CrossFlight

User Manual for Helicopter

(Compatible with Fixed-wing/Glider/Multirotor/Helicopter/Car/Boat/Robot)

CE FCC RoHS
 Radiolink Electronic Ltd
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Thank you for purchasing RadioLink flight controller CrossFlight.

To fully enjoy the benefits of this product and ensure safety, please read the manual carefully and set up
the device as instructed steps.
If any problems found during the operation process, either way listed below can be used as online tech
support.
1. Send mails to after_service@radiolink.com.cn and we will answer your question at the earliest.
2. Send message to us on our Facebook page or leave comments on our YouTube page
3. If the product is purchased from the local distributor, you can also ask them for support and repair as prefer.

All manuals and firmware are available on RadioLink official website www.radiolink.com and more tutorials are
uploaded. Or follow our Facebook and YouTube homepage to stay tuned with our latest news.

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS

 Never operate models during adverse weather conditions. Poor visibility can cause disorientation and
loss of control of pilots’ model.
 Never use this product in a crowd or illegal areas.
 Always check all servos and their connections prior to each run.
 Always be sure about turning off the receiver before the transmitter.
 To ensure the best radio communication, please enjoy the flight/driving at the space without interference
such as high voltage cable, communication base station or launching tower.

WARNING

This product is not a toy and is NOT suitable for children under the age of 18. Adults should keep the product
out of the reach of children and exercise caution when operating this product in the presence of children.
Water or moisture may enter the transmitter inside through gaps in the antenna or joystick and cause model
instability, even out of control. If running in the wet weather (such as game) is inevitable, always use plastic
bags or waterproof cloth to cover the transmitter.

FCC Statement
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to
Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful
interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates uses and can radiate radio frequency
energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to
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radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular
installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be
determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by
one or more of the following measures:
-- Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
-- Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
-- Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.
-- Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

This device complies with part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions:
(1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received,
including interference that may cause undesired operation.

Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the
user's authority to operate the equipment.

This manual is based on the ARDUPILOT, with setting with RadioLink transmitter AT9S as example.
More details about how to use flight controller please refer to: http://ardupilot.org/copter/docs/initial-
setup.html
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Contents

1. CrossFlight Introduction ....................................................................................................................................3

1.1 Spare Parts ................................................................................................................................................. 3
1.2 Connectors and Specifications ................................................................................................................... 4
1.3 Advices ....................................................................................................................................................... 6
2. Mission Planner ................................................................................................................................................ 6
2.1 Install Mission Planner ................................................................................................................................6
2.2 Mission Planner Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 7
3. Initial Setup ....................................................................................................................................................... 8
3.1 Download and Install Firmware ................................................................................9
3.2 Accelerometer Calibration ........................................................................................................................ 12
3.3 Compass Calibration ................................................................................................................................ 14
3.4 Radio Calibration ...................................................................................................................................... 18
3.5 Flight Modes Setting ................................................................................................................................. 22
3.6 Flight Modes Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 24
3.6.1 Stabilize Mode ................................................................................................................................... 24
3.6.2 Acro Mode（FPV） .......................................................................................................................... 24
3.6.3 Altitude Hold Mode ............................................................................................................................ 25
3.6.4 Auto Mode ......................................................................................................................................... 26
3.6.5 PosHold Mode ................................................................................................................................... 28
3.6.6 RTL Mode .......................................................................................................................................... 28
3.6.7 Simple and Super Simple Modes ...................................................................................................... 30
3.6.8 More flight modes .............................................................................................................................. 33
4. F/S(failsafe) Setting ........................................................................................................................................ 33
4.1 Radio Failsafe Setup ................................................................................................................................ 33
4.2 EKF FailSafe .............................................................................................................................................38
5. Installation and setup of CrossFlight .............................................................................................................. 38
5.1 Install CrossFlight on aircraft .................................................................................................................... 38
5.2 Connect CrossFlight to Helicopter ............................................................................................................40
5.3 Connect the Spare Parts .......................................................................................................................... 40
5.4 Level Calibration ....................................................................................................................................... 41
5.5 Helicopter Setup ....................................................................................................................................... 43
5.5.1 Heli Setup Interface Introduction ....................................................................................................... 43
5.5.2 Select Swashplate Type .................................................................................................................... 43
5.5.3 Swashplate Setting ............................................................................................................................ 45
5.5.4 Rotot Speed Control Setup ................................................................................................................47
5.5.5 Internal RSC Governor ...................................................................................................................... 48

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5.5.6 Tailrotor Setup ................................................................................................................................... 50
6. LED Indicator, Arming and Troubleshooting .................................................................................................. 52
6.1 LED Indicator ............................................................................................................................................ 52
6.2 Arming and Disarming .............................................................................................................................. 52
6.3 Failure Messages ..................................................................................................................................... 53
7. Helicopter Advanced Settings ........................................................................................................................ 56
7.1 Advanced parameters ...............................................................................................................................56
7.2 Rate Yaw .................................................................................................................................................. 57
7.3 PID Adjustment .........................................................................................................................................58
7.3.1 Adjust FF (Feedforward Compensation) ........................................................................................... 58
7.3.2 Adjust D ............................................................................................................................................. 59
7.3.3 Adjust P ..............................................................................................................................................60
7.3.4 Adjust I and IMAX .............................................................................................................................. 60
7.3.5 Hover Level Adjustment .................................................................................................................... 61
8. GeoFence ....................................................................................................................................................... 61
9. Onboard OSD ................................................................................................................................................. 64
9.1 Setting Introduction ...................................................................................................................................64
9.2 Screen Introduction ...................................................................................................................................66
10. Parameters Setting ....................................................................................................................................... 66
10.1 Parameter Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 66
10.2 Parameter Modification ...........................................................................................................................67
11. Download DataFlash Log ............................................................................................................................. 69

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1. CrossFlight Introduction

1.1 Spare Parts

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1.2 Connectors and Specifications

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Specifications
39.7*39.7*12.1mm
Weight & Dimension Dimension
(1.56"*1.56"*0.48")
16.5g (0.58oz), 54g (1.9oz when all the
Weight
connect wires included)

Hardware Processor HC32F4A0PITB

Sensor Gyro ICM42670

Compass VCM5883L

Barometer LPS22HB

Without FRAM, use the internal flash

to store parameters, 2617 waypoints
FRAM
for multi-copters, and 2623 waypoints
for airplanes, cars, and boats.

Buzzer 1

Safety Switch None

Connector JST GH 1.25 Connector

PWM Output 10 PWM output

Mavlink UART 2 (Without CTSRTS)

USB Port 1 (Type-C)

GPS UART / I2C Port 1

RC In Signal Input PPM/SBUS

RSSI Output Support

OSD Module OSD Module integrated

ESC Protocol PWM

DShot Protocol Do not support

OneShot Protocol Do not support

RTK Support

Input Voltage 2-12S

Power Module
Specifications
Input Current 90A

Output Voltage 5.1V

Output Current (BEC) 2.5A

Input Current (connect to one

20A
ESC only)

Adaptable Models Airplane/3-8 Copters/Helicopter/Car/Boat/Submarine/Radartracker

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Operating Parameters USB Voltage 5V±0.3V

Servo Voltage Not applicable

Operating Temperature -40~80℃

1.3 Advices

For the users who firstly use CrossFlight, we suggest that you use CrossFlight following below steps:
1. You have to install the mission planner and driver from here and familiar with the menu.
Download the latest Mission Planner from here: https://www.radiolink.com/CrossFlight_missionplanner
Download the driver form here: https://www.microsoft.com/net/download/dotnet-framework-runtime/net462
2. To establish a connection, you must first choose the communication method/channel you want to use, and
then set up the physical hardware and Windows device drivers. You can connect the PC and autopilot using
USB cables, Telemetry Radios, Bluetooth, IP connections etc.
3. Download the update firmware by USB cable if you need.
4. Connect Mission Planner to AutoPilot, and then connect receiver to AutoPilot to finish the calibration of
transmitter, Accelerometer and compass.
5. Setup RC transmitter flight mode.
6. Assemble aircraft and finish the pre-flight checklist.
7. PID usage.
8. Advanced configuration.

2. Mission Planner
2.1 Install Mission Planner
Net Framework 4.6.2 need to be installed first before Mission Planner;
Download Net Framework 4.6.2 here

Then you can download Mission Planner for CrossFlight on RadioLink official website:
https://www.radiolink.com/CrossFlight_missionplanner

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Then download the Mission Planner from https://www.radiolink.com/CrossFlight_missionplanner

Open the Microsoft installer file and select Run to run the installation utility.

2.2 Mission Planner Introduction

Once installation is complete, open Mission Planner by clicking on its system icon.
Once the installation of Mission Planner and driver is done, there will several pop-ups when you open the MP
at the first time. The first pop-up clicks Yes and the others click NO.

There are six Menu Button in main menu.

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FLIGHTDATA: flight attitude and data will show in real time on MP

FLIGHTPLAN: planning the flight mission
INTIAL SETUP: for firmware installation and update, Mandatory Hardware and Optional Hardware setup
CONFIG/TUNING: including detailed PID setup and parameters change
SIMULATION: make CrossFlight work as a simulator after upgrade a special simulation firmware
HELP: you can get help when you have questions about MP

3. Initial Setup
* CrossFlight can set parameters by RadioLink Mission Planner, ArduPilot Mission Planner, and QGC Mission
Planner.
* CrossFlight can only upgrade the firmware by RadioLink Mission Planner, and can only upgrade the
firmware from RadioLink. The default firmware of CrossFlight is for Multicopter.

First, you have to upgrade the firmware you need when you the first time ready to use CrossFlight.
Radiolink CrossFlight is default with quadcopter firmware, you have to install the right firmware if you use the
other frame drone.

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3.1 Download and Install Firmware

Please connect your CrossFlight and computer via USB cable. Open the Mission Planner to loading the
firmware you need to your CrossFlight.

Attention:
(1) Do not click CONNECT before you upload the new firmware, please click DISCONNECT if you have
connected successful before. Upload new firmware will be not success if you have connected already.
(2) Please do not upload new firmware by wireless data transmission because it has missed the reset
signal.
(3) If there’s without firmware version number, it means failed upload new firmware. It may cause of
network problem, please re-upgrade firmware until shows the version.

There are two ways to install firmware online.

1. Click Install Firmware”, and connect the flight controller and the computer with a USB cable. When Mission
Planner displays the following picture ①, click the firmware of the model you want, and the following picture
② will appear, click Yes to pop up the selection box shown in picture 2, select your flight controller, and click
Upload Firmware to install the firmware. Follow the prompts to perform the firmware installation steps, and
wait for the firmware to be installed.

picture ①

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picture ②

2. Click Install Firmware Legacy, the right side of the window will automatically download the latest firmware
from the network and graphically display the firmware name and the aircraft mode corresponding to the
firmware. You only need to click on the picture corresponding to your aircraft mode, Mission Planner will
automatically download the firmware from the network.

