# Starling 2 max first flight

Source: https://forum.modalai.com/topic/4982/starling-2-max-first-flight
Category: General Questions (https://forum.modalai.com/category/2/general-questions)
Posted: 2026-01-14 09:44:03 UTC by Saleh Ibrahim
Replies: 2 · Views: 331

## Saleh Ibrahim · 2026-01-14 09:44:03 UTC

I have recently started working with the VOXL2 – Starling 2 Max development drone, and I have several questions and observations from my initial experience:

VIO / Mapper Drift
While exploring the system through the Portal and reviewing the documentation, I noticed that in the Mapper and VIO tabs the estimated position sometimes drifts. This behavior was reflected during my first flight, where the vehicle drifted along the Y and Z axes, eventually leading to a crash.

MAVLink Position Messages
In QGroundControl’s MAVLink Inspector, the message POSITION_TARGET_LOCAL_NED reports zero values for x, y, z, vx, and vy, while LOCAL_POSITION_NED reports the expected values.
I verified that both qvio-server and OpenVINS outputs appear to be working correctly, which makes this behavior confusing.

Helper Parameters for Indoor Flight
I am currently trying to fly the drone indoors and configured the PX4 parameters according to the following helper file:
[helper params](https://gitlab.com/voxl-public/voxl-sdk/utilities/voxl-px4-params/-/blob/master/params/v1.14/EKF2_helpers/indoor_vio_missing_gps.params)

This configuration requires disabling both GPS and magnetometer inputs. However, during flight I still receive the warning “height estimate not stable”, which I initially assumed was related to GPS or magnetometer availability.

Failsafe Events
From the flight logs, I noticed:

A failsafe being triggered at the very beginning of the flight (around home position initialization).

Another failsafe shortly before the crash, with the message:
“Preflight fail: attitude failure (roll)”

Based on these observations, I have a few follow-up questions:

Does the Starling 2 Max require a full calibration procedure from the beginning?
I have already calibrated the level horizon, accelerometer, and gyroscopes, but I have not calibrated the magnetometer, since it is not being used for indoor flight.

Does the Starling 2 Max include VOA (Vision-Based Obstacle Avoidance) hardware by default?

I am also encountering an issue with voxl-dfs-server, where the service is enabled but not running.

## Reply by Saleh Ibrahim · 2026-01-14 09:45:14 UTC

@Moderator

## Reply by Moderator (ModalAI staff) · 2026-01-23 03:15:21 UTC (in reply to Saleh Ibrahim)

@Saleh-Ibrahim the drones come pre-configured for VIO and are flight tested in VIO mode prior to shipping.

To troubleshoot VIO, please start here: https://docs.modalai.com/voxl-open-vins-server/#troubleshooting

VOA does not ship enabled by default