Throttle Curve and Idle

Saved values

Setting	Value	Effect
`throttle_limit_type`	`SCALE`	Scales the whole output range rather than clipping the top.
`throttle_limit_percent`	`80`	Caps usable throttle at 80%, trading unused top-end for headroom and a longer pack.
`thr_mid`	`40`	Puts the curve’s midpoint below centre stick.
`thr_expo`	`35`	Softens response around the midpoint, where hovering happens.
`motor_idle`	`400`	4.00% idle — enough to keep motors turning without creeping.
`thr_hover`	`44`	Hover reference point used by altitude-related features.

Net effect: throttle is capped at 80% and softened around the 40% midpoint, which makes altitude control precise on a craft with a lot of thrust relative to its mass.

Both the cap and the midpoint were lowered from an earlier setting (90% and 45): the craft had more top-end than was useful indoors, and moving the midpoint down puts the softened part of the curve where hover actually sits.

SCALE versus CLIP

SCALE compresses the entire stick range into the limit, so the curve stays smooth and full stick still means “maximum available”. CLIP would instead leave the curve alone and flatten everything above the limit, which produces a dead zone at the top of the throw. SCALE is the right choice when the goal is a gentler craft rather than a hard ceiling.

Idle and prop stall

motor_idle = 400 (4%) is the floor the ESCs are commanded to when armed. Too low and props can stall on a hard throttle chop, which produces the wobble usually described as propwash. Too high and the craft creeps on the ground and refuses to descend cleanly.

This build does not use dynamic idle (dyn_idle_min_rpm = 0). Dynamic idle holds a target RPM rather than a fixed throttle percentage and generally handles stall better, but it requires bidirectional DSHOT and a correct motor_poles value. Worth revisiting if propwash ever becomes the presenting symptom.

On the Air65

The throttle curve, limit and expo are identical on the Air65. Motor idle is not: it runs motor_idle = 550 against 400 here, which is a factory value for its own motors and was left alone.