Cleanflight - Configurator for Windows

Use your PC as a flight-controller interface

Cleanflight Configurator is a free desktop utility that lets you set up and tune Cleanflight-based flight controllers from your computer. Rather than plugging through board-mounted menus or hardware-only interfaces, the configurator provides a graphical user interface for calibration, PID tuning, sensor setup, and saving/restoring configurations. The project is open-source, so anyone can review or contribute to the software.

Why FPV is taking off

First-person view (FPV), also called remote-person view (RPV) or video piloting, lets a pilot control an RC vehicle from the vehicle’s perspective. FPV is widely used with drones and other remote aircraft and has expanded rapidly as camera, video-link, and control technologies have improved. Common uses include aerial video capture, surveillance, and high-speed drone racing.

Examples of multirotor layouts:

• Hexacopters (six rotors) for added lift and redundancy
• Quadcopters (four rotors) for compact and agile flight
• Fixed-wing craft for longer-range or endurance flights

Good hardware alone isn’t enough—professional-grade hobby aircraft require careful setup and ongoing maintenance. Accurate controls, frequent calibration, and reliable tuning are essential for stable flight in changing conditions.

What Cleanflight brings to the table

Cleanflight is firmware for flight controllers that supports both multirotor and fixed-wing aircraft. It evolved from earlier 8-bit support to a more capable 32-bit implementation, increasing processor and sensor compatibility. Cleanflight runs on a variety of flight boards and can work with many different sensors and CPUs, enabling custom controller builds.

Supported and optional peripherals include:

• SONAR sensors for altitude awareness
• Small OLED displays for status readouts
• Addressable LED strips for visual feedback

The Cleanflight community actively develops and expands hardware support, so compatibility continues to grow over time.

How Cleanflight Configurator works — strengths and limits

Cleanflight Configurator turns a computer into a convenient configuration station. It provides cross-platform compatibility for configuring, calibrating, tuning, and maintaining aircraft from a desktop or laptop. This makes setup faster and more user-friendly than working solely from on-board menus.

Limitations to consider:

• The tool only interacts with Cleanflight firmware; controllers running other firmware families are not supported.
• Any limitations or quirks of Cleanflight itself are reflected in the configurator, and some pilots may need to re-tune between flights depending on conditions and firmware behavior.

Picking the right configuration software

If Cleanflight is the firmware you use, the configurator is a valuable aid. If you fly with other firmware types, consider alternative configuration tools that match your stack. A few popular options:

• Betaflight Configurator — a widely used, free config utility tailored for Betaflight firmware
• iNav Configurator — geared toward GPS, navigation, and fixed-wing setups
• EmuFlight — a community-driven fork with a focus on flight performance

Select the tool that matches your flight controller’s firmware to get the most reliable configuration and tuning experience.