Arkbird Autopilot System

Arkbird FPV Email:aprildeng@arkbirdfpv.
com Facebook:Arkbird Fpv Contact person:April Deng
Arkbird V3.1025 Features:

ARKBIRD is a high-accuracy autopilot designed for fixed-wing. It can superimpose OSD(OnScreenDisplay) data
on videos and at the same time control the balance, the return and many other maneuvers of your aircraft with
high precision.
The perfect auto-stabilization system and a plug-and-play design free you from worries and inconveniences
and enjoy the beauty of FPV in an instant.
1. Function all in one broad, on broad IMU (Inertial measurement unit), OSD (On Screen Display), barometer
Attitude sensor, 12V-5V regulation chip, “ESC + voltage regulation” dual power supply. Industrial reliable
designed.
2. Plug & Play design, no needed to weld any wire, Adjust parameters by OSD menu and radio stick.
3. Intelligent PID controller. Easy to adjust, support delta-wing, V-tail plane.
4. One button auto-leveling, one button RTH (return-to-home), lost radio signal return-home.
5. Cruise flight (Keep straight &constant-height flight).
6. Gyro normal balance and 3D balance. Hover mode.
7. Fence mode（Auto Switching to Return-to-Home Mode while flying out of the rectangle area specified.）
8. 4 Way point flight, coordinate set by radio stick.
9. "Launch Assist" function which can help to control throttle and elevate angle when take-off.
10.RSSI port available, 10 channel PPM port supportable.
One board OSD features:

1. Power & OSD Voltage display, 3D Go-home arrow, radar mark, flight time, horizon, total distance, and power
consumption.
2. Customized interface: can set Fighter HUD interface, Simple interface, can choose the font size, the
demands of latitude and longitude.
3."Flight Record" records the time, voyage, data of power consumption and various maximum records of the
flights.
Reminding：For the first installation，please power up after a wire check. Forcible satellite search interface will be
entered (incontrollable) every time you power up. You can pop-up manually and adjust rudder angle in Manual
Mode and auxiliary control in Balance Mode. A Neutral Point Check for the sensor is necessary. Also, you need a
fail-safe protection for the receiver in case your autopilot loses control when returning home. Adjust the OSD
voltage value before you can take off.
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Arkbird FPV Email:[email protected] Facebook:Arkbird Fpv Contact person:April Deng
For the first flight, we suggest take off with "Manual Mode". Check if the aircraft flies normally after
switching to “Balance Mode” in a level flight. Then switch to "RTH Mode" and check the autopilot by using OSD
parameter (see the last chapter in the instructions: Notes for Balance and RTH). Please keep an eye on the
important parameters during the flight (Vibration value, Satellite number, Speed and Altitude).
When the maiden flight test is done, Balance Mode can be used freely for taking off the autopilot, or you can
use extended functions such as waypoints, cruise flight or fence mode.
Enjoy the flight.
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Attention
All the details can be found in our instructions. Please read carefully before operating and pay close
attention to the details and important parameters, in case you miss any important information which may leave
hazards or cause damage.
Arkbird V3.1025 Features
Extended Functions
Catalogue
Schematic Drawing of All-Device Wirings
Schematic Drawing of Power Supply Mode
5V Dual Power Supply
Installations
Remote Control Setup
Uses of GPS
Balance Mode Auxiliary Value Determination
RTH Mode
Fail-Safe RTH Mode Setup
OSD Parameter Adjustments
Debugging Skills for Balance and RTH Mode
FAQ and Solutions
Other FAQ
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1 Wirings
Use 3P wires “black (ground), red (power), white (data)”

（Note the polar of camera wire, DO NOT POWER ON before carefully check.
Especially 12V, incorrect wiring will damage the autopilot permanently!）
（If The camera needs a 5V supply, please connect a BEC from 12V or main power, Do not connect CPU 5V
for a 5V camera in case of the power supply shortage）
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The AR port in the bottom right corner can be used as PPM output interface, which supports Arkbird 433 receiver
to achieve single-wire 10 Channel transmission and signal strength RSSI (automatically identified when plugged
in).
2 Power Supply Mode
Recommend using one single 3S (12V) battery to supply motor power and Arkbird OSD12V, Video TX &
camera (Shared supply),
Otherwise, use one battery (2S-6S) to supply motor power, another 3S battery to supply OSD 12V&Video
(Separated supply).
3S Battery Shared Power Supply（Factory Default）
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Arkbird sensor’s 3P wire can wire in the motor power.

