## Congratulations, you and your new helicopter are ready to embark on many adventures together.

# Explore the box
Your system comes ready-to-fly so take a few minutes to inventory and become familiar with everything.

Draganflyer X4-P helicopter with folding booms, folding landing gear, and four props Two LiPo batteries Digital video base station

Suction cup mount Two axis, gyro stabilized camera gimbal with camera, memory card, battery, and battery eliminator Safety glasses LiPo battery charger

Nexus video display

LiPo bag, system manuals, CDs, and additional documentation

Camera battery charger

Handheld classic controller Landing gear

Please note: Case includes an extra empty battery pocket.

# Contents

1. Detailed Inventory: It ʼ s not often that we make a mistake but to be sure, take a few minutes and double check that everything was included.

2. Ready, set-up and go: Helicopter assembly is fast, simple, and nothing really too complicated but it ʼ s always a good idea to follow some of our tips and guidelines.

3. Your first flight: The wonderful thing about a helicopter is that it can be flown in small increments-at-a-time, so the best rule of thumb is to take things nice, low, and slow.

4. Okay you flew and took some photos, now what: More times than not you ʼ re out doing work with the aircraft so take a quick look at ideas to get the most from your system.

5. Have a problem, here are some tips: Sometimes you just need to get pointed in the right direction to solve some of the more simple problems, so here are some tips.

# 1. Detailed inventory

* Indicates optional items LiPo battery charger

Camera*
Camera 2 axis gimbal*
Camera battery* Battery charger cables
Safety glasses*

Camera SD memory card *
Draganflyer X4-P helicopter
(2) counter clockwise props Camera battery charger*

(2) clockwise props
Nexus digital display (2) LiPo aircraft batteries

Left/Right landing gear
Draganflyer owners manual

Software and information CD
LiPo battery charging sack
Memory stick*

Tool kit
Flight log book Classic controller
(2) spare props

Maintenance log book Pre-flight check list Suction cup mount

Digital base station

# 2. Ready, Set-up and Go So far you ʼ ve seen the cool stuff in the box, done a complete inventory (please tell me you have), and we ʼ re willing to guess you already have your helicopter half assembled. But let ʼ s take a minute to really look at this stuff.

This mini-booklet will help get you started, but keep in mind all the detailed info is in the X4-P and HHC manuals. In the Ready, Set-up and Go section we ʼ ll briefly discuss:



## 1 Helicopter set-up

Battery charging

HHC overview 2

3

### Unfolding the helicopter: We had a great time flight testing the aircraft before shipping and we think you ʼ ll be very happy with it; so let ʼ s start by unfolding the booms and snapping them into position.

Swing booms one-at-a-time towards the front.

Front booms pass through rear clips and rear booms will lock in place. Snap front booms into clips and make sure they lock

### Charging batteries: We ship the LiPo batteries at a “storage charge level” so before flying anything you ʼ ll need to become familiar with the battery charger and get things charging.

We programmed the charger to help get you going so for now, connect the balance port, the main charge cable, confirm the settings as LiPo, 4 cell, @3amp rate and start charging your helicopter batteries while you assemble the helicopter and check out the handheld HHC.

LEDs indicate charge

Balance port

Not used Main power connector Press button to test battery charge level

### Landing gear: With the booms extended and locked in place, install the landing gear by slipping them under the “T” shaped retainer and attaching either a payload or blank “H plate”.

Install the landing gear by slipping them under the “T” shaped retainer.

Secure the landing gear by installing a payload or a blank H plate. Tighten the four thumb screws to secure the landing gear.

### Installing props: The props are keyed so there ʼ s no mixing them up and installation is very simple. For example, a clockwise rotating prop is installed on the right front boom. Place the prop over the motor shaft, push down and rotate 1/4 turn to snap the rotor in place.

No we didn ʼ t do this to trick you, these arrows indicate the prop rotation in flight. The props are keyed so there is no mixing up what prop goes where.

### Removing canopy: You really want to do this right or you can damage the canopy. The process is as simple as 1, 2, 3. Position your hands as shown and using one finger pull the latch pin forward, then start to lift and rotate the canopy while sliding it back.



## 1 2 3 Pull pin forward, then lift and slide canopy back to remove.

### Installing battery: Velcro is used to hold the battery in place and installation is fast, simple, and after you do it a couple times takes very little effort. Before installing a battery use the battery self test to make sure the battery is charged. Now lift the GPS flap, place the battery in the center of the battery area and secure the GPS flap around the battery. Once in place, plug main power cable into battery.

Maintain a gap between the battery and electronics. In other words, don ʼ t let it hit this thing.

