1st Flight Crash Hexacopter HELP

Hello, I just got done building my hexacopter and took it on its first flight; however, the drone just pitches forward. I have double-checked the rotation and propeller direction of all motors.

Flight Controller: Pixhawk 2.1 Cube Orange
RC: Herelink
Frame: Tarot X6
ESC: Hobbywing Xrotor Pro 50A
Motor: 5008/340KV Brushless Motor/black(TL96020)
Battery: Tattu 6s 12000mah 15c

Here are my log and param file:
Log:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GZvaV2qTmu6Rn5DjuBypao5krIjWAQoC/view?usp=sharing

Param:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MIRp27LmDFW3d3ndvRx5CIaQC6QAzmLN/view?usp=sharing

Video:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JOmAFxnnATVOW5hyvpTTTB1Gx2jhCg1Z/view?usp=sharing

Thank you in advance.

It looks a lot like you’ve got the wrong motor/rotation on the wrong RCout channels.
Also it looks like there’s a CCW/CW imbalance, like motor mounts are twisted.

When you go over the motor order diagrams and use the mission planner motor test feature, note that the numbering 1,2,3… is a different order to the motor tests a,b,c…
https://ardupilot.org/copter/docs/connect-escs-and-motors.html#connect-escs-and-motors

Check that out thoroughly and then send a .bin file from the next test.

Hello Shawn, thanks for the response.

I know I have double-checked the rotation because 1,2,3 doesn’t correspond with A, B, C and the wiki says “or the first motor to the right of straight forward in the case of X configuration.”

Does that mean I put motor A to output 1 and B to 2…?

As far as the CCW/CW imbalance the motor mount got twisted when it crashed, if that’s what you are taking about?

Do I need to change something in the output![motor output?
To clearify does output 1 means motor A?

https://ardupilot.org/copter/docs/connect-escs-and-motors.html

Motor1234 are not corresponding to MotorABCD in order.

For example, motor B spins on the main out 1 on the cube so do I plug it on port 1 or port 2 on the cube?

Provided your flight controller is actually mounted in the conventional orientation, then your param file matches that.
Maybe redo the Accel calibration?

Check Pitch in transmitter/receiver compared to RC calibration section - often pitch has to be reversed. Do this the transmitter if you can then it’s correct for every Ardupilot you use.

The next step is probably to hold it down via tether or similar so it cant lift off completely (or some brave soul holds it above their head) while you arm in Stabilise mode and see if pitch and roll are going to have the desired effects. Yaw is hard to tell at this stage, but it will work OK if pitch and roll are correct.
You brave/crazy volunteer can even slightly tilt the craft one way and another to see if lower side motors speed up to try and correct.
Doing anything near spinning props can be dangerous, so be very careful.

Cool, thank you. I am going for another test flight today and will let you know what happens.

hello, I would say today’s flight was somewhat of a success.

I kept getting Compass Inconsistent, EKF Variance, High GPS HDOP. And the drones controls were too sharp, how may I fix that?

Is it safe to do auto-tune right now?

Video 1:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/12a0Dfc9QzAR4F2Lk-CcPsT5fYwCKJyMK/view?usp=sharing

Video 2:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DrbJqi_WYeD9sHQKGkG5FBN4diBph372/view?usp=sharing

Log:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zixXEiXg9tEANNzWeGZz94B2o67PObLv/view?usp=sharing

I couldnt get those videos to work properly, not sure if that’s my player or what…

Secure all the wiring so nothing vibrates around, but not so tight it pulls on the FC and transfers vibrations. It’s also easy to end up with an ugly flying ball of cable ties :slight_smile:
Probably check your prop balance too, there’s still some X and Y vibrations there, but not very bad.

Try flying in ALTHOLD mode instead of Stabilize - Stabilize is still your “go to” mode in emergencies so definitely practice more, but ALTHOLD is much easier for test and tune. After some more checks you’ll want to try LOITER.
And get a bit more height, about 3 meters or more to get out of ground effects.

Change
ATC_INPUT_TC,0.15 to 0.20 or 0.22
and see how the RC control is then, should be nice and smooth.

Set these:
BATT_ARM_VOLT,22.1
BATT_CRT_VOLT,21
BATT_LOW_VOLT,21.6
MOT_BAT_VOLT_MAX,25.2
MOT_BAT_VOLT_MIN,19.8
BATT_FS_CRT_ACT,1
BATT_FS_LOW_ACT,2
FENCE_ACTION,3
FENCE_ALT_MAX,50
FENCE_ENABLE,1
FENCE_RADIUS,100
FENCE_TYPE,3
Be aware those Fence settings will stop you arming UNTIL you’ve got a good 3D fix, and limit your range, so you may need to adjust those settings a bit. It’s good for testing though, you can loosen those restrictions once you’re more confident in the craft.
There were some GPS glitches and number of sats went down, HDOP went up - could be because of proximity to the ground and trees. See if you can get out in a clearer area. GPS always works better once you’re up in the air. If you’ve ever got to recalibrate compasses, get out in the open, wait for a great GPS fix and then do compass cal.

Pitch and Roll are doing OK, could be a little better but usable.

I’d probably change the PIDs a bit - be aware I could be wrong or it might not be everyone’s preference.
From these:
ATC_RAT_PIT_P,0.135
ATC_RAT_PIT_I,0.135
ATC_RAT_PIT_D,0.0036
ATC_RAT_RLL_P,0.135
ATC_RAT_RLL_I,0.135
ATC_RAT_RLL_D,0.0036

To these:
ATC_RAT_PIT_P,0.12
ATC_RAT_PIT_I,0.12
ATC_RAT_PIT_D,0.005
ATC_RAT_RLL_P,0.12
ATC_RAT_RLL_I,0.12
ATC_RAT_RLL_D,0.005
…and see if it flies better or worse. Do a small test flight and then land and check for hot motors or anything else strange.

Once all this is done, tested and the craft is flying well, get out into that really open area with no wind and do Autotune. I set it for Yaw axis first, then Pitch and Roll, seems to be safest.

  • Arm and fly around in Loiter, if that’s OK switch to Autotune mode and let it do it’s thing (reposition if needed).
  • Once complete and there’s no more Autotune twitching, leave it in Autotune mode, bring it back and land and disarm.
  • Wait a few seconds to save new settings, switch to Althold or Loiter, arm and test fly.

If everything has been going well you can Autotune all axis together, it takes less and less time if the tune is already pretty close.

Then there’s always the Harmonic Notch Filter…

Also your compasses are slightly affected by the current draw while motors are working, you’d benefit from doing the Compass/Motor calibration - be sure to follow the instructions and be safe.

https://ardupilot.org/copter/docs/common-compass-setup-advanced.html?highlight=compass%20motor

Thank you so much! I will keep you updated.