Betaflight position hold and altitude hold setup

If the board is Betaflight and its API minor is below 47, FlySpark does not query the hold variables. The card is titled Altitude and position hold. The row is Needs Betaflight 2025.12 or newer. The subtitle says altitude hold, position hold and the autopilot arrived with MSP API 1.47, then the API the board reported. The in-browser demo reports 1.46 because that firmware is Betaflight 4.5. The card is the whole tab: no climb rate, deadband or hover throttle, and that screen is only the older-firmware notice.

On API 1.47 or newer, framed CLI queries for alt_hold, pos_hold, autopilot and ap_ keep names with those prefixes. An empty result says Not in this firmware build: the board reports no alt_hold, pos_hold or autopilot settings, and using them means a build with altitude and position hold (GPS and a barometer). Documented names come first. Other matches follow by name, as a plain row with the raw value.

Altitude hold needs a barometer or GPS altitude. Assign ALTHOLD on the Modes tab. The footer says it flies in Angle mode while holding height. Climb rate is alt_hold_climb_rate, in cm/s, allowed range 1 to 200, default 50. It is the climb or descent speed with the throttle stick fully up or down. Altitude is held with the stick centred. Throttle deadband is alt_hold_deadband, in percent, range 5 to 70, default 20. It is the band around centre throttle, as a percentage of the stick range, where altitude is held. Outside it, the throttle commands a climb or descent. This percent deadband is the Betaflight control. INAV's altitude deadband is a different stick-point setting in the INAV configurator.

Position hold needs a GPS with a 3D fix, and a compass unless allowed without. Assign POSHOLD on the Modes tab. Allow without compass is pos_hold_without_mag, values OFF and ON, so it is a switch. The default is Off. The help line says it lets Position Hold engage without a working compass, that heading can drift so the hold may wander, and that holds should stay short with yaw avoided. Stick deadband is pos_hold_deadband, in percent, range 0 to 50, default 5. It is the roll and pitch band where position is held. Past it the craft flies like Angle mode, and a new hold point is taken when the sticks return. A value of 0 ignores the sticks. The hint includes the CLI name and the default, such as pos_hold_deadband, default 5.

The Autopilot footer says the block is shared by altitude hold, position hold and GPS Rescue. GPS Rescue is Betaflight's return path, set on the Failsafe tab and described on the GPS page. These gains are separate from the roll, pitch and yaw table on the PID tab.

Landing altitude is autopilot_landing_altitude_m, 1 to 15 m, default 4. It is the height above home where GPS Rescue and autopilot landings start the slow final descent. Hover throttle is autopilot_hover_throttle, 1100 to 1700 µs, default 1275. Altitude hold, position hold and GPS Rescue start from it, so set it close to the real hover. Minimum throttle is autopilot_throttle_min, 1050 to 1400 µs, default 1100, the lowest the altitude controller may command. Maximum throttle is autopilot_throttle_max, 1400 to 2000 µs, default 1700, the highest it may command.

Altitude P, I, D and feedforward (autopilot_altitude_P, _I, _D and _F) are each 0 to 200, default 15. P corrects height error: too high bounces, too low sags. I removes steady error such as sag as the battery drains. D damps vertical speed so climbs and descents stop without overshoot. Feedforward sends the requested climb rate straight to the throttle. Position P, I, D and acceleration (autopilot_position_P, _I, _D and _A) are each 0 to 255, default 30. P pulls back to the hold point. I removes steady drift, for example from wind. D damps speed relative to the hold point. Acceleration damps changes in speed and smooths GPS noise. Position filter cutoff is autopilot_position_cutoff, 10 to 250, default 80, the low-pass for the speed and acceleration terms. Lower is smoother and responds later.

Maximum angle is autopilot_max_angle, in degrees, only when the board reports MSP API 1.48. The range is 10 to 70, default 50. It is the largest lean the autopilot may use while holding position or flying GPS Rescue. On API 1.47 the row is absent. Save sends each edit as a framed CLI set of a whole number, then stores it with the other edits.

The hold cards do not assign the switch themselves. Put ALTHOLD and POSHOLD on the Modes tab and flip each switch so the channel range lights, the same way as ARM or ANGLE on the Modes page. A GPS 3D fix is part of the position-hold footer. The compass stays required until Allow without compass is on. Everyday ports and the other tabs are in the Betaflight configurator. INAV position hold and return to home are a different firmware. Open the INAV configurator for those.

In the browser, use Chrome or Edge. USB and Bluetooth work there. Wi-Fi to an ESP serial bridge or a simulator is the Android and iPhone apps. Safari and Firefox stay on the demo, and that demo is the Betaflight 4.5 board that reports API 1.46.