Setting Flight Controller Mounting Orientation in Mission Planner

I. Principle

The flight controller's mounting orientation refers to the relationship between the direction pointed by the arrow on the FC board and the actual nose direction of the aircraft. ArduPilot assumes by default that the flight controller's arrow direction points toward the nose of the aircraft (standard mounting).

When the actual mounting of the flight controller cannot be done in the standard orientation, the FC parameters must be adjusted to compensate for the mounting orientation, ensuring that the flight controller can accurately perceive the flight attitude and perform proper control.

Setting the FC mounting orientation parameters ensures the flight controller accurately perceives the actual attitude of the aircraft, thereby avoiding attitude loss or flight anomalies caused by an incorrect FC orientation.

II. Equipment Preparation

1. Flight Controller: CoreWing F405 WING V2 / CoreWing F405 WING MINI V2 — either one is suitable for this tutorial.

2. Ground Control Station: Mission Planner.

III. Specific Operations

Important

Please complete the accelerometer calibration before configuration. Refer to this document: https://docs.corewing.com/plane/ardupilot/settings/fc/accel-calibration.html

3.1 Connect the Flight Controller and Open the Parameter Configuration Page

1. Connect the flight controller to the ground control station using a USB data cable and open Mission Planner.

2. Click the Config/Tuning page and enter the full parameter list.

3. Search for AHRS_ORIENTATION.

3.2 Parameter Modification (AHRS_ORIENTATION)

Adjust the AHRS_ORIENTATION parameter according to how the flight controller is mounted (a few typical mounting examples):

Method 1: Standard Mounting (Default)

• The FC arrow points to the nose of the aircraft, with the FC mounted normally:

• Standard mounting, no adjustment needed.

Method 2: Flight Controller Rotated 180° (Flipped Mounting)

• The FC arrow still points to the nose, but the FC is mounted upside-down:

• Go to the Config/Tuning page → enter the Full Parameter List → set the AHRS_ORIENTATION value to 8 → click Write Params

Method 3: Flight Controller Rotated 180° Horizontally (Arrow Toward Tail)

• The FC is mounted normally, but the arrow points to the tail:

• Go to the Config/Tuning page → enter the Full Parameter List → set the AHRS_ORIENTATION value to 4 → click Write Params

Method 4: Vertical FC Mounting

• The FC is placed vertically, with the FC arrow pointing upward:

• Go to the Config/Tuning page → enter the Full Parameter List → set the AHRS_ORIENTATION value to 24 → click Write Params

Method 5: Flipped FC Rotated 90°

• The FC is flipped (bottom up) and simultaneously rotated 90° clockwise:

• Go to the Config/Tuning page → enter the Full Parameter List → set the AHRS_ORIENTATION value to 10 → click Write Params

3.3 Verify the Flight Controller Mounting Orientation

Important

After writing the parameters, disconnect all power to the flight controller and restart it.

1. Click the Flight Data page on the left of Mission Planner and observe the HUD attitude indicator.

2. Place the aircraft horizontally and observe the attitude indicator:

• With correct mounting, when the aircraft is level, the flight attitude in the HUD should remain level.

• Tilt the fuselage forward, backward, left, and right. The HUD indicator should correctly correspond to the actual motion direction of the aircraft, without reversal or error.

3. If the attitude display is abnormal, the AHRS_ORIENTATION setting is incorrect; please recheck and adjust the parameter.

IV. Q&A

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