In some situation, you it may prompt you to unplug the board, click OK and plug in the board. Please
disconnect the USB cable, click OK and then reconnect USB cable immediately (Pay attention:
CrossFlight will have failed to connect if there are more than one COM, please remove other equipment
if disconnect).
Red status LED means the CrossFlight is loading the firmware.
After upgrade firmware 3.1 or after version 3.1, there will be a pop-up warning motors will run at idle speed
after disarmed.

Please click “CONNECT” to connect your CrossFlight and computer when firmware has installed successful. it
turns to green means connect successful.

Pay attention:
(1) It needs to take a long time to read the parameters.
(2) Clicking on the options in the red box below is invalid.

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(3) There’s no Full Parameter List in INITIAL SETUP.

Please set Layout from “Basic” to “Advanced” in CONFIG/TUNING menu if any of the three questions as
below encontered when you installing the Mission Planner.

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3.2 Accelerometer Calibration

Make sure the CrossFlight is keeping horizontal when do the accel calibration.

1. Place vehicle level and press any key to save setting.

2. Place vehicle on its LEFT side and press any key to save setting.

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3. Place vehicle on its RIGHT side and press any key to save setting.

4. Place vehicle DOWN and press any key to save setting.

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5. Place vehicle UP and press any key to save setting.

6. Place vehicle on its BACK and press any key to save setting.

3.3 Compass Calibration

There are two situations about compass calibration:
1. Without GPS, use internal compass
2. With GPS, use external and internal compass.
Calibrate interface will shows as picture below when use with GPS.
If the GPS mounted with the same direction with flight controller, then it need not to setup the direction of GPS in MP but
if you mounted the GPS with the different direction of CrossFlight, you have to setup in the MP.

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Compass calibrate Positioning Indicate

Please use Mission Planner
Arrows shows the front, point to the Humanized positioning green LED indicate.
same direction as the flight controller. The green LED will flicker when TS100 have
Keep the same direction with flight controller. positioning.

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Please fixed CrossFlight and TS100, then click “Start” and turn CrossFlight and TS100 till the progress bar of
Mag 1 and 2 to the end and comes out the MAG_CAL_SUCCESS marked words.
Calibrate the compass as these steps below:

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The mission planner will keep recording the data that collected by the compass sensor and the progress bar
and the percentage will keep change when you calibrate the compass, if the percentage have not changed,
please check if the compass is connect success.
The mission planner will remind you when the compass has calibrated success.

Click OK and then reconnect CrossFlight to computer, compass calibrate success after restart the
CrossFlight.
Attention:
When the progress bar moves to 100 and then restart from 0, it may because of the wrong calibrate action or
interference. You can have a try to calibrate again till compass calibrate success, or setup the Fitness is
Relaxed and recalibrate.

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3.4 Radio Calibration

This article shows how to perform radio control calibration using Mission Planner.
RC transmitters are used to control vehicle movement and orientation. Copter and Plane minimally control
throttle, pitch, roll and yaw, while on Rover we just control throttle and roll. Each of these control signals are
mapped to transmitter stick/switch(s) and in turn to autopilot channels from the connected receiver.
Calibrating each of the transmitter controls/channels is a straightforward process - simply move each of the
enabled sticks/switches through their full range and record the maximum and minimum positions.
There are two main transmitter configurations:
Mode 1: left stick controls pitch and yaw, the right stick will control throttle and roll.
Mode 2: left stick controls throttle and yaw; the right stick will control pitch and roll.
Copter default channel mappings are:
Channel 1: Roll
Channel 2: Pitch
Channel 3: Throttle
Channel 4: Yaw
Channel 5: Flight modes
Channel 6: (Optional) In flight tuning or camera mount (mapped to transmitter tuning knob)
Unused channels can be mapped to control additional peripherals.

For safety, you should disconnect the battery and/or remove propellers before preforming radio calibration.
Bind your transmitter and receiver before calibrate radio, connect CrossFlight to computer via USB
cable and then turn on transmitter. The RC receiver ask to connect to the RC port of CrossFlight.
The transmitter will make AT9S as an example in this manual.
1. Press Mode button about one second to into BASIC MENU, and then turn the dial to set MODE TYPE
as MULTIROTOR (press Push button 1 second—press Push button again when the display pop-ups “Are
you sure?”— you will find out DDD sounds come out with “Please wait…”), the mode type MULTIROTOR
have setup success after the DDD sounds have finished.

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3. Setup CH3: THRO REV in REVERSE menu (setting steps: Press Mode button about one second to
into BASIC MENU, and then turn the dial to choose REVERSE, press Push button to into the REVERSE
menu, turn the dial to setup 3: THRO REV, press End to back to Basic menu.

Radio Calibration Steps:

1. Open Mission Planner
2. Choose the right COM and Baud rate
3. Click the CONNECT
4. Choose INITAIL SETUP—Mandatory Hardware—Radio Calibration
5. Click “Calibrate Radio”

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There are two tool pop-ups after you click “OK”, one for make sure both your transmitter and receiver
are powered on and connected, and the motor of your drone does not have power and without
propellers.

And then click “OK” and move all RC sticks and switches to their extreme positions so the red bars hit the
limits.
If the red bars have not any change when you move the sticks, please check the receiver have connect
success or not, make sure the receiver (maybe R9DS) is output SBUS signal (the blue LED of R9DS means
work as SBUS signal). You can check if every corresponding red bar for every channel is work as below:

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CH1: low position = roll (towards the left), up position= roll (towards the right).
CH2: low position =pitch(forward), up position =pitch(backwards).
CH3: low position =reduced speed, up position =speed up.
CH4: low position = yaw (towards the left), up position = yaw (towards the right).

Click OK to save the radio calibration data.

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3.5 Flight Modes Setting

CrossFlight has 20 flight built-in flight modes, 10 of which are regularly used. There are modes to support
different levels/types of flight stabilization, a sophisticated autopilot, a follow-me system etc. Flight modes are
controlled through the radio (via a transmitter switch), via mission commands, or using commands from a
ground station (GCS) or companion computer. You can setup six flight modes once and max setup eight
modes combine with AUX-CH (CH7 and CH8).

Flight modes setting steps:

1. Connect CrossFlight and receiver (connect the RC port of CrossFlight, and make sure receiver work as
SBUS signal).
2. Make sure transmitter bind to receiver success.
3. Make sure CrossFlight connect to Mission Planner success and click INITIAL SETUP—Mandatory
Hardware—Flight modes, you can setup the flight modes you want in this menu.

In flight modes menu, it’s very clear that the flight modes, the PWM numerical interval of six flight modes you
have set and choose Simple Mode/Super Simple Mode or not.
Most of the RC fans setup the Flight Mode 1 is Stabilize, the other five flight mode will be setup according to
users’ flight habit.
First, you have to setup flight mode in transmitter. The setting steps as below:
1. Power on and turn on your transmitter.

2. Press Mode button twice to into ADVANCE MENU, press Push button into ATTITUDE setting menu,
CH5 is default to the attitude control channel and please choose a 3 Posi-SW and a 2 Posi-SW to control
the attitude.

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3．Setup Flight Mode 1 is Stabilize both in Mission Planner and transmitter.

Make sure the -swt- is ON (by press the 3 Posi-SW or 2 Posi-SW to make it ON or OFF) and then you
can setup the PWM data.
Setup the PWM value according to the default numerical interval (change the value by turn the dial, press
the Push button when you choose the right value.

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3.6 Flight Modes Introduction

3.6.1 Stabilize Mode

Stabilize mode allows you to fly your vehicle manually, but self-levels the roll and pitch axis.
If you’re learning to fly, try Alt Hold or Loiter instead of Stabilize. You’ll have fewer crashes if you don’t need to
concentrate on too many controls at once.
(1) Pilot’s roll and pitch input control the lean angle of the copter. When the pilot releases the roll and pitch
sticks the vehicle automatically levels itself.
(2) Pilot will need to regularly input roll and pitch commands to keep the vehicle in place as it is pushed
around by the wind.
(3) Pilot’s yaw input controls the rate of change of the heading. When the pilot releases the yaw stick the
vehicle will maintain its current heading.
(4) Pilot’s throttle input controls the average motor speed meaning that constant adjustment of the throttle is
required to maintain altitude. If the pilot puts the throttle completely down the motors will go to their minimum
rate (MOT_SPIN_ARMED) and if the vehicle is flying it will lose attitude control and tumble.
(5) The throttle sent to the motors is automatically adjusted based on the tilt angle of the vehicle (i.e.
increased as the vehicle tilts over more) to reduce the compensation the pilot must do as the vehicle’s attitude
changes.
Always switch into a manual mode such as stabilize if the autopilot fails to control the vehicle. Maintaining
control of your copter is your responsibility.

3.6.2 Acro Mode（FPV）

Acro mode (Rate mode) uses the RC sticks to control the angular velocity of the copter. Release the sticks
and the vehicle will maintain its current attitude and will not return to level. Acro mode is useful for aerobatics
such as flips or rolls, or FPV when smooth and fast control is desired.

ACRO mode trainer

ACRO_TRAINER setting
 0 is disabled. This means the pilot operates in full Rate control with no automatic leveling nor
angle-limiting performed by the autopilot.
 1 is automatic leveling. The vehicle will automatically return to the level when the pilot releases
the sticks. The aggressiveness with which it returns to level can be controlled with the
ACRO_BAL_ROLL and ACRO_BAL_PITCH parameters. The default of 1.0 will cause it to return
to level at up to 30deg/sec. Higher values will make it return more quickly.
 2 is Default to automatic leveling and lean angle limited. Includes the automatic leveling as option
#1 but in addition the vehicle will not lean more than 45 degrees (this angle can be configured
with the ANGLE_MAX parameter).
The trainer can be enabled/disabled using the Ch7/Ch8 switches. With a 3 position switch the off position (i.e.
PWM < 1200) will disable the trainer, middle position will enable option #1 (automatic leveling) and the top
position (i.e. PWM > 1800) will enable option #2 (leveling and lean angle limited). With a 2-position switch only
options #0 (disabled) and option #2 (leveling & limited) are possible.

