Rotorflight Official Release 2.0.0 is ready

With massive thanks to everyone involved in making this to happen, we are proud to announce the first official release of Rotorflight-2 !!!

It has been a really enjoyable two years making all this to happen! Open source development at its best.

Now we are extremely happy to offer the fruits of our hard work to the world. We believe Rotorflight-2 is already on-par with the $$$ FBLs in the market - and we are just starting our journey!

I truly hope more people can now enjoy tinkering with helicopters in an affordable way. And hopefully more people will be drawn to this hobby too, especially from the drone world.

Notes​

There is a new website www.rotorflight.org for Rotorflight 2. The old Wiki in github is deprecated, and is for Rotorflight-1 only. Rotorflight 2 is NOT backward compatible with RF1. You MUST NOT load your configuration dump from RF1 into RF2. If coming from RF1, please setup your helicopter from scratch for RF2. Follow the instructions on the website! As always, please double check your configuration on the bench before flying!

Support​

The main source of Rotorflight information and instructions is now the Website.

Rotorflight has a strong presence on the Discord platform - you can join us here. Discord is the primary location for support, questions and discussions. The developers are all active there, many pro pilots and several manufacturers of RF Flight Controllers. This is a great place to ask for advice or discuss any complicated problems or even new ideas.

There is also a Rotorflight Facebook Group for hanging out with other Rotorflight pilots.

Changes from 2.0.0-RC3​

There are very few changes.

Changes to the Firmware:​

• Better defaults for baro filtering
• Better defaults in rescue

Changes to the Configurator:​

• Translations updated
• Fixed wrong response time defaults in Rates

Changes to the Blackbox:​

• None

Changes to LUA Scripts:​

• Code improvements in Ethos

Wishing everybody a great flying season with RF2!

Rotorflight Release Candidate 3 2.0.0 is ready

NOTE! This is the third public release of Rotorflight-2, suitable for all audiences.​

Notes​

There is a new website www.rotorflight.org for Rotorflight 2. The old Wiki in github is deprecated, and is for Rotorflight-1 only. Rotorflight 2 is NOT backward compatible with RF1. You MUST NOT load your configuration dump from RF1 into RF2. If coming from RF1, please setup your helicopter from scratch for RF2. Follow the instructions on the website! As always, please double check your configuration on the bench before flying!

Support​

The main source of Rotorflight information and instructions is now the Website.

Rotorflight has a strong presence on the Discord platform - you can join us here. Discord is the primary location for support, questions and discussions. The developers are all active there, many pro pilots and several manufacturers of RF Flight Controllers. This is a great place to ask for advice or discuss any complicated problems or even new ideas.

There is also a Rotorflight Facebook Group for hanging out with other Rotorflight pilots.

Changes from 2.0.0-RC2​

There are very few changes, though we decided to add one larger improvement that is improving stability in hover. It should not affect flight performance otherwise.

From now on, only super critical fixes are accepted, plus the missing language translations!

The Release is expected in a week or two.

EVERYBODY please test the Release Candidates best to your capabilities. Your help is appreciated.

Changes to the Firmware:​

• Improved stability in hover
• Extended throttle PWM pulse limits to allow narrow band servos
• Extended governor max throttle range to 0..100%
• Fixed governor passthrough throttle ramp-down in IDLE
• Fixed CMS feature disabling with Spektrum

Changes to the Configurator:​

• Add cyclic decay parameters to Profiles
• Fix saving default Profile and Rates Profile
• Fix output throttle PWM limits
• Extend governor max throttle range to 0..100%
• Extend rescue rate limit to 1000
• Show PID gain help icons
• Disable unavailable telemetry protocols in ESC telemetry dropdown
• New Donate button that works also in China
• Update translated locales

Changes to the Blackbox:​

Minor updates in the Header View

Changes to LUA Scripts:​

• Not released this time

Happy tweaking and flying!

Rotorflight Release Candidate 2 2.0.0 is ready

NOTE! This is the second public release of Rotorflight-2, suitable for all audiences.​

Notes​

There is a new website www.rotorflight.org for Rotorflight 2. The old Wiki in github is deprecated, and is for Rotorflight-1 only. Rotorflight 2 is NOT backward compatible with RF1. You MUST NOT load your configuration dump from RF1 into RF2. If coming from RF1, please setup your helicopter from scratch for RF2. Follow the instructions on the website! As always, please double check your configuration on the bench before flying!

Support​

The main source of Rotorflight information and instructions is now the Website.