1. If 3S battery, plug in the jumper (Default), it will supply power to 12V Video system (Arkbird OSD 12V,
Video TX & camera).
OSD12V - 5V regulator provides additional 5V power for OSD & CPU.
If not using OSD, we also strongly suggest plug in OSD 12V to provide dual power to prevent any issue
caused by ESC 5V power insufficiency.
Independent Power Supply
2. If separated supply, remove the jumper, connect another 3S battery (800mah-1000mah) to the Video
Power Port (12Vin) on the third row.
If separated supply, the sequence to power on is OSD 12V first, and then motor power. Otherwise, the OSD
cannot initialize and display.
Schematic drawing of Independent Power Supply Wiring
（You can also choose the new Arkbird current sensor with 12V regulated output（accessories）which shares
one battery with motor and the video sector. Please see as below:）
Note：
When using 4S-6S battery, connect jumper cap to ”>3S”(Default connection, Direction connection),the output
voltage of white line is 12v at the moment.
When using 3S battery, connect jumper cap to "3s=POW", regulator module will not work at this
time, the output voltage is Power voltage of your 3S battery.
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3 5V Dual Power Supply

On broad OSD 12V to 5V regulator , with 5V BEC(form ESC) supplies power to the CPU module at the same time.
If OSD function is not used, please plug in OSD 12V power as well to prevent a lack of power supply for 5V
electronic speed controller.
4 Installation:
1. The pins of Servo & Radio RX shall stay forward (toward flying direction), the side with soldering dot shall
be upward or Vertical toward right wing. （Default is level installation）
2. Keep GPS antenna upward placed and away from interference sources such as image transmission and
camera.
3. Put on heat-shrink tubing, fix by sponge and cable tie. Please keep away from motor to avoid vibration
which will reduce the accuracy of sensor.
4. While using on flying wing, connect channel 1 output to right servo and connect channel 2 output to left
servo. DISABLE the mix function from transmitter, switch Dip switch 4 to “0” to enable flying wing mix.
5. When using on V-wing, connect Channel 2 output to the right V-wing; attach Channel 4 to the left V-wing.
DISABLE the mix function from transmitter, enable V-wing mix in the OSD menu(Flight Parameters).
6. While using on 3-channel plane, connect Channel 1 output to rudder to steering.
7. When setting return-to-home, please take off propellers for safety concern.
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2 ways of installation
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5 Switch Modes through CH5 and CH6:

1. After installation, test OSD and the radio control. Use CH5 and CH6 (0% to 100%) to switch flight mode.
2. While CH5 < 50%, it switches to Manual Mode（OSD shows ）, Autopilot is not involved in the control.
3. While CH5 > 50% and CH6 < 30%, it switches to Balance Mode（shows ）;
While CH5 > 50% and 30% < CH6 < 70%, it switches to Custom Mode（Waypoint Mode ,Hover Mode,
Fence Mode, RTH mode）, Default is RTH mode.
While CH5 > 50% and CH6> 70%, it switches to Return-to-home(RTH) Mode.（shows ）.
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6 GPS & Save Home Position

