From QuadMath Sim to First Real Pack: Paste Rates, Angle→Acro, Then Maiden

Short version: plug the same RadioMaster TX16S into the free QuadMath Sim, paste the Betaflight rates you will actually fly, practice angle until it is dull then acro, then maiden a 65mm indoor analog Air65 whose calculator AUW and T:W are not a surprise.

This is not a shopping list or a bind walkthrough. Those live on First tiny whoop setup and ExpressLRS. Links marked /go/ are affiliate redirects to gear RyFly flies; purchases may support the site at no extra cost. Stack and radio options are on Gear.

Plug the TX16S (EdgeTX USB = Joystick)

Open the Sim and the Tune Panel (Tab). The live controls copy is: “TX16S: EdgeTX USB mode = Joystick. Move stick after plug-in.” If the page shows no gamepad, plug USB, pick Joystick on the radio, move a stick, then calibrate if the axes still look wrong.

The TX16S is the radio this page is written around. The RadioMaster Pocket is the same EdgeTX firmware in a smaller box — named only, not the hero. If the radio will not bind to the whoop, stop here and use the ELRS guide. This page does not cover bind.

Paste the rates you will actually fly

Pull a CLI dump from the Tune Database — the rates you will flash, not a sim default. In the Sim, open the Tune Panel with Tab, paste into Paste Betaflight CLI dump, then hit IMPORT CLI. The sticks should feel like the maiden, not like a gamepad preset.

Angle until dull, then acro

The Sim is acro by default; F toggles angle. Readiness is the same bar as Setup: angle is dull, acro no longer makes you panic. There is no hour quota.

Optionally nudge Mass toward the AUW the calculator gives you, so the whoop in the sim is in the same weight class as the one on the floor. Mass is not a measured AUW, and Sim T:W is not the calculator's Air65 bench T:W. Treat both as feel, not a published figure.

Check AUW and T:W before you arm

Weigh the whoop dry, put the real inputs into the calculator, and compare AUW and cruise time to the measured Air65 row only: 25.42 g AUW / 3:53 cruise. If your candidate is far off that row, something in the list is wrong.

The calculator's >6:1 badge is wheelie-prone caution. The site frames >2:1 as generally freestyle-capable. Those are site framing. This page does not publish an Air65 T:W.

Indoor maiden checklist (Air65 path)

Props on the right way, pack seated, clear floor, short hops. Prove failsafe on the ELRS page first, props off — then come back. Land and touch the motors: warm is fine, too hot is a problem.

No whoop yet? Start at Setup. US outdoor later: US Rules, light — this maiden is indoor.

After pack one

When the hops are boring, pick a card from Air65 PID and the Tune Database. Open Blackbox when you have a log, not before.

Next: Sim → paste rates → angle/acro gate → calculator vs 25.42 g / 3:53 → indoor hops → Setup / ELRS / Air65 PID.