What Real Flight is
Real Flight is a section of the Android game that connects to your own aircraft instead of a simulated one. From the lobby, open Real Flight, register the drone in My Real Drone, then choose Connect. The console shows live telemetry: link state, mode, battery, GPS, altitude, speed and attitude. It also shows the camera feed when your setup provides one.
It is included in every Android build from version 0.7.74. There is no separate app or download.
Two kinds of aircraft can connect:
| Aircraft | How it connects | Chapter |
|---|---|---|
| PX4 or ArduPilot multirotor | MAVLink over Wi-Fi/UDP through a bridge, backpack or companion computer | PX4 & ArduPilot |
| Supported DJI aircraft | DJI's official Mobile SDK, with the phone on the DJI remote by USB | DJI drones |
Your RC transmitter stays in charge
Drone Horizon is not a certified ground control station. Your radio and the aircraft's own failsafes remain the primary safety system. The app is designed to add no risk on top of them:
- Watch first. After connecting, the app only listens and asks for telemetry.
- Commands are locked until you confirm a five-item safety checklist. The checklist resets on every connection.
- Hold to confirm. Arm, takeoff, land, hold, return and take app control need a 1.2-second press. A tap does nothing.
- The radio always wins. Flipping your mode switch out of app control ends it, and the app never asks for the mode back.
Safety & app control explains every rule.
Commands need a secure link
A real aircraft only accepts commands from the app over an authenticated connection. That is either:
- a MAVLink 2 signed link, using a passphrase shared by the app and the autopilot; or
- a DJI aircraft connected through its wired remote.
On an unsigned link the app stays an observer. You still get telemetry, video and flight logs, but every command button stays disabled. Secure link shows how to set up signing.
Hardware Center
Controllers, real aircraft and video sources are managed in one place: Real Flight → Hardware Center. It covers:
- pairing home-built Wi-Fi controllers;
- USB serial controller boards;
- the firmware examples;
- camera streams;
- flight logs.
See Hardware Center.
What has been tested
We publish what has been measured, not what we hope works.
| Configuration | Result |
|---|---|
| ArduCopter (real autopilot firmware) in software-in-the-loop simulation, MAVLink 2 over UDP | Connect, arm, takeoff, app control, release, land and disarm: all passed |
| ArduCopter SITL with MAVLink 2 signing | Signed commands accepted, unsigned ones refused: all passed |
| PX4 | Tested against a scripted PX4 stand-in that follows PX4's Offboard rules; PX4 SITL not yet run |
| DJI aircraft | Builds and links in the app; registration and flight on a real DJI aircraft not yet tested |
| Any physical aircraft | Not yet tested |
Each aircraft configuration shows an evidence level in the console, from Unsupported to Flight validated. Today no physical aircraft is above Detected. Start by watching telemetry with props off before you trust anything else.
Before you start
- Fly only where it is legal. Respect registration, Remote ID and visual line of sight rules where you live.
- Configure link-loss failsafes on the aircraft first, using QGroundControl, Mission Planner or DJI Fly. Drone Horizon does not edit parameters.
- Practise the same aircraft type in the simulator first. Real Flight → Practice in the simulator opens it.