diff --git a/src/drivers/px4flow/px4flow.cpp b/src/drivers/px4flow/px4flow.cpp
index 4d87d1cfe1..db721afe32 100644
--- a/src/drivers/px4flow/px4flow.cpp
+++ b/src/drivers/px4flow/px4flow.cpp
@@ -714,7 +714,7 @@ fail:
 		g_dev = nullptr;
 	}
 
-	errx(1, "no PX4 FLOW connected");
+	errx(1, "no PX4FLOW connected over I2C");
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/src/modules/fw_att_control/fw_att_control_main.cpp b/src/modules/fw_att_control/fw_att_control_main.cpp
index fb6f74f357..cb17728948 100644
--- a/src/modules/fw_att_control/fw_att_control_main.cpp
+++ b/src/modules/fw_att_control/fw_att_control_main.cpp
@@ -520,7 +520,7 @@ FixedwingAttitudeControl::vehicle_control_mode_poll()
 	orb_check(_vcontrol_mode_sub, &vcontrol_mode_updated);
 
 	if (vcontrol_mode_updated) {
-		
+
 		orb_copy(ORB_ID(vehicle_control_mode), _vcontrol_mode_sub, &_vcontrol_mode);
 	}
 }
@@ -619,11 +619,6 @@ FixedwingAttitudeControl::task_main_trampoline(int argc, char *argv[])
 void
 FixedwingAttitudeControl::task_main()
 {
-
-	/* inform about start */
-	warnx("Initializing..");
-	fflush(stdout);
-
 	/*
 	 * do subscriptions
 	 */
@@ -1154,14 +1149,17 @@ int fw_att_control_main(int argc, char *argv[])
 			err(1, "start failed");
 		}
 
-		/* avoid memory fragmentation by not exiting start handler until the task has fully started */
-		while (att_control::g_control == nullptr || !att_control::g_control->task_running()) {
-			usleep(50000);
-			printf(".");
-			fflush(stdout);
-		}
-		printf("\n");
+		/* check if the waiting is necessary at all */
+		if (att_control::g_control == nullptr || !att_control::g_control->task_running()) {
 
+			/* avoid memory fragmentation by not exiting start handler until the task has fully started */
+			while (att_control::g_control == nullptr || !att_control::g_control->task_running()) {
+				usleep(50000);
+				printf(".");
+				fflush(stdout);
+			}
+			printf("\n");
+		}
 		exit(0);
 	}
 
diff --git a/src/modules/land_detector/land_detector_main.cpp b/src/modules/land_detector/land_detector_main.cpp
index 09b5fd799b..82f890b5f7 100644
--- a/src/modules/land_detector/land_detector_main.cpp
+++ b/src/modules/land_detector/land_detector_main.cpp
@@ -151,20 +151,26 @@ static int land_detector_start(const char *mode)
 	/* avoid memory fragmentation by not exiting start handler until the task has fully started */
 	const uint32_t timeout = hrt_absolute_time() + 5000000; //5 second timeout
 
-	while (!land_detector_task->isRunning()) {
-		usleep(50000);
-		printf(".");
-		fflush(stdout);
+	/* avoid printing dots just yet and do one sleep before the first check */
+	usleep(10000);
 
-		if (hrt_absolute_time() > timeout) {
-			err(1, "start failed - timeout");
-			land_detector_stop();
-			exit(1);
+	/* check if the waiting involving dots and a newline are still needed */
+	if (!land_detector_task->isRunning()) {
+		while (!land_detector_task->isRunning()) {
+
+			printf(".");
+			fflush(stdout);
+			usleep(50000);
+
+			if (hrt_absolute_time() > timeout) {
+				err(1, "start failed - timeout");
+				land_detector_stop();
+				exit(1);
+			}
 		}
+		printf("\n");
 	}
 
-	printf("\n");
-
 	//Remember current active mode
 	strncpy(_currentMode, mode, 12);
 
diff --git a/src/modules/mavlink/mavlink_main.cpp b/src/modules/mavlink/mavlink_main.cpp
index b12003447a..9f5a11f94b 100644
--- a/src/modules/mavlink/mavlink_main.cpp
+++ b/src/modules/mavlink/mavlink_main.cpp
@@ -777,7 +777,7 @@ Mavlink::get_free_tx_buf()
 		if (_last_write_try_time != 0 &&
 		    hrt_elapsed_time(&_last_write_success_time) > 500 * 1000UL &&
 		    _last_write_success_time != _last_write_try_time) {
-			warnx("DISABLING HARDWARE FLOW CONTROL");
+			warnx("Disabling hardware flow control");
 			enable_flow_control(false);
 		}
 	}
@@ -913,7 +913,7 @@ Mavlink::handle_message(const mavlink_message_t *msg)
 
 	/* handle packet with parameter component */
 	_parameters_manager->handle_message(msg);
-	
+
 	/* handle packet with ftp component */
 	_mavlink_ftp->handle_message(msg);
 
@@ -1468,7 +1468,7 @@ Mavlink::task_main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	_mavlink_ftp = (MavlinkFTP *) MavlinkFTP::new_instance(this);
 	_mavlink_ftp->set_interval(interval_from_rate(80.0f));
 	LL_APPEND(_streams, _mavlink_ftp);
-	
+
 	/* MISSION_STREAM stream, actually sends all MISSION_XXX messages at some rate depending on
 	 * remote requests rate. Rate specified here controls how much bandwidth we will reserve for
 	 * mission messages. */
diff --git a/src/modules/position_estimator_inav/position_estimator_inav_main.c b/src/modules/position_estimator_inav/position_estimator_inav_main.c
index 5660bcc194..9dc7999099 100644
--- a/src/modules/position_estimator_inav/position_estimator_inav_main.c
+++ b/src/modules/position_estimator_inav/position_estimator_inav_main.c
@@ -389,8 +389,8 @@ int position_estimator_inav_thread_main(int argc, char *argv[])
 					} else {
 						wait_baro = false;
 						baro_offset /= (float) baro_init_cnt;
-						warnx("baro offs: %d", (int)baro_offset);
-						mavlink_log_info(mavlink_fd, "[inav] baro offs: %d", (int)baro_offset);
+						warnx("baro offset: %d m", (int)baro_offset);
+						mavlink_log_info(mavlink_fd, "[inav] baro offset: %d m", (int)baro_offset);
 						local_pos.z_valid = true;
 						local_pos.v_z_valid = true;
 					}
diff --git a/src/platforms/common/px4_getopt.c b/src/platforms/common/px4_getopt.c
index 5f76065bb0..d7d03ed49f 100644
--- a/src/platforms/common/px4_getopt.c
+++ b/src/platforms/common/px4_getopt.c
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ static int reorder(int argc, char **argv, const char *options)
 			tmpidx++;
 			if (takesarg) {
 				tmp_argv[tmpidx] = argv[idx+1];
-				printf("tmp_argv[%d] = %s\n", tmpidx, tmp_argv[tmpidx]);
+				// printf("tmp_argv[%d] = %s\n", tmpidx, tmp_argv[tmpidx]);
 				tmpidx++;
 				idx++;
 			}
@@ -108,11 +108,11 @@ static int reorder(int argc, char **argv, const char *options)
 }
 
 //
-// px4_getopt 
+// px4_getopt
 //
 // returns:
 //            the valid option character
-//            '?' if any option is unknown 
+//            '?' if any option is unknown
 //            -1 if no remaining options
 //
 // If the option takes an arg, myoptarg will be updated accordingly.