Setting Up a KK2.1.5 Flight Controller With Drones and Gliders

Today, I’m going to show you how to fully set up a glider or drone using a KK2.1.5 flight controller. U ready?

Step 1: Determine What You Are Building

For a Drone, you will need:

4 x X2212-13 KV Motors (Available at www.rcsunnysky.com)

4 x 25 Amp ESCs that support 2-4s LiPo battery packs

1 x KK2.1.5 Flight Controller

1 x Transmitter

1 x Receiver

1-3 x 2-4s LiPo Batteries

For a Plane, you will need:

1 x X2212-13 KV Motor (Available at www.rcsunnysky.com)

2 x 25 Amp ESCs that support 2-4s LiPo battery packs

2 x KK2.1.5 Flight Controllers

2 x Transmitters

2 x Receivers

1-3 x 2-4s LiPo Batteries

Due to time constraints and the inability to obtain a USBIsp flasher, I had to use two transmitters and receivers . However, I will be demonstrating how I constructed these using the materials I had on hand.

Before you begin, familiarize yourself with the layout of the KK2.1.5 flight controller. Here's what each part does:

Motor and Servo Ports: These are on the right side of the board, and they connect to your ESCs and servos. Depends on your motor layout which I explain below.

Receiver inputs: All of the left ports are going to be used for your data from your receiver to your transmitter.

Buttons: The controller has four main buttons – Enter, Up, Down, and Back. These allow you to navigate through the menus.

XT60 Plug: This is where you connect your LiPo battery to power the board. You will need a esc to power it through a motor port.

Choose a frame design for a plane or glider I be going only over a glider here.

Designing the Airfoil:

Airfoil Shape: Choose a symmetrical airfoil if you want stability and ease of control. An asymmetrical airfoil can provide more lift but may require more adjustments during flight.

Marking and Cutting: Mark the foam board to the desired wing dimensions and use a straightedge to cut along your marks.

Folding: Fold the foam board at specific points to create the desired airfoil shape. Ensure both sides are symmetrical.

Assembling the Frame:

Once the wings are ready, connect them to the main frame of the glider.

Use lightweight materials for the frame to maintain overall weight. I Highly recommend foam board but you can use things like 3d printed materials ,balsa wood, foam, carbon fiber.

In this build, we chose to use only a V-tail to save weight and reduce complexity:

V-Tail Design: The V-tail combines the functions of the rudder and elevator into two surfaces. It reduces the weight and drag but can be tricky to tune.

Control Surfaces: By using only the V-tail, you’ll need to adjust your control inputs carefully to ensure stable flight.

CAD Modeling: After deciding on your wing and tail design, create a CAD model to visualize and plan your build. Draw out each key component FIRST and ensure everything fits together smoothly.

After you figure out your control surfaces you can then decides a few wiring considerations like how many servos do I need, how many controllers do I need for the servos? and so on.

Now that your frame is ready, it’s time to set up your flight controller:

Connecting ESCs and Motors:

Plug the ESC 3-pin connectors into any of the motor/servo ports on the right side of the KK2.1.5 board.

Connect the XT60 plugs from the ESCs to the LiPo battery to power the board.

Initial Setup:

Power on the flight controller by connecting the LiPo battery. The home menu should appear.

Press the Enter button to access the menu.

Loading Motor Layout:

Navigate to Load Motor Layout using the Down button.

Select the motor layout that matches your glider setup. In this case, choose the V-tail configuration.

*You might need to flash motor layouts onto your board using a USB ISP.*

Accelerometer Calibration:

Go to ACC Calibration to calibrate the accelerometer. Ensure your glider is level during this step.

After calibration, return to the home menu and ensure there are no errors.

P1 Editor:

Adjust your P Gain (Proportional Gain) to control the sensitivity and responsiveness of your glider. Higher P Gain means sharper control inputs; lower P Gain means softer control inputs.

I Gain (Integral Gain)

mainly affects altitude holding for drones, so adjust this as needed.

Mode Settings:

Set Self-Leveling to AUX, not Always, to prevent your glider from pitching up unintentionally.

Misc Settings:

Set the Alarm Voltage to 10.8V to ensure you’re alerted before the battery runs too low.

Wiring Your Radio:

Each radio is different, so refer to your manual. Generally:

Throttle → Data 1

Aileron → Data 2

Elevator → Data 3

Rudder → Data 4

Receiver Setup:

For our setup, we used an additional receiver connected to the ESCs, which output directly to the servos controlling the V-tail surfaces. This bypasses the need for the flight controller in this loop, making it a simple setup.

Safety First: Ensure you do not have the propellers attached during the first test.

Arming Procedure:

To arm the glider, push the left throttle stick to the bottom left and hold until the board says "armed."

The motor should now respond to control inputs.

ESC Calibration:

Unplug the battery, set your throttle to max, hold both the Back and Enter keys on the KK2.1.5, then connect the battery.

Lower the throttle to the bottom, completing the calibration.

Now that everything is set up, you can mount all the components onto the frame, attach the wings, and finalize the assembly. After a thorough check, and I mean thorough check allll bolts! your glider should be ready for its maiden flight! RAHHHHHH

I hope this guide was helpful! Happy flyinggg :)