on the back of the quadcopter and attach the Turnigy 1.1V battery
with the red connection to power it. Make sure the transmitter is on the same channel as
the Black Pearl. For instance, if the transmitter is on channel 7, adjust the Black Pearl so
that the antenna it is receiving with (whichever antenna port you connected an antenna to)
is also operating at channel 7. Adjust the Black Pearl’s receiving channels with the
up/down arrows.
To attach the Black Pearl to the controller, screw it onto the mount. Be sure to
attach an antenna to the Black Pearl. Also, the Black Pearl needs to be charged. We do
not have an AC adapter for it, so just use one of the main quadcopter batteries (Zippy

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3000) with the appropriate cord into the DC IN port of the Black Pearl. The red light on
the Pearl indicates charging.
Flying Your Quadcopter
The first thing to note when flying your quadcopter is the weather. Do not attempt
to fly in rain or heavy winds. A couple of good places to fly around campus are at the
lawn to the northeast of the EE building and at frat row.
The first thing you need to do is ensure that you controller is configured properly.
To do this, enter the menu and verify the following settings:
Menu →System Settings→
●Type Select - Heli, Heli 2,
●Modevat - PPM
●Stick Setup - Mode 2, Throttle Reverse: No
When choosing the stick setup, after selecting mode 2, an option saying “THRO
REVERSE?” will appear. Press the “EXIT” button at this point to allow for normal
throttle controls (see Figures 5a - c).
Fig. 5a: Configuring Turnigy stick setup - Menu screen