Get and Set FlightMode¶
This page explains how MAVLink can be used by a ground station or companion computer to get or set the vehicle’s flightmode. The user wiki pages for flightmodes and links to the parameter with the flightmode’s numbers are listed below
Copter flight modes, see FLTMODE1 for flightmode numbers
Plane flight modes, see FLTMODE1 for flightmode numbers
Rover flight modes, see MODE1 for flightmode numbers
The MAVLink enums for flight modes can be found here
Get the Flightmode with HEARTBEAT¶
The vehicle’s current flight mode is sent once per second within the HEARTBEAT message’s custom_mode field. The flightmode number varies by vehicle type (e.g. Copter, Plane, Rover, etc) so please refer to the links above to convert the custom_mode number to a human readable flightmode name.
Set the Flightmode with MAV_CMD_DO_SET_MODE¶
Attempt to set the vehicle’s flightmode by sending a COMMAND_LONG with the command and param2 fields set as specified for the MAV_CMD_DO_SET_MODE command.
| Command Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| target_system | uint8_t | System ID of flight controller or just 0 |
| target_component | uint8_t | Component ID of flight controller or just 0 |
| command | uint16_t | MAV_CMD_DO_SET_MODE=176 |
| confirmation | uint8_t | 0 |
| param1 | float | MAV_MODE_FLAG_CUSTOM_MODE_ENABLED=1 |
| param2 | float | flightmode number (see FLTMODE1 links above) |
| param3 | float | not used |
| param4 | float | not used |
| param5 | float | not used |
| param6 | float | not used |
| param7 | float | not used |
Example
The example commands below can be copy-pasted into MAVProxy (aka SITL) to test this command. Before running these commands enter, “module load message”
Example MAVProxy/SITL Command |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Copter: change to RTL mode (6) Plane: change to FBWB mode (6) Rover: change to Follow mode (6) |