Best flight mode(like a cruise mode on plane) for efficient cruising on a quad?

ArduCopter
1

Hi all,
Is there any flight mode for a quad like a Plane’s cruise mode?I want to fly straight at a constant speed so that throttle,altitude and attitude doesn’t change much to preserve battery.I think with a waypoints it should work like this but i do not want to upload mission everytime i go to a new place.

I tried to use Sport mode but you have to hold pitch stick constantly and if you move your stick too much then it eats battery.Any suggestions please?Thanks.

2

LOITER mode is the best choice

3

As Shawn says and set these parameters.

loiter

4

Thanks Shawn and Dave.I will try.

I was under impression that Loiter mode works like position hold mode to keep the vehicle at one position.

5

It does but smoother and more controllable. The idea is you can set the most efficient speed and other params, and still switch back to althold if you wish to go full-tilt with less restrictions.

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6

Tried Loiter mode and it worked perfectly and as i wanted!! Thanks for the suggestion Shawn and Dave.

Now is there any workaround to not to hold the pitch stick all the time to cruise?

7

No, not a flight mode that will do that.

8

You could use a Ground Station (MissionPlanner and telemetry radios) and Guided mode.
Right-click on map, “Fly to here”

9

Yeah that’s an another option but i want to keep my quad as light as possible.

How about overriding pitch channel with a switch on openTx? But it could be risky i guess. Or program in such a way that any stick movement cancels the override?

10

You could mix that with a pot perhaps but it doesn’t sound like a wise thing to do (crude). You could test in SITL if you had your radio connected for Joystick input.

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11

Thanks.Will do that.

12

Hi. Just joined the forum otherwise I would have answered sooner. What you went with is what I have been doing for a while now. I use Loiter mode. Then in EdgeTx, I have a mix for a 3 position switch and a rotary dial. In the first position, it does nothing. In the second position, turning the dial mixes in forward stick from 0% to 100%. The third position does the same as the second but also locks the throttle to mid position which effectively locks you altitude. You may also want to program power up warnings to ensure the switch is in position1 and/or the dial is in the 0% mix position for takeoff.

KevinB

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