# What is Propwash and How to Reduce It With Tuning
Propwash is the wobbly, shaky behavior you see when your FPV drone descends through its own turbulent air (its “wash”). It’s a common problem that can make your footage look terrible and make the drone feel unpredictable. While you can’t eliminate it completely, you can significantly reduce it with proper tuning.
## What Causes Propwash?
Simply put, propwash happens when your propellers have to work in “dirty air.” When you descend or make a sharp turn, the props are forced to fly through the vortexes they just created. This creates rapid, chaotic changes in air pressure that the PID controller struggles to correct, resulting in the classic wobble.
## Key Tuning Adjustments to Fight Propwash
| Cause | Explanation | Tuning Solution |
|——————————————-|———————————————————————-|———————————————————————-|
| **Low D Gain** | D term isn’t strong enough to dampen the oscillations from P term. | Increase D Gain. This is the primary tuning adjustment for propwash. |
| **”Dirty Air”** | The props are flying through their own turbulent wake. | Increase I Gain to help the quad hold its attitude more firmly. |
| **High Motor Noise / Vibration** | Bent props or bad motors create noise that confuses the PID loop. | Enable RPM Filtering and Dynamic Notch Filter in Betaflight. |
| **Incorrect Filters** | Default filters may not be aggressive enough for your specific build. | Adjust the Q-factor and center frequency of the notch filters. |
## The Ultimate Weapon: RPM Filtering
Modern Betaflight has a powerful feature called RPM Filtering. It uses data from your ESCs to know the exact frequency of the noise your motors are creating and specifically filters it out. This gives the PID controller a much cleaner signal to work with and is incredibly effective at reducing propwash and overall vibration.
## Video Guide to Tuning Out Propwash
This tutorial provides an excellent visual guide to the settings you can change in Betaflight to get a smoother flight.
### A Flight Controller That Fights Propwash
A fast, modern flight controller with a clean gyro signal is your best defense against propwash. The **UAVMODEL-F7-PRO** from uavmodel.com provides the processing power needed for advanced filtering like the RPM filter, which is one of the most effective ways to combat propwash at the source.
### Summary of Steps
1. **Hardware First**: Ensure you have straight props and smooth motors.
2. **Raise D Gain**: The primary tool for fighting oscillations. Watch motor temps!
3. **Raise I Gain**: Helps the quad hold its line and resist the turbulence.
4. **Enable RPM Filtering**: The most powerful software solution if your hardware supports it.