Headless mode is a feature that can be found on some consumer drones, it’s designed to make it easier for beginners to control the drone by disregarding the orientation of the drones front and back.
In headless mode, the drone will always move in the direction that the controller joystick is moved, regardless of which direction the drone is facing.
Headless mode can also be called course lock. The DJI video below shows how headless mode aka course lock works.
Should I start with headless mode when learning to fly drones?
If you’re a beginner and are just learning to fly a drone, headless mode can be a useful tool to help you get started. However, if you’re an experienced pilot or using the drone for professional purposes, it’s generally better to fly the drone without relying on headless mode.
Using headless mode can limit our ability to control the drone precisely as it can be effected by radio signal interference. Additionally, headless mode can be confusing if using FPV.
FPV vs Headless mode
It’s not a good idea to activate headless mode if wearing FPV goggles. FPV gives one point of view and if headless mode is active, the camera direction and the forward direction on the controller isn’t the same orientation.
What is FPV?
When using first person view (FPV) the drone pilot can see the view from the front of the drone. The left and right from this view point is the same as using left and right on the controller when in normal flight mode.
What does activating headless mode do?
Activating headless mode assigns a direction (i.e. north) as forward rather than the direction that the front of the drone is facing. If the drone turns to the left (east), pushing the control sticks forward is still going to fly the drone to the north, despite the front of the drone facing east.
Why does a drones orientation matter?
The drone’s orientation is important because the drone pilot needs to have spatial awareness while flying the drone. This is for the safety of surrounding people, other aircraft and the protection of your drone.
The orientation of the drone (what direction is forward) effects how the controller is used to pilot the drone. Headless mode changes the drones orientation, the forward direction is no longer associated with the front of the drone like it is in normal mode.
Using drone LEDS to tell the front from the and back
Typically, multirotor drones have a pair of LED lights on the rotors or arms to help tell the front from the back of the drone in low light or when the drone is far away. They should only be used to help understand the drones orientation why flying in normal mode, not headless mode.
Why use headless mode?
- Headless mode can make learning to fly a drone easier. It takes away one new concept so the pilot can learn the other controls first then switch back to normal mode .
- Flying the drone when far away. Long range drones like the Mavic 3 can fly up to 15kms from the controller, at that point it’s very difficult to tell the front from the back of the drone
- Loss of FPV. The first sign when a drone is getting too far away from the controller or when there is a lot of interference is the drop out of FPV. This loss of the live video stream can make it difficult to control the drone effectively around obstacles and navigate back to within range.
When it comes to using headless mode on a drone, whether it’s advisable to use it or not depends on your level of experience and the specific situation you are in.
Why was headless mode created?
Learning to fly a drone can be difficult, the concepts of yaw, pitch and roll need to be mastered relatively quickly to avoid crashing your drone. Headless mode was created to make it easier for beginners to fly drones by removing the need to pay attention to the orientation of the drones front and back.
In traditional drone operation, the front of the drone is always designated by the design of the drone. This means that if the drone turns around and flies back toward the pilot, the left and right direction of the controller will become reversed.
For beginners who are just learning to fly a drone, this can be confusing and can make it difficult to control the drone effectively. Headless mode was invented to solve this problem by automatically adjusting the drones control system to respond to the direction that the controller joystick is moved, regardless of which direction the drone is facing. This makes it easier for beginners to control the drone and focus on learning the basics of drone flight without worrying about orientation.
Why do people find learning to fly a drone in normal flight mode difficult?
Unlike controlling a device that is on the ground like an RC car, operating a drone requires controlling the device in 3 dimensions, pitch, yaw and roll. These are the three primary axes of movement that are used to control the flight of a drone, controlling a RC car only requires control of the yaw.
These terms are used to describe the 3 axis of rotation that need to be controlled when flying a drone:
- Pitch; Pitch refers to the up and down rotation of the drone around it’s lateral axes, which runs from the left side of the drone to the right. When the drone pitches, the nose of the drone moves up and down causing the drone to ascend or descend .
Think of the axis as a rod which is skewered through the drone. A lateral axis would be skewered sideways through the the drone, fixing its movement so that it could only rotate its nose up and down.
- Yaw: Yaw refers to the rotation of the drone around it’s vertical axis, (think of a vertical rod which runs through the top of the drone to the bottom). When the drone yaws it rotates to the left and right, causing it to change direction without changing it’s altitude.
This is the dimension that is simplified by using headless mode on a drone.
- Roll: Roll refers to the rotation of the drone around it’s longitudinal axis, which runs from the front of the drone to the back. When the drone rolls, one side of the drone moves up while the other side moves down, causing the drone to bank left or right.
Down side to using headless mode
So obviously using headless mode can make learning to fly a drone easier but it’s commonly thought of as ‘cheating’ or not properly flying the drone. So what are the downsides to using headless mode?
- The orientation of headless mode can be effected by interference. If it stopped working you need to be able to navigate the drone in normal mode.
- Headless mode can be confusing if using FPV; the view you see through the drone camera is orientated to the front of the drone… And the front of the drone is no longer used in respect to the commands from the controller.
- Headless mode is not recommended for drone photography. Moving the drone in respect to the camera view point is not relative. i.e You’ve almost got the perfect landscape shot of a lighthouse, but it’s not in the centre of the view. You need to fly the drone to the left in respect to the camera view… but the left direction in respect to the camera view is not the left direction on the controller.. confusing?
Wrap up on headless mode for drones
While headless mode is useful for beginners, it is important to note that it can limit the pilots ability to control the drone precisely and can be effected by interference. It’s generally not recommended for experienced pilots who are comfortable with traditional drone operation.
