SIM001 › The ground station › Ground control station

Flying a mission

In AUTO, ArduPlane flies the items of the mission in order. After the last item, it decides where to go. It also decides when the mission starts again from the first item.

Before you begin

Start from the setup in Ground control station.

Do the steps of From plan to flight, but plan only three waypoints, with no takeoff and no return.

Step by step

Press PLAN. The PLAN button lights up.
Click the map. The UPLOAD button reads UPLOAD 1. The last item of the dashed plan is WAYPOINT. The new waypoint goes at the altitude between ALT- and ALT+.
Click the map. The UPLOAD button reads UPLOAD 2. The last item of the dashed plan is WAYPOINT. The new waypoint goes at the altitude between ALT- and ALT+.
Click the map. The UPLOAD button reads UPLOAD 3. The last item of the dashed plan is WAYPOINT. The new waypoint goes at the altitude between ALT- and ALT+.
Press UPLOAD. The solid line of the mission on the vehicle is the same as the dashed plan. The map is back to panning.
Press ARM. Then press CONFIRM ARM in three seconds or less. The ARMED annunciator lights up. The map marks home where the plane was armed.
Press AUTO. The AUTO button lights up. Item 1 is the current item, which is magenta on the map.
Click the sim window. Then press Space to throw the plane. The plane climbs and flies to the first waypoint.

Tutorials

Flying the circuit and coming homeAfter the throw, the plane flies its mission without your help. At each waypoint, the current item on the map moves to the next one. After the last waypoint, the mode changes to RTL.

Flying the circuit againWP1 sends the plane back to the first item of its mission. Thus the plane flies the circuit again, and it does not land.

Topics

The end of a mission: After the last item, a plane flies home in RTL. But if the mission ends with a loiter or a landing, the plane does that. A copter circles at the last waypoint, and a rover stays where it is.
Restarting a mission: WP1 sends the mission back to its first item. A plane also starts its mission again when you disarm it. In AUTO, it keeps its place, so that a mission can continue after a landing. In ArduPilot, MIS_RESTART and an RC switch with option 24 also restart the mission.