TLDR: Kiss FC is definitely missing a manual switch for Airmode activation. The current way of Airmode activation via Min Command is a) dangerous and b) not simple at all (although it easily could be made simple by assigning one of the AUX ports to control Airmode).
As the KISS FC manual describes:
If Min Command is set lower than TX Throttle cut, the PIC controller won’t be shut off
If Min Command is set to 1000 and the Arm function is assigned to a switch on your radio, the Air Mode is
activated automatically. In Airmode on the Ground you might find the FC trying to regulate “something”
though it is sitting still. However the Airmode only makes sense in flight.
Notice the last sentence: there's no point in having Airmode active on start or land.
Short background: Airmode actives the PID controller. That means when Airmode is inactive the flight controller will be very unstable.
I've tested Airmode (Minmode) in combination with throttle cut (Min Throttle) in 2 scenarios:
The current solution using Min Command only works for one of both scenarios but not for both at the same time:
- If Min Command < Min Throttle: Airmode active during flight (good) but also active during start/land (bad)
- If Min Command > Min Throttle: Airmode inactive during start/land (good) but also potentially inactive during freestyle moves (e.g. loops with minimum throttle)
As a conclusion In both scenarios accidents may happen and it's obvious that using Throttle Cut (aka Idle Up) is not a solution at all.
This could be easily improved by allowing Airmode activation via AUX channel. Most people arm their devices anyway using an AUX channel and KISS even supports 3 levels on every AUX channel.
Therefore the perfect single-switch configuration would be something like:
- AUX 1 Low/Off: Disarmed
- AUX 1 Medium: Armed + Airmode Off
- AUX 2 High: Armed + Airmode On
By this setup one could place a quad on the ground (Disarmed, Aux 1 = Low), then take-off with Airmode off (Armed, Aux 1 = Medium) and after successful start then active Airmode (Aux 1 = High). Same procedure in reverse applies to landing.
I know that it's currently not possible to assign 2 functions to one AUX channel (assuming Airmode is considered a separate function beside Arming). But it could still be made work by using 2 separate AUX channels (either with 2 separate switches on the remote or by using the mixer and assigning the same switch to 2 AUX channels in parallel).
A last remark: I don't understand why Airmode activation is currently more complicated than it needs to be. In the end the pilot should have full control instead of magic software settings (magic = software making assumptions if the device is currently flying or not).
TLDR: Kiss FC is definitely missing a manual switch for Airmode activation. The current way of Airmode activation via Min Command is a) dangerous and b) not simple at all (although it easily could be made simple by assigning one of the AUX ports to control Airmode).
Notice the last sentence: there's no point in having Airmode active on start or land.
Short background: Airmode actives the PID controller. That means when Airmode is inactive the flight controller will be very unstable.
I've tested Airmode (Minmode) in combination with throttle cut (Min Throttle) in 2 scenarios:
The current solution using Min Command only works for one of both scenarios but not for both at the same time:
As a conclusion In both scenarios accidents may happen and it's obvious that using Throttle Cut (aka Idle Up) is not a solution at all.
This could be easily improved by allowing Airmode activation via AUX channel. Most people arm their devices anyway using an AUX channel and KISS even supports 3 levels on every AUX channel.
Therefore the perfect single-switch configuration would be something like:
By this setup one could place a quad on the ground (Disarmed, Aux 1 = Low), then take-off with Airmode off (Armed, Aux 1 = Medium) and after successful start then active Airmode (Aux 1 = High). Same procedure in reverse applies to landing.
I know that it's currently not possible to assign 2 functions to one AUX channel (assuming Airmode is considered a separate function beside Arming). But it could still be made work by using 2 separate AUX channels (either with 2 separate switches on the remote or by using the mixer and assigning the same switch to 2 AUX channels in parallel).
A last remark: I don't understand why Airmode activation is currently more complicated than it needs to be. In the end the pilot should have full control instead of magic software settings (magic = software making assumptions if the device is currently flying or not).