Lift this flap, center battery under it, and bring flap back down, securing Velcro to hold everything in position.

### Installing canopy: Getting the canopy back on is just as easy as the removal. Start by sliding the canopy over the slot at the rear, bring the canopy forward, and snap the nose in place. It ʼ s very important to give the canopy a “tug” to make sure it ʼ s latched before you get out flying. The last thing you want is the canopy coming off in-flight.

Gently squeeze the front canopy to lock in place. After installing make sure the nose is latched Slide canopy over the rear slot first and then attach the nose. 

## 1

2 3 Give canopy a tug and make sure it is properly secured

### Let ʼ s compare notes: At this point you ʼ re done assembling the helicopter and in theory, your helicopter should look like this illustration. If not, start over. If you got your helicopter together without ever looking at this booklet, congratulations.

Draganflyer X4-P with booms extended and locked, landing gear installed and secure, props installed, battery installed, and canopy secured. The only thing missing at this point is the camera payload. Landing gear installed and

secure Canopy secure Props locked in place Charged battery installed

### Camera payload overview: The camera gimbal is fabricated from custom molded carbon fiber and features electronic gyro stabilization in both the pitch and roll axes. Gyro stabilization is only the first step to help obtain amazing photos and video; the gimbal also features internal camera vibration dampening and attaches to the helicopter with 4 easy fasten screws and one cable connection.

E 2

. 8

/ 1 6

0

. 2 4 m / 0

. 8 f t 0 4 9 Four thumb screws are used to attach the payload to helicopter. One cable at the rear connects the payload to the helicopter

### Installing the payload: As illustrated, slide the camera gimbal under the helicopter and lift to attach using the four easy fasten screws. Tighten the screws and plug the cable into the helicopter; that ʼ s it ... you ʼ re ready to shoot some photos.

E 2

. 8 / 1 6

0

. 2 4 m / 0

. 8 f t 0 4 9

### The camera: Honestly, camera models change faster than new types of cell phones or computers so the camera manufacturer and model being used might vary.

Before shipping we set-up the camera to get excellent aerial photos and tested everything in the air before sending it off to you. Take a look on the camera and see some of the test photos we shot before shipping.

E 2

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0

. 2 4 m / 0

. 8 f t 0 4 9

### Installing the Nexus Digital display: If your system utilizes a digital video downlink system versus the optional analog system, you ʼ ll need to attach the Nexus digital display. The frame of the display is held in place using two spring loaded plungers. To extend and “park” the plungers pull them out and give them a 1/4 turn to lock in the out position. Insert the display and turn plungers again to let the pins drop in place securing the display. For detailed setup instructions refer to the Digital Video Downlink user manual.

1/4 turn spring loaded plungers secure display to HHC

Please note: The display can be charged and run from it ʼ s own battery or be connected using the USB power cable provided to the HHC

### The classic Handheld Controller (HHC): The HHC is pretty amazing. The handheld controller features a direct sunlight readable OLED touch screen to provide real-time system telemetry information and at the same time, provides a great ergonomic feel to easily control and fly the aircraft.

Pitch/Roll

Pitch/Roll

trim

Power on/off Video output

(optional) Yaw trim Motor engage and disengage switch

Throttle/Yaw

Camera zoom Camera tilt Camera shutter Flight mode control SD flight log memory

### HHC back side: Tucked away on the backside of the HHC you ʼ ll find an optional fold-out video receiver antenna and the power connections that are used to charge the LiPo battery powering the system.

LiPo balance connector

Secondary video patch antenna (optional) for analog systems Main LiPo battery charge plug Video antenna (optional) for analog systems Datalink antenna

Trainer switch

### Quick basics: The HHC is pretty straight forward and provides just about all the information you need on one screen. Because the HHC was used to test your aircraft it will already be paired with the helicopter and ready to go...

To power on, momentarily press power switch until you hear the HHC beep and let go. When the HHC boots-up you ʼ ll see this startup screen until the aircraft is powered on. Once powered on and a wireless connection is established you ʼ ll see the HHC Home Screen. Acquire New Config

SN 0x7ACFG436790B1C

TX Battery Looking for Draganflyer

### Power on the helicopter: No we didn ʼ t intentionally hide the power on/off button. After much debate we all believe it ʼ s a great location and hope you agree. Momentarily press the button under the rear of the helicopter and after a self-test, the navigation LEDs will begin blinking.

The power on/off switch is up under the rear of the helicopter, below the canopy deck. Reach up under this area and you ʼ ll feel it. To power on, momentarily press power switch

To power off, momentarily press power switch

### Home Screen When the aircraft is powered on, the HHC will connect to the aircraft and you’ll be presented with the HHC Home Screen.

