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INAV Flight Modes: Complete Guide

CoreWing1/1/25About 5 mininavINAV飞行模式MANUALANGLENAV CRUISERTH航点

This article introduces various flight modes and their functions in INAV firmware, helping users correctly understand and configure different modes. Flight modes can be divided into Primary Flight Modes (non-stackable) and Additional Modes (can be combined with primary modes). Proper configuration of flight modes can effectively improve flight stability, navigation capabilities, and flight safety.

I. Primary Flight Modes

Important

(These modes cannot be used simultaneously)

1.1 MANUAL (Manual Mode)

  • Applicable to: Flight debugging, emergency situations, or a recovery mode when the flight controller fails.

  • Working principle:

    • The RC transmitter directly controls servos, unaffected by the flight controller, similar to traditional RC direct connection control.
    • All servos directly forward RC transmitter input, but motors are still subject to PID rate control. Flying wing or V-tail mixer outputs are calculated by INAV and do not need adjustment on the RC transmitter.

  • Application scenarios:

    • When the flight controller or sensors fail, you can switch to this mode for emergency manual control.

1.2 STABILIZED (Rate Mode)

  • Applicable to: Free flight, aerobatics, competitive FPV.

  • Working principle:

    • No automatic attitude correction, the aircraft can roll and pitch freely.
    • After releasing the sticks, the aircraft maintains its current attitude and does not automatically return to level.

1.3 ANGLE (Angle Mode)

  • Applicable to: Beginner training, automated flight missions.

  • Working principle:

    • Maximum tilt angle is limited, maximum roll and pitch angles can be set.
    • After releasing the sticks, the flight controller automatically adjusts attitude and returns to level.

  • Application scenarios:

    • Suitable for beginner training, preventing the aircraft from excessive tilting that could lead to loss of control.
    • Suitable for cruise flight, providing basic attitude stability.

1.4 HORIZON (Horizon Mode)

  • Applicable to: Training phase transitioning from ANGLE 模式 to ACRO 模式.

  • Working principle:

    • No limitation on maximum tilt angle.
    • After releasing the sticks, the flight controller automatically adjusts attitude and returns to level.

1.5 NAV CRUISE (Cruise Mode)

  • Requirement: GPS module needed

  • Working principle:

    • No yaw control, roll and pitch angles are limited, manual throttle increase can be set.
    • The aircraft flies straight in the current direction, heading can be adjusted using the roll stick.
    • Throttle can be set for automatic control, requiring manual setting of cruise throttle value.

  • Application scenarios:

    • Suitable for long-distance cruise flight, the flight controller will automatically stabilize the heading.

1.6 NAV LOITER (Stationary Hover Mode)

  • Requirement: GPS + Compass

  • Working principle:

    • Automatically circles around a specified point.
    • Can use the transmitter sticks to adjust hover point position, hover radius, and altitude.

  • Applicable scenarios:

    • Suitable for aerial photography, inspection tasks, or as a circling wait mode before RTH return.

1.7 NAV RTH (Return-to-Home Mode)

  • Requirement: GPS + Barometer

  • Working principle:

    • Records takeoff point coordinates, once RTH is triggered, the aircraft will automatically return to the takeoff point.
    • Pitch stick can control return altitude, but cannot control direction.
    • Return process height, path, landing behavior can be configured.

  • Applicable scenarios:

    • Long-distance FPV flight, for automatic return after signal loss.
    • Low battery return, preventing the aircraft from losing power and becoming uncontrollable.

1.8 NAV WP (Waypoint Mode)

  • Requirement: GPS

  • Working principle:

    • The aircraft automatically flies according to preset waypoint missions, flight path, circling time, altitude and other parameters can be planned.

  • Applicable scenarios:

    • Mapping, inspection, automated tasks, supports ground control station control.

II. Additional Modes

Important

(Can be combined with primary modes)

2.1 NAV ALTHOLD (Altitude Hold Mode)

  • Requirement: Barometer

  • Working principle:

    • Altitude hold mode (ALTHOLD) can be combined with ANGLE, HORIZON and NAV CRUISE, causing the flight controller to automatically maintain current altitude, only affecting pitch control.
    • In ordinary modes, the stick controls pitch angle, after enabling ALTHOLD, it changes to climb rate control, with the stick adjusting climb or descent rate.
    • INAV will automatically adjust pitch angle and motor thrust to maintain the set climb rate (only applicable in CRUISE mode).

  • Applicable scenarios:

    • Suitable for cruise or low altitude hold flight.

2.2 NAV LAUNCH (Automatic Launch Mode)

  • Requirement: Acceleration trigger

  • Working principle:

    • Used in combination with STABILIZE, ANGLE, HORIZON, NAV CRUISE, NAV POSHOLD, NAV RTH.
    • When throwing the aircraft, the flight controller detects acceleration and automatically enables the takeoff process, ensuring safe launch.
    • After unlocking, throw the aircraft, after the flight controller detects the set acceleration, it automatically starts the motors and climbs to the specified altitude. Disable this mode to return to manual control.
    • For details, refer to: https://docs.corewing.com/plane/inav/settings/fc/hand-launch-mode.html

  • Applicable scenarios:

    • This function can prevent propeller injuries.
    • Fixed-wing hand launch, avoiding crashes from manual hand launch.