Rotorflight has a strong presence on the Discord platform - you can join us here. Discord is the primary location for support, questions and discussions. The developers are all active there, many pro pilots and several manufacturers of RF Flight Controllers. This is a great place to ask for advice or discuss any complicated problems or even new ideas.

There is also a Rotorflight Facebook Group for hanging out with other Rotorflight pilots.

Changes from 2.0.0-RC1​

Not many changes in this one. Just a few minor bug fixes and some defaults changed. Also, the Configurator is now translated to a few language (pending polishing).

From now on, only critical bug fixes will be accepted!

EVERYBODY please test the Release Candidates best to your capabilities. Your help is appreciated.

Changes to the Firmware:​

• Introduce default PID D-gains
• Change default motor protocol to PWM
• Simplify RC frame rate calculation
• Reduce default RC smoothing level to minimum
• Add OpenYGE v3 protocol
• Fix Kontronik telemetry protocol
• Add github CI workflows
• Add GOV_MODE FrSky telemetry sensor
• Fix TTA headroom calculation in Passthrough mode
• Fix RPM filter error check with DD motors
• Fix scale lights terminology and documentation
• Implement Horizon mode inverted self-leveling

Changes to the Configurator:​

• Accept all MSP compatible firmware
• Extend yaw Mixer override to -60°..60°
• Adjust RPM filter defaults
• Add GOV_MODE to FrSky telemetry sensors
• Fix top bar battery gadget to show battery info from the FC
• Update links to point to www.rotorflight.org
• Add a notice for Configurator development versions
• Update english messages
• Update translations (de,nl,fr)
• Hide untranslated locales
• Update startup page
• Add Donation info
• Hide builtin ChangeLog
• Update README.md and HOWTO.md
• Remove old NSIS installer

Changes to the Blackbox:​

• Fix installer issue: force installation of all files
• Add friendly names for TTA debug
• Update README.md and HOWTO.md

Changes to LUA Scripts:​

• Remove cyclic (swash) ring
• Remove Rescue Altitude hold
• Remove PID mode
• Update README.md

Happy tweaking and flying!

Rotorflight Release Candidate 1 2.0.0 is ready

NOTE! This is the first public release of Rotorflight-2, suitable for all audiences.​

Two years of hard work, blood and tears, and lost hair has gone into this release. Big thanks to everybody who have helped along the way!

Notes​

There is a new website www.rotorflight.org for Rotorflight 2. The old Wiki in github is deprecated, and is for Rotorflight-1 only. Rotorflight 2 is NOT backward compatible with RF1. You MUST NOT load your configuration dump from RF1 into RF2. If coming from RF1, please setup your helicopter from scratch for RF2. Follow the instructions on the website! As always, please double check your configuration on the bench before flying!

Support​

The main source of Rotorflight information and instructions is now the Website.

Rotorflight has a strong presence on the Discord platform - you can join us here. Discord is the primary location for support, questions and discussions. The developers are all active there, many pro pilots and several manufacturers of RF Flight Controllers. This is a great place to ask for advice or discuss any complicated problems or even new ideas.

There is also a Rotorflight Facebook Group for hanging out with other Rotorflight pilots.

Changes from 2.0.0-20240218​

Changes to the Firmware:​

• Refactor MSP_SERVO_CONFIGURATIONS
• Use internal pull-up on FREQ input
• Use falling edge trigger on FREQ input
• Change default yaw precomp parameters
• Change default governor master gain
• Change default rates response time to 0 (no limit)
• Change default dynamic notch count to 4

Changes to the Configurator:​

• Fix Zoom function
• Relax servo rate limits
• Refactor MSP_SERVO_CONFIGURATIONS
• Change default channel order to AECR1T23
• Add vendor names in receiver protocols
• Many fixes in labels and help texts
• Update locales for translation

Changes to the Blackbox:​

• NONE

Changes to LUA Scripts:​

• Added Servos page
• Ethos: added support for dark and normal mode

Rotorflight snapshot 2.0.0-20240218 is ready

If you wish to become involved in testing these snapshots please contact us on the Discord

Please also read the Snapshots Wiki page for general information about snapshots.

