Simple question - can't find an answer

ArduCopter Copter 3.1
1

hello - very new to APM/quads

I have my APM 2.6 quad flying great - loiter/stabilize etc. BUT I must have full right trim on to do this - save trim / auto trim just do not work to correct this.

SIMPLE QUESTION: Can I just leave the trim set like this or does it effect other modes / flying characteristics

Thanks for your help!

2

[quote=“Pureguava”]hello - very new to APM/quads

I have my APM 2.6 quad flying great - loiter/stabilize etc. BUT I must have full right trim on to do this - save trim / auto trim just do not work to correct this.

SIMPLE QUESTION: Can I just leave the trim set like this or does it effect other modes / flying characteristics

Thanks for your help![/quote]

You need to do the radio calibration. ArduCopter assumes that you never touch your trims. Set your trims to center, do the radio calibration, and never touch them again.

3

thanks for reply

i have tried to re-calibrate many many times and it always ends with the quad rolling to the left. only solution is right trim - once i do this it works fine. just wanting to know if this is going to be a problem in any modes.

4

[quote=“Pureguava”]thanks for reply

i have tried to re-calibrate many many times and it always ends with the quad rolling to the left. only solution is right trim - once i do this it works fine. just wanting to know if this is going to be a problem in any modes.[/quote]

Yes, it will cause loiter and acro to drift.

5

Sorry, I should have completed my response yesterday. The functions you want are auto trim and save trim. They are documented here: copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/autotrim/

6

Is your board level? Have you done an accelerometer calibration?
Those things would definitely lead to what you are describing.

Do the radio calibration again and see what it sets the midpoint for the throttle channel to (channel 2 I think). You should be able to look at what value the APM is getting from the receiver so make sure that the value you get with the TX on and the APM and RX plugged in is the same as the midpoint value. If this is okay, then it would point to the board being not level or accelerometer not calibrated.

If you post a log, I can check this for you.