How to Disable Terrain Data

1. Principle

ArduPilot supports the Terrain Following function, allowing the flight controller (FC) to automatically adjust the aircraft's altitude based on terrain height to maintain a consistent altitude relative to the ground. This function applies to CRUISE mode, FBWB mode, RTL mode, and Rally Points.
When the terrain data function is enabled:

• CRUISE and FBWB modes: Aircraft altitude is referenced to terrain rather than relative altitude to the takeoff point.
• RTL mode: The altitude during Return to Launch (RTL) is based on terrain height rather than the takeoff point altitude.
• Rally Points: When the aircraft flies to a rally point, the altitude is calculated based on terrain height.

Important

⚠️ If the flight controller cannot obtain correct terrain data, it may result in abnormal altitude during RTL or mission flight, or even cause a crash. Therefore, it is recommended to disable this function in certain scenarios.

2. Equipment Preparation

1) Flight Controller: Any of the SpeedyBee F405 WING APP, SpeedyBee F405 WING MINI, or CoreWing F405 WING V2 flight controllers are suitable for this tutorial.
2) RC Transmitter and Receiver: Taking the RadioMaster Boxer and SpeedyBee ELRS NANO as examples.
3) Ground Control Station (GCS): Mission Planner

3. Specific Operations

1. Connect the flight controller to the computer via USB.
2. Enter the Configuration/Debug page.
3. Enter the full parameter list.
4. Search for TERRAIN_ENABLE.
5. Set the TERRAIN_ENABLE parameter to 0.

Important

Note: TERRAIN_ENABLE = 1 (Default Enabled) indicates that the flight controller will obtain terrain data from the ground control station (GCS) and enable terrain following in certain modes. TERRAIN_ENABLE = 0 (Disabled) indicates that the flight controller will not use terrain data, and all altitude calculations are based on the relative altitude to the takeoff point.

4. Q&A

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