What the heck is "Air-Mode"

Craftydan

Hostage Taker of Quads
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From Boris's post on RCG:

AIR MODE makes the copter think that the copter is flying at ALL times. PID effect does never get damped out with low throttle.
This also means that it thinks it is flying even when on ground. Of course 0 throttle isn't anymore a "non flying" situation. It is something what we do a lot nowadays. Also full throttle is not being limited anymore.

The above is exactly what it is designed for and it seems to do the job like it is designed to do it.

In short, the craft assumes it's flying at all throttle levels, so if you chop the throttle, the stability corrections still come into play.

Cute little change for those who fly . . . less than sedate, but it's not without consequences, particularly just before and during takeoff.
 

Cereal_Killer

New member
The main point of air mode is to keep the quad steady and moving along the intended path while upside down and throttle is cut (or very low) so you get more (and have control during) "hang time" .
 

Craftydan

Hostage Taker of Quads
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Turning off motor_stop isn't quite the same.

First, without airmode, the control loops are dampened at low throttle so a the landing bounce is reduced...but if you're mid-flip, the quad will treat the low throttle the same, meaning your control becomes sloppy and weak.

Second, airmode can be turned on/off mid-flight (it's not called "landmode", after all), where motor stop requires a reboot.

Effectively, you can take off with or without motor_stop, fly around in airmode with full control regardless of where the throttle is, then switch airmode off and land as you like, motors on or off as you chop the throttle.
 

Ocean

Member
Second, airmode can be turned on/off mid-flight (it's not called "landmode", after all), where motor stop requires a reboot. .

This is not 100% as of latest betaflight. Boris has changed it so Airmode is now a feature, so its enabled all the time. However what you can do is set a breakpoint, so below a certain throttle setting Airmode is not active (which I don't understand as wasn't airmode meant to increase low throttle manouevers?). This breakpoint setting is to help with landings, what use to happen is as soon as you touched the ground your quad would go crazy.
 

LitterBug

Techno Nut
Moderator
This is not 100% as of latest betaflight. Boris has changed it so Airmode is now a feature, so its enabled all the time. However what you can do is set a breakpoint, so below a certain throttle setting Airmode is not active (which I don't understand as wasn't airmode meant to increase low throttle manouevers?). This breakpoint setting is to help with landings, what use to happen is as soon as you touched the ground your quad would go crazy.

On 2.8.1 it bounces on landings even with airmode off. I have learned to be quick with the disarm switch when landing. LOL

Cheers!
LitterBug
 

Craftydan

Hostage Taker of Quads
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(which I don't understand as wasn't airmode meant to increase low throttle manouevers?).

Which is why I don't fly betaflight. It sometimes strikes me as odd that people in this era don't understand what "beta" means (I blame Google).

While I completely appreciate the effort and idea flow that betaflight has generated, becoming a test platform for new ideas in the *flight branches, too many newer/less experienced/less tech savvy pilots, in their excitement for the cutting edge, leap to betaflight unaware. They miss out on the fact that quite a few things on the cutting edge will get cut later for good reasons. Sure you get to play with the latest good ideas first . . . but you also get to struggle through a few bad ones too. The ideas that survive will eventually make it back into the more mature branches in a refined form, and the migration so far has been impressively fast.

By no means do I discourage people offering their time/effort/skill in test piloting, but I think it's valid to point out . . . the test pilots of old were not revered for their fast partying drinking lifestyle, but for the fact they climbed into an aircraft that may not be flyable. MANY died doing this, and they still soberly climed in anyways, knowing this airplane may do the same to them.

Loading up a "beta" ROM into your quad isn't anywhere near as courageous, but expecting the freshest version to not have any gotchas in it is naive.
 
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jipp

Senior Member
ok i thought betaflight was a odd name for a firmware. hah, so should they not from start just called it "clean flight beta 1.x.x or beta 1.x.x.x. clean_fligt.build-2.. or something

i just assumed betaflight was a stripped down firmware its own thing trying to clean up the old code that needs to be removed to move the software further.


yeah odd how beta flight has taken on its own thing.. it sure had me thinking it was not beta code. just the name..

coming from a programming back ground, so i should of known better i guess but then on the other hand i have just recently looked into naze now. figure i have no choice but to learning what its about. even tho ill stick with the cc3d arch, and all the coo F4 Fc to come ]
 
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SKT

Junior Member
I am the first to admit I don't grasp multirotor tuning or anything about them real fast....so I feel no shame in asking this...

Can you run Airmode in conjunction with Horizon mode?

I fly prob 75% Angle and occasionally flick into Horizon, do some flips and rolls with safety of open space and altitude then back to Angle. I've flown in Horizon for longer and longer stints here and there and liking it. The other day I set the switch up for Airmode instead of Horizon and to me it felt/looked like it was in Rate mode and after a roll and a half I punched it into the deck hard.

So yeah...can I have the comfort of Horizon and the advantages of Airmode by simply setting both modes at the same range on the same switch?

And will it work?
 

Craftydan

Hostage Taker of Quads
Staff member
Moderator
Mentor
Can you run Airmode in conjunction with Horizon mode?

Yup. Airmode will overlay any of the control modes. Just overlap the "on" range for the selected Aux and they both go on. With them both on, the selected control mode (angle, horizon, etc.) will continue to work all the way to minimum throttle . . . your craft will be plummeting, but if you switched it to angle, it'll keep as level as it can all the way down.
 

PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
I set my 3 position flight mode switch to have horizon mode on 0 (for oh crap moments or if I lose orientation when flying LOS) position one is acro without air mode and position 2 is acro with air mode. Then I use the throttle hold set to -120% as the emergency shut all power off for crashes or in case for some reason I have to drop the quad fast like if one of the special needs kids in my complex bolts out on the field out of the blue I can land and cut the props before they get near it (them lil buggers can be quick AND quiet when they want to be)

There has been more then one occasion where I flew nose in to land in front of me with no one in view of the goggles or monitor and by the time I took them off or looked where I landed there was a little person in front of me sayin whatcha doin? or can I fly it? (sometimes I swear the one boy can teleport)
 

wadecarlson

New member
Which is why I don't fly betaflight. It sometimes strikes me as odd that people in this era don't understand what "beta" means (I blame Google).

While I completely appreciate the effort and idea flow that betaflight has generated, becoming a test platform for new ideas in the *flight branches, too many newer/less experienced/less tech savvy pilots, in their excitement for the cutting edge, leap to betaflight unaware. They miss out on the fact that quite a few things on the cutting edge will get cut later for good reasons. Sure you get to play with the latest good ideas first . . . but you also get to struggle through a few bad ones too. The ideas that survive will eventually make it back into the more mature branches in a refined form, and the migration so far has been impressively fast.

By no means do I discourage people offering their time/effort/skill in test piloting, but I think it's valid to point out . . . the test pilots of old were not revered for their fast partying drinking lifestyle, but for the fact they climbed into an aircraft that may not be flyable. MANY died doing this, and they still soberly climed in anyways, knowing this airplane may do the same to them.

Loading up a "beta" ROM into your quad isn't anywhere near as courageous, but expecting the freshest version to not have any gotchas in it is naive.

You couldn't be more wrong. BetaFlight is so far ahead of cleanflight. Anyone worth a crap in this hobby not using Kiss is using BetaFlight. In my experience cleanflight has more issues than BetaFlight. I just can't stress this enough. I wish people that don't understand this stuff wouldn't confuse newbies by giving them incorrect info.
 

Craftydan

Hostage Taker of Quads
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Moderator
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You couldn't be more wrong. BetaFlight is so far ahead of cleanflight. Anyone worth a crap in this hobby not using Kiss is using BetaFlight. In my experience cleanflight has more issues than BetaFlight. I just can't stress this enough. I wish people that don't understand this stuff wouldn't confuse newbies by giving them incorrect info.

First off, you're necro-posting. Check the dates. There's no rule against necro-posting, but starting an argument with one is a bit embarrassing, IMO. It's easy to be "right" with posts that are both months and several *flight versions old.

Second, Your argment will depend on the board -- F1's don't handle the latest versions of Betaflight well. I can see the argument of "why buy F1's, they're out of date", but for those who are flying airframes with them (or RTF's that carry them), getting the "latest" may mean switching to the other branch or paying to replace a perfectly functional board. I follow the "fly what you have now" philosophy, rather than "wait until you can buy something better".

Third, the average novice pilot isn't "worth a crap". Ask them, if you want to embarrass them. Most are quite aware of it -- I know I was. They'll be great if they stick with it, and by that time, they will be able to make their own mind up about what they fly. Just like giving a hellcat (the car) to a teenager with a learning permit is a great way to make scrap metal, Flying what the "best" pilots fly setup like they fly it is a great way to make carbon scraps. More features is not more better. They need stable and functional, not prototypes of something that might be cool but may also act erratically.

Fourth, the "gap" likely change shortly with Cleanflight 2.0. How much? That remains to be seen, but again you miss the point of Beta/clean flight. Betaflight is testing the boundaries -- good *AND* bad. If you *are* the expert pilot, and you're aware when a betaflight ROM will drop you like a rock, Rock on. Cleanflight is implementing these features when they've proven good, in a stable format. Is cleanflight moving too slow? Now that's a position I could agree with.


Finally, Welcome to the forum . . . Genuinely, welcome . . . Seems an auspicious start, trying to argue with the past. We tend to be more friendly around here -- granted, some more than others -- but you might want to be a bit less assuming when you fly off the handle . . . in your first post . . . because while we're a welcoming bunch, hostility generally isn't welcome here.
 

STUNTECH

New member
hello all, I'm positive I'm asking this in the wrong place but after searching for an answer for a really really long time I found this thread and thought maybe someone would help. so I registered. I am trying to remove all self leveling characteristics at zero throttle in horizon mode. I would like to be able to hold the quad fully inverted like in acro. This is mailnly for when my camera is broken(which is often I bought my first quad in january and just finished my first full build. By the way you guys at Flight test are AWSOME!!! Also I cant seem to get super fast rolls and flips in horizon, I've changed everything I can think of (one at a time of corse) but no luck. Thanks in advance, and sorry for the poor forum edicate?
:D
 

JimCR120

Got Lobstah?
Site Moderator
Hello Stuntech,

As a multirotor newb I can't offer much. I can assume that you wouldn't be inverted too long right. The idea is to hold it then flip it upright shortly after, right?

Anyway, while waiting for those who know to help you better, would you mind introducing yourself and sharing your experience/interest in the hobby?

Welcome to the forum.
—Jim
 

PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
Welcome to Flite Test Suntech yes you have come to the right place for help.

Like Jim asked please start a new introduction thread and tell us more about yourself and what your interests are in the hobby. With that post you can tell us more about your quad like what flight controller, what software and GUI you have on it to use, maybe a screen shot or two of the config page, the pid page as well as what radio gear you are using. That way It will be easier for me or anyone else to jump in and help.

I will assume that you mean by upside down that you are talking about "Hang time" and not actual inverted flight. Either one is doable but require very different setups. Let us know more specifics and I / we will be more then glad to help.