Changes from 2.0.0-20240128​

Changes to the Firmware:​

• More CRSF reuse options
• Fix CRSF headspeed reuse with EdgeTx >= 2.9.3
• Fix governor autorotation timeout limits
• Fix battery cell count detection with 10S and 12S
• Add OpenYGE ESC telemetry
• Add lowpass filter to governor feedforward
• Refactor MSP_BATTERY_CONFIG
• Improved defaults
  • Stick deadband and deflection
  • Rescue gains and collective levels
  • Governor filter cutoffs
  • Cross-coupling gain
  • PID error limits

Changes to the Configurator:​

• Add OpenYGE ESC protocol
• Add Battery Cell Count to Power tag
• Add Governor Precomp Bandwidth to Motors tab
• Relax servo parameter checks
• Increase max yaw to 60° in Mixer
• Improved code in Status page
• Refactor MSP_BATTERY_CONFIG

Changes to the BlackBox:​

• Add friendly names for RESCUE_ALTHOLD debug

Changes to the LUA Scripts:​

• Aligned with the firmware changes

A few notes about the 20240218 snapshot​

CRSF Reuse​

EdgeTx 2.9.3 broke the CRSF sensor reuse by changing the sensor scaling. The CRSF reuse has now been refactored for better support for different EdgeTx versions.

There are now more sensors that can be reused. The reusable sensors in the GPS frame are altitude, heading, ground speed, and satellite count.

The reuse options are now selected based on the original sensor scaling, so that the reused value can be expressed correctly.

For most reuse options, the "ratio" in EdgeTx is a variation of 255. E.g. 25.5, 255, 2550, 25500. (including RPM!)

The voltage sensors use 20 or 200.

OpenYGE ESC Telemetry​

There is now telemetry support for YGE ESCs (thanks Bob!). This is a brand new protocol implemented by YGE especially for Rotorflight. It will be available in the next ESC firmware update from YGE.

Default values in the Firmware​

Many defaults have been improved. Please note that you won't get any new defaults if you load a dump all from the previous snapshot. Probably better to use a diff all, which will apply only the parameter values that are not on default values.

Next one will be a Release Candidate, so please report any issues promptly!

Happy tuning (and maybe even flying)!

Rotorflight snapshot 2.0.0-20240128 is ready

If you wish to become involved in testing these snapshots please contact us on the Discord

Please also read the Snapshots Wiki page for general information about snapshots.

Changes from 2.0.0-20240105

• Fix tail trim rounding
• Fix yaw direction in Rates tab
• Refactor config handling in Power tab
• Show Charge level in Power tab
• Show Realtime Load on the bottom bar
• Add Yaw precomp (lowpass filter) cutoff
• Move RPM Sensor switch to Motors tab
• Add GOVERNOR to ARMING Disabled flags
• Update zh_CN locale
• Add TTA Debug mode
• Add CMS feature flag
• Add Setpoint Response time and acceleration on Rates tab

A few notes about the 20240128 snapshot​

New ARMING disable flags​

Arming is now disabled if there is no fast RPM signal available, and the governor or/and RPM filter is enabled. Also, the governor mode 2 requires battery voltage. Arming is disabled if it is not available.

Realtime Load​

There is a new Load figure on the bottom bar in the Configurator. It is showing the peak "real-time load" in the FC. The realtime load is the percentage of CPU time used in real-time tasks after every gyro sample. It must stay below 70% or so for the FC to work at all.

Blackbox logging is the single most CPU intensive task in the FC.​

Once enabled, it can easily double the load. Please check that the FC stays below 70% with logging enabled!

CRSF Voltage telemetry​

There are new options for voltage telemetry in the CRSF reuse. Please set the ratio in EdgeTx to 20.

Setpoint Response time​

This per-axis parameter replaces the old "Setpoint Smoothness". It does exactly the same thing, but now has a physically meaningful value. It represents the speed the setpoint will converge to the commanded value in ms. It is important not to set much lower than the heli's natural reaction time. The default is 20ms for cyclic and 15ms for tail. Most helis simply can't move faster than this.

Setting this too low will cause unnecessary I-term windup and other PID issues.

Values higher than the heli's reaction time will simply slow it down even more. This is especially neat for scale flying, or just for the pilots preference.

CMS​

CMS is now disabled by default.

There is a Feature flag for enabling it. This will also enable the necessary stick commands - BE AWARE!

Servo limits​

Servo limits have been extended to 70deg, as requested. As before, they need to be adjusted if the default value is not suitable for the heli.

Rotorflight snapshot 2.0.0-20240105 is ready

If you wish to become involved in testing these snapshots please contact us on the Discord

Please also read the Snapshots Wiki page for general information about snapshots.

