This tutorial explains Betaflight’s TPA (Throttle PID Attenuation): when the throttle is lower than the Breakpoint, the original P/D gain is maintained. After exceeding the Breakpoint, D or P+D is linearly reduced as the throttle is increased, and the attenuation amount defined by Rate is reached at full throttle. It is used to retain low throttle control strength while reducing oscillation and noise at high throttle; recorded in 2021, parameter names and semantics must be checked against the current Betaflight version.
The three main TPA settings
The recorded version shows TPA Mode, Rate, and Breakpoint through the CLI. Mode selects what is attenuated: D mode reduces only D, while PD mode reduces both P and D. Breakpoint is the throttle input where attenuation begins. Gain remains unchanged at the breakpoint, then decreases linearly toward full throttle.
Rate determines the final amount of attenuation. In the video’s conceptual example, retaining 0.6 times the original gain at full throttle means reducing it by about 40% from the baseline. Different Betaflight versions or interfaces may display percentages, integers, or other representations. Do not guess the meaning from “0.4” or “40” alone. Before saving, check the current official explanation and the live result in the Configurator.
Why high throttle needs different gains
At low throttle, control headroom is limited, and higher P/D gains may help resist disturbances and follow commands. At high throttle, power-system noise and control authority increase substantially. The same aggressive gains can then more easily cause high-frequency oscillation, screeching, and motor heating. TPA provides a smooth transition between these operating regions.
TPA does not repair damaged propellers, motor bearings, loose frames, or incorrect filtering. If high-throttle logs show mechanical peaks that move with motor speed, address the hardware and filtering first. Suppressing the symptoms with heavy attenuation may leave too little attitude-control authority at high throttle.
How to determine Breakpoint and Rate
First record Blackbox logs with a reliable baseline of PID gains and filters. Make several gradual throttle increases and brief punches to identify the throttle range where oscillation begins. Set the Breakpoint to start working near the region just before the problem appears, rather than copying an example arbitrarily. Then use the least attenuation needed to reduce high-throttle oscillation.
Change only one of Mode, Breakpoint, or Rate at a time. Repeat the same test and compare gyro data, D-term, motor output, and temperature. Too little attenuation leaves oscillation; too much may make high-throttle turns loose and weaken disturbance rejection. Also retest low-throttle turns, stick centering, and landing to ensure TPA is not masking problems in other operating regions.
Avoid copying aggressive examples
The video gives an example of starting attenuation very early and retaining only a small amount of P/D at full throttle, allowing a more aggressive low-throttle baseline. This is an extreme case used to explain the mechanism, not a recommendation. Frame size, propellers, motors, filters, firmware, and flying style all affect the requirements. Settings for a 5-inch aircraft cannot simply be transferred to a large-propeller or long-endurance platform.
Operation steps
- Check the TPA parameters in the current version
Confirm the names, units, and permitted ranges of Mode, Rate, and Breakpoint. Do not infer their meanings from an old video.
- Choose whether to attenuate D or P+D
Understand the difference between D and PD modes first, then decide based on the type of high-throttle oscillation in the logs.
- Understand the full-throttle result of Rate
Convert the displayed value into the gain actually retained at full throttle, avoiding confusion between the attenuation percentage and the remaining multiplier.
- Place the Breakpoint before the problem begins
Use Blackbox to locate the onset of high-throttle oscillation, then start linear attenuation near that region.
- Make a small change to one setting at a time
Repeat the same throttle movements and compare gyro data, D-term, motor temperature, and feel at both high and low throttle.
- Do not copy extreme TPA examples
Use only the minimum attenuation needed to solve this aircraft’s problem, and recheck the entire throttle range.
FAQ
What does TPA stand for?
Throttle PID Attenuation: reducing specified PID gains as throttle increases.
What is the difference between D mode and PD mode?
D mode attenuates only D; PD mode attenuates both P and D. Consult the current Betaflight version for the available options.
What happens below the Breakpoint?
Under the logic described in the video, gains remain at their baseline. Only above the breakpoint do they change linearly toward the target full-throttle attenuation.
Can increasing TPA alone fix high-throttle oscillation?
Do not start with that approach. Check the propellers, motors, frame, and filters first. Excessive attenuation may leave insufficient control authority at high throttle.
Can I copy the video’s aggressive values directly?
No. The examples explain the principle, not a universal recommendation. Aircraft, power systems, firmware, and logs differ.
Full timeline transcript
Transcripts are arranged according to video time, making it easy to quickly locate the explanation content. Transcript language: Simplified Chinese.
Hello everyone, I am QuadRank. It has been a while since we discussed Betaflight settings. Today we will continue with TPA. A listener asked about this earlier, and I think I have put it off for two months—sorry about that. Today I will answer what TPA actually is, and—
—how to adjust it. You may have noticed that I am trying a new editing approach today: overlaying my screen recording on FPV footage. I worry that watching nothing but screen recordings gets tiring, so let us see if this is better. Back to the topic: what is the idea behind TPA? TPA stands for T, P, and A—
—just joking. TPA stands for Throttle PID Attenuation: attenuation means reduction. What does it reduce? Open the Betaflight command line and enter tpa. We see three settings: tpa breakpoint, mode, and rate. Let us enter them and see what options are available.
The mode can be D or PD. As I just said, TPA reduces something as throttle increases. What it reduces is determined by TPA Mode. Here, the default mode is D: as throttle rises, I reduce D. You can also choose PD, reducing P and D together.
We know it reduces them, but by how much? TPA Rate determines that. What does Rate mean? When throttle reaches full, usually around 2000 here, the D value at full throttle is 0.6 times the D value at zero throttle—just over half. You can increase or decrease it according to your PID settings.
Where does the reduction begin? That is what TPA Breakpoint controls. What does 1300 mean? When your throttle value reaches 1300, reduction begins. At 1300, D is still at its full value. As throttle increases, D gradually decreases in a linear relationship, until it is 0.6 times the original D value at full throttle.
That is how TPA works. Simple, right? It feels like middle-school mathematics. But why was TPA introduced in Betaflight? That is not something I can explain in just a few words, but I will try and you can listen to my interpretation. This includes what Betaflight 4.3 calls P-Boost, increasing P at low throttle. These features—
—address PID control strength at low throttle. At low throttle, inertia or other factors may mean the PID response is not strong enough to resist disturbances and maintain stability. We therefore need relatively high PID gains at low throttle. But if we keep those high gains—
—at high throttle, noise problems can easily occur. We demonstrated this in an earlier tuning video: when PID gains are too high, raising throttle can make the aircraft oscillate. We need to reduce the gains accordingly, and that is where TPA takes effect.
You can set fairly aggressive P/D gains while also using aggressive TPA by lowering TPA Rate. I know some people set it very low, for example 0.3, and also set TPA Breakpoint very low, such as 1200. Starting at 1200, P/D gradually decreases. At full throttle, the P/D value is only a fraction of, for example, the 40 you originally set—
—at full throttle, that PID value of 40 becomes, for example, 0.2×40, which is 8. The PID value is then only 8. This is another tuning approach, allowing relatively strong PID response at low throttle so that the aircraft can both reject disturbances and respond well to your commands.
That is my understanding of TPA. I hope it answers the listener’s question. If you found the video helpful, please like, save, and share it. I am QuadRank; see you in the next video.
