Rates¶

Rates turn stick position into a requested rotation rate for roll, pitch and yaw, and a blade pitch for collective. They're your stick feel. There are six rate profiles, which can be switched in flight independently of the PID profiles.

Rates tab

Rates¶

Rates Type -- the formula used. Rotorflight is the default and the one these docs describe. The Betaflight, Raceflight, KISS, Actual and Quick types from the multirotor world are also available. Changing type resets the curves to that type's defaults.

With Rotorflight rates each axis has three numbers:

	What it sets	Default (cyclic / yaw / collective)
Rate	The rate at full stick, in °/s -- or the blade pitch at full stick, in °, for collective. This is the Max Vel column.	250 / 400 / 12.5°
Expo [%]	How much softer the centre is. 0 is a straight line; higher values make small stick movements gentler while full stick still reaches Rate.	40 / 50 / 0
Shape	How the expo curve bends. Higher values keep the centre flatter for longer and bring the rate in more sharply towards full stick. Only matters with Expo above 0.	12

Pick Rate for how fast you want the helicopter to flip, roll and pirouette at full stick, then Expo for how calm it feels around centre.

Collective rate

The Collective rate is the blade pitch at full collective stick -- the equivalent of setting your pitch range in a radio or another flybarless system. It can't exceed the Collective blade pitch limit on the Mixer tab.

The Rates Curves chart plots each axis, and the Rates Preview model shows the result live as you move the sticks.

Cyclic Ring¶

Limits combined roll + pitch input, so pushing the stick into a corner doesn't ask for more cyclic than either axis alone.

Enable Cyclic Ring -- on by default.
Cyclic Ring Level [%] -- 100% makes the limit a true circle; higher values relax it to allow more in the diagonals. Default 150%.
Enable Polar Coordinates -- applies the rates to the combined stick direction and distance from centre, instead of to each axis separately. A tech preview.

Dynamics¶

Per axis:

Setting	What it does
Response Time [ms]	Smooths stick inputs. Higher values feel softer and more scale-like; 0 is instant.
Setpoint Boost Gain	Sharpens the response to quick stick movements, for a snappier feel.
Setpoint Boost Cutoff	How quickly the boost fades.

For yaw only:

Setting	What it does
Dynamic Ceiling Gain	When the stick is moving fast towards full deflection, reaches full rate with less stick travel.
Dynamic Deadband Gain / Filter	When the stick is moving fast back to centre, widens the deadband briefly -- helping crisp pirouette stops on sticks that overshoot centre.