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Parameters Setting
ACRO_RP_P controls the rotation rate for the roll and pitch axis. The default, 4.5, will command a 200deg/sec
rotation rate. Higher values lead to higher rotation rates, lower to slower rotation rates. ACRO_YAW_P
controls the rotation rate for the yaw axis. The default, 4.5, like roll and pitch, will command a 200deg/sec
rotation rate.
ACRO_RP_EXPO Acro roll/pitch Expo to allow faster rotation when stick at edges
ACRO_Y_EXPO Acro yaw expo to allow faster rotation when stick at edges
ACRO_EXPO is an amount of Exponential to apply to the pilots stick inputs that only applies to ACRO mode.
By default, ACRO mode is much more responsive, even in the center-sticks positions, than the other modes,
so this parameter allows the pilot to fine-tune stick response in the control to match what they feel when they
are in other modes such as Stabilize, AltHold, PosHold, etc. The default value of 0 applies 30% expo to Roll
and Pitch demands from the pilot.

3.6.3 Altitude Hold Mode

In altitude hold mode, Copter maintains a consistent altitude while allowing roll, pitch, and yaw to be controlled
normally. This page contains important information about using and tuning AltHold.
Automatic altitude hold is a feature of many other flight modes (Loiter, Sport, etc.) so the information here
pertains to those modes as well.

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Note: The flight controller uses a barometer which measures air pressure as the primary means for
determining altitude (“Pressure Altitude”) and if the air pressure is changing in your flight area due to extreme
weather, the copter will follow the air pressure change rather than actual altitude. When fitted and enabled, a
downward facing rangefinder such as LiDAR or SONAR will automatically provide even more accurate
altitude maintenance, up to the limit of the sensor.

How to control
The pilot can control the climb or descent rate of the vehicle with the throttle stick. If the throttle stick is in the
middle (40% ~ 60%) the vehicle will maintain the current altitude. Outside of the mid-throttle dead zone (i.e.
below 40% or above 60%) the vehicle will descend or climb depending upon the deflection of the stick. When
the stick is completely down the copter will descend at 2.5m/s and if at the very top it will climb by 2.5m/s.
These speeds can be adjusted with the PILOT_VELZ_MAX parameter.
The size of the deadband can be adjusted with the THR_DZ parameter (AC3.2 and higher only). This params
value should be between “0” and “400” with “0” meaning no deadband. “100” would produce a deadband 10%
above and below mid throttle (i.e. deadband extends from 40% to 60% throttle stick position).
AC3.1 and later allow arming and disarming in altitude hold mode. When disarming, the copter may need to
rest in the landing position for a few seconds to allow the “landing checker” to verify that the copter has landed
before you are able to disarm.

3.6.4 Auto Mode

In Auto mode the copter will follow a pre-programmed mission script stored in the autopilot which is made up
of navigation commands (i.e. way points) and “do” commands (i.e. commands that do not affect the location of
the copter including triggering a camera shutter). CrossFlight multi-rotor firmware can store up to 2617
waypoints, commands and events at one time.

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AUTO mode incorporates the altitude control from AltHold mode and position control from Loiter mode and
should not be attempted before these modes are flying well. All the same requirements apply including
ensuring that vibration levels and compass interference levels are acceptable and that the GPS is functioning
well including returning an HDOP of under 2.0.
AUTO should be set-up as one of the Flight Modes on the flight mode switch.
Make sure that the GPS is positioning first:
 The LED of CrossFlight is green.
 The LED of GPS and compass module is blinking.

If starting the mission while the copter is on the ground the pilot should ensure the throttle is down, then
switch to the Auto flight mode, then raise the throttle. The moment that the throttle is raised above zero, the
copter will begin the mission.
If starting the mission from the air the mission will begin from the first command the moment that the flight
mode switch is moved to Auto. If the first command in the mission is a take-off command but the vehicle is
already above the take-off command’s altitude the take-off command will be considered completed and the
vehicle will move onto the next waypoint.
At any time, the pilot can retake control from the autopilot by returning the flight mode switch to another flight
mode such as Stabilize or Loiter. If the pilot then switches to AUTO again, the mission will restart from the first
command.
During the mission the pilot’s roll, pitch and throttle inputs are ignored but the yaw can be overridden with the
yaw stick. This allows the pilot to for example aim the nose of the copter (which might have a hard-mounted
camera on it) as the copter flies the mission. The autopilot will attempt to retake yaw control as the vehicle

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passes the next waypoint.

Ending a mission
Missions should normally have an RTL as their final command to ensure the copter will return after the
mission completes. Alternatively, the final command could be a LAND with a different location. Without a final
RTL or LAND command the copter will simply stop at the final waypoint and the pilot will need to retake
control with the transmitter.
Remember that when using RTL, the copter will return to the “home” position which is the location where the
copter was armed.
As the copter touches down at the end of the mission the pilot should move the throttle to zero at which point
the autopilot will disarm the motors if it also believes that it has landed.

3.6.5 PosHold Mode

The PosHold flight mode (previously known as “Hybrid”) is a new mode for AC3.2. It is similar to Loiter in that
the vehicle maintains a constant location, heading, and altitude but is generally more popular because the
pilot stick inputs directly control the vehicle’s lean angle providing a more “natural” feel.
When switched on, PosHold mode will automatically attempts to maintain the current location, heading and
altitude. Good GPS position, low magnetic interference on the compassand low vibrations are all important in
achieving good loiter performance.

How to control
The pilot can control the copter’s location horizontally and vertically with the control sticks.
Horizontal location can be adjusted with the Roll and Pitch control sticks with the default maximum lean angle
being 45 degrees (angle can be adjusted with the ANGLE_MAX parameter). When the pilot releases the
sticks, the copter will lean back to bring the vehicle to a stop.
Altitude can be controlled with the Throttle control stick just as in AltHold mode
The heading can be set with the Yaw control stick
You may arm in PosHold mode but only once the GPS has 3D lock and the HDOP has dropped to 2.0 or
lower.
The HDOP value can be made clearly visible through the mission planner’s Quick screen by double clicking
and then selecting “gpshdop” from the large grid of checkboxes.
The maximum brake-angle can be set with the PHLD_BRAKE_ANGLE parameter (i.e. 3000 = the vehicle will
lean back up to 30degrees).
The speed the vehicle rotates back to the maximum angle can be set with the PHLD_BRAKE_RATE
parameter (i.e. 8 = rotates back at 8 degrees per second)).

3.6.6 RTL Mode

This very simple flight mode simply stops the vehicle as soon as possible using the Loiter controller. Once
invoked, this mode does not accept any input from the pilot. This mode requires GPS.
RTL mode (Return to Launch mode) navigates Copter from its current position to hover above the home
position. The behavior of RTL mode can be controlled by several adjustable parameters.

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When RTL mode is selected, the copter will return to the home location. The copter will first rise to RTL_ALT
before returning home or maintain the current altitude if the current altitude is higher than RTL_ALT. The
default value for RTL_ALT is 15m.

RTL is a GPS-dependent move, so it is essential that GPS lock is acquired before attempting to use this mode.
Before arming, ensure that the APM’s blue LED is solid and not blinking. For a GPS without compass, the
LED will be solid blue when GPS lock is acquired. For the GPS+Compass module, the LED will be blinking
blue when GPS is locked.
RTL will command the copter to return to the home position, meaning that it will return to the location where it
was armed. Therefore, the home position is always supposed to be your copter’s actual GPS takeoff location,
unobstructed and away from people. For Copter if you get GPS lock and then ARM your copter, the home
position is the location the copter was in when it was armed. This means if you execute an RTL in Copter, it
will return to the location where it was armed.
In RTL mode the flight controller uses a barometer which measures air pressure as the primary means for
determining altitude (“Pressure Altitude”) and if the air pressure is changing in your flight area, the copter will
follow the air pressure change rather than actual altitude (unless you are within 20 feet of the ground and
have SONAR installed and enabled).

Options (User Adjustable Parameters)

1. RTL_ALT: The minimum altitude the copter will move to before returning to launch.
(1) Set to zero to return at the current altitude.
(2) The return altitude can be set from 1 to 8000 centimeters.
(3) The default return altitude Default is 15 meters (1500)

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2. RTL_ALT_FINAL: The altitude the copter will move to at the final stage of “Returning to Launch” or after
completing a Mission.
(1) Set to zero to automatically land the copter.
(2) The final return altitude may be adjusted from 0 to 1000 centimeters.
3. RTL_LOIT_TIME: Time in milliseconds to hover/pause above the “Home” position before beginning final
descent.
The “Loiter” time may be adjusted from 0 to 60,000 milliseconds.
4. WP_YAW_BEHAVIOR: Sets how the autopilot controls the “Yaw” during Missions and RTL.
(1) 0 = Never change Yaw.
(2) 1 = Face Next Waypoint including facing home during RTL.
(3) 2 = Face Next Waypoint except for RTL (i.e. during RTL vehicle will remain pointed at its last heading)
5. LAND_SPEED: The descent speed for the final stage of landing in centimeters per second.
The landing speed is adjustable from 20 to 200 centimeters per second.
6. RTL_CLIMB_MIN: The vehicle will climb at least these many meters at the first stage of the RTL. By
default, this value is zero. (only Copter-3.3 and above)
7. RTL_SPEED: The horizontal speed (in cm/s) at which the vehicle will return to home. By default, this value
is zero meaning it will use WPNAV_SPEED. (Only Copter-3.4 and higher)
8. RTL_CONE_SLOPE: Defines the slope of an inverted cone above home which is used to limit the amount
the vehicle climbs when RTL-ing from close to home. Low values lead to a wide cone meaning the vehicle will
climb less, High values will lead to the vehicle climbing more. (Supported in Copter-3.4 and higher)
Notes
1. Other navigation settings also have an influence over RTL mode:
(1) WPNAV_ACCEL
(2) WPNAV_SPEED_DN
(3) WPNAV_SPEED_UP
2. To use RTL, GPS lock needs to be achieved (Blue GPS LED and Blue APM LED on solid not blinking)
before arming and takeoff to establish the home or launch position.
3. Landing and re-arming the copter will reset home, which is a great feature for flying at airfields.
4. If you get lock for the first time while flying, your home will be set at the location of lock.
5. If you set the RTL_ALT to a number at other than 0 it will go to and maintain that altitude while returning.
6. RTL uses WPNAV_SPEED to determine how fast it travels.
7. Once the copter arrives at the home location the copter will pause for RTL_LOIT_TIME milliseconds,
timeout (AUTO_LAND), then land.

3.6.7 Simple and Super Simple Modes

“Simple” and “Super Simple” modes allow the pilot to control the movement of the copter from the pilot’s point
of view regardless of which way the copter is facing. This is useful for new pilots who have not mastered
adjusting their roll and pitch inputs depending upon which way the vehicle is facing and for cases when the
copter is far enough away that its heading is not apparent.
(1) “Simple” and “Super Simple” modes can be used in combination with nearly all flight modes except the
Acro and Drift (in these flight modes the setting is ignored).
(2) Simple Mode allows you to control the copter relative to the copters heading at takeoff and relies only on a
good compass heading.
(3) Super Simple Mode allows you to control the copter relative to its direction from home (i.e. where it was

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armed) but requires a good GPS position.
(4) Either mode can be assigned to a particular flight mode switch position or can be enabled/disabled from
the Ch7/Ch8 switches.

