Lost on where to start with Ardupilot 2.5

Greetings,

We inherited a 3DR ArduCopter Quad C with an Ardupilot 2.5, which we were told was purchased about 3 years ago. It is assembled, looks to be in great shape, but I don’t think it has ever been flown. I was told it was hooked up to a computer once and the software “checked out okay” whatever that means. But I don’t think it has ever been tuned or flight tested. We also were given a Spectrum DX8 radio controller, which also looks new.

We don’t have experience with this sort of thing, so we’re trying to figure out exactly where to start with it. It’s obviously not something that is supported anymore, and so trying to figure out what firmware it should have and what mission planners, etc. go with it has us all confused since so many articles, etc. on the internet keep leading us to (or making references to) the more current models of control boards, irrelevant firmware, etc.

I hate to sound stupid, but I think what we need is almost a flow chart or check list that tells us what steps to take and in what order so we don’t fry this thing. Something like:

Step 1: Update to the most advanced firmware available for the Ardupilot 2.5, which is xyzfirmware.
Step 2: Follow detailed procedures for tuning, etc. which are located at xyzwebpage.
Step 3: etc.

We just don’t even know where to start without getting sidetracked onto directions/discussions for PixHawks, etc. since this is such an old, apparently out-dated model. Also, none of us has ever built a quadcopter before, so we’re totally new to this.

Thanks,
Mark

Okay, so we found this series of videos. We will start with these, but if anyone has any other detailed suggestions, please post them.

youtube.com/watch?v=QAFdHnoae0s

Thanks,
Mark