In this lesson we will introduce the feature that we are most interested in for research purposes: autonomous flight. Autonomous flight allows for complex preset missions to be set up, so that extra attention can be paid to monitoring the flight status and surroundings. We start off running simple missions that are fully autonomous, but will eventually work our way up to pattern flying and surveying.

I'm order to fly in auto mode GPS needs to be mounted, calibrated, and recognized by mission planner. Before engaging your quadcopter be sure to check the amount of satellites located in the preflight tab shown below
The amount of satellites will turn green indicating that you have sufficient satellites to fly. Some other basic understanding you must have is that, while auto mode doesn't require any user input it is important that you keep eyes on the drone at all times (Yes you are allowed to blink) and hands on the transmitter ready to take control at any moment.

When setting up an auto mission it is important to keep in mind that your drone will only do what you tell it to do. Consequently it is important that you implement a takeoff command, land command, and set the altitudes to the desired height. The next figure shows how to add a waypoint. When you right click you are presented with a list of options to add different steps for your mission.

Before this lesson we were instructed to play with the auto mode in the simulation mode. Simulation mode can be found here…