Open-source flight · Integration
Crash the mission in software first
Simulation cannot prove an airframe safe, but it can expose coordinate, mode, mission, failsafe, and operator errors before spinning hardware.
SITL · MAVLINK · FIELDBench-to-field ladder
Advance on evidence, not elapsed time
Each stage has one surface and one exit artifact. A successful boot is not a successful test.
- 01
Software-only vehicle
SITL with the chosen vehicle and default model
Exit evidence: The vehicle boots, receives commands, changes mode, and completes a simple mission without hardware.
- 02
Ground-station link
Mission Planner, QGroundControl, MAVProxy, or the documented stack tool
Exit evidence: Parameters, mission items, telemetry, time, and coordinate frames agree at both ends.
- 03
Fault rehearsal
Simulation with GPS, telemetry, battery, and mode failures
Exit evidence: Failsafes produce the intended mode and the operator can explain the recovery path.
- 04
Bench hardware
Exact autopilot, receiver, sensors, telemetry, and actuators with propulsion made safe
Exit evidence: Sensor orientation, directions, limits, failsafes, logging, and power rails match the software model.
- 05
Restrained envelope
Open legal site, observer plan, conservative modes, and bounded test cards
Exit evidence: Manual control and one assisted feature pass at a time before mission complexity increases.
Protocol boundary
MAVLink moves messages. It is not the autopilot.
Vehicle state, commands, mission items, parameters, and telemetry can move over MAVLink. The receiving autopilot, ground station, component IDs, coordinate frames, message versions, routing, and operator still determine what those messages mean.
MAVLink 1 and 2
MAVLink 2 expands message and extension support. Every endpoint and router in the path needs a deliberately compatible version policy.
Component identity
System and component IDs distinguish vehicles and onboard services. Duplicates can make a healthy link control the wrong endpoint.
Mission evidence
Read the uploaded mission back from the vehicle. Confirm frames, altitudes, commands, order, home behavior, and acceptance results.
Link health
Measure message rate, loss, latency, routing, reconnect behavior, and what each failsafe does when telemetry disappears.
Signing is authentication, not encryption
MAVLink 2 signing helps a receiver verify message origin and integrity. It does not hide message contents. The official guide also warns that a channel cannot mix signed and unsigned packets arbitrarily, so signing policy belongs in the full link design.
Before the lab
Choose the flight stack
Match the vehicle and mission to Betaflight, INAV, ArduPilot, or PX4.
Before transition
Model the physical aircraft
Prove the control surfaces, energy states, launch, recovery, and VTOL transition gates.
Reviewed 2026-08-23. Simulation results are evidence about a model, not an airworthiness approval or permission to conduct the modeled operation. Validate the exact aircraft, site, crew, software, radio links, and applicable FAA authority.