What kind of flight control should be used for long-distance voyages of model airplanes: Hot topics on the Internet and purchasing guide
Recently, the community of aircraft model enthusiasts has had a heated discussion around "long-distance flight control". This article combines hot data from the entire network in the past 10 days to systematically analyze mainstream flight control performance indicators and applicable scenarios to provide decision-making reference for long-endurance flights.
1. Popular flight control model popularity ranking

| Flight control model | search index | E-commerce sales | Forum discussion volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pixhawk 4 | 8,520 | 1,200+ | 340 posts |
| Mateksys F722-Wing | 6,730 | 890+ | 215 posts |
| iNav | 5,610 | Software download | 480 posts |
| ArduPlane | 4,980 | Open source projects | 390 posts |
| Holybro Kakute F7 | 3,850 | 570+ | 180 posts |
2. Comparative analysis of core performance
| parameters | Pixhawk 4 | F722-Wing | iNav | ArduPlane |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| maximum range | 120km | 80km | 60km | 150km |
| Battery life | 6h | 4h | 3h | 8h |
| Positioning accuracy | RTK 1cm | GPS 2m | GPS 5m | RTK 1cm |
| Communication distance | 50km | 30km | 20km | 80km |
| price range | ¥800-1500 | ¥600-900 | free | Open source |
3. Recommended application scenarios
1.Surveying and mapping operations: Pixhawk 4 has become the first choice in the industry with its RTK positioning and 6-hour battery life. Recently, a surveying and mapping team in Xinjiang used this flight controller to complete 100km² terrain surveying and mapping, which triggered heated discussions.
2.FPV voyage: Mateksys F722-Wing, because it supports DJI high-definition image transmission, showed excellent performance in the latest 50km round-trip challenge video of the UP host "Yanghang Player" at Bilibili.
3.Open source development: GitHub data shows that the ArduPlane code base has been updated 23 times in the past 10 days, adding a new terrain following function, which is suitable for secondary development enthusiasts.
4. Precautions when purchasing
1.Sensor configuration: Yuanhang flight control must be equipped with dual GPS modules and barometers. A user on a forum caused widespread discussion due to the loss of the aircraft due to a single GPS module.
2.Thermal design: A popular test video on Douyin shows that after 4 hours of continuous operation, the internal temperature of the flight controller without a heat sink can reach 70°C.
3.Firmware compatibility: Recently, there have been many cases of conflicts between Betaflight firmware and long-range voyage mode in Tieba. It is recommended to give priority to the firmware optimized for long-range voyage.
5. Future technology trends
1. Starlight communication technology has begun to be used in the field of model aircraft. A certain technology blogger has measured a transmission distance of over 100km.
2. Artificial intelligence path planning has become a new hot topic, and Kaggle’s latest competition requires contestants to develop autonomous obstacle avoidance algorithms.
3. A new energy battery pack is paired with a flight control system. A YouTube channel uses hydrogen fuel cells to achieve 12 hours of continuous flight.
In summary, the choice of Yuanhang flight control requires comprehensive consideration of mission requirements, budget and technical capabilities. It is recommended that novices start with the iNav system, while professional users can focus on examining the expansion capabilities of Pixhawk 4.
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