Getting started

First connection

1. Connect the board to your computer with a USB-C cable. USB power alone is enough for bench work; leave the battery off.
2. Open your ground station: Mission Planner or QGroundControl.
3. Load the firmware for Raptor Pilot Pro FC (see below).
4. Calibrate the accelerometers, the external compass and the radio as the ground station asks.
5. Set the frame type and check the motor order and direction with the propellers OFF.

Where the firmware comes from

Raptor Pilot Pro FC is not in the official ArduPilot firmware builds. The ArduPilot firmware for the board comes from us. Do not load a build for another board from the ArduPilot firmware server: the pins and sensors will not match.

The board ships with our ArduPilot build already loaded. We build it from the latest stable ArduPilot release; at the time of writing that is ArduCopter 4.7.2. In the ground station the board shows as Raptor Pilot Pro.

For a newer build, or for the source code of our build, ask us through the contact form. We send the file by email. ArduPilot is open-source software under the GPLv3 licence, and the source code of our build is available to every customer.

Tuning for the first flight

Every airframe is different, so we do not supply one parameter file for all of them. Start with PID values that suit your own frame, motors, ESCs, battery and propellers. Mission Planner can work out a starting set from your propeller size and battery: see Initial tuning parameters in the ArduPilot documentation.

Then fly a short, careful test and run AutoTune. AutoTune flies small movements on each axis and finds PID values for your aircraft. See AutoTune in the ArduPilot documentation.