Hey everybody. I've been doing sims and playing with rates in the sim for a while getting ready to try manual mode for real. Last night I tried for the first time, indoors. My gain and expo rates were set at 220/600/.55 for pitch and roll, 100/400/.55 on yaw. Had c2 set for motor shutoff.  Started in normal mode, sticks to center for motor arm, and slowly started to increase throttle. I'm used to outdoor flying only, so I was being VERY gentle. Avata screamed across the kitchen floor and wedged under the bottom cabinet (thankfully) where it proceeded to run at full bore. Hit the C2, still going. Slammed both sticks down. Nothing. Still trying to lift the house off the slab. Went over and grabbed it and flipped it onto it's back. Still howling. Finally, after a couple of manual flip overs, the motors stopped. Rerstarted everything and set expos to zero.  As soon as motors armed, I picked it up just in case, and slowly feathered the throttle. Motors went full blast again.   I thought gain and expo settings didn't affect sport or normal mode flight characteristics, but now I'm afraid to touch the throttle again until I figure out what's going on, to avoid a hole in my roof. Any help or suggestion would be appreciated.

still haven't gone into manual mode, afraid to; for sure won't do it inside.  for the reasons you mentioned.  have to get really comfortable with it.

Wow that sounds totally awesome and terrifying at the same time!  INSANE!

Manual mode is insanity because the drone has to be constantly in motion.  I can't bring myself to trying this in the real avata.  Playing liftoff and stuff is fun, but then when trying to fly the avata in normal or sport mode it really messes with me because the controls are so different.

Sounds like you experienced ground effect which can be awkward to deal with it especially if you've never experienced it before. Also in a small space like a kitchen you likely have a bunch of other swirling air currents caused by the drone pushing it all over the place. If this is your first time flying a drone in manual I would not be doing it indoors.

Having said that, I did fly my Avata in manual mode for the first time indoors  as a test hover, but i've also flown 3D helicopters since around 2006. It still took me a second or two with corrections to lock it into a hover but I was definitely fighting ground effect. I also did this out of the goggles and LOS. First time trying to hover in a small space in goggles is more likely than not going to go smooth or well.

When you realized things got away from you, you stated "you slammed both sticks down". That is the problem there is you should have only lowered the throttle stick all the way. By also bringing down the pitch stick it's commaning full back elevator command which spools the two front props up to full speed. Also flipping the aircraft upside down by hand in manual mode will not kill the motors like when you do that in Normal or Sport. Reason is in manual mode you can do flips and rolls so you wouldn't want to intentionally do a flip and have the motors cutout.

I would suggest learning manual mode in real life  in a large open area until you build up the muscle memory to be able to do it in smaller more precise areas.

I can only share how I tried M mode with my DJI FPV - Always Outside over a huge field AND I switch to Manual Only above 20-30 m and practice there for safety, start and land always in N or S - wish You luck!

Big Fil Posted at 1-13 15:39
Sounds like you experienced ground effect which can be awkward to deal with it especially if you've never experienced it before. Also in a small space like a kitchen you likely have a bunch of other swirling air currents caused by the drone pushing it all over the place. If this is your first time flying a drone in manual I would not be doing it indoors.

Having said that, I did fly my Avata in manual mode for the first time indoors  as a test hover, but i've also flown 3D helicopters since around 2006. It still took me a second or two with corrections to lock it into a hover but I was definitely fighting ground effect. I also did this out of the goggles and LOS. First time trying to hover in a small space in goggles is more likely than not going to go smooth or well.

This is a thorough and detailed explanation that allows me to clearly visualize what I did wrong and how that translated to physical manifestations. Thank you. It's exactly what I needed for how my brain works. I took your advice and did go back out for a reprisal attempt on a football field. I even got a whole 2 seconds, which was insightful and not entirely disappointing. (I'm trying to avoid normal and sport modes until I'm proficient at manual) Here's the video. You can tell when I switch because the gimbal  assumes the tilt position. Thank you again.  https://youtu.be/1_uUtFFnjHs

Hi, BigDaddyReeves. Thank you for reaching out. DJI Avata supports indoor use however, it is not recommended to fly it in Manual Mode. If flying indoors, it is recommended that you use the aircraft under the condition that the indoor light is good and the aircraft’s downward vision is effective, so as to ensure the aircraft hovers stably. Otherwise, drifting may occur. At this time, you need to use the stick in time and fly carefully. If with no GPS signal, the drone may fail to be stable during flight. At this time, do not fly your drone in case of danger it may cause. Hope this helps. Have a safe flight always.