Remote Controllers
To fly the Flapper manually, you have several options depending on your Flapper Nimble+ configuration:
| Controller type | Applicable to | Possible with optional accessories* |
|---|---|---|
| Radio transmitter with a Multimodule | Starter Kit | Base Kit (*transmitter with Multimodule needed) |
| Generic radio transmitter & receiver | Flapper with an external receiver | Starter Kit, Base Kit (*transmitter and external receiver needed) |
| PC client and a joystick | Starter Kit | Base Kit (*Crazyradio and joystick needed) |
| A smartphone app | Starter Kit, Base Kit |
Dedicated Transmitter
Transmitter with multimodule (Starter Kit)
The Starter kit comes with a transmitter equipped with a multimodule, which can connect directly to the radio on the Flapper's flight control board.
If you have your own transmitter with a Multimodule, please consult the tip at the end of this section to make this work.
1. Power up the Flapper.
2. Push the throttle stick on the transmitter to its full-down position and power the transmitter up.
If you turn the transmitter on first and the Flapper second, the Flapper might get stuck when booting and you will only see blue LEDs blinking rapidly on its flight control board. Power down everything and do it in the correct order.
3. Check that model “Crazyflie” or “FlapperNRF” is selected. If not, switch to this model (consult the transmitter manual).
4. Check that the yellow/orange LED on the Crazyflie Bolt flight control board is lit up and blinking rapidly. If it is, you are set and can continue with the pre-flight checks.
5. If your transmitter has the “FlapperNRF” model and if it is activated, you should also be able to see the Flapper's battery voltage when pressing the “Telemetry” button (Radiomaster radios) or by long pressing the “Down” (Jumper radios).
If your transmitter does not show any telemetry, you can enable telemetry by updating the internal multimodule firmware to this version: multi-stm-cflie_251212.zip Please consult the radio manual on how to flash it.
6. When done flying, first power down the Flapper and then the transmitter.
Please note that this method remains experimental. If you want a stable long range connection (e.g. to fly outdoors) or stable on-screen telemetry, please consider getting an external receiver.
If you purchased the Flapper without a transmitter, e.g. as a Base Kit, you can still fly it with your own Open-TX/Edge-TX transmitter, as long as it has a 4-in-1 or 5-in-1 multimodule.
You will need a specific firmware for the multimodule, which can be downloaded here (stm version, for Jumper T-Lite, T-Pro, …):
If you need to compile the firmware for another platform, the source code is available in this Github fork:
Please consult the manual of your transmitter on how to flash the multimodule.
Generic radio transmitter & receiver
If you plan to fly the Flapper manually on a regular basis, we recommend controlling it using a radio transmitter and a dedicated on-board receiver, as it offers the most stable connection and the best user experience.
The following instructions apply for the transmitter and the on-board receiver that is delivered with the Flapper as an option. The exact model of the transmitter delivered varies depending on the model year of your Flapper.
If you have NOT purchased the Flapper with the optional transmitter and receiver already, you can also add a receiver yourself. See the addon page on how this can be done. This should work with any radio system as long as the receiver can output CPPM. We recommend the FrSky R-XSR.
1. Push the throttle stick to its full-down position and power up the transmitter.
2. Power up the Flapper.
3. Check that the LED indicator on the receiver turned yellow (left photo). If it did, you should be set and you can continue with the pre-flight checks.
Should you see a blinking red LED instead (middle photo), this indicates a binding problem between the transmitter and the receiver. If you own multiple Flappers, check whether you have not mixed up the transmitters. Otherwise please contact our support and we will help you troubleshoot this.
Should you see a blue light, this indicates the receiver is configured to communicate over a wrong protocol. Please press the small button indicated with the orange arrow and hold it for at least 5 seconds, then release. After a few seconds, only the yellow LED should remain on.
4. When done flying, first power down the Flapper and then the transmitter.
Adjusting the roll/pitch limits
When using a transmitter, the roll and pitch angles corresponding to maximum stick inputs are set to 50 degrees. These limits can be adjusted using the Parameters tab of the cfclient, check the “cppm” parameter group.
You can decrease these for higher sensitivity or increase them for higher agility (above 60 degrees pitch, the Flapper may get unstable in some situations, so proceed with caution).
PC client & Joystick
You can control any Flapper from your PC using a joystick and the CFclient. You will need a Crazradio PA or Crazyradio 2 dongle to connect to the Flapper. The Transmitter supplied with the Starter Kit can be used as a joystick when connected to the PC with a USB cable.
To setup your joystick in CFclient, follow these instructions: https://www.bitcraze.io/documentation/repository/crazyflie-clients-python/master/userguides/inputdevices/
As a starting point, we recommend using the following settings that give the most direct response:
While using game console controllers as joysticks is possible, the user experience is not ideal because all their analog axes are typically spring-loaded, including the one for throttle.
We recommend using a drone-specific joystick (used for FPV simulators), or a radio transmitter with a joystick functionality support via USB, such as the one supplied with the Starter Kit. Wireless USB dongles are also available for many radio systems, allowing to use radio transmitters as joysticks without the need of a cable connection.
Smartphone App
Any NimblePlus drone can be flown over Bluetooth using a (recent) smartphone running Android or iOS.
If you plan to fly your Flapper manually on a regular basis, we recommend using a dedicated radio transmitter for the best user experience.
Default setup (Touch control)
1. Install the Crazyflie app on your smartphone:
2. Launch the app, and adjust its settings as below:
3. Power up the Flapper.
4. Connect the app to the Flapper. You should see console messages appearing once successful.
5. The app “sticks” have the following functions (when configured to its default “Mode 2”):
Advanced setup
- To fly faster, you can increase the max roll/pitch values. Be careful as the Flapper might get eventually unstable. Values below 60 degrees should be safe, larger values are possible but instabilities may occur for some control input combinations.
- For more precise control, you can connect a gamepead (e.g. for Xbox or Playstation) to your smartphone and select “gamepad” in the settings
- In the app settings, you can also switch to “gyroscope” control and control the pitch and roll by tilting your phone
- For longer range, or if you want to fly multiple Flappers at a time, you can connect the Crazyradio PA USB dongle to your phone via an OTG cable (only supported on Android devices).