Flight Problems
Stop the flight, return to a propeller-off baseline, then diagnose mechanics, orientation, tuning or failsafe state in that order.
ESPFlight Docs · v1 • Validated v1 documentation path
# Flight symptom guide
Swipe horizontally to see all columns.
| Symptom | Most likely layer | First action |
|---|---|---|
| Flips/tips immediately | Motor mapping/direction, propeller direction, IMU orientation. | Throttle minimum → DISARM when low → remove propellers → re-run bench checks. |
| Attitude response goes the wrong way | IMU orientation / axis interpretation. | Stop flight and repeat the hand-tilt IMU validation. |
| Strong vibration | Propeller, motor, mounting or frame rigidity. | Inspect/replace damaged parts before PID changes. |
| Fast oscillation | Mechanical vibration first; then PID. | Return to known-good mechanics and baseline PID; change one term at a time. |
| Drift / bias | Mechanical balance, gyro calibration, sensor state. | Power-cycle on a still level surface and let gyro calibration finish before judging tuning. |
| Link-loss / failsafe indication | Network/control link. | Keep clear during failsafe; after safe shutdown diagnose connection before another flight. |
| Low-battery / battery lockout | Power/failsafe state. | Land/stop testing; remember v1 telemetry is an ESP supply proxy, not raw pack voltage. |
| Landing problem | Manual control or optional altitude-assist path. | Return to manual/bench baseline; if using assisted landing, verify VL53L0X ready/healthy and v1 compatibility. |
# PID only after hardware passes
PID tuning cannot fix swapped motors, wrong propellers, reversed IMU axes, a loose frame or collapsing power. Use PID Tuning only after those layers pass.
# Return-to-flight gate
Cause identified or the build restored to a known-good baseline.
Propeller-off Bench Test passes again.
Preflight Check passes.
Only one deliberate change is carried into the next short flight.