After power on, Arkbird will start to search GPS satellite and save the first valid position as Home.
During searching, the elevator will be up and any manipulation of radio stick is invalid. If need to skip the
searching, please push CH6 more than 75% and push CH1 to left or right side for 1 second.
Once skipped the searching, it CANNOT switch to RTH mode, RTH logo will flash but it is balance mode.
Flight OSD Interface
1. When Arkbird is auto piloting the plane(RTH mode、Cruise flight), the lower right will display Roll, Pitch
control Angle Value and Throttle Value, Adjust Autopilot if these angles not appropriate.
2. The idle current is 0.8A while turning off the throttle, if the readout is wrong, please enter the OSD menu
and exit to reset the current value.
3. Please reduce the motor vibration to keep the “vibration value” more than 65 (99 is the most ideal
situation).
4. Pay attention to GPS satellite quantity, less than 7 will result mistake positioning.
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7 Manual Mode
Radio Stick and SUB-TRIM back to center, set radio travel range as 100%.
Switching to Manual Mode , Arkbird will not participate control, set manual control’s reverse through
radio, adjust plane’s CG and travel angle, make sure plane can fly stably in horizontal without Autopilot.
Reverse Balance Mode assistant Control
Switching to Balance Mode by pushing CH5 to 100% and CH6 to 0%, if the neutral point is correct,
rudder, aileron and elevator shall be at the neutral position, otherwise, please check the neutral point again.(see
OSD menu -> CTL parameters)
1. Aileron: When rolling the plane to right, aileron shall produce a left compensation automatically, make
plane go back horizontal. On the contrary, when rolling to left, aileron will produce a right compensation. Please
see as below:
If the compensation direction is not correct, please move the Dip switch 1 to the other side.
2. Elevator: When pitching up the plane, elevator shall produce a down compensation automatically. On
the contrary, when pitching down, elevator will produce an up compensation. Please see as below:
3. Rudder: When yawing the plane to right, rudder shall produce a left compensation automatically. On
the contrary, when yawing to left, rudder will produce a right compensation.
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7 GPS and Return to Home Instruction
While switching to RTH Mode (CH5 to 100% and CH6 to 100%), it will adjust the flying height to safe
height to go home.
If the throttle safe is open and when height and distance is within 30m, ESC will alert by a sound of "didi",
but no any throttle output, to avoid any hacking while adjusting. (Refer to OSD menu）
During RTH mode throttle will increase if altitude is low, or speed is slow, decrease if altitude is high, or
speed is faster than set safe speed.
Once lost GPS satellite, switching to RTH, the plane will go home automatically based on the home angle of
last position before out of signal. Within radio range, please switch to Balance Mode and land.
Please keep an eye on the quantity of GPS signal and voltage value, fly carefully. Please note if the quantity
of satellite is less than 7, the positioning might not be correct.
8 Fail-Safe to RTH mode

Fail-Safe is a receiver’s function to preset position when receiver is out of signal. Some receivers can set in
the radio menu, and some save the current position through receiver (probably through a button).
Please refer to the manual of receiver. Set the fail-safe position the same as Return-to-Home Mode through
CH5 and CH6 (CH5>50%,CH6 > 70%). And then turn off the radio to check if it switches to Return-to-Home Mode
.
（Note: No need to set fail-safe from channel 1 to channel 4 as these four channels are controlled by
autopilot under Return-to-Home Mode, which is not relevant to receiver.）
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9 OSD and Menu

