Autorotation¶
Practice (Manual) Autorotation Setup¶
In versions 4.4 and later, the ability to conduct power re-engagement from an autorotation has been added. This feature will work with ESC’s using their built-in governor, the ardupilot throttle curve or the ardupilot built-in governor. Three parameters were added to accommodate this feature.
H_RSC_AROT_ENBL - Enables manual autorotations (0 - Disable, 1 - Enable)
H_RSC_AROT_RAMP - Time to ramp throttle back to motorlock enabled value during power recovery in seconds
H_RSC_AROT_IDLE - Idle throttle value in percent used during autorotation. This can be set to the value that signals the ESC to perform a fast spool-up when performing a power recovery.
ESC Governor¶
Enable manual autoratation by setting H_RSC_AROT_ENBL to 1. Leave H_RSC_AROT_RAMP at the default setting of 1 second to quickly signal the ESC for fast spool-up. Set the throttle idle value, H_RSC_AROT_IDLE, to the percent of throttle given by the ESC manual that signals the ESC to perform a fast spool-up.
Ardupilot’s Throttle Curve or Built-in Governor¶
Enable manual autoratation by setting H_RSC_AROT_ENBL to 1. Set H_RSC_AROT_RAMP to bring the throttle back to the throttle curve quickly. One to two seconds woudld be sufficient. If desired, the throttle idle value, H_RSC_AROT_IDLE, can be set to a higher value for ICE engines to remain at a higher engine RPM in the descent. For electric engines using the throttle curve or built-in governor, set it to zero.
Semi-Autonomous Autorotation Setup¶
Future enhancement to provide autonomous control during autorotation is planned as a new flight mode. Currently under development, the current state of the project can be tried under SITL Simulation. See Autonomous Autorotation