Normal Mode

Without Simple or Super Simple enabled, the pilot’s transmitter stick inputs are applied in the orientation of the
copter. For example, in the diagram above when the pilot applies roll input right (red) the vehicle rolls to its
right.
With the copter is facing in the same direction as the pilot, it is relatively easy to control the vehicle but when
the vehicle is facing towards the pilot an inexperienced pilot will feel that the controls are all reversed. I.e. if
the pilot inputs right roll, the vehicle will move to the left from the pilot’s point of view.
Simple Modes

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Similar to the “care free” mode on other systems, this mode allows you to fly your copter as though it were
pointed in the direction it was pointed when it was armed regardless of its current heading orientation. So, if
you hold the pitch stick forward the copter will fly away from you, pull the pitch stick back and it will come back
towards home. You can even apply yaw to spin the copter in any direction but the movement of the copter’s
position relative to the stick inputs will behave exactly as it did at takeoff.
Generally, when arming you should stand behind the vehicle with its nose pointing directly away from you.
While flying you should try to keep the vehicle flying in front of its starting position because if it flies behind you
all the controls will feel reversed.
As mentioned above simple mode is also very useful in emergency situations where the copter is far enough
away that it is very difficult to determine its heading.

Super Simple Modes

Super Simple mode is the same as simple mode except that it uses the vehicle’s position relative to home
instead of the vehicle’s initial heading when it was armed. This means that no matter where the vehicle is,
pulling the pitch back will cause it to return towards home regardless of the vehicle’s actual heading.
The advantage over simple mode is that the controls are applied from the pilot’s point of view even when the
copter flies behind the pilot/home location.
If the pilot holds full right roll the vehicle will fly a circle clockwise around the pilot (although the circle’s radius
may tend to grow slightly with each orbit due to “lag”).
The disadvantage is that mode require a GPS lock because so you should ensure you have GPS lock before
take-off.
The orientation is not updated when the vehicle is within 10m of home meaning close fly-bys of the home
location should be avoided.
To ensure the controls are correct right at take-off, as with simple mode, you should arm with the pilot
standing behind the vehicle and with both pilot and vehicle pointing in the same direction.

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3.6.8 More flight modes

Guided Mode: Guided mode is a capability of Copter to dynamically guide the copter to a target location
wirelessly using a telemetry radio module and ground station application. This page provides instructions for
using guided mode.
Loiter Mode: Loiter Mode automatically attempts to maintain the current location, heading and altitude. The
pilot may fly the copter in Loiter mode as if it were in a more manual flight mode but when the sticks are
released, the vehicle will slow to a stop and hold position.
Circle Mode: Circle will orbit a point located CIRCLE_RADIUS centimeters in front of the vehicle with the
nose of the vehicle pointed at the center.
Drift Mode: This page provides tips for flying in Drift Mode and methods for tuning your copter to fly optimally
in Drift Mode.
Sport Mode: Sport Mode is also known as “rate controlled stabilize” plus Altitude Hold.
Flip Mode: Vehicle will flip on its roll or pitch axis depending upon the pilot’s roll and pitch stick position.
Vehicle will rise for 1 second and then rapidly flip. The vehicle will not flip again until the switch is brought low
and back to high. Give yourself at least 10m of altitude before trying flip for the first time!
AutoTune: AutoTune attempts to automatically tune the Stabilize P, Rate P and D, and maximum rotational
accelerations to provide the highest response without significant overshoot. Copter needs to be “basically”
flyable in AltHold mode before attempting to use AutoTune as the feature needs to be able to “twitch” the
copter in the roll and pitch axis.
Land Mode: LAND Mode attempts to bring the copter straight down
Break Mode: This very simple flight mode simply stops the vehicle as soon as possible using the Loiter
controller. Once invoked, this mode does not accept any input from the pilot. This mode requires GPS.
Throw Mode: This slightly dangerous flight mode allows the pilot to throw the vehicle into the air (or drop the
vehicle) in order to start the motors. Once in the air, this mode does not accept any input from the pilot. This
mode requires GPS.
Avoid_ADSB: for ADS-B based avoidance of manned aircraft. Should not be set-up as a pilot selectable flight
mode.
Guided_NoGPS: which is meant for developer use only.
The details introduction about flight modes can check on website here:
http://ardupilot.org/copter/docs/flight-modes.html
http://www.ncnynl.com/archives/201608/417.html

4. F/S(failsafe) Setting
4.1 Radio Failsafe Setup
CrossFlight supports Return-To-Launch in cases where contact between the Pilot’s RC transmitter and the
flight controller’s receiver is lost. This page explains this failsafe’s setup and testing. Note the “Radio failsafe”
was previously called “Throttle failsafe” because of the way in which some receivers use the throttle channel
to signal the loss of contact.

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Make sure transmitter and receiver connect success and work with SBUS signal.

F/S setting steps:

Setup in transmitter: setup the throttle trim to -120 by trim switch and then press Mode button one second into
BASIC MENU, choose and into F/S menu, put the throttle stick to the bottom to setup 3: THRO 3%. Please
setup the throttle trim back to 0 after setup the THRO 3% success.

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Receiver and flight controller CrossFlight setup:
By default, a newly purchased receiver will be set-up to simply hold all channels at their last known position
when the receiver and transmitter lose contact. This is not good because the flight controller has no way to
know that the Pilot has lost control of the vehicle. Instead the receiver must be set-up to signal to the flight
controller it has lost contact and there are two ways that it can do this (the method depends upon the receiver):
“Low-Throttle” method - the receiver pulls the throttle channel (normally channel 3) to a value below the
bottom of its normal range (normally below 975).

With the LiPo battery disconnected:

1. Connect your flight controller to the mission planner and select Initial Setup >> Mandatory Hardware >>
Failsafe.
2. Set the Failsafe Options to one of the three options:
(1) “Enabled always RTL” to force the vehicle to always RTL even if flying a mission in AUTO mode.
(2) “Enabled Continue with Mission in AUTO” to allow the vehicle to continue with missions even if it takes
the vehicle outside of RC range (not recommended). In all other cases the vehicle will RTL.
(3) “Enable always LAND” to force the vehicle to Land immediately if it loses RC contact.

Set the “FS PWM” value to be:

(1) at least 10 PWM higher than your Channel 3’s PWM value when the throttle stick is fully down and the
transmitter is off.
(2) at least 10 lower than your channel 3’s PWM value when the throttle stick is fully down and the transmitter
is on.
(3) above 910.

Click OK to into the failsafe setting menu.

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You can turn off transmitter to check if the Failsafe function setup success(the PWM of CH3 is smaller than
975)

If enabled and set-up correctly the radio Failsafe will trigger if:
(1) The pilot turns off the RC transmitter.

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(2) The vehicle travels outside of RC range.
(3) The receiver loses power (unlikely).
(4) The wires connecting the receiver to the flight controller are broken (unlikely).
When a radio Failsafe is triggered one of the following will happen:
(1) Nothing if the vehicle is already disarmed.
(2) Motors will be immediately disarmed if the vehicle is landed OR in stabilize or acro mode and the pilot’s
throttle is at zero.
(3) Return-to-Launch (RTL) if the vehicle has a GPS lock and is more than 2 meters from the home position.
(4) LAND if the vehicle has:
no GPS lock OR
is within 2 meters of home OR
the FS_THR_ENABLE parameter is set to “Enabled Always Land”
If the Failsafe clears (i.e. transmitter and receiver regain contact) the copter will remain in its current flight
mode. It will not automatically return to the flight mode that was active before the Failsafe was triggered.
This means that if, for example, the vehicle was in Loiter when the Failsafe occurred and the flight mode was
automatically changed to RTL, even after the transmitter and receiver regained contact, the vehicle would
remain in RTL. If the pilot wished to re-take control in Loiter he/she would need to change your flight mode
switch to another position and then back to Loiter.
Copter also supports Battery, Ground Station and EKF/DCM failsafes.

You can check your Failsafe by performing the following tests with the CrossFlight connected to the Mission
Planner either via a USB cable or telemetry link. You can complete these tests without plugging in your LiPo
battery but if you do connect a battery you should first remove the propellers.
Test #1: if using the “Low-Throttle” method, ensure the throttle channel drops with loss of radio contact
Ensure your RC transmitter is on and connected with the throttle all the way down and flight mode set to
Stabilize
The throttle (channel 3) PWM value should be approximately as in first illustration below. Its value may be
higher or lower but it should definitely be at least 10 higher than the value held in the FS PWM field
Turn the transmitter off and the throttle PWM value should drop to be at least 10 below the FS PWM field
value (as in the second illustration below) below

Test #2: ensuring motors disarm if in stabilize or acro with throttle at zero
Switch to stabilize mode, arm your motors but keep your throttle at zero. Turn off your transmitter. The
motors should disarm immediately (red led will start flashing, DISARMED will be displayed in the Mission
Planner’s Flight Data screen).
Test #3: ensuring flight mode changes to RTL or LAND when throttle is above zero
Switch to stabilize mode, arm your motors and raise your throttle to the midpoint. Turn off your transmitter.
The Flight Mode should switch to RTL if you have a GPS lock or LAND if you do not have a GPS lock (the
flight mode and GPS lock status are visible in the Mission Planner’s flight data screen).

Test #4: retaking control after the failsafe has cleared

continuing on from test #3, turn your transmitter back on
while the flight mode is still in RTL or LAND and armed, change the flight mode switch to another position
and then back to stabilize mode. Ensure that the flight mode displayed on the Failsafe page is updating
appropriately.

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Test #5 (optional): removing power from the receiver
Switch to stabilize mode, arm your motors and keep your throttle above zero.
Carefully disconnect the power wires connecting the receiver to the APM
The Flight Mode should switch to RTL or LAND as described in Test #3
Warning: unplug the APM so that it is powered down before reattaching the receiver’s power

4.2 EKF FailSafe

FS_EKF_ACTION
Note: This parameter is for advanced users
Controls the action that will be taken when an EKF failsafe is invoked

It defaults the value 1, that is the drone will land if lose signal, but you can change the setting from value 1 to
value 2, which means the drone will AltHold if lose signal.