CH5 switches to Manual Mode(<50%), throttle to 0%, and push CH1 to left or right side for 6 seconds, it will
enter into main menu. Exit the main menu if CH5 switches to auto mode(>50%).
Moving stick up and down to change the value, pushing to right side to select, and pushing to left side to exit
and save parameters.
Main Menu:
Set HOME Save home position
Set CTL Parameters Set CTL Parameters
Set RTH Parameters Set RTH (Return to Home) Parameters
Set OSD Parameters Set OSD Interface
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flight Parameters Reverse and delta-wing mixing
Fence Area Set Set Fence Mode Area
Way Point Set1 Set Way Point Mode1
Way Point Set2 Set Way Point Mode2
-Flight Record- Records of flight time, curding range, power consumption and every
highest record. “ RECENT” refers to the recent flight record: “ RECORD”
refers to the total record.
Reset All to Default Move stick to right side for 2 seconds to reset to default
Flight Data Logging Function
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Set CTL Parameters
Roll Ctl Roll Control（%）（equivalent to travel range on radio, Please adjust the travel
range on OSD, do not adjust through radio）
Pitch Ctl Pitch Control（%）
Yaw Ctl Yaw Control（%）
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
Neutral Check Neutral Point Check:
Neutral point alignment needed under first installation, not used for weeks,
or temperature variation is more than 10 degrees.
Aileron all the way to the right means it is waiting autopilot be put down, OSD
shows “Waiting Neutral Point Check.”
Put the autopilot paralleled to the ground (Please prop up if there is a landing
gear), and move CH1 left and right to do 3-seconds neutral point check. Aileron
will be back to center once finished.
Note: Pushing CH5 and CH6 to minus (0%) and moving CH1 stick to left or right
side within 3 seconds after power on can also enter neutral point check.
Launch Assist
After turning the function on (ON), "Launch Assist" function which can help to control throttle and reduce
the difficulty of take-off in manual throwing process.
Switch to balance mode, and the throttle will not be started, OSD displays "T throttle’s volume" and
"Launch" tip (as is shown below), which means launch assist will occur.
Run up with aircraft in hands, when the speed is higher than 5kmph, the throttle will start output and
automatically control the take-off.
Note: This function can only be started when more than 6 GPS satellites are available. In order to ensure
safety, in run-up process, lower the throttle stick, lower the aircraft head down 35° or stop the run-up, throttle
will be disabled. When the aircraft flies above 15m high, or more than 100 m away, launch assist will be disabled
and throttle will under normal control.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Custom Mode Custom Mode（CH5> 50% and 30% < CH6 < 70%）:
RTH : Return to Home（Default）
Way Point : Way Point Mode, it is able to trace the Way Point Set by
WayPoint menu.
HOVER : Hover mode, regard the hover position as balance position
Gyro : Gyro Mode, it will do compensation for unintentional attitude
changes.
Attitude Source Attitude Source:

GPS : Attitude acquisition through GPS
AR PRESS : Attitude acquisition through barometer(recommend)
Lock Dir/Heig Lock direction and height (Cruise flight):

ON : Under balance mode, when CH1 and CH2 stick back to center,
height and direction will be locked and keep straight &
constant-height flight.
OSD shows . Aileron and elevator can also be controlled

through CH1 and CH2.
OFF: Turn off the mode.
Set RTH Parameters
Max Roll Max roll angle while return to home, 20 to 40 degree recommended.
Max UP Max pitch (up) angle while return to home, 20 to 40 degree recommended.
Max Down Max pitch (down) angle while return to home, 20 to 35 degree recommended
Elevate Angle Level flight’s elevate angle, 3 to 15 degree recommended. Please adjust this
value while pitch up or down to have level flight even the stick is back to center.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RTH Throttle Return to home throttle（%）
AUTO Throttle The autopilot will use the throttle value of level flight automatically as return
to home throttle. (Default)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Safe Speed Minimum speed of return to home（when speed is less than the certain value,
it will accelerate throttle in proportion to avoid lost while being upwind.）
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Safe Height Safe Height （ The minimum height of return to home, 80 to 200 m
recommended.）
Throttle Safe Throttle Safe（When distance and height are less than 30m, for safety
concern, there is no throttle output under RTH Mode.）
Set OSD Parameters
Big Letters Size of the characters selection

Show Lat-long Show longitude and altitude
AD Calibrate Battery voltage calibration
OSD Pattern OSD interface selection
（Simple:Show home angle and voltage only）
（Default:Normal interface）
（Fighter:HUD interface）
（ALL Info:Show all attitude information）
P or N(Xin) PAL/ NTSC selection
Show Current Current Value Display
Cur Calibrat Current calibration %. The rheometer will adjust and input the correct
power.consumption after landing to calibrate the displayed battery capacity
(MAH).
Unit F（Foot）and m（Meter）Unit Selection；
LowPowerAlarm （Low Voltage Alarm）Option. There will be a flicker alarm when dynamic
power is lower than this value.
Flight Parameters
Note: Adjusting these four parameters is equivalent to adjusting the Dip switch.
Roll (KEY1) Roll Reverse
Pitch (KEY2) Pitch Reverse
Yaw (KEY3) Yaw Reverse
FlyWing (KEY4) Conventional / Delta Wing / V-tail
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Note：Delta-wing mixed control will not work after setting the V-tail mixed control. You cannot set it back to
delta-wing mixed control by adjusting Dip Switch 4.
Fence Area Set
Switching to CH5 > 50% and 30 %< CH6< 70%, within rectangle area and above safe height it is Balance Mode,
otherwise it switches to RTH mode.
Fence Mode Fence Mode , "ON" or "OFF"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
North Dist North Distance（m）
East Dist East Distance（m）
South Dist South Distance（m）
West Dist West Distance（m）
Safe Height Set Height（m）
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Way Point Set

