Betaflight rates with a live curve

Most pilots think about two things: how sensitive the sticks feel around the centre, and how fast the quad spins at full stick. Actual rates, the default since Betaflight 4.3, set those directly: centre sensitivity in degrees per second, the maximum rate, and expo to shape the curve between them. The other rate types reach similar curves with different numbers.

As a rough guide, freestyle pilots often fly a maximum of 600 to 800 degrees per second, racers a little less, and cinematic pilots far less with a soft centre. Start near the defaults, change one value at a time, and fly a pack between changes.

The graph shows stick position across the bottom and rotation speed up the side. A straight line feels the same everywhere on the stick. A curve that stays flat in the middle and rises steeply at the end gives fine control for small corrections and still allows fast flips. The number next to each axis is the speed at full stick.

If you are moving from another firmware or another quad, match the maximum rate and centre feel rather than the raw numbers, because each rate type uses its own scale.

Rates change how the sticks map to rotation speed; they do not change how well the quad holds that rotation. If the quad wobbles or overshoots, look at the PIDs and filters instead. A blackbox log shows whether the gyro follows the setpoint, and PID autotune can suggest slider settings from a test flight.