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# DJI S-1000 Field Operating and Safety M **anual**
**By: Douglas M. Bell For DOP media, LLC.**

The DJI S1000 with the DJI A2 flight controller is the system we are using currently. When a new aircraft is added to our fleet, we will construct a similar manual specific to that aircraft.**2 |** P a g e 

## Definitions:

PIC Pilot in Charge Lipo Lithium Polymer Power Cell Battery Lipo unless otherwise noted CG Center of Gravity AGL Above Ground Level LZ Landing Zone TX / RX Controller Transmitter / Controller Receiver OSD On Screen DIsplay FPV First Person View



## Overview:
The purpose of this document is to provide the PIC as we ll as his team a list of procedures to follow before, during and after eac h flight and shoot to ensure that all possible safety measures and i nspections are performed EXACTLY as stated. Following these procedure s will ensure that that the DJI S-1000 and the team operating it, are as safe as possible.

If at any time during, the processes outlined in thi s manual, any flaws or damages are found, the item in question must be addre ssed and corrected/repaired before flight.

Strict adherence to the processes outlined in this man ual is required. Failure to follow to these processes is strictly prohibit ed as this could result in unsafe flight.

Or systems are operated with a PIC, Spotter, and Cam. Op. We do not use FPV (first person View) equipment to fly our shots. Our aircraft are not outfitted with FPV gear and the PIC will always f ly line of sight.**3 |** P a g e

**PIC (pilot in Charge) General Responsibilities**

The PIC is ultimately in charge of the aircraft prior to, during and after flight. It is the duty of the PIC to ensure that all safety and maintenance checks are performed on the aircraft. If steps are sk ipped resulting in a failure and/or crash it is ultimately the PICs respon sibility. The PIC must adhere to the rules and regulations published by the FAA and the restrictions outlined under the section 333 exemption. It is up to the PIC to ensure that the operation of the aircraft is done in the safest manner possible. The PIC will never risk the aircraf t or safety of others to capture a shot. It is always best practice to land the machine and attempt the shot from a different approach if people o r property may be at risk of injury or damage. No shot is worth riskin g a crash.

Given the obligation of the PIC to operate safely, it is the responsibility of the PIC to be "fit for flight". The PIC may not opera te the aircraft if alcohol was consumed in any volume in the previous 12 h ours. The PIC must be in a "fit for flight" mental state to ensure a sound Aeronautic Decision Making (ADM) process.

Physical Health is equally important. The PIC should be in a condition where there are no distractions that may affect safe flight. Dehydration, hunger, the need to take a bathroom break, and other fa ctors like sickness should all be eliminated prior to flight.

Just as with any Aircraft, the operation of our remotely controlled machines falls solely on the PIC

**. The PIC of our aircraft during**  **commercial operation must hold A Pilot License (rec reational**  **minimum) and a minimum class 3 medical certificate. There is no**  **exception to this rule under any circumstance other than a team**  **member taking control if the PIC is unable to safely land the aircraft.** **4 |** P a g e 

## Specifications

Overall Diameter 1045mm
Frame Arm Length 386mm
Frame Arm Weight (with Motor, ESC, Propeller) 325g

Center Frame Diameter 332mm
Center Frame Weight (with Landing Gear Mounting Base, Servos) 1330g

Landing Gear Size 460mm(Length) x 511mm(Width) x 350mm(Height) (Top width: 155 mm)

Motor Stator Size 41 x 14mm

Motor kV 400rpm/V

Motor Max Power 500W
Motor Weight (with Cooling Fan) 158g

ESC Current 40A
ESC Voltage 6S LiPo
ESC Signal Frequency 30Hz - 450Hz
ESC Drive PWM Frequency 8KHz
ESC Weight (with Radiators) 35g

Propeller Type 1552/1552R High strength performance engineered plastic
Propeller Size 15 x 5.2inch
Propeller Weight 13g
Takeoff Weight 6.0Kg - 11.0Kg
Total Weight 4.2Kg
Flight battery LiPo (6S, 10000mAh-20000mAh, 15C(Min))
Max Power Consumption 4000W
Hovering Power Consumption 1500W (@9.5Kg Takeoff Weight)
Hovering Time 15min (@15000mAh & 9.5Kg Takeoff Weight)
Working Environment Temperature -10 °C to +40 °C**5 |** P a g e 

