Ground Control Station

The RFD GCS provides command, control, telemetry and mission planning for the aircraft. It is designed for single-operator operation: after the aircraft is powered and positioned, the whole mission — arming, take-off, mission upload, in-flight mode changes, and recovery — is managed from the GCS.

GCS software: RFD uses QGroundControl (QGC) as the ground control station. Mission Planner is not used and is not supported.

GCS configuration

• Computer: a standard laptop running QGroundControl.
• RC control: a FrSky Taranis transmitter with a Team Black Sheep (TBS) 915 MHz control link (transmitter and receiver) for manual flight modes.
• Telemetry link: an RFD900x radio on the ground station and an RFD900ux radio on the aircraft, operating in the 900 MHz band. C2 range: per the RFD900 manufacturer’s published capability — RFD range verification is pending dedicated testing. Range depends strongly on terrain, antenna height and interference; treat datasheet figures as upper bounds.

The RFD Ground Station (sold separately)

The productised RFD ground control station is a mast-mountable radio node + browser-based GCS:

• Radio node: the long-range telemetry radio paired with a compact computer that provides a Wi-Fi access point. Flexible power input — 6 V to 50 V — so it runs from almost any battery you have. Run it up a mast for significantly better range, and connect to it over Wi-Fi from the ground.
• Any device is your GCS: the ground station is operated in a web browser — laptop, tablet, or phone. RFD supplies (and recommends) a Steam Deck as the handheld controller: it joins the node’s Wi-Fi and gives you proper control sticks, but it is a convenience, not a requirement.
• Open API: integrators can bypass the RFD GCS entirely and talk to the aircraft through the documented API — talk to RFD about your integration.

Availability and configuration are per your sales agreement; the flight procedures in this manual are shown in QGroundControl and apply equivalently.

• A power supply / battery backup and telemetry antenna(s).

Telemetry configuration is per RFD’s standard setup — the exact radio configuration RFD uses is documented in the RFD900 Telemetry Configuration reference (RFD-TR-001). This is RFD’s configuration; operators are free to configure the radios to suit their own operation.

Caution

Enable QGC telemetry logging and keep it on (Application Settings → save telemetry logs). If an aircraft is ever lost, the GCS log is the only surviving flight record — and warranty claims require flight data (see Support & Warranty).

Laptop readiness

Before an operating session:

• Disable sleep and power-saving modes — power management can throttle the radio link or drop the GCS mid-flight.
• No OS updates, antivirus scans, or heavy background tasks during flight operations.
• Sound ON and audible — QGC announces warnings by voice.
• Mains power or a full battery (plus a spare/vehicle charger for long sessions).
• Use the telemetry radio delivered with this aircraft (the pair is configured as a set).

Setting up the GCS

1. Position the GCS on a stable surface with clear line of sight to the launch site.
2. Connect mains power where available, or confirm the GCS battery is sufficiently charged.
3. Erect and orient the telemetry antenna(s).
4. Power on the GCS and wait for boot; open QGC.
5. Connect the RC transmitter and confirm receiver pairing.
6. Confirm all flight-mode switches are in their default (safe) positions and the arm switch is DISARMED.

The GCS is now ready to connect to an aircraft (see Flight Operations).

Items to monitor in flight

Display and scan these continuously; a systematic scan catches problems early:

1. HUD / artificial horizon (attitude)
2. Pitch and bank angle · 3. Heading
3. Indicated airspeed (IAS) · 5. Ground speed
4. Battery voltage and current
5. EKF / autopilot health · 8. GPS status (3D fix, satellite count)
6. Waypoint status (distance to next, current WP number)
7. Flight mode · 11. Altitude (relative and/or absolute)
8. Telemetry link quality · 13. Vibration status

Critical items to watch at all times: airspeed, altitude, battery voltage. Use the Messages tab to review autopilot messages (catches transient HUD warnings). Keep the EKF status window open.

EKF / vibration status

• EKF white — healthy; safe to operate.
• EKF orange/flashing — sensor anomalies; monitor closely, be ready to take manual control.
• EKF red — state estimation lost; initiate immediate emergency recovery.
• VIBE white — vibration nominal. VIBE orange/red — hardware/mechanical fault; land at the nearest safe location.

Arming, health checks & command-and-control range

The aircraft enforces PX4 health-and-arming checks — minimum satellite count for a 3D GPS fix, sensor health, EKF state, and the rest. If the aircraft will not let you arm, it is asserting that it is not safe to arm.

Caution

Do not force-arm. Overriding the arming checks to take off with an unhealthy aircraft violates the terms of the RFD warranty. The aircraft must be entirely green and ready to arm.

Command-and-control range is not RFD-tested; refer to the RFD900 radio manufacturer’s stated range for the datalink.

Altitude conventions

Altitude is reported relative to the home position (where the aircraft was powered up) unless absolute is explicitly selected. Verify the home position is the intended launch point before take-off.

Mission planning

A waypoint is a 3D point (lat/lon/altitude-relative-to-home) the autopilot flies to; some waypoints carry an action (take-off, transition, change speed, land). Confirm every altitude during mission review.

Mission commands

Command	Function
VTOL_TAKEOFF	Vertical take-off in hover mode to the assigned altitude; followed by a waypoint that lets the autopilot commence pitch-over
DO_CHANGE_SPEED	Sets the target airspeed in forward flight
WAYPOINT	Standard 3D point-to-point
DO_LAND_START	Marks the start of the landing segment (used by RTL and auto-land)
VTOL_LAND	Reverse transition + vertical landing at the specified location
DO_JUMP	Loops the mission to a previous command N times
LOITER_UNLIM / _TURNS / _TIME	Orbits a point indefinitely / N turns / T seconds
DO_VTOL_TRANSITION	Explicit transition to/from VTOL mode

Tail-sitter transition behaviour. The aircraft transitions by pitching the whole airframe over; the autopilot manages this automatically (manual only for emergency recovery). Ensure sufficient horizontal distance and altitude between the take-off waypoint and the first cruise waypoint for the transition to complete safely (per-aircraft values in Part B).

Uploading a mission

1. Open the mission in the Plan view; review every command and altitude.
2. Save the mission to local storage as a backup.
3. With the aircraft connected, Upload to the autopilot.
4. Download it back and verify it matches what you uploaded.

Always verify the home position and the landing waypoint (especially its relative altitude) before every flight.