Document the fixed wing coordinated waypoint turns (INAV 10.0)

[b14ckyy]

What this does

INAV 10.0 replaces nav_fw_wp_turn_smoothing with nav_fw_wp_turn_mode and flies waypoint corners as predicted, coordinated turns on the aircraft's real turn radius instead of switching to a loiter arc. The documentation still described the old system, so this brings it up to date.

Note

This documents firmware that is not released yet, so everything lands in /docs (Next) only. The frozen versioned_docs are untouched and keep describing turn smoothing, which is correct for 9.1 and earlier.

New page

Fixed Wing Waypoint Turns (docs/06-advanced-features/fixed-wing-waypoint-turns.mdx), next to the autoland page:

• How a coordinated turn is worked out (speed, bank angle, corner angle) and why nothing needs to be measured by hand
• The four modes with a diagram each: COORD_FLYBY (default, cuts the corner), COORD_FLYOVER (flies over the waypoint), COORD_FLYINTO (crosses it already aligned, for survey lines), DIRECT (pre-10.0 behaviour)
• A table for picking a mode, and what changes when nav_fw_wp_tracking_accuracy is enabled
• What to expect in very sharp corners and course reversals
• Settings table, the changed meaning of nav_fw_bank_angle, the reworked loiter circles, the energy guard, the landing approach
• Migration table from nav_fw_wp_turn_smoothing, plus a troubleshooting table

The deeper geometry (turn radius, anticipation, the S manoeuvre, the loiter radius floor) sits in collapsible sections so the page stays readable for pilots without losing the explanation. Implementation detail and the DEBUG_FW_TURN channels stay in the firmware repo and are linked, not duplicated.

Updated pages

• flight-modes-navigation.mdx — the turn smoothing section becomes a short summary with a link. Two existing errors fixed along the way: nav_fw_wp_tracking_accuracy was still described with its pre-8.0 meaning ("dampens the response") instead of a deadband in metres, and the settings table listed nav_fw_bank_angle = 45 when the firmware default is 35. The FW loiter section now mentions that the configured radius is a minimum.
• waypoint-missions.mdx — the turn smoothing row becomes the four turn settings.
• fixed-wing-autoland.mdx — approach turns are always coordinated FLY_BY corners regardless of the configured mode, and nav_wp_radius no longer shapes the approach corners.

Notes for reviewers

• npm run build passes. It flagged one broken anchor from the renamed section, which is fixed; the remaining warnings are pre-existing and all in versioned_docs.
• The five diagrams are exported from the feature's technical overview, restyled with an embedded font stack and a background so they read in both the light and dark theme, and relabelled in plain language.
• static/img/features-core/nav-wp-turn-smoothing.png is deliberately kept — versioned_docs/version-9.1.0 still references it.
• Merging should wait until the firmware feature is in the 10.x branch.

[qodo-free-for-open-source-projects]

PR Summary by Qodo

Document INAV 10.0 coordinated fixed-wing waypoint turns

📝 Documentation 🕐 20-40 Minutes

AI Description

• Adds a pilot-focused guide for INAV 10.0 coordinated fixed-wing waypoint turns.
• Documents turn modes, geometry, tuning, migration, edge cases, and troubleshooting.
• Aligns navigation, mission, loiter, and autoland guidance with new firmware behavior.

Diagram

graph TD
  FW["INAV 10.0"] --> Guide["Turn Guide"] --> Nav["Navigation Docs"]
  Guide --> Missions["Mission Docs"]
  Guide --> Autoland["Autoland Docs"]

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High-Level Assessment

The centralized guide with concise summaries and links from existing pages is the best approach. Duplicating the full behavior across navigation, mission, and autoland pages was considered but would increase drift risk and make future firmware changes harder to maintain.

Files changed (4) +279 / -19

Documentation (4) +279 / -19

flight-modes-navigation.mdxReplace turn-smoothing guidance with coordinated-turn behavior +19/-13

Replace turn-smoothing guidance with coordinated-turn behavior

• Reframes fixed-wing waypoint tracking around the INAV 10.0 coordinated-turn system and links to the new detailed guide. Corrects the tracking-accuracy deadband meaning and bank-angle default, and documents revised loiter-radius and waypoint-radius behavior.

docs/05-core-features/flight-modes-navigation.mdx

fixed-wing-autoland.mdxDocument coordinated turns during autoland approaches +6/-5

Document coordinated turns during autoland approaches

• Explains that landing approach legs always use coordinated FLY_BY corners regardless of the configured waypoint turn mode. Clarifies that nav_wp_radius no longer shapes approach corners but still affects waypoint completion.

docs/06-advanced-features/fixed-wing-autoland.mdx

fixed-wing-waypoint-turns.mdxAdd comprehensive fixed-wing waypoint-turn guide +250/-0

