Finally cracked consistent manual orbits after weeks of practicing figure-8s and lazy-8s. The key breakthrough was understanding the relative stick positions rather than absolute directions. To perform an anti-clockwise orbit, first, move the right stick inwards towards nine on an imaginary clock and find a speed you're happy with. Once this has been achieved, you need to move the left stick inwards towards three on the imaginary clock, but to a slightly lesser degree than the right stick to make the drone rotate right as it flies to the left.

For anyone struggling with this: Performing this maneuver manually is a great way to learn how to regulate the two control sticks in combination, as well as to maintain a consistent speed and rotation of the drone. Start with wide, slow orbits at 15-20 meter radius before tightening up. The muscle memory clicks after about 50 attempts.

This is spot on advice. Manual orbit technique, focusing on circling a subject while maintaining control of your drone. This improves your ability to regulate the control sticks. The clock face analogy is gold - I teach this same method. Once you nail the stick relationship, try varying altitude during the orbit for more dynamic shots.

Thank you for sharing the clock method! I've been trying to learn orbits for a month and always end up with wobbly ovals. Question: do you maintain constant stick pressure or make micro-adjustments throughout the orbit? My attempts feel jerky even when I think I'm being smooth.

The first thing to say is that, when you first start out, push the sticks very gently so the drone performs slight movements. As you get more comfortable, you can make sharper movements. Your "jerky" feeling is normal - the coordination takes time. Try practicing just the yaw component separately, then add forward motion once that's smooth. Don't rush the learning curve.