2.3 SURFACE (Surface Mode)

  • No official explanation, tested to work with altitude hold and position hold, when enabled it uses a rangefinder for flight altitude measurement.
  • When rangefinder is enabled, terrain following is activated.

2.4 TURN ASSIST (Turn Assist)

  • Working principle:

    • By default, the yaw stick controls the aircraft rotating around the vertical axis. Turn assist mode can calculate the additional roll command needed for coordinated turns, making yaw operations smoother and more precise.

  • Applicable scenarios:

    • RATE (Rate mode): Allows precise yaw without changing attitude, but slight drift may occur, suitable for beginners.
    • ANGLE (Self-leveling mode): Optimizes yaw turns, making them smoother, avoiding spin, and introduces feedforward control to maintain stable attitude.
    • The system will use airspeed sensor (TAS) for calculation, otherwise uses fw_reference_airspeed as reference.

2.5 HEADING HOLD (Heading Hold)

  • Working principle:

    • Can be combined with all flight modes, only affects the yaw axis.
    • This mode can be enabled with or without a compass, automatically maintaining the current heading. When the yaw stick is centered, the flight controller will maintain the current heading.
    • When the yaw stick is moved, heading hold is temporarily disabled, waiting for a new set direction.

  • Applicable scenarios:

    • Long-distance cruise, reducing correction burden.

2.6 AUTOLEVEL and AUTOTUNE

  • nav_manual_climb_rate: Maximum climb/descent rate (when stick is fully input). If the value is too high, it is limited by nav_fw_climb_angle and airspeed.
  • nav_fw_climb_angle: Maximum climb angle, ensuring the required climb rate, limited by max_angle_inclination_pit.

Important

⚠ Note: Excessive angles can cause stalling, which may lead to crashes in automatic mode.

4. Related Parameter Configuration Values for Modes

4.1 STABILIZED (RATE Mode)

Required Hardware: Gyroscope

  • roll_rate = 20 | pitch_rate = 20 | yaw_rate = 20 (servo only)

Sets the maximum rotation rate of the aircraft on the roll, pitch, and yaw axes (unit: 10°/s).

Can be modified in INAV Configurator → PID Tuning.

  • align_gyro = DEFAULT

  • Sets the gyroscope alignment method to ensure the sensor orientation matches the aircraft movement.

  • rate_accel_limit_roll_pitch = 0 | rate_accel_limit_yaw = 10000

  • Limits rotation acceleration, suitable for aircraft with wingspan >1m, to improve control smoothness.

4.2 ANGLE (Angle Mode)

Required Hardware: Accelerometer

  • max_angle_inclination_rll = 300 | max_angle_inclination_pit = 300
  • Sets the maximum roll/pitch angle, affecting ANGLE and all auto-leveling modes.

4.3 HORIZON (Horizon Mode)

Required Hardware: Accelerometer

  • fw_d_level = 75
  • In Horizon mode, switches to STABILIZED mode when roll input exceeds 75%, allowing free rolling.

4.4 NAV CRUISE (Cruise Mode)

Required Hardware: GPS (recommended to use with barometer to enable ALTHOLD)

  • nav_fw_cruise_thr = 1400

  • Sets the cruise throttle, recommended to be 30% above stall speed.

  • nav_fw_min_thr = 1200 | nav_fw_max_thr = 1700

  • Sets the minimum/maximum throttle in navigation mode, preventing stall or excessive energy.

  • nav_fw_bank_angle = 20 | nav_fw_climb_angle = 20 | nav_fw_dive_angle = 15

  • Sets the maximum roll, climb, and dive angles in autonomous flight mode.

  • nav_fw_pitch2thr = 10

  • Automatically increases throttle for every 1° increase in pitch to ensure airspeed stability.

  • nav_fw_cruise_yaw_rate = 20

  • Sets the maximum turn rate at full yaw input, suitable for wing aircraft and V-tail aircraft.

4.5 NAV LOITER (Stationary Hover)

Required Hardware: GPS (recommended to use with barometer to enable ALTHOLD)

  • nav_fw_loiter_radius = 5000 (50m)

  • Sets the loiter radius, larger aircraft require higher values.

  • fw_loiter_direction = RIGHT

  • Sets the loiter direction, options are RIGHT (clockwise) or LEFT (counterclockwise).

4.6 NAV WP (Waypoint Mode)

Required Hardware: GPS

  • nav_wp_radius = 1000

  • Waypoint trigger range, recommended to be 1000~3000cm for fixed-wing.

  • nav_wp_safe_distance

  • Limits the maximum distance from home to first waypoint, preventing accidental long-distance flights due to misoperation.

4.7 NAV LAUNCH (Auto Launch Mode)

  • nav_fw_launch_thr = 1850

  • Throttle value during takeoff, ensuring sufficient lift.

  • nav_fw_launch_accel = 1600

  • Minimum acceleration to trigger takeoff.

  • nav_fw_launch_climb_angle = 20

  • Climb angle after takeoff, recommended to not exceed the stall angle to prevent stall and crash.

4.8 MANUAL (Manual Mode)

  • manual_rc_expo / manual_rc_yaw_expo

  • Sets the stick response curve in manual mode, recommended to disable curves on the transmitter and only use INAV for adjustment.

  • manual_pitch_rate / manual_roll_rate / manual_yaw_rate

  • Limits the maximum servo deflection in manual mode, preventing excessive response.

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