Set four way points (WP1~WP4), allow to turn on/off separately.
Set Custom Mode as Way Point Mode（CH5 > 50% and 30 %< CH6< 70%）. The plane will fly in a loop upon the
sequence of 1 to 4, skip the waypoint turned off, and return to home while over the safe time.
WP safe time ---------WP safe time.
Returning to home if reachs the safe time. Re-timing only next power-on.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WP1 ---------WP 1 On/Off
Lng Dist ---------Waypoint 1 East-West distance away from Home (m)
“>” means East and “<” means West.
Lat Dist ---------Waypoint 1 South-North distance away from Home (m) “︾”means
South and“︽”means North
Height ---------Waypoint 1 Height（m）
WP2 ---------WP 2 On/Off

Lng Dist ---------Waypoint 2 East-West distance away from Home (m)
“>”means East and “<” means West
Lat Dist --------- Waypoint 2 South-North distance away from Home (m)
“︾”means South and “︽” means North
Height --------- Waypoint 2 Height（m）
WP3 ---------WP 3 On/Off

Lng Dist --------- Waypoint 3 East-West distance away from Home (m)
“>” means East and “<” means West
Lat Dist ---------Waypoint 3 South-North distance away from Home (m) “︾”means South and
“︽” means North
Height ---------Waypoint 3 Height(m)
10 Balance Mode and RTH Adjustment (Very Important)

Arkbird’s default parameters will be ok for most plane types. But if the most ideal situation expected, please
refer to the following methods:
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First time installation, do a neutral point alignment. Plane shall be put paralleled to the ground before
neutral point check, moving aileron stick left and right to get start. (Refer to CTL menu）
Roll the plane to right and left 45 degree after neutral point check to see if OSD horizon line tilts accordingly
and quickly.
Please fly on default and record OSD video on the ground. Observe the attitude through OSD and adjust
parameters.
Adjusting Balance Mode:

Purpose: Stick and SUB-TRIM back to center, plane can be able to flight levelly.
1. Please increase control value (“ctl” in CTL menu) or plane’s control surface when the stability not good
enough (drift even stick back to center), and decrease it when the plane swings.
2. If plane pitches up or down when stick back to center, please adjust the “elevate angle” value (Do not
adjust through SUB-TRIM, otherwise RTH Mode won’t be precise.)
Adjusting Return to Home Mode:

1. Switch to RTH Mode, Important parameters “Home Direction,” “Roll Angle,” “Pitch Angle,” and “RTH
Throttle” shown on OSD shall be checked all the time.
Flying to certain height, switch to RTH Mode and check if these data are appropriate.
2. Adjust RTH parameters referring to these values. If the roll angle is too small to return promptly, please
increase the Max Roll. If the turning is to fast so that the RTH line is “S” sharp, decrease the Max Roll and
increase Rudder control (Yaw ctl)
3. Adjust Max Up and Max Down to make plane pitch up and down smoothly. (Too prompt or slow are
improper)
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4. Based on how far and high expect to fly, adjust safe height as high as possible (If fly far than 2km, please
adjust this value more than 150m). Please set cruise speed as “Safe speed” in RTH menu.
11 FAQ and Solutions：

★When switching to Balance Mode, the elevator will lift up a bit because the “Elevate Angle in a level flight” in
the menu is defaulted as 5°. Which means the plane will rise a bit in a level flight to ensure a level route.
★If the aileron has touched the edge which prevents you entering the menu, please check if the route setup is
too small on the remote control.
★It’s normal when the direction of compass and return arrow is inaccurate while testing on the ground. The
data will be calibrated by GPS in 10s after the plane takes off.
12 Other FAQ：
Q：There is no OSD / OSD is incomplete
A：Check the wiring, restart the power.
Notice that if separated supply, the sequence to power on is OSD 12V first, and then ESC flight power.
Otherwise, the OSD cannot initialize and display.
If there shows OSD but incomplete, check PAL/ NTSC signal custom option or change display device, some
USB-AV card output is incomplete
Q： OSD disappear once plugged the camera

