Fundamental Flight Mechanics
Drone Rotations
There are three terms that describe a drone's rotational movements; roll, pitch, and yaw. These rotations are the principal movements of a drone when in the air, and correspond to different control sticks found on a remote controller operated by the drone pilot. The following video by Drona Aviation shows the three rotational motions of a drone.
Modes
There are 2 main modes that we use for operating Unmanned Aerial Systems. The different modes only vary by what control will be outputted by which stick. For the United States, the most common mode is mode 2. This is also the mode used by the Virginia Tech Drone Park.
Controller Movements
The video below shows the four most common maneuvers of a drone pilot. Pay attention to the controller on the bottom of the screen as it depicts the movements on the controller required to do the action the drone achieves.
The JigSpace App
If you are interested in the motions of a drone and want to look into it even more in depth, download this app to observe how a drone works using augmented reality on your mobile device.