FS_EKF_THRESH
Note: This parameter is for advanced users
Allows setting the maximum acceptable compass and velocity variance

5. Installation and setup of CrossFlight

5.1 Install CrossFlight on aircraft

Mount the CrossFlight at the barycenter of the drone, make sure the arrow of the CrossFlight is point to the
front.

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Keep the GPS with the same direction of CrossFlight if you need to use CrossFlight with GPS.

If the installation can’t be done with the default direction, parameters need to be setup according to the
installation direction.

Set the rotation direction and degree and the corresponding values basing on the variation of the flight
controller and the aircraft vehicle and input to save. Restart and test if the movements of the flight
controller are correct at the homepage of Mission Planner.

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5.2 Connect CrossFlight to Helicopter

Crossflight connection instructions:

Crossflight ESC1 -- aileron, left servo
Crossflight ESC2 -- pitch, right servo
Crossflight ESC3 -- elevator, back servo
Crossflight ESC4 -- rudder, tail servo,
Crossflight ESC6 -- ESC

Note Since there’s no voltage output from the flight controller, an extra BEC module needs to be connected
to power supply servo for this model frame

5.3 Connect the Spare Parts

Receiver module and buzzer: connect to the flight control RC IN/BUZZER port with the provided 5pin GH
plug-in cable.
Power Module: use a 6-pin GH wire to connect the power module to the POWER port of the CrossFlight.
GPS and compass: use a 6-pin GH wire to connect the GPS (TS100 for example) to the GPS/I2C port of
the CrossFlight, please make sure that GPS keeps the same direction as CrossFlight.

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Battery Monitors Setup

Set battery monitor on

Monitors: 4: Battery & Voltage
Sensor: 0: Other
APM version: 4: The Cube or Pixhawk

Turn off battery monitor settings

monitor:0:disable

When the setting is turned on, there may be no data. At this time, please disconnect the flight controller,
re-power the flight controller, and then open this interface, enter the measured battery voltage, and
when the same voltage as the input measurement value appears in the 2. battery voltage (calculated)
box, and no longer jumps, it means that the setting is normal. If it is not the same, please reopen the
interface and input the measurement voltage.

Note: When the setting is inaccurate, it may fail to arm, or the buzzer beeps quickly after arming. It
means that the power supply is not set correctly at this time. Please reset it correctly. If the fault
protection situation occurs all the time, it may be that the battery low voltage protection is turned on at
this time, and the battery monitoring is inaccurate

5.4 Level Calibration

If the Mission Planner shows the drone not level when you put it horizontal as this picture, You can
setup as below to solve the problem.

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Under Initial Setup--Mandatory Hardware--select Accel Calibration from the left-side menu--Click Calibrate
Level to start the calibration.

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5.5 Helicopter Setup

Before your first flight, please follow these pre-flight checks:
1. Disconnect the three connecting wires between the ESC and the motor to ensure that the armed motor will
not rotate.
2. Connect lithium battery for power supply.
3. Connect the flight controller and Mission Planner on computer via USB.
4. Open SETUP—> Mandatory Hardware——> Heli Setup in Mission Planner.
5. Please note that the output control is only available in Stabilize mode or Acro mode, and the adjustment
test cannot be performed in other modes.

5.5.1 Heli Setup Interface Introduction

Function introduction
1. Servo Setup. The function of each PWM output channel can be set.
2. Swashplate Setup
3. Throttle Settings
4. Governor Settings
5. Misc Settings

5.5.2 Select Swashplate Type

Below are the swashplate type selections using the H_SW_TYPE parameter. The diagrams shown label the
servo attach positions as Servo 1, Servo 2 and Servo 3 for the three servo swashplate types. These also
correspond to the default output functions for servo outputs 1 thru 3 on the autopilot for the servos used with
these swashplate types.
For single heli, the servo function assigned to Servo 1 is motor 33, Servo 2 is motor 34, and Servo 3 is motor
35. These assignments are the same for swashplate 1 for a dual heli frame. Swashplate 2 for a dual heli
defaults to servo outputs 4, 5, and 6 with motors 36, 37 and 38 assigned respectively.

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For four servo swashplates, the fourth servo (Servo 5) on the single heli frame defaults to servo output 5 and
is assigned motor 37. For the dual heli frame, the fourth servo (Servo 7) on swashplate 1 defaults to servo
output 7 and is assigned motor 39. The fourth servo (Servo 8) on swashplate 2 defaults to servo output 8 and
is assigned motor 40 function.
H3 Generic - Allows servo positions and phase angle to be set by user. Assumes all swashplate ball links are
the same distance from the main shaft.
H1 non-CCPM - Servo1 is aileron, Servo 2 is elevator and Servo 3 is collective

H3-140 H3-120 H4-90

H4-45 H3R-140 H3R-120

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5.5.3 Swashplate Setting

1. Check Proper Swashplate Movement.

Use your transmitter to check for proper swashplate response to cyclic and collective inputs.
Push forward on the elevator stick and swashplate tilts forward; pull back on the elevator stick and swashplate
tilts aft.
Push right on the aileron stick and the swashplate tilts right; Push left on the aileron stick and the swashplate
tilts left.
Push up on the throttle stick (collective) and the swashplate will rise; pull down on the throttle stick (collective)
and the swashplate will lower.
Set the SERVO1_REVERSED , SERVO2_REVERSED, SERVO3_REVERSED,
and H_SW_COL_DIR parameters so that your swashplate responds correctly to your collective and cyclic
inputs.

2. Leveling your Swashplate

When the swashplate is not level, adjust SERVO1_TRIM, SERVO2_TRIM, and SERVO3_TRIM until the
swashplate is level.

3. Collective Blade Pitch Angle

For example, the collective blade pitch range is -10 degrees to +10 degrees.
(1) First install the pitch gauge on the propeller.
(2) Open the Helicopter Setup interface in Mission Planner. Modify the Manual Servo Mode in the figure ①
below to Max collective, then check the degree display of the pitch scale. And adjust the number in the
figure ② below until the pitch scale shows +10 degrees. Finally, modify the number in the figure ③ below
to 10.

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(3) Set -10 degrees. First modify the Manual Servo Mode in the figure ① below to Min collective, and then
check the pitch scale number. And adjust the Minimum Collective Pitch(PWM) in the figure ② below, so
that the pitch scale is -10 degrees. Finally modify the Collective Blade Pitch Angle Minimum (deg) in the
figure ③ below to -10.

(4) Set Zero Thrust Point. First modify the value in the figure ① below to have swashplate move to zero
thrust position and verify the pitch angle corresponds the collective blade pitch in the figure ② below.

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(5) The H_COL_LAND_MIN parameter is used as the lower collective pitch limit in degrees for modes that
use altitude hold in the vertical axis. This keeps the autopilot from driving collective too low resulting in
ground resonance and is also used to detect landing in these modes. The default angle
for H_COL_LAND_MIN parameter is set to -2 degrees collective blade pitch angle and would allow
symmetrical blade equipped vehicles to descend at a reasonable rate, yet avoid being too negative on
the ground. If you have non-symmetrical blades, then set it to a blade pitch that is lower by the amount
used as the zero thrust pitch angle. For example, if the H_COL_ZERO_THRST is determined to be -3
deg then H_COL_LAND_MIN should be set to -5 degrees.

5.5.4 Rotot Speed Control Setup

1. Set the RSC Mode parameter (H_RSC_MODE). Click the drop-down menu in the figure ① below to select
RSC modes.

There are different RSC modes. The RSC modes are listed below with a short description.
(1) RC Passthrough - this mode passes through the RC channel input on which the Motor Interlock
(RCx_OPTION =32) is assigned. The channel must be over 1200us in order for the heliRSC output to
follow the RC input. Otherwise, heliRSC will be H_RSC_IDLE.
(2) RSC setpoint - this mode is used for helicopters utilizing either an electronic speed controller or an
external governor for internal combustion engines. The PWM passed to the HeliRSC output is
determined from the External Motor Governor Setpoint (H_RSC_SETPOINT) parameter. The output
PWM is calculated by the following equation: PWM output = RSC_SETPOINT*0.01*(SERVOx_MAX -
SERVOx_MIN) + SERVOx_MIN where SERVOx is the output assigned to Throttle. This mode will be the
most commonly used mode for electric helis having an ESC with governor mode built in.
(3) Throttle curve - This mode is an open loop control of the HeliRSC servo output. Users will need to fine-
tune the throttle curve to maintain the desired rotor speed throughout the flight envelope. The throttle
curve is a five point spline curve fit set by the H_RSC_THRCRV_x parameters. It is used to determine

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the HeliRSC servo output based on the collective (throttle stick) on the RC transmitter. This mode can be
used for open loop control of the heli motor, providing no constant head speed control, but is usually used
to setup the feed-forward throttle curve baseline for the Governor mode below. Having a RSC governor is
highly desirable in order to maintain a steady tune point for the stabilization parameters.
(4) AutoThrottle - AutoThrottle requires a rotor speed sensor, and incorporates an advanced autothrottle
governor. This mode will be used if no external RSC governor is present. Primarily for ICE and Turbine
engines. The H_RSC_GOV_x. The parameters needed to set the Throttle Curve mode above, also
should be set correctly for this mode since it uses them as a basis for feed-forward control in the
Governor.

Waringing ; Setting the RSC mode to RC Passthrough requires configuring the RC receiver to hold last value
for the Motor Interlock channel (default is channel 8). If the receiver loses connection to the transmitter and
receiver is not configured correctly, the motor will shutdown and the helicopter will crash! It also means that
the pilot has to be in control of throttle during any altitude holding or autonomous modes. This can be very
difficult, can lead to a crash, and is strongly discouraged. This mode is provided only for some very
specialized, advanced users.

2. Rotor Speed Ramp and Idle Settings

The rotor speed control features an idle setting and start up and shut down logic for throttle control. The
throttle output at H_RSC_IDLE parameter determines the output to heliRSC servo output after the aircraft is
armed, but before the motor interlock is enabled.

When the motor interlock is enabled the rotor speed control will ramp the throttle from the idle setting
(H_RSC_IDLE) to flight setting (this depends on the H_RSC_MODE chosen) based on
the H_RSC_RAMP_TIME parameter . The RSC will prevent take off in non-manual throttle modes and auto
mode until the timer has reached H_RSC_RUNUP_TIME. It is very important to set H_RSC_RUNUP_TIME to
the amount of time it takes for the rotor to spin up to the flight rotor speed. This parameter has to be equal to
or greater than the Throttle Ramp Time parameter (H_RSC_RAMP_TIME).