A： Change PAL/ NTSC option, use mainstream FPV specialized camera, some surveillance camera is compatible.
Q： Cannot locate home, displaying “Waiting GPS Home”

A： Seeing OSD “Waiting GPS Home” proves GPS wiring is OK, otherwise, please check GPS wiring.
GPS’s white antenna shall face up; keep GPS away from Video TX and Camera. Some inferior Video TX’s
antenna will affect GPS, too. You can try to remove the casing of GPS, or put a layer of tin foil paper under GPS to
enhance the performance.
GPS can only work Outdoors, First time about 5-10 minutes, next power on of the same day it would take
less than 10seconds to locate.
Q： Plane tilts under Balance Mode / Manual Mode, can I adjust the radio TRIM
A： First time installation, do a neutral point alignment. Radio stick and SUB-TRIM back to center, adjust plane’s
CG and travel angle to make plane balanced.
Arkbird can produce compensation when CG & travel angle is not appropriate, but it is not mechanical
stable, there would be hidden trouble under RTH mode. So firstly make sure plane can fly stably in horizontal
under Manual Mode.
Q：Inaccurate Return-To-Home
A： Adjust remote control rudder angle to 100% and sub-trim back to center. Check carefully in reference to the
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“Debugging Skills for Balance and RTH Mode” chapter of our instructions.
Make ground video recordings. When switching to RTH or other autonomous flight modes, Roll/ Pitch
inclination value and throttle control value will be shown at the bottom right corner of OSD. These data will tell
you if the control values are proper and will help you judge which parameter needs to be sub-trimmed.
13 Attention:
Please read through carefully:
1. The design purpose of autopilot is to keep balance of flight, it is not able to manipulate plane or prevent stall.
You must have sufficient experiences of fixed wing to control the flight.
2. The autopilot is only for small-scale RC model. For safety concern, please do not install in plane for aerial
photography which might fly over crowd.
3. Please install the autopilot depends on your demands and check the condition before flying every time.
4. Any equipments and electric products on the plane couldn’t be completely reliable, please using this system
following the instruction. The system provider is not responsible for any direct or indirect loss and consequence
caused by using this product.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
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Arkbird FPV Email:aprildeng@arkbirdfpv.

com Facebook:Arkbird Fpv Contact person:April Deng

Arkbird V3.1025 Features:

One board OSD features:

Arkbird V3.1025 Features

Schematic Drawing of All-Device Wirings

Schematic Drawing of Power Supply Mode

5V Dual Power Supply

Remote Control Setup

Balance Mode Auxiliary Value Determination

Fail-Safe RTH Mode Setup

OSD Parameter Adjustments

Debugging Skills for Balance and RTH Mode

FAQ and Solutions

Use 3P wires “black (ground), red (power), white (data)”

2 Power Supply Mode

3S Battery Shared Power Supply（Factory Default）

Arkbird sensor’s 3P wire can wire in the motor power.

3 5V Dual Power Supply

5 Switch Modes through CH5 and CH6:

6 GPS & Save Home Position

Flight OSD Interface

Reverse Balance Mode assistant Control

7 GPS and Return to Home Instruction

8 Fail-Safe to RTH mode

9 OSD and Menu

Flight Data Logging Function

Set CTL Parameters

Attitude Source Attitude Source:

Lock Dir/Heig Lock direction and height (Cruise flight):

OSD shows . Aileron and elevator can also be controlled

Set RTH Parameters

Set OSD Parameters

Big Letters Size of the characters selection

Fence Area Set

Way Point Set

WP2 ---------WP 2 On/Off

WP3 ---------WP 3 On/Off

10 Balance Mode and RTH Adjustment (Very Important)

Adjusting Balance Mode:

Adjusting Return to Home Mode:

11 FAQ and Solutions：

Q： OSD disappear once plugged the camera

Q： Cannot locate home, displaying “Waiting GPS Home”

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