Thermal Tracking

[tommsehurra]

There is already a thermal tracking option in Arduplane, yet to be added to iNAV it would enable autonomous flights without use of the motor/motors. Inav would access data like wind speed and direction, as well as the variometer to track and follow thermals. I have seen the mention of a total energy vario, but this does not enable the autonomy. I tried it with the programming tab but i cannot find a way to access data from the airspeed sensor.

[MrD-RC]

I'm working on the total energy vario. But it won't be in the next release of INAV. I'm not looking to add any kind of automatic thermalling mode. IMHO, one of the fun things of gliding is finding the thermals and staying in them. Having the autopilot do that kind of defeats the purpose of flying the aircraft. But, if another developer chooses to do this, it will be added. The total energy vario should help find and stay in a thermal.

[tommsehurra]

While I get your point, i'd also love to make Long Range Missions completely Autonomous. Making everything automatic kind of stops the purpose of flying Manual, but i mean one could still do that... Nevertheless, thanks for being open to other solutions, and I am still really excited about the Total Energy Vario.

[sensei-hacker]

but i cannot find a way to access data from the airspeed sensor.

The air speed value in the programing tab is IAS from the pitot, real or virtual.