This screen provides essential real-time graphical aircraft and system status detailed below:

00.0

TX Battery

Basic Inertia GPS Heli Battery Data Link GPS SVs GPS PDOP Altitude m Climb Rate m/s Speed m/s 0.0 0.0 

### +000 +000

N N

12.2 V 0 V N/A 0 99.9

Time: 00:00 Flight: 00:00

Heading Bearing Views Config Always takes you back to the HHC “Home Screen” Navigate to the HHC configuration screen

This section of the screen contains real-time aircraft performance information

Detailed aircraft

flight data Detailed aircraft sensor information Aircraft heading and bearing symbol Aircraft telemetry and HHC information

Detailed aircraft

GPS data

### No we ʼ re not flying yet: We just stepped you through the process of powering on the system. With the system on and the HHC connected to the aircraft you see the live aircraft telemetry, hear it beep and simply get comfortable powering on/off the system.

While you have it powered on pick up the aircraft and simply rotate the helicopter in the YAW axis. As the aircraft rotates you ʼ ll see the heading information on the HHC change.

Okay - enough fun, let ʼ s power-off the system...

Powering off the system is simply done by first powering off the helicopter and then the HHC. The only tricky thing here is that when you power-off the HHC, you must hold the power button down for at least four seconds before it will shut-off.

# 3. Your first flight For your first flight don ʼ t bring along your friends, your coworkers, your spouse or significant other... they will often talk you into doing something you shouldn ʼ t do. For example, “show us how high it will go” ... no, you don ʼ t need to be doing that right now. Get formal factory training and take it nice and low, and slow, to get started.

Have you had formal factory training?

Yes No No, I think I can teach myself Do you really have the experience?

Yes No Get formal factory systems training

### Let ʼ s fly: We assume that you ʼ ve had flight training so this will serve as a good review. If you ʼ re experienced, and you are just learning a new system this section will show you the basics. No matter what your skill level, for right now, please just practice taking-off and landing either indoors or in calm conditions.

In this section we cover:

1 Powering on systems



### 3 Arming motors



### 4 Engage motors



### 5 Execute auto-takeoff 

### 6 Land aircraft



### 7 Disengage motors



### 8 Disarm motors

Power off systems 

### 10 2 Connect aircraft

Disconnect aircraft 

### 9

### Safety is a priority: Always think about the safety of others and your own personal safety. If you don ʼ t wear glasses you should be wearing the eye protection provided. If anyone is with you, they should be wearing eye protection and standing well behind you.

Make sure that you ʼ re in an open area free of obstacles and for these first flights, you want to be flying in very calm wind conditions.

When it comes time to fly, position yourself about 12 feet directly behind the aircraft and for these first flights, you ʼ re just taking off, hovering briefly and landing. You need to do this over and over again because honestly, if you ʼ re not comfortable taking off and landing, you ʼ re not in a position to be out flying at altitude or other maneuvers.

For more detailed flight training, and flight training drills, please refer to the various manuals provided.

### Understand this: The throttle is another one of these controls that has different functions depending on the status of the aircraft, so please take time to understand this.

1. When the motors are not running, the throttle is used to arm the motors, and disarm the motors.

2. When the motors are running, the throttle is used to execute an auto take-off. After take-off, the throttle gimbal is used to control helicopter altitude and yaw.

Execute auto takeoff and increase altitude

Yaw right

Lower-left corner disarms motors Yaw left

Motors powered on Decrease altitude Lower-right corner

arms motors

Motors not running

### Power up systems: For your first flights it ʼ s a good idea to fly without that expensive payload system on the helicopter so please remove the payload. With the payload removed power-up the HHC and the helicopter.

Power-on the HHC system and let it boot to the home screen. The HHC will make a “chirp” sound when it ʼ s ready.

Remove the payload, install a blank H-Plate and power-on the helicopter.

After a self test the navigation LEDs will start blinking.

### Connect and arm the system: When the helicopter navigation lights are blinking, the helicopter is safe, happy, and just waiting for something to happen. Just as we did earlier, power on the HHC and it will establish a connection to the aircraft.

The HHC will “beep” and you ʼ ll see the helicopter telemetry data appear on the screen. Double check your battery health, and quality of data-link. If you are indoors, you will not get GPS satellites and for right now, we don ʼ t care. Now we will “arm” the motors.

Move the throttle to the lower right corner and hold it there until the HHC acknowledges “motors armed” through a series of beeps. At the same time the helicopter LEDs will stay on solid indicating motors are armed. Lower-right corner arms motors

### Get comfortable: Always hold the HHC with two hands and get comfortable with the controls. The joy sticks are controlled with your thumbs and your fingers will naturally grip the sides and wrap around the backside of the controller.