## Camera Operator (Cam. Op)

Our DJI S1000 is operated as a two man system. That is, The PIC is in charge of controlling the aircraft and maneuvering it during flight so that the second man, the camera operator can control th e camera and attempt to capture the shot. The camera operator is res ponsible for powering on, focusing, exposing, and beginning recordin g on the camera. These tasks may be performed at any time pr ior to the aircraft power up. Once the aircraft has been powered up, the camera operator may only access the camera once the aircraft has comp leted the initialization process and the PIC gives the cam op th e all clear to fine tune the camera if needed. This process is not discus sed in detail as we do not believe that the operation of the camera signific antly impacts the overall process of the PIC's operation. Having said that, our system uses and OSD (On Screen Display) which displays var ious flight information including the voltage level of the flight b attery. If the camera operator notices anything out of the ordinary, he is to notify the PIC immediately either directly or through the s potter. This can also help ensure that our machine does not violate the 400 ft altitude rule as the altitude is displayed to the cam op as well. T he PIC is not to depend on the camera operator for this information, but anything out of the ordinary should be reported as this is just one m ore set of eyes that can help prevent an accident. It is also requi red that all members of the flight team are familiar with the machine and know how to fly and land it in the unlikely event the PIC is unable to complete the flight.**6 |** P a g e 

## Spotter

It is the job of the spotter to provide a second set of ey es for the PIC. The PIC must keep the aircraft in his line of sight at all times. The spotter is to keep an eye on the LZ and the area in ge neral where the aircraft is being operated. Should there be an obstacl e that the PIC doesn't see or if the LZ is compromised, the spotter is to inform the PIC and help avoid an incident. The spotter can also rela y information from the cam op to the PIC should it be necessary. The spot ter must be proficient in flying any aircraft we use on set. If f or any reason the PIC is unable to continue flying the aircraft, the spotter is there to help assure the machine makes a safe landing in an emergency si tuation.**7 |** P a g e 

## Tasks to be perform **ed prior to flight:**

**Batteries and charging:**

The operation of the DJI s1000 requires the use of many different batteries. These include the following: Flight Packs, Radio TX batteries, video batteries (for the video base on the ground). A ll of these batteries LiPo batteries are to be charged to the full capacity (4.2 volts per cell) prior to arriving on set.

**Flight Packs** will be checked prior to each flight to ensure the p acks are sufficiently charged. A reading of 24.6 - 25.2 Volts indicates the packs are 90 - 100% charged and this is acceptable and in dicates the packs are ready for flight. A voltage reading of less than 22.8 volts indicates that the packs are less than 60 percent charged and should not be used for a flight. A set of packs at full capacity will al low 7 minutes of flight time while landing with approximately 40 percent cap acity remaining. An illustration of a freshly charged 6s Lipo pack is s hown below.**8 |** P a g e

**Controller TX and VIdeo RX Batteries** should be checked to make sure the 3s lipo batteries that power the controller TX and the Video RX are charged at the beginning of the day and checked prio r to each flight. A reading of 11.6 or better indicates these batteries are at 75% capacity or higher and , therefore, will provide many hours of us e.

Note: It is possible to fly this aircraft with a controller using a 2 cell Lipo. This radio should indicate a minimum voltage of 7. 6 or higher before every flight. Any other Controller used will re quire an
amendment to this document.



## Mechanical condition of Aircraft:

While it is impossible predict all possible situations or failures that can occur during flight, It is important to ensure that th e aircraft is in optimum condition before every flight. The following step s will help
ensure that the aircraft has no issues that will cau se a preventable failure during flight.**9 |** P a g e 

## Step 1: Raising and Locking all arms. Raise the arms of the machine and lock them in place with the red clip at the base of the arm. The clip
will make and audible "click" sound when it locks int o place.



