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Flight modes

This article provides an overview of the available flight modes.

  • Stabilize
  • Alt Hold
  • Loiter
  • RTL (Return-to-Launch)
  • Auto

Stabilize​

In this mode your inputs are directly passed to the motors with stabilization. You're controlling your vehicle manually except the self-leveling the roll and pitch axis.

tip

Try Alt Hold or Loiter mode instead of Stabilize and you'll be concentrated on less controls at once. This will be a good starting point if you're learning to fly.

Alt hold​

When altitude mode is activated, Copter keeps consistent altitude allowing you to handle roll, pitch, and yaw. The throttle is automatically controlled to maintain the current altitude.

Loiter​

Loiter Mode maintains the current location, heading and altitude automatically. The difference between this and manual mode is that when pilot releases the sticks, the vehicle returns to a stop and hold position.

RTL (Return-to-Launch)​

RTL mode navigates Copter from its current position to hover above the home position. The copter will first take the minimum relative altitude (RTL_ALT) before returning home. To learn more about RTL Mode behaviour and its parameters please navigate to this page.

Auto​

In Auto mode the copter will accomplish a mission script which combines the "Navigation" commands and “Do” commands. "Navigation" commands affect vehicle's location and "Do" commands tackle auxiliary functions.

tip

If you want to learn more about the available flight modes, please, refer to the ArduPilot docs available here.