Using dronekit with native SITL on PX4

I’m trying to use Dronekit and interact with native SITL by using the code given here : http://dev.px4.io/dronekit-example.html

However, the connection doesn’t work. It keeps saying and then timeouts :

`>>> Exception in message handler for HEARTBEAT

mode 65536 not available on mavlink definition`

[ndepal]

I am also trying to get DroneKit running with PX4 SITL. Installed the newest DroneKit version, have the newest version of the PX4 Firmware and am following the instructions given in http://dev.px4.io/dronekit-example.html. Like others, I am repeatedly getting the following error message:

>>> Exception in message handler for HEARTBEAT
>>> mode 65536 not available on mavlink definition

Additionally, I occasionally see

>>> FREEFALL DETECTED
>>> LANDING DETECTED
>>> data link #1 lost
>>> data link #1 regained

All of these messages are also visible in the console where I am running the PX4 mainapp. I’m not sure why I’m getting these freefall and landing messages, but that’s a PX4 problem. But at least I see that DroneKit is getting messages from PX4.

What is the status on this issue? It doesn’t look like a lot has happened since it was opened a couple of months ago. Is this being worked on?

DroneKit looks quite interesting, but with the current state it doesn’t look like a usable tool for anybody developing with PX4.

[IeiuniumLux]

I haven’t used dronekit for python. However, dronekit for android works well with SITL on PX4 as shown here.