When the motor interlock is disabled with the rotor at flight rotor speed, the rotor speed control will count down
the same amount of time as specified by the H_RSC_RUNUP_TIME. The RSC will declare rotor speed below
critical based on the Critical Rotor Speed parameter (H_RSC_CRITICAL) and will reset the runup complete
flag. It is best to set the Critical Rotor Speed parameter (H_RSC_CRITICAL) for a percentage of the runup
timer that equates to about three seconds. For example if you had a 10 second runup timer, setting the
Critical Rotor Speed parameter (H_RSC_CRITICAL) to 70% will cause the RSC to declare rotor speed below
critical three seconds from when Motor interlock is disabled. For versions 4.0 and earlier, the autopilot is able
to disarm the aicraft during auto landings after the RSC declares the rotor speed below critical. For versions
4.1 and later, the autopilot waits the length of time of the H_RSC_RUNUP_TIME to disarm the aircraft during
auto landings.

5.5.5 Internal RSC Governor

ArduPilot provides an internal RSC governor (H_RSC_MODE =4) for those applications which do not have
one externally to assure constant rotor head speed. This mode requires the setup of
the H_RSC_THRCRV_x and H_RSC_GOV_x parameters and the use of an RPM sensor for the rotor head
speed. The governor maintains desired rotor speed through a proportional controller adjusted through the
droop compensator and a feedforward controller that uses the throttle curve to help respond to sudden
loading and unloading of the rotor system. The governor is designed to handle changes in environmental
conditions and even changes in the desired RPM from the nominal settings for which the throttle curve was
originally tuned. This is accomplished through the torque compensator which adjusts the reference from the
throttle curve to maintain the desired rotor speed. The governor is designed to maintain the desired RPM

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within the governor range. If the RPM falls outside this range for more than 0.5 seconds, the governor will
declare the appropriate overspeed or underspeed fault and the throttle output is reverted back to the throttle
curve. The motor interlock has to be disabled to reset the governor.

H_RSC_GOV_COMP: Governor Torque Compensator - Determines how fast the governor will adjust the base
torque reference to compensate for changes in density altitude.
H_RSC_GOV_DROOP: Governor Droop Compensator - Proportional gain to compensate for error in rotor
speed from the desired rotor speed.
H_RSC_GOV_FF: Governor Feedforward - Feedforward governor gain to throttle response during sudden
loading/unloading of the rotor system.
H_RSC_GOV_RANGE: Governor Operational Range - RPM range above or
below H_RSC_GOV_RPM setting where governor is operational.
H_RSC_GOV_RPM: Main Rotor RPM - Main rotor RPM that governor maintains when engaged.
H_RSC_GOV_TORQUE: Governor Torque Limiter - Adjusts the engine’s percentage of torque rise during
ramp-up to governor speed.

You must first set your throttle curve and properly tune it. If the sensor fails, control fails over to the throttle
curve. Without a properly tuned curve, your helicopter will crash. When tuning your throttle curve, tune it for
an rpm that the aircraft can be easily flown. It doesn’t have to be perfectly tuned, but it should be “close
enough” to fly the heli with no surprises. You can tune your curve with H_RSC_MODE =3.

For ICE and turbine powered helicopters, H_RSC_IDLE is set so the engine can be started and run without
engaging the clutch or turning the main rotor. Arming the autopilot before engaging motor interlock will set the
RSC output to the idle position. Dis-engaging the motor interlock in ArduPilot will set the RSC output for motor
throttle to H_RSC_IDLE. With auto landings or the LAND mode, upon detecting landing, the system will
disable motor interlock which will disengage the governor and set the RSC output to idle (H_RSC_IDLE).
Once the spool down is complete, it will auto-disarm and shutdown the engine.

Once the throttle curve is tuned, set H_RSC_MODE = 4 to have the RSC use the governor. Initially it is
recommended that the governor be tuned for the RPM that the throttle curve was tuned. This will minimize the
need for the governor torque compensator to be used and allow tuning to be concentrated on the droop
compensator and feedforward settings. The feedforward setting adjusts the amount of the throttle curve is
used in the governor. The feedforward may need adjusting if the rotor speed droops significantly when loading
the rotor system using the collective. The droop compensator ensures the desired rotor speed is maintained
very precisely. Higher value is quicker response to large speed changes due to load but may cause surging.
Adjust this to be as aggressive as possible without getting surging or RPM over-run when the governor
responds to large load changes on the rotor system.

To investigate the effect of the torque compensator, set the desired rotor speed 100-200 RPM from the rotor
speed the throttle curve was tuned. The governor torque compensator (H_RSC_GOV_COMP) should slowly
adjust the reference output to aid the droop compensator in maintaining the desired RPM. If RPM is low or
high by more than 2-5 RPM, increase this setting by 1% at a time until the governor speed matches your RPM
setting. Setting the compensator too high can result in surging and throttle “hunting”. Do not make large
adjustments at one time.

The torque limiter (H_RSC_GOV_TORQUE) should not need to be adjusted unless desired rotor speeds are
set above the rotor speed tuned for the throttle curve. The governor failing to engage on spool up is an
indication that the torque limiter is too low. Raise this be 5% until the governor reliably engages. It is possible
to have this too high which would be indicated by immediately getting a governor overspeed fault (message
on GCS) on spool up and RSC will revert to throttle curve.

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5.5.6 Tailrotor Setup

There are several ways for controlling the tailrotor to maintain yaw stabilization and provide yaw control, and
each have a unique setup. Search H_TAIL_TYPE in Full Parameter List. The H_TAIL_TYPE parameter is
used to specify method for controlling the tailrotor. A list of available tail types is given below:

1. Servo Only: ArduPilot will supply the tail rotor stabilization like a tail rotor gyro and control the pitch of the
tail rotor blades. As shown in Figure 1 below, select Servo Only in the Tail Type drop-down menu to configure
it to use only servo control. As shown in Figure 2 below, set the parameter SERVOx_FUNCTION to Motor4 to
control the tail servo. (The default output channel is channel 4.)

Figure 1 Select Servo Only Figure 2 Set Output Channel

2. Servo with External Gyro: ArduPilot will output yaw demands without direct yaw attitude stabilization which
is provided via an external gyro. As shown in Figure 3 below, select Servo with External Gyro in the Tail Type
drop-down menu to configure the tail servo control with an external gyro. As shown in Figure 4 below, set the
parameter SERVOx_FUNCTION to Motor4 to control the tail servo. (The default output channel is channel 4.)

Figure 3 Select Servo with External Gyro Figure 4 Set Output Channel

3. Direct Drive Variable Pitch (DDVP): The motor drives the variable pitch, and the control system consists of
a servo and a motor. The tail rotor is driven by the motor, and the ESC of the motor is controlled by ArduPilot.

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Yaw is controlled by the tail rotor pitch servo. As shown in Figure 5 below, select Direct Drive Variable Pitch
(DDVP) in the Tail Type drop-down menu to configure it to use motor-driven variable pitch to control. As shown
in Figure 6 below, set the parameter SERVOx_FUNCTION to Motor4 to control the tail rotor pitch servo (The
default output channel is channel 4). Set the parameter SERVOx_FUNCTION to "HeliTailRSC" to control the
tail motor. (The default output channel is channel 7.)

Figure 5 Select Direct Drive Variable Pitch (DDVP) Figure 6 Set Output Channel

4. Direct Drive Fixed Pitch Clockwise (DDFP CW): Tail rotor is driven by a motor whose ESC is controlled by
ArduPilot to maintain yaw stability and yaw direction. Used with clockwise rotating main rotors, when viewed
from above. As shown in Figure 7 below, select Direct Drive Fixed Pitch Clockwise (DDFP CW) in the Tail
Type drop-down menu to configure clockwise motor drive fixed pitch to control. As shown in Figure 8 below,
set the parameter SERVOx_FUNCTION to "Motor4" to control the tail motor. (The default output channel is
channel 4.)

Figure 7 Select Direct Drive Fixed Pitch Clockwise Figure 8 Set Output Channel

5. Direct Drive Fixed Pitch Counter-Clockwise (DDFP CCW): Tail rotor driven by a motor whose ESC is
controlled by ArudPilot to maintain yaw stability and yaw direction. Used with counter-clockwise rotating main
rotors, when viewed from above. As shown in Figure 9 below, select Direct Drive Fixed Pitch Clockwise
(DDFP CW) in the Tail Type drop-down menu to configure counterclockwise motor drive fixed pitch to control.

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As shown in Figure 10 below, set the parameter SERVOx_FUNCTION to "Motor4" to control the tail motor.
(The default output channel is channel 4.)

Figure 9 Select Direct Drive Fixed Pitch Counter-Clockwise Figure 10 Set Output Channel

6. LED Indicator, Arming and Troubleshooting

6.1 LED Indicator
Blue and red flashing: Initializing
Yellow flashing twice: Error, Arming rejected
Blue flashing: Stabilize, can be armed. Faile to RTL or PosHold
Green flashing: GPS locked, can be armed and take off, RTL
Green always on + a long D sound: Armed and ready to take off
Yellow flashing: Transmitter failsafe activated
Yellow flashing+repeated sounds: Battery failsafe activated
Yellow flashing+High/High/Low sounds: GPS data error or GPS failsafe activated

6.2 Arming and Disarming

Connect all the accessories. When you have completed transmitter calibration, acceleration calibration and
compass calibration, you can try to arm it.
When the LED of the flight controller is blue or green, it can be armed. You can only arm or disarm in
Stabilize, ACRO, AltHold, Loiter, and PosHold modes. You cannot arm your copter in AUTO mode.

Arm action:
1.Arm the motors by holding the throttle down, and rudder right for 5 seconds.

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3. When you hear the buzzer beeping for a long time and the flight controller indicator light is always on, the
arming is successful
4. Toggle the 8-channel switch to the maximum value, and wait for the motor to rotate to a constant speed.

Note 1: When it is not stick mode 2, please perform the arm action as the lowest for channel 3, and the
highest for channel 4. For details, you can check the Mission Planner for the arming action.
Note 2: When the arming action is performed, but there is a beep from the buzzer, which means that it
cannot be armed at this time, and there is a fault. Please connect the flight controller to the Mission Planner
to check the disarm prompt, and solve the fault according to the fault description below.

Disarm action:
1. Toggle the 8-channel switch to the minimum value and wait for the motor to stop rotating
2. The left joystick executes the action shown in the picture below and holds for 5 seconds. When the flight
controller indicator flashes and the motor stops, the disarm is done.

Note: 1. When it is not stick mode 2, please execute the lowest for channel 3 and the lowest for channel 4 to
disarm
2. After landing, please wait for the propeller speed to decrease before performing the disarm action,
otherwise it may cause the possibility of the aircraft turning over

6.3 Failure Messages

RC failures (i.e., transmitter/receiver failures):

safe switch: The safety switch is not closed. Check the value of BRD_SAFETYENABLE in all parameter list.
If it is 1, modify it to 0.

