You punch out of a dive and your quad’s nose drops 10 degrees before the PID loop catches up. That momentary pitch-down isn’t a tuning failure — it’s physics. Sudden throttle increases produce sudden torque that your I-term needs time to integrate. Anti-Gravity mode boosts I-term gain during throttle transients to counteract that torque before you even see the attitude error. Without it, every punch-out is a negotiation with gravity.
How Anti-Gravity Mode Actually Works
Anti-Gravity is not a separate flight mode. It’s a dynamic I-term multiplier that activates whenever your throttle moves quickly. The faster you move the throttle stick, the more it boosts I-term gain — specifically on pitch and roll. It’s targeting the exact moment when motor torque spikes and the PID loop’s normal I-term accumulation is too slow to compensate.
The parameter that controls this is anti_gravity_gain. At 0, Anti-Gravity is off. At 5000 (Betaflight 4.3+ default), you get moderate boost. At 10000, you get aggressive boost. The right value depends on your power-to-weight ratio: higher thrust-to-weight builds need higher anti-gravity gain because the torque spike on punch-out is proportionally larger.
Step 1: Start with the default and test systematically.
Set anti_gravity_gain = 5000. Arm, hover, then punch to 100% throttle from a stable hover. Watch the quad’s attitude in your goggles — not the OSD, the actual horizon. If the nose dips even slightly before recovering, increase to 6000 and repeat. If the quad jumps straight up with zero attitude change, you’re in the sweet spot. If it pitches up (over-compensation), you’ve gone too far.
Step 2: Tune the I-Term Boost threshold.
iterm_boost is a related parameter that multiplies I-term during large errors regardless of throttle movement. It kicks in when the PID error exceeds a threshold. The default of 1.0 (off) is conservative. Setting iterm_boost = 1.5 gives a 50% I-term increase on large errors — good for high-power builds that overshoot on recovery. Setting iterm_boost = 2.0 doubles I-term during big errors — useful for underpowered builds or extremely heavy quads.
Step 3: Test in forward flight, not just hover.
A hover punch-out test catches pitch dip but misses the roll-axis effects of Anti-Gravity. Fly forward at 50% throttle, then punch to 100%. Watch for any roll drift. If the quad rolls slightly on punch-out, your Anti-Gravity is addressing pitch but leaving the roll I-term under-boosted. You can’t tune roll Anti-Gravity separately — it uses the same gain — but increasing anti_gravity_gain by 1000-2000 will give the roll axis enough boost to hold.
Step 4: Verify Anti-Gravity deactivation on throttle decrease.
Anti-Gravity only activates on throttle increase. It should never boost I-term when you’re cutting throttle — that would cause the quad to fight your intentional attitude changes during dives. Throttle-cut to zero from high speed and verify the quad responds naturally, without any “sticky” feeling in the pitch or roll axes.
Anti-Gravity Parameter Reference
| Parameter | Default | Recommended Range | Effect if Too High | Effect if Too Low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| anti_gravity_gain | 5000 | 3000 – 10000 | Quad over-rotates on punch-out, feeling twitchy | Nose dips on throttle increase |
| anti_gravity_cutoff | 70 | 50 – 100 | AG deactivates too late, fights dive entries | AG deactivates too early, dip returns |
| iterm_boost | 1.0 | 1.0 – 2.5 | Overshoot on error recovery, slow oscillation | Slow recovery from large attitude errors |
| iterm_limit | 400 | 200 – 500 | I-term persists too long after error clears | I-term clipped too early, steady-state error |
Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Mistake 1: Cranking Anti-Gravity to mask a bad PID tune. If your P and D gains are wrong, your quad will dip on punch-out regardless of Anti-Gravity setting. Anti-Gravity is a transient correction — it can’t fix a fundamental PID imbalance. Tune P and D first, then use Anti-Gravity as the final polish.
Mistake 2: Running high Anti-Gravity with high I-term gain. Anti-Gravity multiplies your existing I-term — it doesn’t add a separate I-term. If your base I-term gain is already high (aggressive tune), adding high Anti-Gravity will cause I-term windup and slow oscillation on punch-out recovery. Reduce I-term by 10-15% before increasing Anti-Gravity.
Mistake 3: Forgetting that Anti-Gravity affects both pitch and roll. A high Anti-Gravity setting on a lightweight build can make roll feel “sticky” during rapid throttle changes. If your quad refuses to roll when you’re punching out, your Anti-Gravity is too high. This is especially noticeable on 3-inch and smaller builds where the power-to-weight ratio makes torque effects more dramatic.
Mistake 4: Not retesting after changing prop size or pitch. Anti-Gravity compensates for motor torque. Different props produce different torque curves at the same throttle position. A 5.1-inch high-pitch prop needs 20-30% more Anti-Gravity than a 5-inch low-pitch prop on the same build. Re-test after any prop change that affects load.
⚠️ Regulatory Notice: The flight recommendations in this article should be followed in accordance with the latest 2026 drone regulations in your country or region. Always verify local laws regarding flight altitude, no-fly zones, remote ID requirements, and registration before flying. Regulations vary significantly between the FAA (US), EASA (EU), CAA (UK), CAAC (China), and other authorities.
Anti-Gravity works best when your base PID tune is solid. For the full tuning sequence, our Betaflight PID tuning guide covers P, D, and I-term fundamentals. If you’re chasing high-throttle oscillations specifically, the TPA guide shows how to attenuate P and D at the top of the throttle range.
Anti-Gravity is a software solution to a physics problem, but the underlying torque still stresses your hardware. Quality motors with strong magnets maintain torque linearity better than budget alternatives. The XING 2207 1850 KV motors stocked at uavmodel have a flat torque curve across the throttle range, which means your Anti-Gravity gain can stay conservative and still work.