Add comprehensive fixed-wing waypoint-turn guide

• Introduces the authoritative INAV 10.0 guide to coordinated turn geometry, all four modes, waypoint tracking, sharp corners, loiter behavior, energy protection, and landing approaches. Includes settings, migration guidance from turn smoothing, troubleshooting, diagrams, and links to firmware-level debugging details.

docs/06-advanced-features/fixed-wing-waypoint-turns.mdx

waypoint-missions.mdxReplace turn-smoothing setting with coordinated-turn controls +4/-1

Replace turn-smoothing setting with coordinated-turn controls

• Replaces the obsolete nav_fw_wp_turn_smoothing entry with the new turn mode, lead-time, feed-forward, and control-ease settings. Summarizes each control and links mission planners to the detailed turn guide.

docs/08-mission-control/waypoint-missions.mdx

[qodo-free-for-open-source-projects]

Code Review by Qodo

🐞 Bugs (0) 📘 Rule violations (0) 📎 Requirement gaps (0) 🎨 UX issues (0) 🔗 Cross-repo conflicts (0) 📜 Skill insights (0)

1. DIRECT contradicts opening behavior ✓ Resolved 🐞 Bug ≡ Correctness

Description

The page says every plane on INAV 10.0 anticipates waypoint corners, but the selectable DIRECT
mode explicitly waits until the aircraft reaches the waypoint and restores the reactive 9.x
behavior. This makes the page's opening description false for users who select DIRECT.

Code

docs/06-advanced-features/fixed-wing-waypoint-turns.mdx[R6-7]

+From INAV 10.0 a plane no longer reacts to a waypoint corner once it arrives there.
+It works out the corner in advance and flies a real, coordinated turn through it.

Evidence

The added introduction claims universal anticipation, while the same page states that DIRECT has
no coordinated turns and turns only after reaching the waypoint; the settings table confirms
DIRECT is an available mode.

docs/06-advanced-features/fixed-wing-waypoint-turns.mdx[6-7]
docs/06-advanced-features/fixed-wing-waypoint-turns.mdx[82-85]
docs/06-advanced-features/fixed-wing-waypoint-turns.mdx[153-158]

Agent prompt

The issue below was found during a code review. Follow the provided context and guidance below and implement a solution

## Issue description
The introduction presents turn anticipation as universal INAV 10.0 behavior, although `DIRECT` remains a selectable reactive mode.
## Issue Context
Limit the opening description to coordinated turn modes or describe `DIRECT` as the explicit exception.
## Fix Focus Areas
- docs/06-advanced-features/fixed-wing-waypoint-turns.mdx[6-7]
- docs/06-advanced-features/fixed-wing-waypoint-turns.mdx[82-85]

ⓘ Copy this prompt and use it to remediate the issue with your preferred AI generation tools

---

2. Geometry excludes coordinated modes ✓ Resolved 🐞 Bug ≡ Correctness

Description

The generic coordinated-turn explanation says every turn uses one circle tangent to both mission
legs and begins banking early, but COORD_FLYOVER explicitly begins banking only after the waypoint
and COORD_FLYINTO first moves away before curving back. Readers may incorrectly apply the FLYBY
anticipation geometry and tuning expectations to the other coordinated modes.

Code

docs/06-advanced-features/fixed-wing-waypoint-turns.mdx[26]

+From those the autopilot places a circle that touches both mission legs, starts banking early enough to reach it smoothly, holds that circle through the corner, and rolls out so that the wings are level exactly when the plane is aligned with the next leg.

Evidence

Line 26 universally describes an anticipated circle touching both legs. The mode-specific sections
directly establish different paths: FLYOVER cannot anticipate and starts after the waypoint, while
FLYINTO moves away and curves back to cross the waypoint outbound-aligned.

docs/06-advanced-features/fixed-wing-waypoint-turns.mdx[20-30]
docs/06-advanced-features/fixed-wing-waypoint-turns.mdx[62-67]
docs/06-advanced-features/fixed-wing-waypoint-turns.mdx[73-80]

Agent prompt

The issue below was found during a code review. Follow the provided context and guidance below and implement a solution

## Issue description
The geometry section presents FLYBY's tangent-circle and early-turn-in geometry as common to every coordinated mode.
## Issue Context
Qualify this description as the FLYBY case and briefly note that FLYOVER and FLYINTO place their arcs differently.
## Fix Focus Areas
- docs/06-advanced-features/fixed-wing-waypoint-turns.mdx[20-30]
- docs/06-advanced-features/fixed-wing-waypoint-turns.mdx[62-80]

ⓘ Copy this prompt and use it to remediate the issue with your preferred AI generation tools

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