RC not calibrated: the radio calibration has not been performed. RC3_MIN and RC3_MAX must have been
changed from their default values (1100 and 1900), and for channels 1 to 4, MIN value must be 1300 or less,
and MAX value 1700 or more.

Barometer failures:
Baro not healthy: the barometer sensor is reporting that it is unhealthy which is normally a sign of a
hardware failure.
Alt disparity: the barometer altitude disagrees with the inertial navigation (i.e. Baro + Accelerometer) altitude
estimate by more than 2 meters. This message is normally short-lived and can occur when the flight
controller is first plugged in or if it receives a hard jolt (i.e. dropped suddenly). If it does not clear the
accelerometers may need to be calibrated or there may be a barometer hardware issue.

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Compass failures:
Compass not healthy: the compass sensor is reporting that it is unhealthy which is a sign of a hardware
failure.
Compass not calibrated : the compass(es) has not been calibrated. the COMPASS_OFS_X, Y, Z
parameters are zero or the number or type of compasses connected has been changed since the last
compass calibration was performed.
Compass offsets too high: the primary compass’s offsets length (i.e. sqrt(x^2+y^2+z^2)) are larger than
500. This can be caused by metal objects being placed too close to the compass. If only an internal compass
is being used (not recommended), it may simply be the metal in the board that is causing the large offsets
and this may not actually be a problem in which case you may wish to disable the compass check.
Check mag field: the sensed magnetic field in the area is 35% higher or lower than the expected value. The
expected length is 530 so it’s > 874 or < 185. Magnetic field strength varies around the world but these wide
limits mean it’s more likely the compass calibration has not calculated good offsets and should be repeated.
Compasses inconsistent: the internal and external compasses are pointing in different directions (off
by >45 degrees). This is normally caused by the external compasses orientation (i.e. COMPASS_ORIENT
parameter) being set incorrectly.

GPS related failures:

GPS Glitch : the GPS is glitching and the vehicle is in a flight mode that requires GPS (i.e. Loiter, PosHold,
etc) and/or the circular fence is enabled.
Need 3D Fix : the GPS does not have a 3D fix and the vehicle is in a flight mode that requires the GPS
and/or the circular fence is enabled.
Bad Velocity: the vehicle’s velocity (according to inertial navigation system) is above 50cm/s. Issues that
could lead to this include the vehicle actually moving or being dropped, bad accelerometer calibration, GPS
updating at below the expected 5hz.
High GPS HDOP : the GPS’s HDOP value (a measure of the position accuracy) is above 2.0 and the vehicle
is in a flight mode that requires GPS and/or the circular fence is enabled. This may be resolved by simply
waiting a few minutes, moving to a location with a better view of the sky or checking sources of GPS
interference (i.e. FPV equipment) are moved further from the GPS. Alternatively, the check can be relaxed by
increasing the GPS_HDOP_GOOD parameter to 2.2 or 2.5. Worst case the pilot may disable the fence and
take-off in a mode that does not require the GPS (i.e. Stabilize, AltHold) and switch into Loiter after arming
but this is not recommended.
Note: the GPS HDOP can be readily viewed through the Mission Planner’s Quick tab as shown below.

INS checks (i.e. Accelerometer and Gyro checks):

INS not calibrated: some or all of the accelerometer’s offsets are zero. The accelerometers need to be
calibrated.
Accels not healthy: one of the accelerometers is reporting it is not healthy which could be a hardware issue.
This can also occur immediately after a firmware update before the board has been restarted.
Accels inconsistent: the accelerometers are reporting accelerations which are different by at least 1m/s/s.
The accelerometers need to be re-calibrated or there is a hardware issue.
Gyros not healthy: one of the gyroscopes is reporting it is unhealthy which is likely a hardware issue. This
can also occur immediately after a firmware update before the board has been restarted.
Gyro cal failed: the gyro calibration failed to capture offsets. This is most often caused by the vehicle being
moved during the gyro calibration (when red and blue lights are flashing) in which case unplugging the

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battery and plugging it in again while being careful not to jostle the vehicle will likely resolve the issue.
Sensors hardware failures (i.e. spikes) can also cause this failure.
Gyros inconsistent: two gyroscopes are reporting vehicle rotation rates that differ by more than 20deg/sec.
This is likely a hardware failure or caused by a bad gyro calibration.

Board Voltage checks:

Check Board Voltage: the board’s internal voltage is below 4.3 Volts or above 5.8 Volts.
If powered through a USB cable (i.e. while on the bench) this can be caused by the desktop computer being
unable to provide sufficient current to the flight controller - try replacing the USB cable.
If powered from a battery this is a serious problem and the power system (i.e. Power Module, battery, etc)
should be carefully checked before flying.

Parameter checks:
Ch7&Ch8 Opt cannot be same: Auxiliary Function Switches are set to the same option which is not
permitted because it could lead to confusion.
Check FS_THR_VALUE: the radio failsafe pwm value has been set too close to the throttle channels (i.e.
ch3) minimum.
Check ANGLE_MAX: the ANGLE_MAX parameter which controls the vehicle’s maximum lean angle has
been set below 10 degrees (i.e. 1000) or above 80 degrees (i.e. 8000).
ACRO_BAL_ROLL/PITCH: the ACRO_BAL_ROLL parameter is higher than the Stabilize Roll P and/or
ACRO_BAL_PITCH parameter is higher than the Stabilize Pitch P value. This could lead to the pilot being
unable to control the lean angle in ACRO mode because the Acro Trainer stabilization would overpower the
pilot’s input.

Disabling the pre-arm safety check

If you are confident that the pre-arm check failure is not a real problem you can disable the checks by:
Connecting your Flight Controller to the Mission Planner
Go to Mission Planner’s Config/Tuning >> Standard Params screen
set the Arming Check drop-down to “Disabled” or one of the “Skip” options which more effectively skips the
item causing the failure.
Push the “Write Params” button

Ideally however you should determine the cause of the pre-arm failure and if it can be resolved, return the
Arming Check parameter back to “Enabled”.
Disarming the motors:
Disarming the motors will cause the motors to stop spinning. To disarm the motors, do the following:
1. Check that your flight mode switch is set to Stabilize, ACRO, AltHold.
2. Hold throttle at minimum and rudder to the left for 2 seconds till the propeller stop to spin.
3. On the CrossFlight the RGB LED will start flashing green.
4. Disconnect the LiPo battery.
5. Turn off your transmitter.
It needs GPS if flight with Loiter, or PosHold mode.
Please make sure that the propellers stop to spin and then arm or it will cause the drone roll over.

Turn of the function that spin when armed (without speed when motors are armed and throttle is at
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If you connect the battery and armed, the motors begin to have speed even though the throttle is at zero from
the version 3.1 firmware. It reminds you that CrossFlight is in service and please take care of the safety.
This function is very importance for the safety but if you do not want use this function, you can turn off it.
How to turn off this function:
Setup the number of Spin when Armed from 0.100 to 0.000 as the picture below.

7. Helicopter Advanced Settings

Due to the particularity of the helicopter, the mechanical structure may bring great differences and
performance impacts. Please adjust the mechanical structure of the helicopter, which will also bring about a
relatively bad vibration effect. The software vibration reduction may not be able to perform very well. When
the parameter adjustment can’t work well, and altitude hold mode does not work well, please perform a
certain structural vibration reduction to make up for the lack of software vibration reduction.

7.1 Advanced parameters

Parameter Meaning Recommendation
H_PHANG H3 Generic Phase Angle Comp According to the actual situation, when
the level of the swash plate is normal
and the helicopter blades are normal,
there is no need to modify
H_CYC_MAX Maximum Cyclic Pitch Angle Modify according to actual needs
H_COLYAW Feed forward compensation to Generally not recommended to modify
automatically add rudder input
H_COL_LAND_MIN Collective Blade Pitch Minimum when It is not recommended to increase the
Landed value
ATC_INPUT_TC Attitude control input time constant According to the actual situation, all
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ATC_ACCEL_P_MAX cceleration Max for Pitch When you think that the response
speed in which direction is slow, you
can add it, but note that after the
ATC_ACCEL_R_MAX Acceleration Max for Roll modification, the PID in the
corresponding direction must also be
modified in direction. It is
recommended to modify the yaw
direction value, because the control
ATC_ACCEL_Y_MAX Acceleration Max for Yaw algorithm, the tail response will be very
slow

7.2 Rate Yaw

Take off to a height of 0.3 meters with default parameters (please pay attention to safe operation because it
may be not easy to fly it at the beginning)
To check the tail lock:
Increase Yaw's P if tail won't lock
Lower Yaw's P if the tail is wagging rapidly

It is not recommended to adjust the P value too high. If the adjustment is too large and still cannot be locked,
it is suspected of mechanical problems, link delay and other problems. You can increase the corresponding
ATC_RAT_YAW_FF to make up for the mechanical delay and other problems. When the tail rudder is
adjusted well, the attitude of roll and pitch can be adjusted better.

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7.3 PID Adjustment

Note: The adjustment here needs to use the log function, please insert the memory card

7.3.1 Adjust FF (Feedforward Compensation)

The specific parameters corresponding to the three axes are ATC_RAT_RLL_FF, ATC_RAT_PIT_FF,
ATC_RAT_YAW_FF; They are used to compensate for the slow response of the servo and the response
problem caused by the length of the connecting rod. It is generally greater than 0.22 for those with ailerons,
and generally less than 0.22 for those without ailerons. It can also be modified according to the actual test

1. First set the two axes of Roll and Pitch, set the corresponding ATC_RAT_RLL_FF and ATC_RAT_PIT_FF
to 0.15, and adjust the PID of the corresponding Roll and Pitch to the minimum first, as shown in the picture
below

After that, test the flight in Stabilized mode. Make some quick pitch and roll maneuvers, and then land.
Export logs, view logs, and open logs to view RATE.

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If RATE.PDes is greater than RATE.P, the corresponding ATC_RAT_PIT_FF value needs to be increased,
and vice versa;
If RATE.RDes is greater than RATE.R, the corresponding ATC_RAT_RLL_FF value needs to be increased,
and vice versa;
Adjust until the peaks of the two meet and follow.
When the peak trend of the two follows too fast, it is necessary to reduce the acceleration limit value of the
corresponding axis. If the following is too slow, increase it.
ATC_ACCEL_P_MAX
ATC_ACCEL_R_MAX
Note: When there is vibration in the pitch direction, it may be due to a mechanical problem, an out-of-level
swash plate, or other mechanical problems.