## Step 2: Flight battery installation. Our battery configuration of choice is two (2) 6 cell lithium polymer battery packs connec ted in parallel. We use two battery packs as a form of redundancy in case there is a failure in one pack. Mount the battery packs on the battery tr ay and strap down tightly with the velcro straps attached to the ba ttery tray. Once the packs are mounted to the tray, slide the tray on t o the frame and attach the clip on the bottom of the tray to the machine . Once the clip snaps in place, pull on the tray to ensure that it i s securely mounted. See photos below.**10 |** P a g e 

## Step 3: Prop and motor mount bushing inspection. Inspect the scr ews that hold the props to the prop adapter mounted to the m otor (all motors). The blades should not move freely and sloppily b ut instead should have a slight bit of resistance when moved abou t the axis of the screw. Next, inspect the rubber anti-vibration bushi ngs that mount the motors to the frame. There should be no play when you att empt to rock the motors back and forth. If there is play, the bushings should be replaced before flight. This is a normal maintenance item as these rubber bushings are the first point of vibration dampe ning on the S1000. See photos below.**11 |** P a g e 

## Step 4 : Weight And Balance. The DJI S-1000 has a maximum t akeoff weight of 24.25 lbs. It is imperative, to avoid stress ing the components, that the takeoff weight be less than this at all tim es. Also, in order to prevent stressing particular motors, it is important the aircraft be balanced properly along the Roll and Pitch axes. This is done by placing your index finger at the midpoint on each side of the a ircraft along the roll axis and picking up the aircraft. The aircraft should balance. The same procedure should be done along the pitch axis. If the aircraft does not balance, the Lipo batteries can me moved forward or backward on the battery tray to ensure proper balance. The illus trations below show
how this is done.**12 |** P a g e 

## Step 5: Compass/GPS orientation. Our Dji S1000 is configured with a standard, unmodified DJI A2 flight control computer. T his computer relies on input from the gps/compass installed in th e center top plate of the frame. It is imperative that the compass be locke d in the upright position and the arrow on the compass graphic is pointe d center
forward out of the front of the aircraft. See the illust rations below.**13 |** P a g e 

## Step 6: Gimbal Inspection: All items installed on the aircra ft are securely attached to prevent ejection during flight. The gimbal and camera are to be inspected before every flight. The gimbal is attached by 12 rubber vibration dampening balls as indicated in the picture
below. Make sure all of these balls are attached. One ball has a safety screw as indicated in the photo below. Confirm this sc rew is in place at all times. The camera is secured to the gimbal by an aluminum screw located at the very bottom of the gimbal. This nut shoul d be tightened very snugly.**14 |** P a g e 

## Step 7: Power up Radio Control Transmitter. Power up the contr ol TX. Once the tx is on and initialized, check the bat tery level indicated on
the radio status window. Confirm that the correct model (S1000) is indicated on the active model display. ST1 will begin to count time when throttle is moved from off position.

Verify that all switches are in the correct position corresponding to the labels on the radio. The following photos indicate proper switch position for GPS assisted flight.**15 |** P a g e

Although the A2 flight controller will not allow th e machine to take off and fly away in an unsafe radio configuration on power up, it is good practice to make sure all switches are in safe proper position, this includes the throttle gimbal to be
in the zero throttle condition as shown below. If a situation on the ground should render the PIC unable to fly, our Spotter and Camer a Operator are instructed to
use the radio to land the aircraft. In a worst case scenario the Failsafe switch can be flipped and the flight controller will fly back to the launch point and land the
aircraft. The Failsafe switch is located as indicat ed picture right above.



## Step 8: Powering up the aircraft. Now that the batteries ar e installed, the radios trasnsmitters are turned on a nd all parts on the the aircraft are secure, the aircraft can be powered up. Plug the red and
black connectors attached to the battery packs to the correspon ding connectors on the machine. Be sure to slide connectors tog ether firmly insuring a solid secure connection. Make sure connector s are snug and**16 |** P a g e

there is no risk of them separating during flight. Th e illustration below shows the red connector properly attached, the black con nector needs to be pushed together to form a tight fit.

