Maiden flight without gimbal?

picmaker · Mar 13, 2016

Hi all!
Long time reader, first time poster

I've been getting to know my new Inspire 1 pro and prepping for its first flight as soon as weather permits. I've flown several multirotors before - all custom builds for aerial photography - and I'm wondering if it's recommended to maiden without the x5 gimbal attached. Does the Inspire correct automatically for the difference in weight/balance when the gimbal isn't present?
I realize the attitude may be a bit different without the added weight but just in case something goes awry, I'd rather at least protect the $2k camera

And I'd only fly within a small radius since I would be without on-screen visuals.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!
J.

ADSSER · Mar 14, 2016

Not a bad idea in my opinion. No camera shouldn't affect flight. Keep it low, slow, and legs down.

Let us know how you did

RaptorMan · Mar 14, 2016

I wouldn't bother. You have previous multirotor experience so piloting shouldn't be an issue. If you're worried about a fly away or system problem then you'll never fly it as you aren't likely to be able to predict when a problem is about to happen. Just make sure you are in P-GPS mode and that you have enough sats in view before you takeoff. If this is your first flight be sure to do a full IMU calibration and do so on a flat and level surface. Also, do a compass cal for your first flight of the day and every time you move to a new location.

I'd recommend using the camera and doing a short first flight at low altitude and staying close.

Running without the camera/gimbal should have no impact on flight stability given the IMU and GPS systems with baro sensors and flight control system that takes all of those things into account. The front two motors are not going to be working as hard and maybe the yaw rate will be a bit less.

Brian

The Editor · Mar 14, 2016

No - DON'T do a compass calibration on the first flight of each day and each time you change location.
This is running the risk of introducing a compass error without even knowing it.
The last time I did a compass calibration on my 'work' machine was the last firmware update (December last year). Since then I have travelled many hundreds of miles and done many, many flights in different environments.
My theories behind NOT calibrating the compass regularly are very well documented on this forum and if you have a search you will find many threads on the subject together with the technical reasoning behind it.
What is VERY important is to check your mod values before every single take off. If they are not within acceptable range do not fly. (Lots on that on the forum as well).

If this is a new machine then compass calibrate in an area well away from magnetic flux influences - in a field or middle of a park etc. Get a good calibration and stick with it.

picmaker · Mar 15, 2016

Well the maiden flight went well. I did start without the camera attached, flew around for a few minutes, landed and put the camera on. Overall, I'm pleased with the flight though the quad is way snappier than my hex. I think I'd like to adjust the gains so it's a touch more soupy to help when shooting video without a second camera operator.
I took a few photos and a quick video. The camera calibration I did wasn't a good one as I did it through a large window while it was raining outside. Guess there wasn't enough contrast so all my images were out of focus. Guessing they'll be tack sharp with a good cal... They better be!

Thank you all for your comments and input. I greatly appreciate it and look forward to contributing any knowledge I can along the way.

J.