Curious if Ardupilot can handle an 8-motor setup for a VTOL when arranged in an H configuration.
4 front, tilting forward (vertical up to tractor in forward flight). 4 rear, tilting backwards (vertical down to pusher in forward flight). I’m thinking continuous tilt so I can manually adjust it as I gain airspeed.
I know it’s weird.
To me this idea sucks
Tilt Rotor supports Octocopter frame class. So all motors would be in the tilt mask. The Tilt Type continuous.
https://ardupilot.org/plane/docs/guide-tilt-rotor.html#types-of-tilt-rotors
tilt-hexacopters with the front four motors tilting
continuous-tiltrotors where the tilt mechanism can be controlled to any angle in a range from straight up to straight forward
There might be a way to use the TILT_MASK to get what you’re looking for.
Wow… thanks so much for your helpful input. 
Thanks. I saw that in the documentation. I guess my biggest question is more for stabilization with 4 pointed upwards, and 4 pointed downwards but at different locations. Appreciate the helpful responses though.
Got a sketch of what you have mind?
…
Moved to Plane>VTOL
Yes you can do this. Are you planning to attach the motors to the wing, with 4 motors in front of the leading edge, and 4 behind the trailing edge?
It is important to note the H-class assumes the motors are arraigned symmetrically about CG in a square, such that four (4) corner motors have equal roll/pitch contributions. When you determine your geometry & CG, you may consider modifying the H-class layout in AP_MotorsMatrix.cpp if there is asymmetry about the CG.
I think the biggest challenge will be the careful adjustments needed to make sure your 8 tilt servos are aligned with eachother so you’re not fighting yaw issues in VTOL flight
Agree. They’re essentially a square. Maybe a LITTLE bit of asymmetry…
Gotcha - I think the default H-class should handle things just fine as you described.
