This tutorial explains how to configure and use the Launch Control mode available in Betaflight.
This feature is available since BF4.0, it relies on the accelerometer in the flight controller to tilt the drone forward before taking off.
Launch Control is useful racing as it doesn’t require a physical launch pad for take off, though it can be used in other situations too such as taking off at full throttle without having to manage the pitch stick.
However with the drone armed and the propellers spinning while it’s sitting on only two points of contacts at the tips of the front arms, it can be very unstable. Make sure the surface it’s sitting on is solid and does not move, and stay well away from the drone during take off.
Betaflight Configuration
In the Configuration tab in Betaflight Configurator:
- Enable accelerometer
- Set the maximum arming angle to 180°
In Modes tab, assign a switch on your radio controller to activate Launch Control.
In CLI, enter the following commands to set it up. Change the settings according to your needs.
set launch_control_mode = NORMAL set launch_trigger_allow_reset = ON set launch_trigger_throttle_percent = 30 set launch_angle_limit = 30 set osd_warn_launch_control = ON
If you are unclear about anything, make sure you check the official Betaflight documentation.
How To Use
- Activate Launch Control with a Switch
- Arm
- Leave Throttle at 0 while slowly moving the pitch stick forward until the drone is at its desirable angle
- You can now center the pitch stick and the drone should hold its position
- Take off with throttle stick
5 comments
Hi, Oscar. After launching with the throttle, do you have to turn off the lauch mode switch? Or can it stay on for the duration of the race?
I setup launchmode on momentary switch (SH on Tx16s radio). Normaly this switch control a Pre-arm (for safety reason) and I want to keep it same on all my quads (no matter if is small whoop or 5-7″.
If I hold SH switch up for more than 1,5s, it will trigger the Launchmode od anothre AUX channel.
I could pitch the drone down while armed, then push the throttle to take off forwards. What’s the difference?
it’s more precise, hassle free, and always the same angle everytime.
Wouldn’t it be better to set the limit to 80 instead of 8?