7.1.0 Release Notes

INAV 7.1 Ferocious Falcon

Hello and welcome to INAV 7.1 "Ferocious Falcon"

Please carefully read all of this document for the best possible experience and safety.

Contact other pilots, share experiences, suggestions and ask for help on:

	INAV Discord Server
	INAV Official on Facebook

Important Notes

INAV 7 is the last INAV official release available for F411 based flight controllers. The next milestone, INAV 8 will not be available for F411 boards.

The GPS NMEA protocol is no longer supported. All pilots are required to switch to UBLOX protocol. All modern GPS modules (even as old as from 2015 and earlier) support UBLOX protocol and there is not a single good reason to stick to NMEA nowadays

Make sure to remove props and check your motor and servo outputs before powering your upgraded flight controller with a battery for the first time. The changes to enable flexible motor and servo allocation may change what outputs your configuration uses by default.

PosHold, Navigation and RTH without compass PSA

Attention all drone pilots and enthusiasts,

Are you ready to take your flights to new heights with INAV 7.1? We've got some important information to share with you.

INAV 7.1 brings an exciting update to navigation capabilities. Now, you can soar through the skies, navigate waypoints, and even return to home without relying on a compass. Yes, you heard that right! But before you launch into the air, there's something crucial to consider.

While INAV 7.1 may not require a compass for basic navigation functions, we strongly advise you to install one for optimal flight performance. Here's why:

🛰️ Better Flight Precision: A compass provides essential data for accurate navigation, ensuring smoother and more precise flight paths.

🌐 Enhanced Reliability: With a compass onboard, your drone can maintain stability even in challenging environments, low speeds and strong wind.

🚀 Minimize Risks: Although INAV 7.1 can get you where you need to go without a compass, flying without one may result in a bumpier ride and increased risk of drift or inaccurate positioning.

Remember, safety and efficiency are paramount when operating drones. By installing a compass, you're not just enhancing your flight experience, but also prioritizing safety for yourself and those around you.

So, before you take off on your next adventure, make sure to equip your drone with a compass. It's the smart choice for smoother flights and better navigation.

Fly safe, fly smart with INAV 7.1 and a compass by your side!

Currently, if you wish to fly a multirotor without a compass. You will need to enable a compass (fake is ok) to change navigational modes in Configurator. You should disable the compass after making the changes. This has been fixed for a future release.

Upgrading from a previous release

Upgrading from INAV 7.0

Backup configuration with CLI diff all command
Download and install the new INAV Configurator 7.1
Flash INAV 7.1 WITH Full Chip Erase option enabled
Select Keep current settings from the defaults pop-up
Go to CLI and restore your 7.0 diff
Done

Upgrading from INAV 6 and 6.1

Download and install the new INAV Configurator 7
Save to a file the current diff all from the CLI.
Upgrade to INAV 7 using the Full Erase option in the configurator.
In case of Analog FPV, upload your OSD font of choice from the OSD tab.
Go to the CLI again and paste the above-described contents from the file you previously created and write save , press ENTER.
There are many new, changed, and removed settings. Check carefully that the settings are correct and fix any unrecognized or out-of-range items from the saved configuration.
You should be ready, explore new 7.0 features, and enjoy!

Upgrading from older versions

Please follow the instructions on this page.

Major changes

Fixed wing Autoland with landing pattern

INAV supports advanced automatic landings for fixed wing aircraft from version 7.1. The procedure is based on landings for man-carrying aircraft, so that safe landings at a specific location are possible. Supported are landings at Safehome after "Return to Home" or at a defined LAND waypoint for missions. See: Fixed Wing Landing.md

IMPORTANT: When updating from an older INAV version with a diff, please change the following settings before using Autoland for better performance.

Plane with no tail: set nav_wp_radius = 1000

Plane with tail: set nav_wp_radius = 800

Compass and Barometer changes

INAV now relies more heavily on GNSS data for navigation than before. This can provide more security if the Barometer fails, or if the multirotor is suffering from Compass interference. By still allowing it to navigate back to home.

From the release of INAV 7.1. The use of a compass is no longer mandatory for multirotor navigation as it once was. BUT it is still recommended for the best navigation performance, when it comes to maintaining a fixed position for an extended period of time, without heading drift. e.g. in Poshold. Or taking off and immediately starting a Waypoint mission.

If a user does decide to omit the use of a compass for a multirotor, be mindful that any navigation mode (RTH, Failsafe, Poshold, Cruise or a Waypoint mission) will not be operational UNTIL a GPS heading is first obtained, by flying in a straight line until both -

The OSD Heading and Course over Ground indicators display a valid heading. Then keeping both headings closely aligned for a time.
And the OSD Home arrow appears, showing a valid home direction.

Example Video

For more details see here

Tailsitter Support for VTOL

Tailsitter builds are now natively supported to allow proper Board Orientation switching during transition. Details

Other changes

Updated ICM426xx filtering

The filtering of the ICM426xx gyros has been updated based on changes made to both Ardupilot and BetaFlight and we expect better performance, when comparing to previous INAV versions.

OSD Changes

Users can now customize their own OSD messages, by way of the Programming Framework. Details

The Artificial Horizon will not properly track the real horizon in the correct way, when the craft is inverted. Details

New Fixedwing flight mode

The mode is called Angle Hold. For more details see here

New targets

FLYCOLORF7V2

CLI

Changed settings

Name	Description
`gps_dyn_model`	Default: AIR_2G GPS navigation model: Pedestrian, Automotive, Air<1g, Air<2g, Air<4g. Default is AIR_2G. Use pedestrian/Automotive with caution, can cause flyaways with fast flying.

New Items

Name	Description
`ahrs_gps_yaw_weight`	Arhs gps yaw weight when mag is avaliable, 0 means no gps yaw, 100 means equal weight as compass Values: 0 - 500 Default: 100
`nav_fw_land_approach_length`	Length of the final approach Values: 100 - 100000 Default: 35000
`nav_fw_land_final_approach_pitch2throttle_mod`	Modifier for pitch to throttle ratio at final approach. In Percent. Values: 100 - 400 Default: 100
`nav_fw_land_flare_alt`	Initial altitude of the flare phase Values: 0 - 10000 Default: 150
`nav_fw_land_flare_pitch`	Pitch value for flare phase. In degrees Values: -15 - 45 Default: 8
`nav_fw_land_glide_alt`	Initial altitude of the glide phase Values: 100 - 5000 Default: 200
`nav_fw_land_glide_pitch`	Pitch value for glide phase. In degrees. Values: -15 - 45 Default: 0
`nav_fw_land_max_tailwind`	Max. tailwind (in cm/s) if no landing direction with downwind is available Values: 0 - 3000 Default: 140
`nav_fw_launch_land_abort_deadband`	Launch and landing abort stick deadband in [r/c points], applied after r/c deadband and expo. The Roll/Pitch stick needs to be deflected beyond this deadband to abort the launch or landing. Values: 2 - 250 Default: 100. Replaces `nav_fw_launch_abort_deadband`
`nav_min_ground_speed`	Minimum ground speed for navigation flight modes [m/s]. Default 7 m/s. Values: 6 - 50 Default: 7
`nav_rth_fs_landing_delay`	If landing is active on Failsafe and this is above 0. The aircraft will hover or loiter for X seconds before performing the landing. If the battery enters the warning or critical levels, the land will proceed. Default = 0 [seconds] Values: 0 - 1800 Default: 0
`tailsitter_orientation_offset`	Apply a 90 deg pitch offset in sensor aliment for tailsitter flying mode Default: FALSE