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Instruments

Flight Instruments

When GPS telemetry is available, two instrument panels appear in the flight detail view: the Digital HUD (Head-Up Display) and the Control Sticks visualization. Both panels update in real time as you play back the flight using the animation controls. They provide immediate visual feedback about the aircraft's attitude, performance, and input commands throughout the mission.

Digital HUD panel

The Digital HUD displays live-animated flight data in a traditional aircraft instrument style. It appears as a collapsible accordion in the top-left position when telemetry is available.

Indicators

The HUD shows the following instruments and values, all of which animate in sync with the GPS playback position:

  • Pitch & Roll indicator — A visual representation of the aircraft's pitch angle (up/down nose) and roll angle (wing tilt). This mimics a real aircraft attitude indicator.
  • Heading / Compass — Shows the aircraft's compass heading in degrees (0–360°, with 0/360 = North)
  • Airspeed — Aircraft airspeed (if available from telemetry)
  • Groundspeed — Ground speed derived from GPS movement (km/h)
  • Altitude — Current altitude above ground or sea level (meters)
  • Vertical Speed — Climb or descent rate (m/s, positive = climbing, negative = descending)
  • Battery Voltage — Battery voltage in volts (V)
  • Battery Percentage — Battery charge level as a percentage (%)
  • GPS Status — Current GPS lock state: "3D Fix", "2D Fix", or "No Fix". A 3D Fix is required for reliable altitude data.
  • Satellite Count — Number of GPS satellites in view
  • GPS Time — UTC time from the GPS module
  • Link Quality — Radio link signal strength (may represent RX or combined RX/TX quality)
  • Turn Rate — Rate of heading change (degrees per second)
  • Flight Mode — Current flight controller mode (if available) — e.g., "Stabilize", "Altitude Hold", "Auto", etc.
  • Armed State — Boolean indicator showing whether the flight controller is armed (ready to fly) or disarmed

Missing data: If your telemetry CSV lacks certain columns (e.g., no Flight_Mode column), those fields display "—" (not available) without breaking the display. Only available data is shown.

Control Sticks panel

The Control Sticks panel displays a visual representation of the four control inputs as two joysticks:

Left Stick (Throttle / Yaw)

  • Vertical axis: Throttle input (0–100%, with 0 = idle, 100 = full throttle)
  • Horizontal axis: Yaw input (left/right rotation command)

Right Stick (Elevator / Aileron)

  • Vertical axis: Elevator input (pitch control: back/forward)
  • Horizontal axis: Aileron input (roll control: left/right)

Both sticks show a dot representing the stick position at the current animation frame. The dot animates as you play through the flight, showing the pilot's (or autopilot's) input commands in real time.

Stick input range: Raw telemetry values are typically in the range -1000 to +1000. The visualization normalizes these to a standard joystick representation (-100 to +100 or ±1.0 normalized).

Accordion behavior

Both panels are collapsible accordions. Click the panel header to collapse and expand them. This lets you focus on one instrument at a time or get a cleaner view when you're interested in the GPS map or animation controls. Your collapse/expand state is not persisted — accordions reset to their default state (typically expanded) when you reload the page.

Live animation sync

All instrument values update in real time as the flight animation plays back. Use the Animation Controls panel to:

  • Play / pause the flight
  • Scrub through the timeline (drag the position slider)
  • Adjust playback speed (1×, 2×, 4×, 10×, or "Real time")

The instruments respond immediately to changes in playback position. This allows you to:

  • Identify critical moments (e.g., when GPS signal was lost)
  • Analyze pilot inputs and aircraft response
  • Verify battery health throughout the flight
  • Troubleshoot flight behavior by reviewing maneuvers step-by-step

Tips

  • Pause and scrub: Pause playback and use the timeline slider to position at a specific moment, then observe all instrument values at that point.
  • Look for anomalies: Sudden drops in GPS satellites, link quality, or battery voltage often correlate with visible changes in the aircraft's behavior.
  • Stick analysis: Watch the control stick visualization to understand how the aircraft was being flown. Look for aggressive inputs (stick near the edges) or smooth, steady control.
  • Battery trend: Monitor battery voltage and current over time. A steep voltage drop near the end of the flight may indicate power draw at landing.
  • Altitude and speed: Use the altitude and speed readouts alongside the map to verify that climbing/descending or speed changes match visible track changes.

Next: Learn about Animation Controls & Statistics.

See GPS Track & Map for details on importing and visualizing your flight path.