The pointer finger of each hand is used quite often during flight. Your right finger controls the camera shutter and your left finger will be used to engage and disengage the motors.

### Engage motors: Okay it ʼ s time to get the props spinning. When the aircraft is armed, the helicopter navigation LEDs are no longer blinking and it ʼ s dangerous to be near the aircraft.

Standing well behind the aircraft, announce that you ʼ re lifting off and press the “motor engage” switch “up” for approximately one second, located on the top, left, side of the HHC.

The motors will start spinning and at this point it ʼ s very important to double check that all motors are turning. Engage motors

### Your first takeoff: With all motors running, raise the throttle straight forward all the way for one second and return the stick to center. You have initiated an automated take off causing the motors to increase speed and lift off.

Keep in mind that you are flying the helicopter so with your right hand, you are controlling pitch and roll to keep the aircraft in a hover. The helicopter will climb approximately 2 or 3 feet high.

Once it has reached the programmed altitude you regain throttle control over the aircraft.

Keep throttle straight as you move it forward and hold it at top position for about one second, then lower it to the center position.

As the helicopter comes up, you have control of pitch and roll. Yes, you are flying the aircraft. Just hover in one spot.

### Okay - that ʼ s enough: That ʼ s enough excitement; time to land. With the aircraft in a stationary hover, lower the throttle. As the helicopter descends keep the aircraft stationary and when the landing gear touch the ground, move the throttle all the way straight back and hold it there.

You landed but now you need to disengage the motors. As you hold the throttle straight back, hold it one second and then press the “motor disengage” switch “down”. The motors will stop spinning and you can bring the throttle back to the center position.

Press motor disengage switch to the down position at least one second after throttle has been pulled straight back to stop motors.

After landing pull throttle straight back and hold for at least one second, then with throttle held back, press the motor disengage switch to stop motors

### Disarm motors: Move the throttle to the lower left position to disarm the aircraft motors. The HHC will acknowledge disarming the aircraft and the navigation LEDs on the helicopter will start blinking.

To disarm motors, move throttle to the lower left corner and hold it until HHC beeps to confirm “motors disarmed”.

When disarmed, the helicopter LEDs will start blinking again.

### Disconnect and power down: Just as we did in an earlier exercise, power down both the helicopter and the HHC. When you are done flying you should also get in the habit of removing the helicopter battery - don ʼ t let the battery stay connected to the helicopter for extended periods of time.

Congratulations, you did it! And keep running through this exercise and others before you consider flying higher or further away.

# 4. Okay, now what? In the beginning you ʼ re busy building your confidence and experience piloting the aircraft. If possible you should be flying everyday to build upon your skills.

Real work: The helicopter is an excellent aerial tool and most likely you purchased the system to accomplish real work. Whether you ʼ re shooting aerial photos, building aerial mosaic tiled images, or interactive 3D aerial models at the core of your work is photography or videography.

1. Understand the camera and experiment with different settings. Out of the box we have the camera set-up with auto-focus enabled, shutter priority mode, with an exposure setting of 1/1000/sec, and auto ISO to get crisp solid images from the air.

If you are new to the camera or photography, remove the camera from the gimbal, install the camera battery and take some time to get out and shoot photos. You need to see what works and doesn ʼ t. Quite often people assume they need to be flying to learn, but that ʼ s not always the case. Experiment and have fun with the camera.

### Real work: When you ʼ re shooting aerial photography you need to be aware of sun angles, shadows, and high contrast areas. Shooting into the sun will create flare spots so it ʼ s best if possible to have the sun to the rear of the aircraft.

If you ʼ re having to deal with a lot of wind and the helicopter is bouncing around quite a bit, the stabilized gimbal helps a great deal to settle the image down but what helps things even more is to let the helicopter float with the wind. To do this fly into the wind past your primary subject area, then center your pitch/roll gimbal and simply let the helicopter move with the wind. Yaw the helicopter and adjust camera pitch to get the photos needed.

When it comes to shooting video, again, shooting in shutter priority mode is a good idea and experiment with shutter speeds between 1/60 and 1/120/sec. The slower the shutter, the softer the look.

### Mosaic and panoramic imaging: There are a number of software packages on the market that are excellent for creating seamless mosaic images. The panoramic image you see below was constructed from several photos taken from a GPS position hold, and yawing the helicopter taking photos in increments. The trick to getting good results is excellent overlap between your photos.

If you would like more detailed information contact your Draganfly account representative.