Once the aircraft is powered up, it will go through a n initialization process. This process includes a system check , GPS s earch and lock, and gimbal initialization. The aircraft must not be d isturbed during this process which should take 15 sec - 2 minutes dependi ng on GPS search. The flight controller will indicate flight readiness condition via the led on the status indicator (located at the rear of the air craft so that the pilot can see the indicator at all times). The status indicator will continue to flash aircraft status before, during and a fter flight until the aircraft is powered off. The status indicator will dis play the controller and aircraft status as well as battery status at al l times the aircraft is powered on. The status indicator is pictured below.**17 |** P a g e

Note: Any indication other than an intermittent flashi ng violet light, is a NO FLY CONDITION. There is no exception to this rule

. The LED will blink colored signals indicating the foll owing conditions:

Intermittent Red flight light, 1 two or 3 flash

Before launching aircraft, the LED indicator must d isplay an intermittent flashing violet light. Any o ther indication
indicates and error or that the machine is in a mod e other than GPS assisted mode and the machine is n ot to be operated unless the VIOLET INTERMITTENT FLIGHT READY STATUS IS DISPAYED.

As listed in the chart above, an alternating blue a nd yellow constant indicator means there is a compa ss error. This usually indicates that the compass needs calibratio n and this procedure is to be performed as indicate d the DJI A2 Flight Controller manual. Once this procedure has b een completed the aircraft must be powered down and powered back up and allowed to re-initialize as bef ore. Once the machine reboots and indicates an int ermittent violet flashing flight ready condition, the compass error has been resolved and the pilot may continue

.
During flight the alternation violet indicator will continue to flash. If this changes for any reason, the PIC is to land the aircraft safely and immediately in fix resolve the error immediately. Once the error has been addr essed, standard preflight operation must be performed befo re next flight.

A flashing yellow light during flight indicates tha t remaining flight time in the battery has fallen t o below 40% and the PIC must land the aircraft safely and immediat ely. If the flight time procedures have been follo wed this flashing yellow condition likely indicates a batter y pack is nearing the end of it's useful life and s holud be examined prior to future use. Intermittent red flash (1,2 or 3) flashes Searching GPS (no red blink when locked)

Intermittent flashing violet light FLight controller is flight ready in GPS mode

Intermittent flashing yellow light Flight Controller is flight ready in Atti mode (NO FLY)

No Flashing Light Flight controller is in Manual mode (NO FLY)

Alternating green and yellow constant Bad compass Data, compass needs calibration

Flashing Yellow during flight First level Battery warning

Flashing Red light Battery level critical aircraft will return home an d land controls can still be overridden by PIC.**18 |** P a g e

If the indicator flashes an INTERMITTENT red light during flight, the capacity of the packs have falle n to critical level and the flight controller will begin to return the aircraft to the launch position. The PIC will still have control of aircraft however, in a neutral flight stick conditi on, the flight controller will return the aircraft to home position and land. The flashing red light will only occur after the initial yellow condition has flashed continuous ly until the flight packs have fallen to critical level. If at any time during any flight the flashing red critical indica tion appears before or very quickly after the yellow indication, there is likely a failure in one or more of the flight pa cks and the aircraft must be safely landed as quickly as possible. The f light packs are to be marked and set aside for futu re examination and are not to be used again until tested and verif ied to be in safe flight ready condition. In additi on, this occurrence requires a close examination of all batt ery connections between the battery packs and the f light
controller.



## Step 9: Launch and Flight. All of the safety measures up to and including this step are to avoid preventable accident s. Once the PIC deems the aircraft Safe and Ready for flight, PIC w ill define a landing zone and "sterile" staging area. The LZ must be clea r of any obstacles or people. The aircraft must be 100 feet from any people other than the flight crew defined as PIC, spotter, and Camera Oper ator. The PIC is not to be disturbed during launch, flight, or landing unl ess doing so by the spotter will prevent and accident or potential mistake . The PIC is to be treated just as he would be in a sterile cockpit situ ation in a full scale aircraft on takeoff and landing. The PIC must explain this 'sterile cockpit' scenario to the crew and any other people locat ed in the vicinity of the set who may potentially violate this es tablished area. During flight, it is up to the spotter to notify the P IC if the LZ has been**19 |** P a g e

compromised. In this scenario, the LZ is to be cleare d by the spotter
and the aircraft must be landed. The LZ is to be re- secured and PIC can continue operations as described in this manual. If th e flight timer of 7 minutes, his has less than 40% (2:00) remaining, th e PIC is to determine if the shot can be captured in less than 2 minutes a nd if not, fresh Flight Packs are to be installed and normal startup procedure may commence.