Changes from 2.0.0-20231127

• Change default PID mode to 3
• Change swashplate trims to RPC
• Change tail trim value limits
• Refactor Voltage and Current sensors
• Update Dynamic Notch debug names
• Add temperature and voltage logging to Blackbox
• Fix Cancel button in Enable Arming dialog
• Fix dark colors in a few places
• Show positive yaw limits with both CW & CCW
• Move Gyro and Beepers tabs lower
• Add Collective geometry correction
• Add dynamic Wiki links
• Add labels to Mixer override sliders
• Fix blade pitch limit maximum
• Fix value limits enforcement in number fields
• Hide Rescue Alt Hold
• Hide OSD Feature
• Update locales for translation

Rotorflight snapshot 2.0.0-20231127 is ready

If you wish to become involved in testing these snapshots please contact us on the Discord

Please also read the Snapshots Wiki page for general information about snapshots.

Changes to the Firmware:

• Governor throttle jump fixed
• More BB fields enabled by default

Changes to the Configurator:

• Fix MSP_ESC_SENSOR_CONFIG (hw4 parameter corruption)
• Fix Adjustment slider limits on double-click
• Fix Arming box size limits
• Add limits to Throttle values in Receiver tab
• Use reference design port names in Serial port config

Changes to the BlackBox:

• Show frequency with one decimal with Shift-Mouse
• Update DYN_NOTCH debug fields
• Fix RC Command units

Changes to LUA Scripts:

• N/A

Rotorflight snapshot 2.0.0-20231018 is ready NOTE! This snapshot is not suitable for end-users. It is intended for beta-testers.

Please also read the Snapshots Wiki page for general information about snapshots.

Changes to the Firmware:

• RX subsystem refactored
• RX failsafe refactored
• Dynamic Notch filter adapted for helis
• ESC telemetry implemented for various ESCs
  • Hobbywing Platinum V4
  • Hobbywing Platinum V5
  • Hobbywing FlyFun V5
  • Scorpion UNC
  • Kontronik
  • OMP Hobby
  • ZTW Skyhawk
  • APD Pro/HV
• Servo speed calculation fixed to use ms/60°
• PID Mode 3 fixed to use P-term on error
• PT1 filter cutoff calculation fixed
• MSP over FrSky telemetry speed improved
• RPM calculation accuracy improved
• More CRSF FM reuse options added

Changes to the Configurator:

• Receiver tab refactored to match firmware
• Receiver telemetry added
• Rates tab fixed to use new MSP messages
• Status tab fixed to show correct channel values
• Failsafe refactored - advanced failsafe disabled
• ESC telemetry added to Motors tab
• Governor max throttle added to Profiles
• Governor feature handling simplified
• RPM filter feature handling simplified
• Dynamic Notch filter added to Gyro tab
• Localization improved - most texts are translated
• All locales updated with new english messages

Changes to the LUA Scripts:

• Aligned MSP messages with firmware 20231018
• Added MSP API version check
• Added dynamic notch filters to the Filters page
• Added LUA version to screen title
• Removed Failsafe page
• Cleaned up code

Rotorflight snapshot 2.0.0-20230912 is ready NOTE! This snapshot is not suitable for end-users. It is intended for beta-testers.

• The Configurator is available to download here.
• The Blackbox is available to download here.
• The LUA scripts is available to download here.

Please also read the Snapshots Wiki page for general information about snapshots.

Changes to the Firmware:

• Governor gov_max_throttle parameter added
• Governor tracking_speed fixed in passthrough mode
• RPM filter fixed if only main rotor RPM available
• RPM filter update fixed for lower CPU load
• Cyclic Cross-Coupling refactored
• Collective-to-yaw precomp not used during spoolup
• TTA Collective correction refactored
• TTA not used during spoolup
• H7 TIMUP configuration bug fixed
• BlackBox multi-file logging fixed (works on W25N01G too)
• BlackBox erase refactored - works also while logging
• Boost and Offset terms added to BlackBox
• PID Test Mode 3 added for HSI testing
• Tail center trim scaling changed
• Tail motor thrust law changed to linear
• Many new parameters added to MSP
• Many new parameters added to Adjustment Functions

Changes to the Configurator:

• Chinese translation added
• MSP aligned with the firmware
• PID Test Mode 3 added to Profiles
• Boost gains and cutoffs added to Profiles
• Offset gains and limits added to Profiles
• Cyclic Cross-coupling compensation added to Profiles
• Governor max throttle added to Profiles
• Tail Center Trim added to Mixer

Changes to the Blackbox:

• Fix a drag&drop bug
• Fix adjustment labels
• Fix RPM_FILTER debug mode labels
• Fix collective setpoint scaling
• Changes to the LUA Scripts:

Aligned MSP messages with firmware 20230912 Added Boost cutoffs Added Offset gains Added Cyclic Cross-Coupling Added Governor Max Throttle