Throttle, yaw, pitch and roll: four motors, two sticks.

At HOBIzone we fly three kinds of drone. Whenever a guide says “our drones”, it means these.

indoors, in the soccer cage

20 cm ball cage

up to 175 g

toaster: holds its height

line of sight

technically a toy · bigger ones: A1

indoors, on the race track

65 mm, ducted props

about 25 g

frying pan

FPV + a spotter

A1, even in goggles · camera → register

outside, on the race track

5″ props

about 500 g, home-built

frying pan

FPV + a spotter

A3: home-built, far from people

The props only push along the drone's own "up".

To go anywhere, the drone tilts, and the push goes that way.

Every move is just the flight controller changing the speed of the four motors.

All four motors speed up together → more push → the drone climbs. Slow them all down → it sinks.

Throttle is the only move that doesn't tilt the drone.

The back motors speed up, the front ones slow down → the nose dips → the push tips forward → the drone flies forward.

Pull back and it's the other way round.

The left motors speed up, the right ones slow down → the drone leans right → it slides right.

The middle drawing is the drone seen from behind.

Remember: every prop twists the drone the other way. Speed up the counter-clockwise pair and slow the clockwise pair → the drone turns right, without tilting.

Yaw only points the nose. It doesn't move the drone anywhere.

Left stick
up / down = throttle
left / right = yaw

Right stick
up / down = pitch
left / right = roll

Most pilots fly Mode 2. On some drones, like our B200, the throttle springs back to the middle and the drone holds its height. On our whoops and 5″ racers the throttle stays where you leave it, and throttle down means falling.

Push the stick and every drone tilts. The difference is what happens when you let go.

The stick sets the tilt. Let go and the drone levels itself. Tilt is limited: no flips. Our B200 soccer drones fly like this.

Like angle near the middle of the stick, but push all the way and it can flip and roll. Let go and it levels again.

The stick sets how fast it rotates. Let go and it stays at whatever angle it’s at: you level it yourself. Racing pilots fly acro, like on our whoops and 5″ racers.

Air mode isn’t a flight mode. It’s an extra that keeps the drone under control even at zero throttle, used with acro. DJI calls acro Manual (M).

With the throttle at zero the motors idle, and normally the drone stops correcting. Air mode keeps it steering anyway, so you can flip and dive with the throttle down and stay in control. Racers and freestylers always fly with it on.

Close to the floor the air you push down can’t get away: it bounces back up. The drone floats, wobbles and is hard to keep steady. Take off and climb out of it quickly, and land with intent.

In the goggles you see what the camera sees. The picture looks level when the camera looks level, not when the drone is level.

The view looks level at a gentle tilt: slow and calm. Good for learning, smooth filming and small indoor tracks.

Hovering level, you only see sky. To look ahead you have to lean forward…

…and leaning that far means you’re flying fast. That’s why racers use high angles.

Rough guide: 0–20° smooth flying and filming (military drones too) · about 35° where freestylers land · 45–65° racing · more than that: crazy, in a good way.

Same view in the goggles, different sticks: with a higher camera angle the pitch stick sits further forward and you need more throttle to hold height.

Tilting turns some lift into speed. Without extra throttle the drone sinks.

Lean into the turn and turn the nose at the same time, like a bike in a corner.

Slide sideways while turning the other way: the nose stays on the ball.

Frame, motors and props: no cracks

Props tight and on the right motors

Battery charged, not puffy

Channel booked, 25 mW

Safe spot, no people in the way

Tell everyone: “Plugging in!”

Keep it where you or your spotter can see it

Stay away from people and animals

Watch the battery: land in time

Something wrong? Land, then fix

Say it out loud: taking off, landing, crash

Disarm, then battery out

Check props and frame

Let the battery cool before charging

Not flying for days? Storage charge (3.8 V)

Clean up your spot

What went well? What next time?

A drone has no accelerator and no brakes. Practise one stick at a time, then two moves together, then three.

Throttle is the only move that doesn’t tilt the drone.

Pitch and roll tilt it. Yaw only turns the nose.

No brakes: to stop, tilt back, and wait.

Angle mode levels itself when you let go. Acro doesn’t.

Higher camera angle = more forward stick, more throttle.