7.3.2 Adjust D

Adjust Rate Roll first. Start from the initial setting of 0.001 for D, and increase by 0.001 each time until there
is a left and right jitter. Then reduce the value by half as the final value, and the same value is also
determined for the pitch direction

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7.3.3 Adjust P

The adjustment method is similar to the D adjustment. First adjust the P of Rate Roll, and increase it by 0.01
each time until it shakes left and right. Then reduce the value by half as the final value, and set the same
value for the Pitch

7.3.4 Adjust I and IMAX

It is recommended to set I to be consistent with the corresponding FF

Roll I = ATC_RAT_RLL_FF
Pitch I = ATC_RAT_PIT_FF
Please enable the PID recording function of the log in advance
1. CONFIG - Standard Params
2. Find log
3. Find log bitmask, tick PID
4. Click Write Params to save it

After that, fly once at the maximum speed. Export the log after landing, and check the maximum value of I in
PIDP. It is enough to set Imax to be greater than this value by 0.1

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7.3.5 Hover Level Adjustment

The left and right attitude of the aircraft is affected by the rudder, and there may be a left and right tilt angle.
In order to compensate for the angle, a parameter can be set to compensate for it.
Search ATC_HOVR_ROL_TRM in Full Parameter List

When the main rotor rotates clockwise, a positive value represents the compensation of the right Roll, and
3.5 represents 3.5 degrees.
When the main rotor rotates counterclockwise, the negative value is the compensation of the left Roll. -3.5
means 3.5 degrees.
First, calibrate the level of the flight controller, adjust the level of the swashplate, then hover to check the tilt
angle of the aircraft, and input the tilt value to compensate for the tilt. If it is still tilted after modification,
please check the installation level of the swashplate or flight controller.

8. GeoFence
AC 3.0.1 (and higher) includes a simple “tin can” shaped fence centered on home that will attempt to stop
your copter from flying too far away by stopping at the fence (if in Loiter mode and using Copter-3.4 or higher)
or initiating an RTL. The maximum circular distance and altitude and the vehicle behavior when the fence is
reached can be configured using Mission Planner.

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If the vehicle strays outside these borders it will switch into RTL or LAND. At the moment the fence is
breached a backup fence is erected 20m further out (or up). If the copter breaches this backup fence (for
example if the vehicle is not set up correctly or the operator takes control but is unable to bring the copter
back towards home) the copter will be switched into RTL again (and another backup fence an additional 20m
further out will be created).

If the copter eventually flies 100m outside the configured fence distance, the vehicle will switch into LAND
mode. The idea being that it’s clearly impossible to get the copter home so best to just bring it down. The pilot
can still retake control of course with the flight mode switches. Like with the earlier fences, another fence is
erected 20m out which will again switch the copter to LAND if it continues away from home.

Enabling the Fence in Mission Planner

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The Fence can be set-up by doing the following:
1. Connect your flight controller CrossFlight to the Mission Planner.
2. Go to the Config/Tuning -- GeoFence screen.
3. Click the Enable button.
4. Leave the “Type” as “Altitude and Circle” (unless you want only an Altitude limit or only a Circular fence in
which case you can select “Altitude” or “Circle”).
5. Leave the Action as “RTL or Land”.
6. Set “Max Alt” to the altitude limit you want (in meters).
7. Set “Max Radius” to the maximum distance from home you want (in meters). This should normally be at
least 50m.

Enabling the fence with channel 7 or 8.

It is not necessary to set-up a switch to enable or disable the fence but if you wish to control the fence with a
switch please follow these steps:
1. Go to the Mission Planner’s Config/Tuning > Extended Tuning screen and set either “Ch7 Opt” OR “Ch8
Opt” to Fence.
2. Holding the switch high (i.e. PWM > 1800) will enable the fence, low (under 1800) will disable the fence.

Warning
1. The minimum recommended fence radius is 30m.
2. The fence requires the GPS to be functioning well so do not disable the GPS arming check nor the EKF
failsafe while the fence is enabled. Conversely if you disable either of these checks, disable the Fence.
3. For the best results, ensure RTL is working on your vehicle.
4. With the Fence enabled, the pre-arm checks will require you have GPS lock before arming the vehicle.
5. If GPS failsafe is not enabled and the Fence is enabled and you lose GPS lock while flying the fence will be
disabled.
6. If GPS failsafe is enabled and the Fence is enabled and you lose GPS lock while flying the vehicle will
switch to LAND because we no longer know the vehicle position and we want to ensure the copter never
travels far outside the fence. This behavior will occur regardless of the flight mode. If a LAND sequence is not
desired, the pilot can retake control by moving the flight mode switch.

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7. The backup fences are created 20m out from the previous breached fence not 20m out from the vehicle’s
position. This means if you choose to override the fence you may have less than 20m to regain vehicle control
before the fence switches the copter to RTL (or LAND) again. If you really want to override the fence, you
should be ready to switch the flight mode twice or alternatively set-up the enable/disable fence switch.
Circle and Polygon: Combining with the Circular and Altitude fences.
The polygon fence can be used in combination with the circular and altitude fences and the failsafe behavior
(i.e. stop at the fence or RTL) will trigger at whichever barrier the vehicle reaches first (i.e. the green line
shown below).

9. Onboard OSD
OSD is the abbreviation of On Screen Display in English. It is a kind of screen display technology, which is
used to display characters, graphics and images on the display terminal. The status of the aircraft can be
displayed in the returned video, and the data of each module can be integrated into the OSD module, and
then the OSD module can return the monitored data to the terminal (FPV glasses or screen) and superimpose
it on the video transmission image. CrossFlight flight controller integrates an OSD chip. Users do not need to
connect an external OSD module. They only need to connect the signal lines corresponding to the image
transmission and camera to the OSD port of CrossFlight to use the OSD function.

9.1 Setting Introduction

OSD Parameters
OSD_W_RESTVOLT: RESTVOLT warn level. Set level at which RESTVOLT item will flash Range is from 0 to
100.
OSD_CELL_COUNT: Battery cell count. Used for average cell voltage display. -1 disables, 0 uses cell count
autodetection for well charged LIPO/LIION batteries at connection, other values manually select cell count
used.
OSD_CHAN: Screen switch transmitter channel. This sets the channel used to switch different OSD screens.
The value includes 0, 5-16.
OSD_SW_METHOD: Screen switch method. This sets the method used to switch different OSD screens.
0 = switch to next screen if channel value was changed.

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1 = select screen based on pwm ranges specified for each screen.
2 = switch to next screen after low to high transition and every 1s while channel value is high.
OSD_OPTIONS: OSD Options. This sets options that change the display, including Decimal pack, Inverted
Wind, Inverted AH Roll.
OSD_FONT: OSD Font. This sets which OSD font to use. It is an integer from 0 to the number of fonts
available.
OSD_V_OFFSET: OSD vertical offset. Sets vertical offset of the osd inside image.
OSD_H_OFFSET: OSD horizontal offset. Sets horizontal offset of the osd inside image.
OSD_W_RSSI: RSSI warn level. Set level at which RSSI item will flash. The range is from 0 to 99.
OSD_W_NSAT: NSAT warn level. Set level at which NSAT item will flash. The range is from 0 to 30.
OSD_W_BATVOLT: BAT_VOLT warn level. Set level at which BAT_VOLT item will flash. The range is from 0
to 100V.
OSD_UNITS: Display Units. Sets the units to use in displaying items.
0 = Metric (m, km, m/s, km/h)
1 = Imperial (feet, miles, feet per second, miles per hour)
2 = ArduPilot Native (m, km, m/s)
3 = Aviation (feet, nautical miles, feet per minute, knots)
OSD_MSG_TIME: Message display duration in seconds. Sets message duration seconds.
OSD_ARM_SCR: Arm screen. Screen to be shown on Arm event. Zero to disable the feature.
OSD_DSARM_SCR: Disarm screen. Screen to be shown on disarm event. Zero to disable the feature.
OSD_FS_SCR: Failsafe screen. Screen to be shown on failsafe event. Zero to disable the feature.
OSD_BTN_DELAY: Button delay. Debounce time in ms for stick commanded parameter navigation.
OSD_W_TERR: Terrain warn level. Set level below which TER_HGT item will flash. -1 disables.
OSD_W_AVGCELLV: AVGCELLV warn level. Set level at which AVGCELLV item will flash.
OSD_TYPE: 1 means the chip of OSD is MAX7456.

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9.2 Screen Introduction

The Screen interface is the interface displayed on the user's screen, where the user can independently design
the interface layout, display options, etc.

① The area is the layout displayed on the screen. Users can freely drag and drop the options inside to
customize and adjust the layout of the screen.
② The area is the content displayed on the screen. Users can tick the content they need and display it on the
screen.
③ The area can copy the layout of the current screen or paste the layout of other screens to this screen.
④ Write all the current settings in the area.

10. Parameters Setting

10.1 Parameter Introduction
All of the parameters of CrossFlight can setup in Mission Planner, please do not change the
parameters during the flight.

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Left column:
Basic Tuning: Provide simple parameter adjustment , such as climbing response rate
Extended Tuning: provide adjustment of PID, function of channel 7 and 8 channel
Standard Params: Provide some basic settings to unlock detection items, logs, enable additional
functions, channel functions, etc.
Advanced Params: Provide some advanced function settings such as PID
Full Parameter List: All parameter list display, parameter name, parameter value, value unit, value range
and value options, parameter function introduction etc.
Full Parameter Tree: Related function parameters are similarly displayed.After a function is expanded,
the function-related parameters are displayed

Right column:
Load from file: load the files with the parameters have setup already.
Save to file: save the file with the parameters to your computer.
Write Params: write the parameters that have modified to CrossFlight.
Refresh Params: exhibit the newest parameters which have modified no the Mission Planner.
Compare Params: compare the current and the previous parameters.
Load Presaved: load the parameters that Radiolink upgrade the files which design for 210-250 frame
racing drone to CrossFlight.

10.2 Parameter Modification

All the parameters of CrossFlight can be adjusted. You can modify it according to the following steps;

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1. Enter the parameter name you want to modify in the search box
2. Wait for the refresh and the searched parameters is displayed
3. After clicking in the parameter value box , enter the value you want to modify
4. Click Write Params on the right to save the parameter

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11. Download DataFlash Log

There are two ways to record your flight data. With some exceptions, the two methods record very similar
data but in different ways:
Dataflash logs use the CrossFlight onboard dataflash memory, which you can download after the flight. On
Plane and Rover dataflash logs are created soon after start-up. On Copter they are created after you first arm
the copter.
Telemetry logs (also known as “tlogs”) are recorded by the Mission Planner (or other ground station) when you
connect ArduPilot to your computer via a telemetry link.
If you are not yet familiar with the basics of these log files, first review the introductory pages to understand
where these logs are stored and how you can download and view the information held within them.

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