VEX AIR - Unit 3 - Flight Controls in Motion - Lesson 1: Pitch Forward and Backward

Now that you have practiced taking off, landing, and using basic controls in the VEX AIR Flight Simulator, you are ready to learn a new type of movement – pitch. In this lesson, you will explore how pitching the VEX AIR Drone forward and backward allows it to move along the y-axis while keeping the nose pointed straight ahead. You will learn how to control pitch with the VEX AIR Drone Controller, and practice flying.

Watch this video to learn more about:

How to use the right joystick to pitch forward and backward.
How propeller speed differences create forward and backward motion.

Hover and Discover

Pitch is the control that tilts the drone forward or backward while keeping its nose pointed straight ahead. A drone pitches when the propellers on one end spin faster than the propellers on the opposite end. This change in propeller speed tilts the drone and causes it to move forward or backward along the y-axis.

A side by side image of two drones, shown top down. On the left, the two rear propellers are highlighted indicating which propellers spin faster to pitch forward. On the right, the front two propellers are highlighted indicating which propellers spin faster to pitch backward.

When the rear propellers spin faster, they push harder against the air, lifting the back of the drone and tilting the nose downward. This causes the drone to move forward across the field.

When the front propellers spin faster, the drone tilts backward and slides in that direction.

Because the drone’s nose remains pointed forward during pitch, the drone can move ahead or retreat without turning.

Mission: Fly Through a Ring

In this mission, you will take off, then pitch forward through the first red ring on the field. Then you will pitch backward and land on the platform. Follow these steps to complete your mission:

Connect your controller to VEXcode AIR and select the Simulator tab. Refer to this article for help using the VEX AIR Flight Simulator.
Fly the drone to take off, pitch forward through the first red ring, pitch backward, then land on the platform as shown in this video.
1. Use this Mission Log to document your flight (Google Doc / .docx / .pdf)
2. Change the camera views to best see the drone in flight as you complete your mission. The example shown above uses the Split Screen with the Pilot View and Down Camera.

Practice this mission multiple times! Keep trying until you can complete the flight with no collisions. Make sure you take notes on each flight in your Mission Log.

Understanding Your Drone

A perspective view of the drone, with the x, y, and z axes lines emanating from it. The green y axis points directly out from the nose of the drone, the blue z axis points directly downward from the center of the drone, and the red x axis points directly out from the right side of the drone.

When describing drone movements:

The z-axis represents the drone’s throttle. This is the up and down movement.
The y-axis represents the drone’s pitch. This is the forward and backward movement.
The x-axis represents the drone’s roll. This is the side-to-side movement. (You will learn about roll in Unit 4.)

Using the axes to describe flight paths helps pilots give precise instructions. For example, if a drone takes off, then flies forward through the first red ring, we can say that it moved up along the z-axis, then forward along the y-axis.

Understanding where each movement occurs on the axes gives you a clearer sense of how the drone navigates space and how pitch works with other controls like throttle.

Check Your Understanding

Select Next > to move to the next lesson.