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RC control isn't reaching the aircraft

Your device shows up and the channels move in the RC control panel, but the aircraft doesn't respond — or a servo only twitches when you move an axis instead of holding the commanded position. Work through the checks below. For how RC control works in the first place, see the RC control guide.

Warning

GCS stick control is a safety-critical feature. Test on the bench with props off, and keep a way to recover (a physical transmitter, or the FC's failsafe).

Nothing moves at all

  • Did you long-press "Take control"? Streaming never starts automatically — it begins only on the long-press engage and stops the moment you release it or the app loses focus (the deadman).
  • Is the mapping set? A channel with no axis/button assigned sends nothing. Check the per-channel mapping in the panel.
  • Watch the engage state text in the panel — it tells you whether your sticks are actually being sent (see the firmware-specific notes below).

ArduPilot: a servo twitches but doesn't hold

This is the classic sign of a physical RC receiver competing with the GCS override — for example an mLRS (or ELRS) module feeding CRSF into a second UART while Kite sends RC_CHANNELS_OVERRIDE over the MAVLink link. ArduPilot applies the override only while it keeps arriving and while it's allowed to; the moment it doesn't, the physical RC (sticks centred) reasserts — so you get a twitch on movement rather than steady control. Kite is sending correctly (continuous stream, standard GCS system ID 255); the fix is on the ArduPilot side. Check, in order:

  1. RCx_OPTION = 46 ("RC Override Enable"). If you assigned this to a switch, it can disable MAVLink overrides depending on its position. This is the most common cause. Remove it (set the option back to 0) or make sure the switch is in the enable position.
  2. RC_OPTIONS — the "Ignore MAVLink Overrides" bit must not be set.
  3. SYSID_MYGCS (newer firmware: MAV_GCS_SYSID) = 255. ArduPilot only accepts overrides from its configured GCS system ID; Kite uses 255 (the GCS standard, and ArduPilot's default). If you changed it, set it back or match it. On newer firmware also check MAV_OPTIONS.
  4. RC_OVERRIDE_TIME — default 3 s is fine. As a test, set it to -1 (never time out). If the servo now holds, the override was arriving intermittently (the link can't carry the RC rate on top of telemetry) → lower the RC rate in the panel until it's steady, then restore RC_OVERRIDE_TIME.
  5. Isolation test: temporarily unplug the physical receiver (the CRSF/RC UART). If Kite then controls cleanly, the receiver was the competitor and one of the settings above is the real fix.

INAV: only AUX works, sticks do nothing

With a normal receiver fitted, INAV ignores your CH1–16 sticks unless MSP RC OVERRIDE mode is active:

  • The panel shows "Override inactive — AUX only" vs "MSP RC OVERRIDE active — controlling CH1–16". Map an AUX switch to MSP RC OVERRIDE (or drive it from the GCS) and turn it on.
  • INAV also keeps an override bitmask of which channels MSP may override. If some of your mapped channels aren't included, use the panel's Set override bitmask button (applied at runtime).

If the receiver is set to MSP with no other radio, the GCS is the receiver — no override switch is needed and it takes over fully.

PX4: joystick input is ignored

  • COM_RC_IN_MODE must allow a MAVLink/joystick source (not "RC only"). Kite shows a reminder, but set the parameter in PX4 / QGroundControl.

Still stuck

Grab the in-app diagnostics log (Settings → Diagnostics) with the RC panel open and engaged, and include your autopilot, firmware version and receiver setup when reporting the problem.