Problems getting SITL and Realfight 9.5 to work reliably

ArduCopter
1

Hi, I am develop a VTOL and I am having difficulty getting SITL and Realflight 9.5S to work reliably together on my PC laptop. I am using a new Intel Core i7 PC laptop and I have been testing several existing SITL models on Gethub: Convergence, Griffin, and Altitransition. I have been able to get each one of these to fly well, in addition to the VTOL I am developing, using the Tactic USB transmitter that comes with Realflight.

But I have noticed that I am having trouble getting the models to Arm reliably, via the Data/Actions folder, but I am able to successfully connect Mavlink, via the Simulaton folder. When this happens, I have noted there is a large red X over the clock in the top right hand part of the horizon indicator window. When this happens, I have tried restarting both programs and even the PC. Sometimes this works, and once the vehicle is flying, it seems stable. But if I close the programs and try them again it can fail. I am using Mission Planner 1.3.79 build 1.3.8375.24878 Arduplane V4.40dev (441a2ee0). The above models I have been testing are found below on gethub:

I have been using the instructions on how to install and use SITL on Ardupilot:

https://ardupilot.org/dev/docs/sitl-with-realflight.html

Has anyone else had this problem, and did you find a fix?

Thanks, William

2

I’ve had the same problem with RealFlight 8. What I’m currently doing is the following:

  • Always start RealFlight before MissionPlanner (never have MissionPlanner running when RealFlight starts).
  • Never press the disconnect button in MissionPlanner.
  • Press the “Plane-button” in MissionPlanner to simulate restarting the FC.
  • If I’ve reset the planes position in RF I always restart the flight controller before flying.

I’m not sure if all of this is needed, but if I follow it I have less problems.

I also remind myself how much faster it is to restart two programs than removing props, removing the wing and trying to reach that USB-port on a physical plane.

3

Thanks! I will give it a try.