SITL Forge – External FC: Betaflight

This DLC adds a software-in-the-loop bridge between SITL Forge - FPV Laboratory and Betaflight firmware running on your PC. The built-in PID controller is replaced with the real firmware, so you fly and tune against the same code that runs on real hardware — driven by the simulator's 1000Hz physics model, calibrated against real bench measurements.

Requires the base app: SITL Forge - FPV Laboratory.

---What This DLC Adds

1000Hz PWM/FDM bridge — motor outputs and full physics state exchanged every millisecond

50Hz RC channel link — joystick or RC transmitter feeds the firmware's stick inputs

MSP protocol over TCP — telemetry, blackbox, and configuration access

MSP WebSocket bridge — connect a Configurator session straight to the firmware

One-click mode switch — flip between built-in SIM and external firmware in-app

---A Controlled Environment for Real Tuning

Iterate on PID gains, rates, filters, and rate profiles in a simulator that aims to approximate real airframe behavior as closely as possible — without risking hardware on every change. The behavior you see is driven by the same firmware code you'll flash to your drone, running against a physics model fitted to real bench data.

Validate filter setups against simulated motor vibration

Iterate on PID gains and feedforward without crashing real hardware

Test rate profiles and stick feel before flashing

Reproduce tricky tuning issues in a controlled environment

---Technical Details

UDP data link between simulator and firmware (ports configurable in-app)

TCP MSP server for Configurator-style tooling

Coordinate transform handled in-engine (Godot Y-up ↔ aviation NED)

Per-axis vibration injection into the firmware's simulated IMU

---Compatibility

You provide your own Betaflight firmware build configured for software-in-the-loop. This DLC does not include or distribute Betaflight binaries. Build instructions are available in the Betaflight project's SITL documentation. In-app setup notes are also included.

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This DLC is an independent integration. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Betaflight project. "Betaflight" is a trademark of its respective owners and is referenced here only to identify the firmware this integration connects to.