When the PIC decides it is time to land the aircraft (determined by flight timer, whether the shot is captured, or other r eason the PIC has determined) the spotter is required to keep the LZ cl ear until the aircraft had been safely landed and powered off by th e PIC.

Once the machine is powered off, the Sterile area is deemed 'expired' . The crew and others may move about freely until the P IC announces
another Sterile LZ.

**FLIGHT LOG** :
A log of all flights performed including flight dur ations, locations, PIC, weather conditions, and possible errors are to be kept up t o date at all times. This flight log is included as part of this manual and will remain with the manual at all times. The Manual and flight log will be provided to any compa ny paying for aircraft time, any FAA official, any law enforcement official, com pany insuring aircraft or any PIC who will be piloting this aircraft. The documen t will be provided upon request is made at a time this is not possible. In such as case, the document will be provided in a timely manner.

This manual also contains a maintenance log where a ny and all maintenance, device replacements, modification, or repairs can b e documented. These items
will include but are not limited to: General mainte nance items as described in the Operating manual for the DJI S1000, the operation m anual for the DJI A2 flight controller, The DJI Zenmuse z15 Gimbal, and the Rad io Transmitters used to fly this aircraft. Replacement or installation of any m echanical, electrical, software,**20 |** P a g e

or item that can affect the weight and balance of t he aircraft are to be documented on the maintenance log. Post modificatio n procedures are to include documentation, balancing aircraft (if physical chan ges were made), and performing a test flight followed by another test flight by any PIC who will operate the aircraft for commercial purposes. This manual may be reprinted from time to time to incorporate new pages needed in the event existing pages become full. A copy of the last complete page of th e flight log and maintenance log will be included in the new copy. A copy of all logs will be stored electronically or on hard copy should the pages need to be replace d. 

## Summary :

It is important that all rules are followed exactly as listed in this manual. If at any time additional rules are created to improve safety , they are to be added to this manual and approved by the PIC. This manual is not designed to replace the operation manual provided by DJI Incorporated and i s not meant to provide training for this aircraft rather, training on proc edures. The Operating manual for the A2 flight Control system is to be carried in th e field with this manual at any time when there is to be a flight whether for comme rcial, maintenance, troubleshooting, testing or other purposes. It is u nderstood that the PIC has trained rigorously on the A2 Flight Control System as well as the DJI S1000 and the flight characteristics of this Aircraft and fight c ontrol combination.

IMPORTANT:The PIC for this aircraft must be an FAA Certified Pilot (sport, recreational, or private) with a Current Class 3 Me dical certificate as defined Under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations ( 14 CFR) Part 1. The aircraft may not be operated commercially, at any time by any pe rson who does not meet the requirements of a certified pilot as defined in 14C FR.

Any person operating the aircraft who does not meet these requirements, may only do so when configuring, troubleshooting, test ing or operating recreationally.
The FAA Guidelines for model aircraft are to be fol lowed at all times during flights
conducted even non-commercial.**21 |** P a g e

NOTE: Operation of the Camera, video system and G imbal by the cam op are not explained in this manual as they are not an essenti al part of the overall performance of the aircraft. While the GImbal does use IMU data from the flight controller in order to keep the gimbal steady, it d oes not feed data back to the flight controller and does not affect performance. The PIC is not, at any time during flight, in control of these systems.**22 |** P a g e 

## FLIGHT LOG

Date PIC Location weather Errors coments**23 |** P a g e 

## Maintenance Log

Date Item Operation Mechanic Check flight PIC
test comments**24 |** P a g e