www.Multirotor-Resources.com once again back in the tuning jig. A second camera angle is added along with a view of the Mission Planner screen showing voltages, current, battery life, throttle, and channel 6 raw values as we tune. Thank www.TowMeUp.com for the excellent tie down equipment and Jikkenteki for the fitting background music.
Again, using the DaveC method, we begin tuning the APM 2.6 in acro flight mode with axis_enable=0. Set all Rate PID values to 0 and begin adjusting Pitch / Roll Rate P first. This is best done using transmitter channel 6 with a potentiometer.
Alternate between Pitch / Roll Rate P and D, increasing them until oscillations occur. A happy balance between stability and responsiveness is desired.
You can also meaningfully adjust Yaw Rate P and D while in the jig for better first time flight experiences.
Once all your stable base rates are found, bounce around in the jig under all throttle conditions and work all the values at once. If any values are too high, you want to spot it now, before takeoff. If you find oscillations with all your new found rate values configured, you need to go back through and tweak each value individually.
Under heaviest load, top and bottom arm motors reached a max of 104 degrees Fahrenheit. This was around 90 amp total current draw, so roughly 11 amps per motor. They are capable of 15 amps. As thrust testing continues, an optimal motor / prop combination will be revealed. While operating extremely cool with 13"x4.4 props, it will be interesting to compare against some 15" units while watching current draw, temperatures, and thrust.
