Drone Movement with Stick Mapping

The majority of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are operated with a conventional six-channel (minimum) remote control, exactly as model aeroplanes have used for decades. The remote controls contain two primary joysticks that travel both forward and backward and left to right. Depending on the model, you will also find a combination of switches, knobs, and sliders. Each of these input modalities occupies a separate radio channel. The two primary sticks are the most essential controllers, occupying a total of four channels, one for each axis along which they can move. Aside of the primary control sticks, we will always require at least one channel to adjust the flight mode of the aircraft. Another typical channel requirement is the Return to Home function (RTH). These two channels are regulated and assigned by a switch. Later, we shall go more into RTH and flight modes; for now, let's examine the channels controlled by your two main sticks.

Throttle

The throttle is controlled by forward/reverse action of the left stick. As its name implies, the throttle essentially serves as the gas pedal for your drone. Typically, the higher the throttle setting, the faster the motors will spin. There are exceptions to this rule, which we will discuss in relation to autopilot and autonomous flying. In order for your drone to hover, the throttle must provide sufficient lift to counteract the effects of Weight. During forward flight, the throttle must counteract both air resistance and drone weight.

Yaw/Rudder

A left-to-right movement of the left stick controls the yaw, commonly known as the rudder. A helicopter or multirotor's yaw controls its rotation around its horizontal axis. Due to its control of the tail flap with the same name, this channel is referred to as rudder when piloting a drone. During forward flight, the effect of yaw and rudder on the flight of the drone is identical: guiding the drone in the desired direction.

How can a multirotor, with only propellers as movable parts, imitate flight manoeuvres that need flaps and rudder on an aeroplane? All of this is accomplished using vector pushing.

In order to go in any direction, it is necessary to separately control the speed of each propeller. This will be discussed in further detail in the following chapter. You could, for instance, yaw clockwise by increasing the speed of the two propellers rotating clockwise and decreasing the speed of the two propellers rotating anticlockwise.

Pitch

The forward-backward movement of the right analogue stick controls pitch, often known as elevator. The pitch of a drone tilts its nose up or down. When the right stick is moved forward, the drone nose will pitch down, and vice versa. This is accomplished by angling the horizontal tail flaps in the same direction on a drone. With vector thrusting, your quadcopter will be able to move in the same manner as using yaw.

Most autopilots offer an autolevel mode that restricts how much an drone can pitch. Other flight modes may not impose this restriction, allowing for limitless pitch. Given the right conditions, it is even feasible to pitch all the way into a forward flip, but you should definitely practise first!

Roll

The roll channel is the left-right motion of the right stick, commonly known as aileron. Roll causes the drone to tilt to the left or right in proportion to its forward position. This would be accomplished by tilting the horizontal wing flaps (known as ailerons) in opposite directions on a drone. Roll movement is likewise managed via vector thrusting. This shift in attitude causes the drone to fly in the tilt's direction. Similarly to pitch, maximum roll is limited in autolevel modes but unrestricted in manual mode. A tiny drone can perform barrel rolls much like a plane with the proper autopilot settings and a little practise.