Open-source flight · Stack selection

Match the flight stack to the aircraft

Betaflight owns manual FPV. INAV adds accessible navigation. ArduPilot spans vehicles and missions. PX4 is a robotics platform. Choose the architecture before the firmware file.

VEHICLE · MISSION · TEST

Stack chooser

Start with the aircraft you are trying to control

The right stack follows the vehicle, mission, operators, simulation plan, and maintenance burden. It does not follow whichever configurator appeared in the last tutorial.

I want manual freestyle, racing, or a cinewhoop.

Acro and racing flight controller

Betaflight

2026.6.1; Betaflight App 2026.6.1

Use it for: Manual multirotor acro, freestyle, racing, cinewhoops, receiver and video-system integration, and blackbox-guided tuning.

Do not force it into: Do not choose it as a substitute for a mature survey autopilot, complex fixed-wing mission stack, or unattended autonomous operation.

Configuration: Betaflight App plus CLI for documented advanced settings
Navigation: GPS Rescue and limited Flight Plan groundwork. The 2026.6 Flight Plan release note describes the new autopilot path as simulation-only.
Simulation: Official Software In The Loop targets are used for the 2026.6 Flight Plan groundwork.
Protocol: MSP for configuration and display; CRSF and other receiver protocols; 2026.6 adds MAVLink telemetry and waypoint mission transfer groundwork.
Hardware gate: FPV-oriented flight controllers supported by the exact Betaflight target. Back up the target, version, and diff before flashing.

Betaflight 2026.6 release notes Betaflight 2026.6.1 release

Navigation and mission capability do not grant permission to fly beyond visual line of sight, outside approved airspace, without required Remote ID, or without a responsible remote pilot. Prove the behavior in simulation and a bounded field test before relying on it.

Airframe desk

Fixed-wing and VTOL architecture

Control surfaces, sensors, launch and recovery, transition logic, power reserve, and release gates.

Integration lab

Simulation, MAVLink, and bench-to-field testing

SITL, ground stations, MAVLink 2 signing, failure rehearsal, bench hardware, and bounded flight cards.

Fabrication desk

Print mounts, prototypes, and workshop fixtures

Choose material by mechanical job, record exact fit, and separate a useful local part from an experimental primary structure.

Operating boundary

Autopilot is a capability, not an operating category

In the United States, the aircraft still needs an operation that fits Part 107 or the recreational exception, applicable registration and Remote ID, airspace authorization, and visual-line-of-sight rules unless the FAA has granted the relevant waiver or authorization. The person responsible for the flight does not disappear when software moves the controls.

FAA Part 107 overview FAA Remote ID FAA Part 107 waivers

Reviewed 2026-08-23. This is educational technical guidance, not legal advice or an airworthiness approval.