0.7: Trimming (JROTC ed.)

Each drone has a gyro sensor that helps the drone stabilize and center itself during flight. Occasionally, you might see your drone drift during takeoff or during flight commands. Some variation is normal, but if your drone needs some extra help to perform some flight movements correctly, you may need to trim the drone. Watch the video then review the steps on trimming below.

Note: Although CoDrone EDU (JROTC ed.) may be a different color, all of the information presented in this video still applies.

You will use the directional pads on the controller to trim. Always trim in the opposite direction than the drift.

To see the effects of trim, set roll and pitch trim to positive 100. In another lesson you will learn more about these terms. First, press the “up” key on your controller until the pitch value reaches 100.

Then press the “right” key on your controller until the roll value reaches 100.

Now, takeoff and try to use the joysticks to move around. What do you notice? The drone should be moving towards the front and to the right with each movement. This is an extreme example, but it demonstrates the effects of trimming. Bring the trim values back to 0 by pressing instead the “down” and “left” directional buttons.

You have probably already noticed that there is no option to trim for throttle. Sometimes while flying, you may notice CoDrone EDU (JROTC ed.) drift up or down even if you are not controlling the throttle, especially when programming.

If CoDrone EDU is drifting up or down, it may be because you are flying in an environment that isn’t completely flat (such as a classroom with tables, chairs, or other furniture). This is because the drone’s internal sensors are trying to maintain a constant height over the surface directly below. For example, if you take off on the ground and fly over a table, CoDrone EDU (JROTC ed.) may try to compensate for the change in height by throttling up.

The opposite effect can happen if you take off from a table then fly over the edge, which is why we always recommend taking off from the floor. CoDrone EDU may throttle down to adjust.

If you notice this kind of “drift”, it’s normal. As a challenge, you can write code to account for this height adjustment or experiment with the height sensor.