### Interactive aerial 3D modeling: Whether it ʼ s detailed imagery of a crime scene or you ʼ re creating interactive content for a WEBsite the helicopter is an excellent tool to build photo realistic, true to scale, interactive 3D computer models.

The image you see below is a screen capture of an interactive 3D model constructed from 57 aerial images in three passes over the target area. Using your computer mouse you can navigate throughout the scene in 3D. Want to know more contact your Draganfly account representative.

### Summary: In summary, thank you for your business. The Draganfly system is an amazing aerial tool used to collect data, display live aerial imagery and give you a perspective that will shed new light on your work.

Thank you ...

# 5. Some quick tips: The following lists a few things people run into and hopefully a quick, and easy to understand, solution.

1. I took off but can ʼ t increase altitude! During an auto take-off the throttle is locked out until the aircraft reaches it ʼ s target altitude or it times out. The time-out period is about 15 seconds so just hover there and wait a little bit before increasing throttle. After the time-out period expires you ʼ ll often see the helicopter exhibit a short “bounce” in the air indicating you ʼ re good to go.

2. My motors won ʼ t disengage right away! This happens in situations where you pulled the throttle all the way straight back, but you didn ʼ t wait at least one second before pushing the motor disengage switch. If you don ʼ t wait the one second, it takes 10 seconds for the motors to disengage.

3. Why is it so complicated to disengage the motors? It was more simple but amazingly over the years we ʼ ve had customers panic and turn off the motors in flight. Hard to imagine but it has happened and so, we devised a system where

### disengaging the motors is a deliberate, calculated action.

4. Everything is on, but I don ʼ t see my live video feed? The X4-P system uses a digital video data feed, transmitted to a networked HHC mounted Nexus device. To quickly test the system make sure to:

• first - power on the digital video base station

• payload is plugged into helicopter

• power on helicopter

• powered on camera

• lens cap if any removed

• Nexus charged and powered on

• launch Draganfly viewer app to display video

• initial connect time may take 30 seconds

If you still don ʼ t have live video displayed contact the Draganfly support line for further assistance.

5. The camera shutter isn ʼ t working from HHC? You ʼ re pushing the shutter button on the HHC system but the shutter isn ʼ t operating on the camera. We assume you have checked to make sure the payload is plugged in, power is on, camera is switched on, you have “connected” the HHC to the

### helicopter and see aircraft telemetry data but still, no shutter activation.

We have seen this happen when customers inadvertently disable the remote shutter setting on the camera. To double check the camera setting, select setup, select camera, select drive mode and make sure “Remote CDR” is turned on.

If you still have a problem, simply press the camera shutter button to make sure the camera is working okay.

6. I can ʼ t change the camera tilt angle The helicopter is in the air, you ʼ re out flying a mission and you move the camera tilt control and nothing seems to happen. This will happen if you take off with the camera tilt control at any other position other than the “top most” position. Before the camera will become active, it wants that control pushed up all the way.

Ideally you should have the control in the up position at lift off but if not, you can keep flying and simply move the tilt control all the way up, then move it back down to enable the camera tilt function.

### So the next question is why ... No matter what the camera tilt setting at take-off, to protect the camera it ʼ s automatically rotated to an “up” or straight forward position. To regain, or take-over control of the camera the tilt control must also be moved up to the top position. Bottom line, this was done to help protect the camera lens.

7. Sometimes one of the motors will not start-up? No excuses, it ʼ s just hard work for the speed controller to start the motors turning and yes, it happens sometimes.

As part of your initial take-off procedure when you engage motors, the first thing you do is check to make sure they are all spinning. If one doesn ʼ t start going, you have two choices. You can pull the throttle back and disengage motors to try again, or if you are comfortable with this idea, you can reach over and just give it a spin by hand. The prop will start spinning and you can execute an automated take-off.

Keep in mind you never want to initiate a take-off if only three motors are running or the helicopter will flip over.This product and manual are copyrighted by Draganfly Innovations Inc. with all rights reserved. No part of this product or start-up guide shall be reproduced in any form without the prior written consent or authorization of Draganfly Innovations Inc. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the product or information contained herein.

Document Revision Level: X4-P v1.2 

## Draganfly Innovations Inc.

Sales information:
Phone: 1-800-979-9794 International: 1-306-955-9907 e-mail: sales@draganfly.com

https://www.draganfly.com Product support:
Phone: 1-800-979-9794 International: 1-306-955-9907 e-mail: support@draganfly.com

Mailing address: Draganfly Innovations Inc. 2108 St. George Avenue Saskatoon, SK S7M0K7 Canada