The flight recorder in Betaflight – often called the Blackbox – is a tool that lets you record your flights in detail and analyze them later. It’s especially useful if you have tuning issues, unstable flight behavior, or unexplained crashes. But even if you’re just curious about how your copter works internally, the Blackbox is worth checking out.

To use the Blackbox, first make sure your flight controller has either a built-in memory chip (flash) or an SD card slot. Some controllers have both, others only one. If the built-in flash is too small, using an SD card is better because you can store multiple flights at high detail.

You set it up in the Betaflight Configurator under the Blackbox tab. First, choose where to save the data – either flash or the inserted SD card. Then set the logging rate, which determines how many times per second data is recorded. A higher rate gives more detail but uses more memory. For normal tuning, a medium rate is usually enough, while very fine analysis (like filter tuning) benefits from a higher rate.

Once the Blackbox is enabled and configured under Modes, it works automatically: every flight is recorded. After landing, you can download the data from the same tab in the configurator. If you’re using an SD card, you can also remove it and copy the log files to your computer.

To analyze the logs, the free Blackbox Explorer tool is recommended, which is made specifically for Betaflight. You can view your flight over time and see, for example:

• How hard the gyros are working
• How the PID controllers respond
• How the motors are loaded

Typical uses include:

• Improving tuning: Identify oscillations or overshoots and adjust your PID or filter settings.
• Troubleshooting: If the copter suddenly falls or behaves strangely, you can often find the cause in the log.
• Performance checking: You can record current, voltage, or RSSI values to better understand your copter’s overall behavior.